Quote Originally Posted by MikeSB View Post
And the proof is there for all to see. Kids that do make it would have done so irrespective of any coaching and you know why that is? Because they always did over the last 100 years when there wasn't any. We in fact won the World Cup without even ONE and we have been knocked out in the early rounds with scores and scores of them...

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!




Quote Originally Posted by MikeSB View Post
I even was around to watch it live in 1966....Wow! What a day that was!


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!