Schools out and Back in the dugout

Well it’s been quite some time since I have been able to sit down and type some thoughts. Its been an incredible year with Fiitball all over the UK again and as I sift through the incredible feedback from the teachers and pupils I’m left shocked but proud that I was part of making so many children happy and getting them willingly running around.

As I finished this last week of schools I was asked to cover Fiitball with some younger children, YR1 and reception and it was great to add the reduced version of the game and with differentiation to achieve some really positive outcomes. My favourite comment and reminder of what expectations to set came when I asked a few how long they had been coming to school. One little boy said “7 years”. “Ok cool, and how old are you”? “Im five” he said.

2Touch football is ploughing ahead with its free subs football club. We desperately want to field 5 teams from u7 to U11 and are recruiting as we speak. But the kit is ordered, some funds are in place and we have a pitch. Much of this work has been done by Graham Cowley. He is truly one of them genuine great community guys and added to that he’s a good open minded coach and we need more of him.  If you have a child that’s wants to play, please get in touch. Also, if you have some spare cash and would like to sponsor us to help keep this free, please drop us a line info@2touchfootball.co.uk

Dunstable Town FC

So we started this project in the middle of June. To put things in perspective, we had no players. We recruited quickly and circumstances meant that players would be coming here for reasons other than money. At this level that makes it very tough. But they know we would give them good coaching and try to give them the tools to make them the best they can be. We had to relabel the club. Know what we are and where we are. Were a pathway club. A club where we have a great platform to showcase what you can do. As it transpired loads of young guys turned up and we had to cut that number down quickly which of course is never nice.

By the time we showed up with a squad to play well established Marlow Town we had been together a few weeks and never played as a team. The game proved we had chosen a really good hungry bunch of young men as they took the lead quickly followed by a quick reminder that younger inexperienced lads easily switch off as they conceded at the other end in that classic window of risk.

Skysports came to play us a real show of support and we mixed it with a cardio vascular work out for players not playing to try and create some fatigue although the sky lads weren’t convinced we worked them hard enough. Actually the Skysports lads were excellent. Of course there was a difference in overall fitness but they didn’t disgrace themselves one bit and we also managed to get the lads on the pitch for only their second game ever.

Hendon were next up and as we walked in with the mixed footballs and casual clothes as we await delivery of our new training and coaches kit, Hendon looked every bit the part. They have a number of staff and clearly everything is established and in place there. But I believe in these young players. I’m confident they will be ok and can win games and step up. I was delighted with the way they went about their business against a proper good outfit in Hendon. This was a real test of what is to come and an example of why the fans need to really support these young guys because they proved they can not only defend stoutly in games but create countless chances and caused them a lot of problems. In the second half we did concede more possession and the changes perhaps showed greater strength in depth for Hendon. But the fact that we had carved out several decent chances and maybe should have had a penalty it was a really good run out again as we continue with the learning. This was Hendons 4^th competitive friendly. Marlow had already had 4 friendlies. This was the second ‘competitive’ game of our lives, for a young team. All things considered then, it makes for an exciting future. We’ve got good balance, strong defenders, an excellent goal keeper, pace and power and players that can terrify defenders. 5 weeks ago we didn’t even have a football!

If your local, please come and watch us!

Tony McCool

@antmccool7

Ban the competition. The FA's answer to Englands World Cup dream

Greg Dykes answer to players coming through academies only to be released and managers not picking them, is to ban the ‘competition’. I.e. ban the foreign players. When questioned on BBC Radio 4 on the 24^th March 2015 he was rightly asked “Isn’t the control with the clubs who benefiting from the new Premier League TV windfall will simply go on to buy the world’s best players in order to compete?” Thus increasing the quality of the product on the pitch, thus increasing the audience base, thus increasing the TV revenue and so the cycle continues. Can’t the FA see this? Actually, why can’t the FA embrace this instead of attacking it?

How will England be better footballers if we simply ban better players? We can’t pretend these players don’t exist. The FA should be the organisation starting at the very foundation of the game that helps to increase player’s capabilities and opportunities. Would it not be far better to produce players that academies ‘don’t’ release? If they were good enough for the first team and signed for free (baring the development cost) would they release them and buy a foreigner? The difference would then be that we have a player in the 1^st team that can genuinely compete in the 1^st team which already contains the world’s best players. Then and only then can we expect to see an England team competing for a world cup. Can people not see that? Are England players banned from playing in Germany, Argentina, Netherlands or Brazil? Could it be that they simply are not good enough?

Would Andy Murray win Wimbledon if we banned Djokovic, Federer and Nadal? Would he win anything else?

