Premier League announce academy reform

[CarlWilkinson]

I coach an Under 8's (9's this coming season) team in the Salford league and last year was our first year so we were in the third division. Apart from being the lower quality teams, these teams all had, on average, smaller players. Towards the end of the season we started playing teams from the first division (because it's non-competetive it didn't interfere) to see how we did against them. The first thing we noticed upon playing these is that most of the lads/girls are all bigger than those we were used to playing. This leads to the next point.

We've got two small players* that are technically the best on the team, but because of the size increase in the players we are playing now, they aren't able to use their technical ability because they're going to get pushed/stopped by the physical presence of the opposition.

Alot of people say "get stuck in" etc to people in this situation but when you're 7-8 years old and you see a big lad coming towards you natural instinct doesn't tell you to run in his path. Until this changes, the technically gifted/but smaller players are going to suffer and they aren't gaining confidence while this is happening.

*One of said players is part of the Elite team at City. He is a United fan (also trains with United) but says he enjoys City more and his Mum said she wouldn't think about leaving City for United. - Not the be all and end all I know, but if the player isn't enjoying it, they are never going to make it anyway.

 

[msl]

About time too!

Why is it that we are breeding an unhealthly minority of kids who think that success will come easy?

The key to success is youth development. It's no co-incidence that our top swimmers / athletes / etc train ridiculous hours from a very young age and are able to achieve outstanding results. Surely this mentality needs to tranlate to our national sport! If English football wants to be able to brag about inventing the game, exporting it around the world, playing at the home of football and having the best league in the world, then its about time our youngsters were brought up in the same vein as those on the continent.

If the FA can get off their arses and implement the new scheme, using the likes of Barcelona and Ajax as the blueprint for youth development (N.B. These two academies produced 18 players between them in the squads for the 2010 world cup finalists...again, no co-incidence) then England may produce more than 1 'world class' player per generation.

It becomes apparent when our world cup failures were labelled 'The Golden Generation' in some circles, but realistically how many of the England squad of 2010 would have made the Spain squad? - a team where the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Jesus Navas and our new messiah David Silva, can't even make the staring 11. Mikel Arteta can't even make the squad!!! Compare this to some of our players who just missed the cut - Bobby F'ing Zamora FFS!!!

Make the kids work for their success, the rewards are certainly worth it...it might make them appreciate what the have just that little bit more, hopfully eradicating the Ashley Cole style of Englisg footballer