Quote Originally Posted by Timmy58 View Post
It really is tedious isn't it. Apparently we won the world cup without any coaching. Football is no different from any other sport, like cricket, tennis or golf. Or, dare I say badminton. Coaching at all levels of all sports improves the abilities of naturally gifted players and those not so gifted, it helps them make the most of their limited abilities. We can vocalise about the fortunes of our football team but I am pretty confident that we would be lagging behind if we didn't engage coaches to work with players at all levels. But there is no use knocking when the house is empty.
If you really knew that I left school at 15 and then by night school and other studies achieved a B.Sc. in Engineering and then becoming a Chartered Engineer and member of a senior engineering institution after obtaining that qualification which was essential afetr getting an HNC and C&G and then becoming a senior manager you would not say anything iike that. From a home of twelve kids, half illiterate, no books and parents not interested at all, all done by me via personal dedication to self achievement it would make your head spin. One of the reasons I stop posting here is the personal insults I got but sod that. I will reply in kind.

To me its not tedious because I played football from I don't know aged 5 to 26 and never had a lesson in my life but got better with age. I played golf for 50 years to a single figure handicap and bought a few books on various techniques of playing golf but again didn't need any human being to progress. I played football and golf with loads of ol players with almost all of them never having had a lesson and some were scratch golfers and many decent footballers too. I would say a lot better than I see on a Saturday afternoon. Why so? Because of natural ability. People improve with age up to a certain age and then physical fitness takes its toll. The school teacher here confused learning lets say maths with a football lesson....no, it doesn't work like that. Football is instinctive, babies can play it, but can they study algebra and calculus? Maybe one or two can... Academic subjects needs study, football doesn't. You learn the latter by just doing it and getting better with age, practice and competition Yes you can see how others tackle or take a free kick or head a ball but you certainly don't need a million pound academy for mostly amateurs to tell you how. Most of our coaches/managers never played this game at a high level and so try and teach by a stupid coaching manual.

You can argue with me but not with one of the greatest footballers that ever lived ie Jimmy Greaves that said coaching diminishes natural ability and why there wasn't any for most of the last 100 years and now some/most people think academies and coaching is essential. You really cannot have three coaches on the sidelines shouting instructiions to players. It only confuses them. The best players of all sports bever had a lesson and Garry Player said when a coach can play better than him, he will take some notice. Its age, practice and competition that improves ability not coaching. But if most fans as appears have never played this game, then they wlll never know the diference and assume academies teach this game. No it doesn't and never will. We got promotion in the 60's without academies and we got promoted with them and so what? It was always the ability of the players that achieved or not achieved and always will be the case...I see Spain was knocked out the world cup today by a second rate team and all that coaching etc....

Posters here need to debate what they really don't understand...one liners like Zzzzzz. prove ignorance impatience and nothing else... IMO of course...