The FA is really in a dangerous position here. One which is so critical for our futures and could leave us scratching our heads again in ten years’ time. If they can’t hear what they are proposing we are destined for failure. They have to accept now that they simply cannot take on the might of the Premier League. Money talks, times have changed. Academy football is now affectively ran by the Premier League with its EPPP system. Overall, facilities and quality of staff has mostly improved because money talks. But the FA has an over whelming overall goal. A winning / competing England team. Well we have the answer here and no other country has that. No other country has got the benefit of having the world’s majority of best players in its top league. So here’s the challenge now. I have to get my English players, into those teams. The chairman and managers will not ignore them. Why would they? Why then would Manchester City just built a brand new training ground to include its Academy? The FA are attacking foreign owners, managers and players, yet that’s the biggest message from one of the world’s richest saying, “There you go English players, here is a world class facility for your young talent to come and thrive” What does the FA do in return? Threaten to ban its ability to buy the world’s best. Which if happened, reduces the quality of the product on the pitch and then will water down the interest, then the investment will reduce and the opportunity will pass. Overall though let’s be honest, like the League 3 idea, why can’t the FA concentrate on topics it has a realistic chance of changing.

Greg Dykes other solution is the 3G pitch strategy. The idea of giving young people better sporting facilities is of course welcomed. But here is the problem. What about the people that can’t afford to use them? Across England local authority budget cuts have resulted in local playing fields being left in awful unplayable states. So the answer then is the gleaming new 3G pitch. There is one on the council estate where I grew up. 100 yards from my old house. It’s absolutely amazing. But, I have driven past around fifty times to find it bolted and empty, on a Sunday afternoon. Why? Because it cost a minimum of £35 per hour to use it. But there is a big Lottery and Sport England logo outside, this is a sport legacy from the Olympics, so why is it empty? To reduce my possible answers I drive 30 seconds to the large open playing fields where I see a number of pockets of young people trying to play football on an overgrown cow field. So how is that great for development? It has simply become a non-negotiable commercial enterprise. I even approached them and asked If I together with two ex-international footballers could use the facility as we wanted to get some young people off the street to play football. We were not afforded £0.01p discount. I paid in full for three sessions and we put on class coaching and games for 16 year old lads who turned up in droves. This was FREE for them.

I remember someone saying to me that it was well over £10,000 a year to send their child to an elite tennis centre and I remember thinking, wow, no wonder we can’t win Wimbledon. What if on floor 35 flat 120 in the high rise there is an English tennis superstar? But we will never know because she will never get the opportunity? Well football is heading down the same road. It’s becoming a pay to play culture and soon (even now) if you don’t have money you can’t take part. That will only see a decline in the talent further down the line. Football never was a middle class game. It was a game on the street where children put themselves in the mind of their hero. The houses were terraces and obstacles were defenders. Society has stopped football in the street as unacceptable risk and a nuisance. We have put signs up on every grass verge saying ‘No Football’. So they are forced to the uncut field where it’s impossible for the ball to roll. But thanks to the understanding FA. We have an answer, the glowing new 3G pitch. But it’s locked and mum hasn’t got money for food let alone football, so that’s that then. Ill juggle the ball in my bedroom. It’s like the field mouse that ends up in our house. We remove her habitat, we build house on her land, so she seeks shelter in ours only for us to trap it and kill it.

Typically over all the years of football, the best players have arrived on the scene having come from difficult backgrounds. Does that create more hunger and intrinsic desire to change your family’s life? But equally players are around that have very stable backgrounds. So, the point is, we just don’t know from what community and what background the next great player will be hiding. But for sure we certainly need to ensure we look under every stone and give everybody equal opportunity. If we create a pay to play culture this could eliminate so many people so we have to find a way.

Actually in my experience schools already do so much for sport and the Primary Sport Partnership clearly supports inclusion and participation. This is great for English sport not just football. Perhaps the answer lies there. Some of these primary schools already do great work in identifying talent. I work in one primary school and an 9 year old showed amazing talent. On quick investigation this child had not played in any organised games or clubs. Partly due to finance. Together with the school we worked to find a solution and I proudly went to watch him recently in his full kit in a game where he was breath-taking. So, could schools play a bigger role? Something also suggested by great blog writer: @The_W_Address

My idea would be that children whom teachers or coaches feel show excellence within the four corner model could be awarded FA football tokens. Then on these new 3G pitches there is organised FA (not club) led coaching & player development that means players from any background and any wealth have an equal chance of being spotted. Not just because they can afford to play. Or because they are paying for a privilege to be in a professional clubs development centres.

Overall if you want to make England better:-

·         Embrace the Premier League don’t fight it. Embrace the competition. But use them, find out what they did to get there and act on it

·         Evolve our game. Review EPPP and make it better. Investigate if it really contains the best coaches, the effects of player reports and hours and strain on players families

·         Improve the standard of recruited players. Maybe the FA to have its own “Elite Development Centre” That’s FREE and clubs can come along under certain guidelines to recruit

·         Work better to improve inclusive access to new sporting facilities. Increase participation and don’t ever let money be a reason for not benefiting from what essentially belongs to the football community in the 1^st place

·         For Nick Levett’s work to be further enforced and improved even further for grass roots clubs

 

Equation:

Equal opportunities = Increased participation = Increased competition

+ Improved coaching + improved facilities + improved science

= Players that get into Premier League 1^st team (on merit) / Better England Players

= World Cup?

