bluemoondays said:
KenTheLandlord said:
petrusha said:
People are, of course, correct when they point out that one of the major boxes that Soriano ticks from the MCFC point of view is that he's well acquainted with the movers and shakers at the top of European club football. Currently, we're regarded by those people as a rather unwelcome, monied arriviste, and as has been said by various posters above, there's potentially a great benefit to the club if we have a senior executive who commands respect in those circles.
Of course, he lacks prior experience of English football. However, when we gave John Williams a role last summer, there were already rumours that Garry Cook was in his last year as CEO. I believed then, and suspect now, that part of the thinking behind bringing Williams in is for him to assist a CEO who needs schooling in the ways of the English game.
There's one thing that interests me about Soriano that no one has mentioned yet. I posted a while back that I believe very senior people at MCFC are admirers of the Barcelona 'mes que un club' ethos. Given the intensive concentration of football clubs in NW England, we're never going to be able to claim to represent a region in the way that Barca style themselves. But, as we go forward and as the developments around the stadium take shape, the club will be looking to project itself as a representative of its community.
If Soriano arrives, then I wonder if part of the attraction is his prior involvement with stressing this aspect of the club's heritage at Barca. It caught my interest that the MEN seemed keen to emphasise this in the story they ran about City's alleged interest in him.
Meanwhile, we'll see about Begiristain, but given rumoured interest in various candidates for a technical director position over the last year or two (Arnesen, Baldini and so on), it doesn't seem impossible. Many have jumped to the conclusion that his arrival would necessarily entail the departure of Brian Marwood, but I'm personally not so sure. (Danamy, one of the very few posters on here that I particularly look out for, seems not to have the highest regard for Marwood, but I haven't heard serious suggestions that Abu Dhabi are unhappy with him).
I suspect that the big thing we want, however, from a technical director would be to develop our academy. After all, we've announced plans to put in place some of the best academy facilities in the game, but what we need is to ensure that the structure is in place to exploit that to best effect. So who better to oversee all that than the guy who, as Barca's sporting director, presumably had ultimate responsibility for the best development set-up in the game.
And the other area in which we have a problem, and where he could be a big help, is ensuring we have a structure in place to get the kids from the top of our academy (where they stay up to age 18) and into the first team. Currently, there's a problem - we pulled out of the reserve league this season, but don't seem to have found an adequate replacement, while we lost all our games in this Next Generation competition. So there definitely seems scope for a highly qualified professional to come in and get his teeth into our development set up.
For that reason, I suspect that it would be viable for Begiristain and Marwood to work together. Whether there would then still be a role for Mike Rigg, who currently has the title technical director, I'm not so sure. Maybe there would - as far as I know (though I stand to be corrected), he was Hughes's appointment, and is essentially a senior scout. Maybe he could report to Begiristain in a new structure, maybe not.
Anyway, we'll see how it goes, but my opinion is that if these two come in, it would be a bold yet sensible move by the club. They bring attributes that seem to be currently lacking among employees at the top end of our operation. I hope it's true, because for these reasons I find it a rather exciting prospect.
In basis i agree with your excellent post, although while i feel the youth academy needs overhauling there are two obstacles. Neither Soriano (a political animal, who would do well liaising in Europe) nor Begiristain had much to do with La Masia at Barcelona. Indeed, very much as our academy was, it is left alone while Albert Capellas steadily gets on with.
Their current technical director of football training, Guillermo Amor has only returned since the summer, after leaving in 2003 due to Laporta and Soriano not renewing his contract. Eusebio Sacristán is another who has just returned to look after the B team after spending 2003-08 looking after the 6-12 year olds.
Those 3 are the guys that under Frank Rijkaard´s first team management were able to bring 90% of the current La Masia based first team players. There has been about 7 or 8 years between Xavi making his debut and the more recent players. As i said this is because Rijkaard and Guardiola can benefit from the youth policy.
The huge difference though is that these players when ready for Sacristán´s B team, they are playing Championship equivalent football, something we cannot do. They have 38 matches against very strong, full time professionals. It is here that England fall down. We cannot produce a full squad of players that have that experience at 17 or 18 years of age, It would need the B teams of the top teams to play at that standard and completely rip the world of the FL apart. Not going to happen. If a player shows any kind of promise he can be whipped into the first team, then given a breather back in the B team. It is part of the wider problem of English player development.
Any coincidence that Germany and Spain have probably the strongest teams in the world and in the case of Germany, have had for donkeys years even when not top?
Partly, because for Germany they had to re-invented themselves after a (for them) catastraphic WC98 but more so the Euro 2000 where the finished winless, where even England had beat them and bottom of the group.
There was a concerted effort to then inject more German youth into the squads and to hell with club results in Europe. The priority was the national team.
After years and years of under achieving Spain did the same thing and concentrated on youth. There Ángel María Villar appointed a director to over see this. They first started producing top quality coaches and have the highest number of of UEFA Pro licence coaches. The badge is also very difficult to achieve and many hours are required. The Germans also incresed the quality and number of top coaches. They were then let loose with the clubs.
Spain has an unbelivable system whereby just about every team at every level stick to the plan from RFEF, like the DFB. Then they can have the national team at the top and players can fit in.
Think about it, if one player from the national Spanish team drops out, an identikit comes in. Looking at the strikers, if they lose Villa, Soldado can come in, if he loses form or is injured Torres comes in, if he is hurt Llorante comes in, if not Mata, if not Negredo, if not de Moral or even Pedro. We have Rooney mmm.
What Spain and Germany have in common is ONE governing body that can organise things from top to bottom. We cannot. We have the PL, the FA and the FL all self serving and all interested in themselves, for me the Agenda i was on about in the deleted thread. While we have a 3 headed monster stinking out the place, we will go nowhere and English clubs will buy quality foreign lads.
Even Belgium are on it now. Their squad more or less:
Courtois, Vanden Borre, Kompany, Vertonghen, Alderweireld, Vermaelen, Fellaini, Witsel, Mertens, Defour, Moussa Dembélé, Hazard, Mirallas, Vossen, De Bruyne, Mignolet, Odoi, Derijck, Boyata, El Ghanassy, Lukaku, Ogunjimi. They will do very well over the next 10 years. Even Switzerland are producing better than us. They all have young players that go to the top finals while we have bellends like Fat Sam and Arry insisting that Bolton away is more important than 2 weeks in a serious competion. Its alsp why England players tend to behave like total weapons and are "bored" in their training camps.
Until we have 1 organised body we are knackered.<br /><br />-- Tue Jan 31, 2012 7:38 pm --<br /><br />
BillyShears said:
1.618034 said:
Great post. Things are very different over here in regards to player development...
But still good news for the club and it's many developments if these appointments are made.
Too many people think there's a magic formula at Barca or even Arsenal to producing good players but there isn't, and they aren't producing six world class players per generation. What they are doing is producing technically sound players with the right mental attitude to play competitive football at a high level. This is as much about the value system not just at the club, but of their culture as a whole.
We often overlook the fact that a hell of a lot of good young players from Spain, Italy, etc.
grow up in a world where being an athlete comes before going out on the piss. Makes me think back to Mancini's comments about Barry/AJ last season.
This is also true as a problem in a wider sense.
The countries mentioned as a whole are producing world class players and if one English lad manages to show any form of world class ability, we don´t know what to do with them.
