Waddle, the motivation for an independent England football & development review

Listening to Chris Waddle has given me more motivation that we have to take action to save our game. He vented his concerns over the Premier League and the impact. Well, is it right then that its the Premier League also now controlling football development in this country?

He mentioned selection issues like balance, the media and their damming role. He said we don't know how to win football matches. Were not organised and set up correctly with balance of flare players. He said its always the future and never now. I agree with Chris and admire his ability to speak up. So, is the reason he doesn't have a really important football job? Has he not completed the FA Youth module? Maybe like all those in the past that spoke up, Brian Clough etc, he is ignored because hes not a nodding dog hypnotised by the system. But if we don't urgently get someone like Chris Waddle, in his own words "We will never, ever learn". We need to fight for his inclusion in our game now and find a way to make people listen because if we do not address it we will be nowhere in 2016, 2018 and 2012. (In another 10 years, the time frame all the key change makers gave themselves for results), we will realise they were again, wrong. Then we put another ethos and strategy in place for another 10 years? Or do we all stop the self job preservation, the bull and ask ourselves the questions now? not tomorrow, now!

Manifesto for change

I invite Chris and anyone else to start an independent task force / commission, away from the FA, away from the Premier League and away from the clubs. The FA set up its infamous FA Commission but the problem is, its hosted by the FA. What if they are part of the problem?

We should urgently meet to share our experiences bottom up. It should contain key people that have experience in five key areas. This would be the manifesto for change that will get us back to semi-finals, finals and with a trophy back in our hands. We could add to or amend this, but I propose...

1. Grass Roots Football & Schools

• Many good things already happened. Retreat line, team size, removal of leagues etc. Is it working?
• What is the level/standard of the coaches?
• Does the Youth Module work? Are coaches doing it?
• Do they feel important in their roles?
• What is their relationship with clubs and scouts?
• What are the pitches and facilities like? 
• How do they feel about losing players to development centres?
• Is there a social change meaning computer gaming etc has a negative impact?
• What are the other challenge/concerns?

2. Recruitment & Talent ID including the development pathway & development centre's

• What is the relationship like with local clubs and the pro clubs they interface with?
• Are there too many players in the 'trawler net' playing wooden unrealistic football?
• What affect does development centres have on grass roots clubs?
• Should more kids be playing grass roots and school games? Or other sports?
• How are we identifying talent? 
• Are we filling our elite academies with the right balance of player?
• Does discrimination take place in recruitment? 
• Are players recruited to suit scouts bonus/reports over ability?

3. Academy football. Experience of EPPP Implementation & the impact 8-16 years. 

• Standard of coaching, what is the experience of coaches at all levels?
• What is the impact of EPPP, is it working? 
• What is the affect on all levels? Looking at 1-4 level clubs?
• Are we placing too much pressure on the players with time & travel commitments?
• Do players enjoy academy football? Have many left because they don't?
• Can coaches afford to work in youth elite football?
• How is EPPP funds spent? What is the distribution including salaries?
• Is EPPP aligning to school learning methods working? 
• Does regular player reporting with parent meetings like education work?
• Are we taking full responsibility for implications of taking children out of school?
• With such poor successful percentage of players making pro, are we right to knowingly detrimentally affect their education? What can be done to change this?
• What sort of player will EPPP ultimately produce?
• What changes can we add to EPPP to make it a better place for all and improve our players chances?

4. Scholar to Pro phase.

• Does the current structure work? 
• What is standard of coaching in this phase?
• Are players learning game management, ways to win and how to win?
• If league 3 is not the answer, what is? Or is it?
• Does the loan system work or should it be exploited more?
• Should players be playing at competitive level sooner?
• Does the international structure work to prepare full internationals?
• Does EPPP make our players tough enough, or give them excuses for under achievement & performance?
• Would a return to competitive reserve football work?
• What would be the ideal pathway for success for England? 

5. England. 

• Does the selection process work?
• Who is coaching the younger players U16 upwards? Are those players preparing for reality of a world tournament?
• What do the younger age group players think of the coaching and development?
• Who is identifying the younger talent for England? What is the criteria?
• What affect does the media have on an England campaign?
• What can be done to the Premier League to enable its international appeal but still protect the country it resides in?
• How to win a tournament again, NOW & in the future.

Who can join? Anyone should be able to request to join but they must have key experience in at least one of the five areas. They may also be working in the environments but are concerned about what's happening
Who cannot join?
Anyone in the media, the FA or the Premier League. I have been inviting them for discussions for many months and they didn't want to talk. Now this should be independent of their input and influence in the 1st phase.