 

@antmccool7

 

The Football Factory

When you see an Aston Martin you see years of careful engineering tweaked time and time again from its initial creative design to the finished product in the showroom. The designers know what they want to achieve and the teams of engineers put it together. Eventually they have a product that as well as looking great has great performance and reliability. It’s fast, strong, agile, stable and most of all desirable. The biggest feature of all is that the template can then be repeated using a factory to assemble multiple versions for sale. So what has this got to do with football?

Can clubs make footballers like Aston Martin make cars?

In many ways I think of football development being perceived to be the same process. Many of us in professional football would have you believe that once in an ‘elite’ football academy you are automatically in that Aston Martin garage with an inevitable end product being the gleaming new Premier League footballer.  This way of thinking for youth players can be dangerous on a number of levels not least the subsequent effects on the players and even perhaps football on a wider scale.

I watched Lionel Messi against Manchester City in ore like everyone did and I debated with a former pro how to deal with him. If you go tight he nutmegs you, if you stand off he kills you with a pass, if you bring him down you get sent off. He must be as close as there has ever been to the ultimate un-defendable footballer. So who and how was this genius created? We have all took part in that debate and it now seems that some clubs and coaches are trying to ‘manufacture’ this player. You see, I do not believe this player would have been poor had he not been at the famous FC Barcelona. They simply gave him the stage and protection needed to develop. It’s that age old nature v nurture debate and many professional coaches will argue in favour of nurture. Coaches are the engineers for sure. They put the designer’s ideas together and carry out the work on the factory floor. But can you really guarantee rolling out top world class level footballers with a set formula? Of course, we as coaches play an absolute key part in that development, but that’s not the crucial part. Actually, many would argue the more crucial part is recruitment. The starting point has to be amazing talent.  You have to see something surely? If not then why do horse owners spend millions on thoroughbred horses? They too have amazing high tech training facilities. So can they not just get any horse and make it a race winner? I have a Labrador dog and I’m pretty certain that if I sent him to a greyhound training track for 2 years as a pup he still would not win many races.

 There is no guarantee with human beings and football. Unfortunately once in the academy ‘factory’ many parents get caught up in the hype and believe that the Aston Martin is now on order. It’s an inevitable path that produces the Premier League product. Only to find that in the end it might be a Vauxhall Astra that rolls out the door. Nothing wrong with that but it’s not what you ordered. In some cases it might even be a broken car that no one wants. Then what? Football development is not a proven science. We get it wrong time and time again. The answer is, we just don’t know what we will see when we roll the shutters up. That is why I am so passionate about parents not getting carried away and jumping in to agree with taking their child out of school. Actually, a previous study I carried out proved that you are 40 times more likely to be a doctor than a footballer. Yet when I asked a groups of parents “Do you think your son could be a footballer”? Nearly all hands went up yet when I asked them if they think they could be a doctor, one went up.

I was discussing this topic with an amazing football person last week who was part of Arsenal when they released a young Dwight Gale at 14. He later bumped into the boy at around 17 and he told him that he had given up on football. Thankfully though he did get back into it and played at Stansted FC as a young adult. He was the best player and scored a hatful of goals. That made people notice and he repeated that at Bishops Stortford and Dagenham before moving to Peterborough United where his performances alerted Crystal Palace who spend £4.5m for the Premier League Aston Martin that wasn’t built in any factory. There is no proven science, there is no proven route. Humans are not products. It could even be considered that Dwight Gale may not have had that successful offer had he come through the new Premier League U21 system. We just don’t know. Some players seem to develop better by getting away to play more realistic football.


We understand that fishermen need to earn a living. But we also need to protect wildlife and the environment so they operate within strict restrictions. We have all seen the television series to know that in chasing those expensive prawns many other fish get caught up and discarded. No such restrictions are in place for young footballers who in some areas get caught in huge trawler nets by clubs searching for the golden gem or as I have heard many times “my meal ticket”. Previously scouts would watch many games including club and schools as well as talking to managers and teachers before committing to recommending a player to a club. Now things are different and many more players find themselves scouted early and I question if this waters down the elite level. Are there now larger volumes of players that believe they are at elite level and some parents (not all) believing they’ve cracked it, even allowing players to switch off their academic education in favour of the football dream?

Most clubs have tiered recruitment centres underneath the academy. So let’s say the academy has 120 players. Each age group may have then up to four lower levels beneath that academy level. There could be well over 500 further players then ‘feeding’ that academy and at some clubs they are paying for that privilege to be in that window of opportunity. When I meet some of these players and ask them who they play for, they don’t tell me their great grass roots club name, they tell me the name of the professional club. So their perception is that they are actually a player for that club. That amazes me on two levels. One is that for me, where is the elite then? All these players and possibly parents think they are ‘elite’. Secondly, what happened to being immensely proud of the grass roots club you played for? The root to being a professional could just as easily happen by being the best player with them. Be the best player in the school team. Be the best player in the county team or region team. It’s not all about a guarantee because you’ve got a pro club on your jumper and a coach that delivers (in some cases boring) over structured coaching. Here is perhaps a piece of sound advice. Whenever you get on any pitch, enjoy it and be the best. You never know whose watching.

