I read, and heard, many say that this World Cup was an ideal time to blood our youngsters as expectation was so low. Judging by the reaction in social media quarters I think many had thought we would progress.
FIFA world rankings had both Uruguay and Italy ahead of us (although Spain were top and we all know their fate) yet the South Americans needed a play off with the mighty Jordan (not Katie Price) to qualify.
Recently the English FA had their idea that forming a League 3 would develop England into a world footballing power. Thankfully that proposal, whilst not dead, has received very short shrift in most quarters. I still think the FA/Premier League will attempt to force it through in some guise by trying to buy off the opposition. We must NOT allow this to happen.
The League 3 proposal is a red herring though. Can we really turn England in to a World footballing power? I don't think so.
I do not think the English have the mental strength to be successful. Life in general has become too sanitised for the English footballer at the highest level. Money is the key driver and we will not be able to change that mentality.
There may be one or two players who will dedicate themselves totally, but unfortunately they are not likely to be those blessed with the extreme natural talent.
So what can we do to try and give ourselves the best chance of success? I don't think it is by copying whoever is doing well at any particular time is the answer. We thought the French model of Clairefontaine was the way forward so we opened the school at Lilleshall. The French tailed off and we quickly closed the 'academy'. We now think the Spanish have been successful so we think it must be because of their B team system. They have had the same system for more than 50 years and for the majority of that time have been the great under achievers!
I think our better players need to be more battle hardened. Not closeted but taken outside of their comfort zones and tested. How do we do that?
- Firstly the likes of Sterling, Jones, Barkley and whoever else qualifies should be playing in next years Under 21 finals. Tournament experience counts.
- Then several of those players need to get themselves to the Bundesliga, Series A. LaLiga etc and gain experience of the different mindsets and cultures. Suarez has improved by being in England as have many other foreigners and I don't think it is by being highly paid. It is because they have challenged themselves both on and off the pitch to become more adaptable and more knowledgeable.
We can continue as we are, by being over-hyped and fail at every Euro or World Cup or we can try and do something about it. The recent FA proposals had some good content but the League 3 section is so obviously flawed.
- We need to invest heavily in a better coaching structure with the best coaches looking after the Under 10 year olds. Coaching needs to be a career move, paid accordingly, and the best people identified and encouraged. Not necessarily ex pro's but the best people for the job. There is certainly a culture in the pro game in Britain that if you haven't played at the top level you cannot coach. Nonsense
- We need to reduce the number of foreigners in our football and although European Commission rules are virtually impossible to circumnavigate we at least need to reduce the non-European intake. A quota of English qualified players must be in every first team squad/team. (Look at the number of English players stockpiled by Man City for example, or the shortage of English players in a Chelsea squad that has two teams' worth of talent loaned out all over the world. Which leads us to my next point......)
- Top Premiership clubs must not be allowed to collect all the top youth players in the world, most of which never come through to their first teams. They need to be playing for their local teams and only when they are ready to be part of the top clubs first team squads do they move on.
- The best youngsters at the Premiership and even Championship clubs need to be loaned out to lower level clubs as a matter of course. It must be an important part of their development.
- Then the cream must have the mindset of continuous development. Go abroad, experience different styles and different cultures.
Would the above work? No idea, but the facts are we (as a national team) are no better for the formation of the Premier League and the vast amounts of money ploughed in to it. Many have stated that since its creation, the national team has faded away; see the recent Harry Redknapp news story, or the downgrading of the FA Cup for example. The Premiership was supposed to be the panacea but all it has done is make some young men rich beyond their wildest dreams.
Anyway, the Conference fixtures are out on the 7th July so UTM!