The process would look something like:-

Phase 1 - Election
We should meet to elect in a strategy for change board based on their experience. This could contain 10 members with all areas covered as much as possible. I would put myself forward to be elected based on long open concerns and sacrificing my job over them. I have key experience in area's 1,2 & 3.
We should elect a vice and chairman. I would nominate Chris Waddle as chairman.

Phase 2 - Discussion "Warts en all"
Lets get all the issues on the table. This should be frank, honest and open. No more cover ups. As part of this we would carry out research days where we would gather information from outside people. Players, parents, coaches, staff. Everyone should feel they have a voice and could also choose to remain anonymous if they fear their job. Then we would decide what the real key ones are that need to be addressed. Each of the 5 areas should be covered separately but then linked up for obvious reasons.

Phase 3 - Solutions
We should draught a document and then present it to the FA. At this point the media should be included and everything should be in the open. We would like to meet the FA key member's to openly present and discuss them and see what realistic components can be implemented. Before its too late.

We would require an organisation to fund this process in terms of costs and logistics. Perhaps we could have some offers from one that is equally concerned about our game. However, I strongly feel it should actually be funded by the FA. Would they be brave enough to actually fund the action group to uncover the true feelings of its own football community? Many changes have already happened and Ive said before, much of EPPP is very good. But there are rotten core issues that need addressing. I feel alienated by the FA for having the balls to say what I thought was wrong. But as Greg Dyke said to the FA, "Its time for FIFA to stop attacking the messenger and instead consider and understand the message.”

Tony McCool
@antmccool7

The FA B Team Proposal - Like our football, Sideways and Backwards

Well a bit of me wants to pat Greg Dyke on the back. Because typically over the years football worldwide has been run by dinosaurs who never want to move with the times, so well done to him for being brave. However, I just think he needs to re-think his proposal and the way he promotes it. Because when he said that he had spoken to the football community being Rio Ferdinand and John Terry... well, I don't think that's a big community. Also, when we have issues about moving forward. We seem to go sideways (abroad) and backwards (in time) for answers.

I've always said how frustrated I am with the FA always harping on about Spain and Barcelona, then before we knew it they handed youth development over to the Premier League who put a plan in place to manufacture 20 Lionel Messi a season but for me have overlooked the 3000 + professional opportunities across the country for those youngsters. EPPP also enables the 'big' clubs to grab the talent with little or no resistance from the 'smaller' club. I get why, but already we see the shift of 'Premier League' controlling football. Is it the 80/20 rule? They have 20% of the clubs but 80% of the money? Money talks.

Football has evolved and I've long said that we are the victim of our own success. We have the best league in the world but with that comes foreign money, foreign owners and foreign players. So you cant have the best of both worlds. Some of our level 1 academies are not producing players for the first team. Why would the manager take the risk when he can simply bust the bank and bring in an international footballer?

But it worked in the past...
Ok, so I've been to many U21 games and I totally get the problem, games on a snooker table in from of 30 people, parents and scouts and 2 dedicated fans. False scenarios in too structured environments meaning the games look like training or pre-season friendlies. I also yesterday heard Arsene Wenger and he made an excellent point. He said we have long had it the wrong way round in this country. Too much competition at 8 upwards and not enough practice, then not enough competition from 18-21, I agree, so I totally get that problem. But to go to B teams for the premier league? What about the other great academies that are not in the premier league? Where do they go? What about the clubs that get relegated? Where do they go? 'B' teams in the 'past' was for ALL clubs. I remember, I was at plenty of them, typically played at non league grounds, but they were quite competitive because there was a league and players wanted to progress to 1st team. However, now I simply cannot see the superstars turning out for this so its left to the young pro's and youth team. But this is not attractive to the level they are playing. Arsenal sent effectively there '21' team to Luton Town this year and got beat 7-0. They looked like an academy team, trying technical things but no game understanding and management. Perhaps that actually re-enforces the argument? But there were no fans, Luton easily have 7-8k but this game had around 1.5k and fewer arsenal fans than occupy my local pub. So in my opinion what this does is simply devalue that competition and that can only be at the detriment of the smaller clubs revenue.
Its like saying, you have to take part in this farce because were bigger than you, were premier league. Well I don't believe the countries fans will tolerate that and if the FA dont value smaller clubs what would they do if all the countries fans outside the Premier League boycotted the FA Cup for one season?
Also, if the 'b' league was so great in the past. Why have so many top players gone on from 'b' team to be sent on loan to sample 'real' football before the 1st team. Plus why in the past did the 'big' clubs go to the 'smaller' clubs to buy their players? Was it because they were shining in 1st teams whilst there own 'kids' were struggling in 'b' teams?
I actually would suggest that these clubs have forgotten how talented our whole country is. Party because the foreign managers and owners have never heard of maybe 50% of them and presume its like there own country that has barely two top level leagues. Half way down the top league being nothing like as strong as the championship. That's why they don't look and realise our talent pool is there, playing in front of crowds at a superb level but there never given the chance. How can a player playing in tier 3/4/5 be capable of stepping up? We will never know.