It is this washed out elite level that could play such a crucial factor in players falling off the football radar at sub 20 years old. Is it because of disappointment? Is it because they always thought they were going to be a pro and didn’t make it meaning the motive was gone. We have to redirect this. You see, top pro players when asked mostly say they played because they loved it. Then something happened and they were alongside there heroes instead of seeing them from the stand or TV. Too many players are playing with the wrong motive and end goal pressure. If they played for the right reasons, then maybe even if they didn’t get a scholarship or pro contract offer they could find themselves arriving later like Dwight Gale. But if they don’t, then they can still take part in a great game that keeps them fit and gives them a break from the harsh reality of work and life. A life which perhaps might be less painful if you decide to not dump your education in the process.

Tony McCool

@antmccool7

 

 

EPPP Require player reports. What affect do they have? Are you a considerate to the Impact?

As part of the Elite Player Performance Plan clubs academy systems are required to report on player development on a regular basis. That sounds great and actually, in my years coaching I know first-hand that some parents feel excluded with a lack of information and sometimes players feel that they don’t know what the coach actually wants him to work harder on. I also know that the process is or should be part of linked up learning, for example if an area of development is required an identified, can we then see an individual development plan to help tackle that?

I actually support this in principle and also agree that improved communication and clarity over development can only be a good thing. But as with most things EPPP, how is it interpreted at the sharp end might be called into question and what affect does that have on our future talent and future non footballing adults?

As with all things EPPP it’s not all bad. There are some good examples of how clubs handle player reports and as described, it is trying to address something which it should. Having said that I can’t help feeling gravely concerned about how and why some of them are executed.

I have witnessed and received many complaints from people about the tonality and content of these reports. I think that perhaps coaches lack the time, depth of thought and empathy for the potential damage their words can cause. Some coaches are filling in these reports with little thought and for the wrong reasons. Many simply make notes about so called ‘development’ points. Even just highlighting mistakes and weaknesses. I know from first-hand experience lads that went a whole year without a single positive remark in a report or meeting. Therefore leaving feeling completely demolished and confidence shattered. Also, if senior staff don’t ‘fancy’ a player they are encouraged to write negatives in the reports to somehow set up the player and parents for the axe. This somehow strengthens their argument when they are released. I don’t believe this is the reason for these reports and therefore the Premier League auditors need to look deeper into them as part of assessment and offer tighter guidelines about how they are used. My wife works in a primary school setting and she has seen the similarities in the process. However, she was shocked when I showed her example reports as she insists that is where similarities end. Process similar, content, purpose and plan poles apart. I don’t know why some of these staff do this or why they allow themselves to be convinced to slowly derail a player’s belief. Of course you also need to be honest. You can’t pretend a player is at a level they are not. But just because the boss doesn’t rate them you don’t have to agree and you don’t have to make them miserable leading up to the inevitable. It’s not the green mile. Surely, if you was a decent coach and a decent person you would do your best to address issues and help him fix them. Wouldn’t it be great to make them change their mind? I have just seen a 1^st year scholar play his pre-season friendly in the youth team. He was going twice in the view of the bosses and I believed they were wrong and fought to save him. If he had gone and not accepted the help, ok, but at least I know I tried my best as his coach and someone he looked up to.

So why do some not ‘abuse’ this process?

Lack of time?

If coaches are working in a Level 1 regular Premier League team they might be fortunate to be full-time in charge of their youth age group. Therefore they are afforded the time to properly plan, review and report on sessions and players. But if you are part-time at say perhaps an aspiring club that is pushing to achieve a higher academy grade, you will be pushed to almost conduct the records that a Level1 Academy would, but afforded a fraction of the time and pay. When you consider the requirements that are over and above preparing, delivering and evaluating a football session.

-          Setting individual learning objectives for players and recording individual session outcomes. This could be for 4/5 training sessions per week.

-          Setting individual learning objectives for players and recording outcomes for games. Normally 1 per week

-          Doing individual weekly reports

-          6 wk, ½ year and year end reports

This amounts to vastly more hours of commitment compared to pre-eppp. Yes, rolling out on a pitch with a bag of footballs and wondering what to deliver is a thing of the past. Planning to a consistent club syllabus and philosophy is great. But the reports take the hours to a different level of commitment. I have seen then that coaches resort to ‘copy paste’ of content, or it is rushed. Filling in data fields for the sake of it to relieve some pressure. The trouble is for the individual that receives that content. They don’t have 20 reports to read. They have one, they read every word in depth. So do some go wrong?

Age/Experience?

