England's problem

[Cellarite]

Simple really, the FA is Englands problem. Instead of putting the money required in for Coaches, equipment and training centers across the country they fuck about spending money on Wembley and worrying about Sponsorship deals. When you have as few a coaches as the UK does and have kids being coached by dads just wanting to win, playing 11 v 11 on full size pitches and getting changed in shitty little huts. In comparison to what other countries have put in place, England has no chance.

I believe Sky are running a campaign highlighting how much money has been cut from the grass roots game. At first, when I saw it a couple of months ago(when the Chancellor announced the Budget), I thought they just wanted attention. They ran the report, again, just prior to the World Cup.

Then, last week, I saw that the Gov are accusing schools of not providing enough in terms of sports!!

LOL!!

You can't cut school sports and public sporting access and expect success.

This austerity drive is also setting the country back beyond any recovery, sports-wise.

Crowing about the London Games and the country not benefiting at grass roots level is madness. This country will be 'winner' free inside 10 years.

I also heard or read somewhere last week that the FA-run UEFA coaching courses are much more difficult to get on in England (and much, much more expensive) than the identical courses run by the FAs of mainland Europe. It seems that our entire system is absolutely knackered from top to bottom.

I coach an Under 7's team (in September they'll be under 8's).

The club received a letter saying that if all the coaches didn't go on a course, we'd lose our charter standard (basically wouldn't be an FA recognised club and therefore kicked out of the league).

We had to pay £160 per coach to go on the course which ran Saturday 9:30 - 16:30, Sunday 9:30 - 16:30, Tuesday 18:00 - 21:30, Wednesday 18:00 - 21:30 and Saturday 9:30 - 16:30.

Obviously, as a father of three and in full time work, this needs a lot of organising. The rest of the club's coaches went on 1 and I had to go to the next course. I paid my money in advance and my name was on the list. there were 20 places available. On the Friday 18 were taken. Then, 3 more people applied for the course.

I arrived about 15 minutes late due to being wrongly informed of the venue. I apologised and explained myself. The two blokes looked horrified and said they had no files left (huge folders with all the packs, coaching books, dvds and exercises). I asked if my name was on the register, they said yes, I said in that case, where is the folder that everyone else has got?

They said it "might" arrive during the afternoon of the first day but they couldn't be certain. I could catch up filling my file on the Saturday night.

I told them that as a trained trainer, I didn't feel they were providing an inclusive learning environment. The two fuckwits looked baffled and I walked out saying that I would come to the next course available and hopefully they'd have a file for me.

I think the FA are paying lip service to providing a larger number of coaches. It's a tick box exercise for them just so the statistics look good. They try their upmost to take the pleasure of running a team away because they've got ridiculous rules and no-one will use common sense to make a judgement on things when you approach them.

 

[1961_vintage]

Familiarity breeds contempt.

 

[citymad]

No coincidence that the players who sing their national anthem with vigor and passion have performed well. Have love for the badge and what it stands for and the performance will take care of itself.

That's just typical English bollocks that mate.

Of course we have other major issues to get right but I think you missed the point pal. The game can be lost before you set foot on the field if you don't have the right mindset.

 

[quiet_riot]

Redknapp is claiming when he was Spurs boss, players would ask him to get them out of playing for England.

I suspect he is WUMming, just for airtime, he's that kind of twat, but if it is true, who could it be?


Defoe? Crouch? Walker? Lennon? Can't think of many more Spuds who are regularly in the frame.

 

[blackley macca]

Redknapp is claiming when he was Spurs boss, players would ask him to get them out of playing for England.

I suspect he is WUMming, just for airtime, he's that kind of twat, but if it is true, who could it be?


Defoe? Crouch? Walker? Lennon? Can't think of many more Spuds who are regularly in the frame.

David Bentley will be one of them.

 

[blueinsa]

Just seen on Sky that Lampard captains the side on Tuesday instead of Gerrard.

If there was still anyone out there that was struggling to see what is so wrong with England as a set up then this decision surely shows them!

The FA and Roy are fucking stupid!

 

[sir baconface]

The problem is that too few of "Team England" have read / seen Waiting for Godot or Groundhog Day.

