Enhancing English football development, just like the Spanish
For football fans, the big summer event of the year is not the Olympics but Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine. Unlike previous tournaments - most notably the World Cup 2010 -expectations for England are not high due to the managerial upheaval the team is currently experiencing. It is also time for the football community in this country to reflect on why England consistently underperforms in comparison to their European counterparts. Spain is now the dominant football team in the world and Holland is also a force to be reckoned with, while Germany, Italy and the France are all undergoing a renaissance.
Learning from Europe
English footballers are no less talented than those from other countries. What is different, though, is the game's organisation and structure and the coaching. England has a lot to learn from the systems adopted in Spain, Holland or Germany. The major difference between the English and the others is that they all have systems that include youth development. The number of coaches in each of these nations is also greater than in England and, most importantly perhaps, there is a unity of purpose between the professional clubs and the national associations.
The Dutch Model
The Dutch system is fully led by the Dutch FA. They have responsibility for every club in the country - both professional and amateur - which means the amateur game is very well financed. Amateur clubs are extremely well equipped, with floodlit pitches with synthetic surfaces, good-quality changing facilities and usually a clubhouse open to the whole community.
In England the FA, the Premier League and Football League argue among themselves with regard to funding and the amateur clubs are often left bereft of adequate funds and have poor facilities.
The Dutch unity of purpose is also found in the coaching. All age groups play 4-3-3, with the key element of any training session being fun. Individuality is encouraged at every level. In addition, professional clubs regularly play amateur clubs in competitive youth football. This means that standards become more uniform throughout all levels of competition.
Coaching
Coaching is surely the key to bringing along new talent. Whereas in Holland and Spain there is a system of play introduced at all levels, in the UK it is very much down to the individual clubs as to what kind of training they give. Unlike the Dutch FA, the English FA offers no philosophy on player development - this is left to the clubs and the individual coaches. This is because the clubs, not the FA, fund their own coaching. This effectively gives the FA no voice in what goes on.
This is not to say that all coaching in the UK is bad. On the contrary, many of the big clubs have excellent youth training schemes but because the coaching reflects the clubs' philosophies rather than a national strategy many people think it is one reason why England are not as successful as other nations.
Things are changing, however. The FA wants the England manager to be involved at every level of competition, not just with the senior team. The FA is also looking at how other national associations work and are studying ways that some of the best elements of these systems can be integrated into English football. The success of Spain and Holland shows how things can change for the better if there is a massive overhaul from the grassroots level up. Maybe it won't be too long before we can enjoy England's success - perhaps in Brazil 2014?