Having suffered ‘ageism’ in a business world I believe that the ability to be successful in a job doesn’t mean you fit a certain stereotype. So if a young person can do the job then great. But they will lack experience. Equally, being older shouldn’t mean you are excluded because people think you are ‘old school’ not prepared to change and cant adopt technology? Having said that I feel that there is a growing number of very young coaches, which is great because many are excellent. But with qualifications on board there is one thing they cannot rush, experience. I have spoken to a highly qualified ‘older’ non-league manager, when I say ‘non-league’ I’m talking very high standard semi pro outfit. He told me of his growing concern at going on FA football courses and seeing the EGO in many young guys that boast the top pro club crest on their kit. He described how many he could see clearly struggled and wished they had the humbleness to just talk to him. Instead he felt they looked down their nose at him and he was in some way inferior. These guys need to quickly realise that the football industry knows that these positions are heavily underpaid and with the workload is a turn off for many experienced coaches.

I recall coming home skipping with my driving licence skipping with my delight for my dad to bring me back down to earth. “Well don son, but remember you haven’t qualified yet, qualification comes from experience. In the 1^st year you’ll learn more when faced with the 4 seasons and you never stop learning after that”. I think this is the same with coaching.

Perhaps football is the only industry where only the newest qualified individuals can actually afford to work in the profession at the highest level. Are they being backed by someone senior that knows they pose no threat to their position? Is it felt that by bringing in someone with vast playing and coaching experience could in some way threaten your leadership whereas the younger generation will be that much more grateful to be in a professional football club setting having never played there, that they won’t ask questions. Well like many top clubs I see that do it right it is a balance. A balance of keen fresh new coaching talent, coaches that totally embrace change and evolution, but also you can’t ignore experience. You can’t ignore playing experience and coaching experience. Are any of you like me that get a very slight nervous twitch when the experienced flight pilot says over the speaker, “Today my colleague and 1^st officer will fly you to…”

Having had major knee reconstruction and double cruciate repairs I can’t tell you how much more comfortable I was to see my senior consultant standing over me with his scalpel as opposed to his registrar. Maybe there is something big here. Why don’t BA put two newly qualified pilots together? Why are senior consultant surgeons always flanked by their team of newly qualified doctors? Why in my wife’s school is an NQT (Newly qualified teacher) always partnered with the most experienced Teaching Assistants? Only in football would we find so called NCC (Newly qualified coaches), placed in leadership roles like head of 12-16’s for example. They haven’t even learned their trade yet. According to my wife, the equivalent role in her school would be a Key stage leader. These people in her school have all got at least 5 years’ experience teaching and have taught across the full age range.

In my opinion this lack of experience does have an effect and combined with perhaps a lack of parenting skills shows massively in the way some children are addressed and then how reports are written or communicated.

Not the wright person?

There is of course the possibility that you just simply are the wrong person. Some of the most abusive people I have seen pitch side or some that seem to lack all people skills are some the most qualified. Going on courses and taking notes frantically is great, but when you are seen a week later lacking all ability to understand the emotions of a child or read some of the content you write in reports which completely destroy lads, I think to myself, you stood out on that course as being the busiest in terms of application. So in front of your peers and management you look like the head boy. But when I see the ‘other you’ I have to question your integrity. A great coach and man said to me. “Tony, always get caught being yourself” For me, courses are books, full of words. Presentations are text, full of words. But none of it matters if you don’t apply it. Actions are the only thing that matters. If or when im an academy manager and I asked you who the most important person in the club is, I will not expect you to say me, or the chief executive or even the chairman. The most important person is the player. That’s who you work for, impress them before you impress me.

Overall I would ask coaches to consider their own feelings. They don’t understand the psychological impact of your words. At all ages, not just children, we don’t react well to constant criticism.  If you went into your work review and your boss only told you what you should improve, you would think, hang on, have I don’t anything good? Have you recognised a shred of my effort? If you were constantly assessed coaching and got a review every week which only highlighted what you did wrong, how would you feel?

Education

Of course we see a very similar process of 6 week reporting (term time) in school. But the reports are constantly evaluated with action plans by senior leadership teams. In my wife’s school they also make a plan with the older pupils together, so they discuss with them where they think they are and together come up with targets. We don’t listen to players, we dictate to them. All we do is start the review with the question “So, how do you think the last term has gone”? With a terrified child looking back not knowing what’s coming. Plus the question isn’t going to change anything because the document is typed and printed. I love the concept of starting that conversation with a completely blank canvass and working together to come up with the plan.

But also we all know school teachers are under pressure. You only have to see the details of the latest walk out to know they also question the amount of reporting. Although teachers in my view are better trained to balance the ‘development’ with some positive recognition. But, in some cases they are also are guilty of not thinking about the children individually. I have evidence myself. I took the trouble to re-read my sons report again this morning. In a number of locations it has ‘(His/Her)’ in the sentence, meaning clearly this is a global comment that is copied and pasted into boxes for the teacher to simply amend the gender to make it personal. 

When I see that, I’m sorry, I completely disregard the whole report other than the ‘FACTS’ the results. That is a fault of the system, not the teacher, underpaid and no time. So pointless reports are the result.