ENGLAND LOWER LEAGUE TEAM
But ive got a suggestion to try and prove my point. What would happen if a selector (lets say a current ex manager that knows all the lower leagues and the players. Lets say MICK HARFORD. As a test, let the big man pick a new ENGLAND LL (Lower League) team (I know we have England 'C') not that, I mean a team of English players currently playing Championship, League 1, League 2 and Conference teams. After all, Greg Dyke said yesterday, Championship is simply not at the required level. So, pick a squad and let that squad play against another 'ENGLAND DEVELOPMENT TEAM' That team should be made up of all current 'England B' players or any Premier League listed player that hasn't had a full cap. Maybe been playing 21s etc and played for England U21's downwards. I think we would see an interesting game. One team playing current 21s style, technical game. But one with a huge amount of experience, game management, organisation, knowledge, winning mentality and most of all HUNGER. I think the LL team would be brilliant and not only that, they would give the 1st team a run for there money. My point being, there is talent and the answer is not to simply to devalue its competition, more, identify that talent and embrace it.
Im not saying the LL would be technically good enough long term either, but we jump from subject view constantly here. One minute were not technically good enough, then were not competitive enough. One minute chelsea are great at game management, then there dull. Pepe Guardiola is great, loses one game, hes gone. Ultimate football is the way, pass pass pass its great, then. Its passing without a purpose, going nowhere. We just don't know what we are or what we believe in! Its like a failing business clutching at straws.

ABROAD
This subject is a non starter for me and I cannot fathom people saying well it works in Spain and Belgium etc. These countries do not have anything like the scale and structure of our professional football system. They have nothing like the amount of professional footballers and recognisable football clubs. Look at the clubs we had competing in League 1 last year? Teams getting 20-30k crowds. Look at the great clubs in the championship and the infrastructure they have, this is on a non competing scale. I would suggest that if they could boast over 100 professional football clubs then they would likely not need there 'B' leagues. They would simply send there top players lower down on loan and ensure the best players come the other way with the experience. I've travelled across western Europe and met many people in the professional game across Germany, Holland and Belgium and it is those guys I met that were in admiration of US, not the other way round! Obviously not of the national team, that's our own making, but the scale and structure of the leagues is phenomenal.

There lies the problem. WE cant see what is great right in front of  our eyes, always looking for the solution somewhere else when all the time it was right in front of us. We have something other countries CANNOT compete with, but instead our downfall is chasing what they have in place to cope with what they DON'T have. We are not Spain, Belgium, France, Brazil, Germany. We are ENGLAND and no-one can compete with the structure we have.

The Solution
I admire Greg Dyke, he's right, we have a problem in volume of players playing top flight and even England players not playing abroad either, let me tell you, I've met clubs in the Eredivisie and the salaries are nothing close, on the whole to even League 1. So why would they go abroad? So, well done chap for trying, but you could go the other way and completely break up our whole structure and competition levels which would set us back in history to an unthinkable level. There is more simple solutions to consider. Like change the rules of % English players in the premier league. Which your doing and is risky because this financial animal of a product is so popular because the worlds stars play in it. But secondly, If you go to 'b' teams, have a 'b' league for ALL that protects everyone and gets you competition, don't muddle the two though because if you do, you lose the value of the product further down. Lastly, Set up feeder clubs, that can be an arrangement between them. For example. If im Luton Town (baring in mind that they will see themselves coming back to somewhere near top level like so many clubs that have fallen down the leagues). But in the short term, it is what it is, League 2.. Well, their partner club this season is Spurs, well that means, for this season. Spurs get 1st refusal on any academy player or merging 1st team player in the system under the eppp & FL guidelines of payment, provided, that during that season they have placed at least 3 (just a suggestion) full professional players on-loan at Luton and they should be of a standard whereby Luton feel the need to put them in the 1st team, meaning they have played lets say, at least accumulative 50 games that season. Now, suddenly, I think fans are happy, the standard doesn't change, maybe improves, Luton are happy and spurs should be double happy. They get key talent gaining valuable experience in a REAL environment, whilst cherry picking any future talent from Luton's great system (but they have to pay the guided price) Just to make that clear.

So, I don't like to pick holes and be against change without coming up with an answer, that's mine. If i was in charge I would put that to VOTE at EVERY pro club and all the players, coaches, managers, directors, everybody! Not cherry pick a committee and go with that.

Please reconsider...