Quote Originally Posted by somersetcrewe View Post
So I’m curious, why did Germany do a root-and-branch investigation of their entire structure after we beat them 5-1 in Berlin in 2000? Their whole strategy, from the ground up, was revamped – including coaching the youngsters!!
Didn’t do them any harm did it – current World Champions!!! First European nation to win outside of Europe.

So England won the World Cup without academies – so did Brazil, Italy, Uruguay and the like. But football moves on, times change and the whole approach to the game has been modernised – dieticians, psychologists, physios, all coaches in their own field as well as football coaches themselves. Said it before and I’ll say it again – raw talent alone is not enough. Look at how many England Schoolboys never make it to the pro ranks, even now.

And yes, we haven’t won the World Cup since ’66 – but Brazil, Italy, Germany, France and Argentina all have – and they all have youth policies, academies .............coaches!!
So it must work!

I don’t doubt that for one second!!
The nearest I can get to that is Euro 96 or the Rugby World Cup in 2003 – and both of those certainly got the juices flowing!
yeh , banging me ed against a brick wall...

Millions of pounds going into academies all round the world now....But then I've always seen the Emperor naked..!

Not sure anyone read it a couple of days ago and I could find the link but some local lad that was working at Bentley here in Crewe was playing non league football and he has just been signed by Arsenal. Not been through the academy as far as I know but the plain fact is that coaching is a misnomer and why it confuses me...We have coaches here coming out of our ears and we had two on the touchline and NC being touted as one of the top coaches in the country and yet we couldn't beat the teams that don't have academies and play to crowds of 2000 and grounds falling apart?

Academies and Coaching is a recent well last 30 odd years thingy and nobody who works in them are going to condemn them even Dave Artell!

Maybe Jimmy Greaves was wrong and said they can destroy natural ability because they are teaching by numbers generally by people who have never played the game at a high level. When Spurs signed him way back he asked his manager how he wanted him to play and Bill Nicholson said "look lad we know what you can do and so do you, just go out and enjoy yourself"!

How many players seem to be 'enjoying' themselves today? How many academy players?

I'm not sure the game has moved on from an enjoyment spectacle or the players are more skillfull and yet they play on better pitches and have far better facilities than they ever did. Arguably they are fitter as result but that's about all. But I do wonder how many of the kids could play on the pitches of yesteryear with no grass full of mud and a heavy case ball and some of the football I saw was amazing...

I used to be a Spurs fan as well as a CAFC fan and went to see them when they played up here and the natural abilities of some of that team were phenomenal. One game where Greaves received the ball from midfield and had his back to the goal and he flicked the ball up over his head and over that of the defenders behind him and as the GK came out he slotted the ball past him..

There are as there always was thousands of kids who have natural ability and don't need 'coaching' at all. They just need somewhere to practice and play against some good opposition...and keep fit.

My ed is hurtin again!