Particularly when dealing with the younger players, saying, you need to improve this, you need to improve that…. you’re the coach, teach me then please. Its like they pass all the responsibility onto the player. But sometimes they don’t know what your point looks like. For example, if we look academically. When ,my sons report comes in and says he needs to do better in non-calculator maths topics, well, he is heavily dependent on the teacher to show him and as parents, we can surely only get left with the general motivational or discipline sides. Like, Must try harder, listen in class, stop talking and getting distracted. Because I certainly cannot help with quadratic graphs and without his teacher he wouldn’t know either. So for me, the reports are much better if they were references for the coaches, not the players. It’s the coaches that need to understand what the players needs and help them.

Summary

There is a clear lack of guidance in these reporting methods, how they are done, the purpose of them and the impact. The FA and The Premier League EPPP team need to address this. Perhaps find the ‘good club’ example and share it.

I would improve or reshuffle staff. I would ‘buddy up’ experience with youth. Also, by that I don’t mean the ‘senior’ coach takes all the sessions and the younger coach is his assistant just to put cones out. The senior coach needs to buy into to his or her role. Success is the development of that coach as well as the players.

So I certainly would be embracing youth but I would change the rules for leadership roles. These roles need improved pay structure making it more attractive to more qualified, but more importantly experienced coaches. These roles should be proven people with many years at all ages of development. That also applies to the roles above them like head of coaching. Surely that’s obvious? But not the case everywhere.

In terms of reports, I would set guidelines for the coaches. What the report should look like. It should tell me what I’m great at, even if you’ve already told me, it should remind me. It should tell me what’s great about me in all four corners. It should involve the parents with an open mind and should point out the things that are general that they can help with. Timekeeping, attendance, attitude, behaviour, aggression, diet etc.

As a player, these are the things that together with you the player, me the coach am going to really focus on helping you improve on. That’s my job as a coach to give you the best chance when it comes to being considered for the next stage. Another year, another two years, a scholarship, a pro etc.

Tony McCool

@antmccool7

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

England's World Cup Exit. PEOPLE PASSION & PLAN

Of course Ill never be England Manager, but I'll also never work for the FA. Not because I don’t want to but because I am not wanted. That for me is the exact reason why we struggle at playing international football. 

In business a board room is full of tough people with the minerals to speak their mind. That doesn’t mean objecting or disagreeing with everything to be difficult, but it does mean if you’ve got an opinion or view speak up. That way there is a good chance we will come up with the right answer. But at the FA and in fact modern academies its becoming the industry of nodding dogs. Everyone is too scared to speak up or they fear they will be shifted out. You can actually be a champion for change and still have an opinion. Also, in the process of change you should be open about how it evolves and adjust. Embrace what works and tweak what doesn’t. 

My feelings and rationale behind our early World Cup exit and future is as follows. Firstly on Roy.

World Cup Roy

Now I must say I am a huge fan of Roy Hodgson. He really comes across as genuine and is such an intelligent thinker. Most of all he comes across as an honest good guy. Also, who am I compared to him to judge? Incredible experience of world football. But, I want to share my view despite this. Although the exit breaks records for failure he has still been treated softly I feel and some quarters have seen these great attacking prospects and feel that giving them a chance is a step forward. But I’m disappointed in him. To me it’s so consistent with the whole FA message even at youth level. We want to recruit all players with the 'wow' factor. Ive said before that academies are only recruiting attacking 1v1 players. Looking for Messi. In my EPPP=EZZZ blog I spoke how I don’t see us looking for the varied other players that make up successful teams. To me its Balance, a balance of different types of players. I admire that he took the young players and to a degree was proven right. But then he left behind the experience where you need it most. At the back. Terry and Cole should have gone. Cahill was awesome up until the goal but overall there was clear lack of experience. This was even evident at corners against us when Baines was vacating the front post to mark the back. Clearly something that he’s been told, but when is the trigger to go? Surely that would be an over hit flight which means the front post low 'POMO' threat is gone? Uruguay clearly recognised this and nearly scored, twice. Things like that just don’t happen with Cole and Terry. 

Winning is a group thing so equally Losing is also. So, as nice as Roy is and Gary Neville also for that matter, have to also take responsibility. We lacked no-how and knowledge at the back. When you set up a team to win I think the lack of experience and naivety can actually be an advantage in attacking areas, because it can equal unpredictable play and playing without fear. We saw that in Raheem Stirling. But should those words be how we describe defensive players? Should be organised, experienced, strong and excellent at reading the game. Youth or new faces is great for pace and athleticism, but it’s a trade-off. Especially when one of them is forced to play like a traditional left back. That being more a defender than a forward. So this Baines is a threat, how do you counter that? Play two players higher in attack creating 2v2. Suddenly Centre Backs get nervous and full-backs end up deeper and rolling in. One answer is to adapt your own formation? Why cant you change the formation/strategy. If you play three at the back then your full backs are released. We just didn’t seem to have another way which surprised me with Roy.