I predict the following:

1. England stagger through group by skin of their teeth and qualify for France 2016
2. Everyone agrees that qualification is the most important thing (which it is).
3. Pundits and journalists begin to talk earnestly about a "new generation" of players
4. World Champions France and Daft Punk release "Le Football est rentre chez nous" - produced by Nile Rodgers - eclipsing the pitiful England offering
5. Raggedy flags of St George appear on white vans, pubs and houses
6. Panini stickers on sale in Costcutters
7. Lazy articles in the press abound about snails, frogs' legs and the can-can. Also the brilliant French team of the 80s - Tigana, Six, Rocheteau, Platini, etc. (Seriously, it was quality)
8. Large numbers of people who otherwise take no interest in football talk knowledgeably (or ignorantly - take your pick) about Shaw, Barkley, Sterling, Lallana (in fact the entire Southampton team) as the new "golden" generation
9. Equally large numbers of people attach huge significance to the fact that England are unfancied. (Why...?)...
10. BBC3 shows updated version of the "worst ever England XI". Carlton Palmer makes the cut. This time Glen Johnson sneaks in.
11. Home friendly arranged against Hungary
12. Away friendly arranged against the mighty Luxembourg. Remember - there are no gimmes these days in international football
13. England perform in pedestrian style in the above. Manager declares himself pleased with the positives
14. Talisman player picks up injury - Beckham, Rooney, Barry, Oxlade-C. This time it's Raheem Sterling's haircut
15. Radio 5 interrogates eminent Oxford professor of surgery to comment on recovery period for (delete as appropriate) metatarsal/knee ligament/hair weave/psychological trauma
16. Scare stories in the tabloids about hooligan fears. Mass handing in of passports across the country
17. Media becomes increasingly hysterical - anything less than the semi-final will be a disaster
18. Geoff Hurst says he "has a feeling" this is England's year. It is, after all, our turn
19. So does Steven Gerrard - by this time he is player-manager of Tranmere Rovers
20. Players and management say this is the "best prepared" team they have been involved with. Spirit in the camp has never been better
21. Opening game ends in disappointment, with at least one one defensive howler and scuffing of good chances
22. Pundits take the positives from the game. We can still qualify
23. Small cabal of senior players stage revolt, and pitch up at manager's hotel room at midnight on the day before crunch game. "Play us in our favourite positions - or else". Meanwhile the same senior players deny the revolt in the tabloids.
24. England stumble through group stage. (Or possibly not)
25. England humiliated by first half decent team they meet in knockout stage - quite possibly a team on a fraction of their wages
26. Blame apportioned to (delete as appropriate) - being too tired at the end of a PL season/ball too light/ball too heavy/heat/humidity/altitude/internal travel/inferior accommodation/presence of WAGs/absence of WAGs/ boredom/opposition's "technical" superiority/refereeing incompetence/German goal-line technology/too many foreigners in PL/players' use of social networking/anti-capitalism riots/etc. Or just the fact that the opposition are simply too foreign
27. Blame never apportioned to lack of skill, ability to pass and move into space or tendency to lose concentration
28. Low level reprisals taken across the country with minor vandalism of (delete as appropriate) Pret a Manger/BMWs/pizza restaurants/Albanian Consulate
29. "Team England" attempt to fly into Stansted unnoticed at 3.00 am.
30. Team England ambushed by press in Stansted arrivals lounge at 3.10 am.
31. Team England lynched and disembowelled on the front and back pages
32. Much hand-wringing, followed by root and branch review of tactics/coaching/youth development/grass roots game
33. Manager replaced and incumbent - let's assume it's Roy (and his successors in 2018/2020/2022) - takes job in Sunderland/Saudi Arabia/Switzerland
34. When the dust settles, the new manager and the FA declare that this was a tournament too early for the new golden generation - we are told to wait for 2018/2020/2022
35. Players' ghosted autobiographies released at Christmas and relate detailed accounts of the revolt described above
36. Repeat every two years.

It's the gift that keeps giving..!

Very good, mate. Like you, I'm already salivating in anticipation.

 

[penguins4kompany]

Just seen on Sky that Lampard captains the side on Tuesday instead of Gerrard.

If there was still anyone out there that was struggling to see what is so wrong with England as a set up then this decision surely shows them!

The FA and Roy are fucking stupid!

What's so wrong? Lampard's vice captain, you knew that didn't you..?
Roy'll likely give everyone a game who hasnt started one yet, to an extent, and so he should- there's nothing riding on it.

 

[blueinsa]

Just seen on Sky that Lampard captains the side on Tuesday instead of Gerrard.

If there was still anyone out there that was struggling to see what is so wrong with England as a set up then this decision surely shows them!

The FA and Roy are fucking stupid!

What's so wrong? Lampard's vice captain, you knew that didn't you..?
Roy'll likely give everyone a game who hasnt started one yet, to an extent, and so he should- there's nothing riding on it.

Whats wrong is he shouldn't be anywhere near the fucking team.

He is finished as an international player and he is not the future.

Why the fuck play him?

 

[penguins4kompany]

That's your opinion, but Gerrard's had 2 opportunities this world cup to show he's not finished at this level and failed miserably to be fair.