Spoiler

I also don’t think we have the big player in the middle that does all the ugly things. Spoiling, seeing danger, winning the ball and starting attacks. Rooney, apparently underperformed but do you look deeper? How well did Arevelo Rois do? The little bull-dog in the middle that just sat between the lines in the number 10 area and spoiled play. I don’t think we have got that and were not recruiting that player either. Its part of us see sawing from country to country looking for a winning formula then coaching all our player to be that style. Were in danger of doing that again. Football is not a pretty place and to win major international tournaments you need that balance. Only then can the great forward players go and win us games. Messi scored another great late winner against Iran. 90+ mins but what was the score when he did? They’ve got one deep midfielder Mascherano. A good player yes of course, but also an excellent spoiler and will 'play the game' to find a way to win. 

In fact, Every team that has been successful has had a great deep midfielder who perhaps at times goes un noticed. I certainly do notice and De Jong was excellent against Spain. In fact if you go back over the last 20 years of World Cup Winners/Finalist, European cup winners and premier leagues teams, look at them and you will spot the player. I don’t see that player in the England squad. People talk of Gerrard but its like we want to slot him in their to assist the back end of his career. But bear in mind Gerrard was alongside a player like that during their European success. If this player was also of the calibre like those in the image, then I don’t believe we should have two players. Personally, that’s a job for one player, releasing all that talent then to open teams up.

We seem too nice, not wanting to offend anyone. Win games in a pretty way like Brazil or Barcelona. But were England. If we had balance right we could at least compete and I actually believe we have great talent in attack that given a clean sheet to work with would flourish. Steven Gerrard today said, Uruguay were cute, clever, disruptive and difficult to beat. He and Roy need to listen to those words. All the answers are in that sentence right there. Why aren’t we? Hindsight is a wonderful thing but I believe we have to tools now. Not in the future, not “this is a project”. Its typical FA blah blah. We will say the same in 4 years and 8 years. Well I believe with the right balance and organisations I believe we have the players now that can win Euro 2016 in France, or at least be closer to having a go. Get us to a semi-final and in with a shout. Roy is right when he says it’s a fine line, we played well. I agree and I also accept it’s a tough group. This new set of players can put me on the edge of my seat. I loved Raheem skipping past people, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Barkley look great to me. Just got to get the balance right to allow us to play forward in exciting waves with the comfort the castle gates are guarded.

Were too nice

I heard some criticism of Luis Suárez for not being more humble to England. Why should he? It’s the World Cup and hes not English. This is where a bit of me thinks someone like José Mourinho would give us a chance because he’s simply ruthless. We need that edge to us. Find a way to manage games and win. I’ve said in my other blogs that were also not managing the balance of winning v losing as well in our academies.

England’s represented by lions but they’re not roaring. That’s because for the last 15 years we have been taming them. We’ve put them in a circus and whipped them into parading giants that jump through hoops on command. EPPP is also creating these performing lions. A lion is a confident leader that acts purely on instinct with devastating ruthlessness. That’s exactly what Englands needs back. We should see 11 stunning lions jogging onto that pitch like they’re ready to take on anything to gain territory.

Solution

In short, if I was in charge these are the things I would address

Next two years to 2016

1.   England can be winning now. We have talent for 18 upwards. Let’s stop pretending we don’t care if we win because of development. Address the balance of the team and go into games with the right PEOPLE, PASSION & PLAN People, means get the balance right, we got it wrong. Passion, I don’t really see enough, I know the players are genuinely devastated, but seemingly all the other countries have better togetherness. I seriously think the British press don’t help with this. They really damage confidence and the victim in this tournament was Wayne Rooney. Finally we need a better plan. Roy says it was pretty much all perfect and wouldn’t change it, but im sorry, we lost. We also didn’t seem to be in control of strategy in the second game or maybe the players couldn’t exercise it because the structure was wrong?

2.   With immediate effect, now. I would find a way to create prize funds that are ring-fenced. I am totally against the league 3 for reasons I’ve stated. I would create the reserve league to replace the 21’s. This should have regulation about a minimum number home players. I would also then keep the current U18 structure. However, Using the massive EPPP pot or others. I would put a prize fund in there scaled based on where you finish in the league. There would be one for the Premier League and then one for the football league youth alliance. Whatever way we look at it the owners of clubs and the face of football has changed. It is totally dominated by money. We won’t change it so we need to embrace it to find the answer. Chairman would suddenly take an interest in the U18 and even the reserves. This could prove to be a nice little bonus if those lads could climb the table. This in turn will put a different demand on the coaches and players. Pressure to win. You may say I’m being ruthless here, going backwards. But I’m not talking about grass roots under 8 football here. This is reality. We have good talent but they are not tough enough and don’t understand ways to manage games and win. The prize fund distributed will be at all levels and ring-fenced meaning it can only be used in the Academy structure with proof required.

3.   EPPP needs addressing for U16 downwards. The main problem being the demands of coaches who are underpaid and leaving. EPPP says the best player should be at the best clubs. I don’t disagree with that. But surely the best coaches should be working with the best players? This main point needs addressed along with some others to ensure EPPP is not later proven to have failed. The scale of this is unthinkable. Many aspects of the EPPP are great and we needed radical change. But we need to ensure that its working and review it. I’m available ;-)

Tony McCool

@antmccool7

Is Eccentric a sign of Bad Behaviour? Issues? or could it be...GENIUS?

Were asked in football what does the future player look like now. Well I think, what did certain players look like in the past? I certainly agree with ‘holistic’ development and the vast majority of sports people who ‘succeed’ in becoming top professional athletes will be ones who follow the path. But what worries me is how I see football staff trying to put all players in the same mind-set. Just like we are with player’s football wise. Seemingly creating all the same player, I now see signs of us trying to create the same mind-set. Now I’m no psychiatrist (might need one) but to me freedom on the pitch in attacking areas comes from freedom of the mind. That is also not over thinking things.

All us that have earned a living in the game dress up our input, importance and role in creating the player and try to take some responsibility when it goes well. But what if good coaching is stepping back, recognising something great and letting the player develop their way almost organically. We simply set the scene, give them the best environment and act as the race track barrier to keep them on the tarmac. I guess I'm asking, what if we have a genius and don’t recognise the signs in his/her behaviour. We just see it as deliberate bad behaviour and despite our learning, we ignore the potential and send them to the club psychologist. Some of these guys then, just in my view, stabilise or neutralise all this, almost suppress it and the player marches out hypnotised, a new level headed, calm individual, just like everybody else. Now I don’t think that everything these people do is wrong either. Actually, genius doesn't come round often so for the majority it could be simply attention and focus issues or others reasons that the psychologist will have a tremendous input on. But when they globalise success as a certain path of thought, actions & behaviours, I'm sorry, I disagree and I’ll try to explain why.

Behaviour

When a player behaves differently how do you cope as a coach and what do you see? I think many coaches fear players, even young ones that have big personalities or issues. So many sit in the coach education courses and listen to the social/psychological corner on paper but they don’t apply it on the pitch. See when a player behaves so called badly, lacks concentration, doesn't listen, has learning issues or has punctuation, anger or other problems. What is the reason? My first thought is always, is there an issue at home, school or socially. So I believe some patience is required and I wish more coaches would apply some of their own words and think about what they learned in the classroom. Rather than quickly snapping at the player in public, demanding their attention and concentration. Is it better to find a way to make them want to listen?

There is of course many that will fall foul of behaviour. Maybe they simply have a bad attitude and we all know if that is the case they will likely not make the grade. Despite all your efforts as a coach and surrounding staff you just can’t pull the player round. Ultimately players that can’t be controlled overall will be waved out of the door. But bear in mind, if players are running wild that can also be sign of weakness in the coach. I don’t mean fear factor either, coaches earn respect from players of all ages and most of all, when it’s interesting, players apply themselves. But what about that odd individual that’s a bit more of a test? I'm not scared of so called ‘different’ behaviour, body language or personalities. Recently after training a parent came to me. “How was they today (brothers)”? Fine, I replied. She went on to tell she has had issues with their coach with concentration and behaviour. I thought for a second. I told her that if she means smiling, laughing then yes, they do that. They also poke each other around but I don’t see those as issues. There is definite improvement in these players, but I already began re-directing their thoughts, creating games where they were separated or had to work better together and if there is too much standing still, they get bored and poke each other. If you talk to long, yes they start juggling with the ball. Every coaches red rag to a bull! I don’t see that as bad behaviour, I'm the same, I get bored quickly. So, for me I don’t have any issues with their behaviour. After I walked off I thought about what their coach was seeing. Was he standing them around talking? Is it because there not looking at him listening attentively hanging on his words, (I've seen coaches take massive offence to this) that’s behaviour problems? Not for me. But then how do I know they learned? Guess what, we did a similar session where we worked on passing & receiving with movement to receive. Without talking to them, we set up. Off we went, they did all the things we did the week before. So, they did learn. They just don’t like waffle.

Do we really embrace creativity?

For me there are certain things in people that are closely linked. If I think about a list of great, but eccentric people, I think about their strong personality, some being unpredictable with anger problems but maybe strong leaders. But most of all, there creativity. For me, these individual won’t always comply, they won’t always be the same as everyone else. Maybe they are different for a reason? The fantastic late musician Kurt Cobain said “They laugh at me because I'm different; I laugh at them because they’re all the same”

Great Eccentrics?

How would you define this list of footballers?

Eric Cantona, Paul Gascoigne, Maradona, George Best, Garrincha, Peter Schmiechel, Roy Keane, Mario Balotelli, Paulo Di Canio, Zinedine Zidane, el-hadji Diouf, Gennaro Gattuso, Joey Barton and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Possibly throw manager Jose Mourinho in there as manager? In here are some of my favourite players ever. But I would ask, are they entertaining? Would you pay to see them? I also think, what did these guys look like as youth players? Also, were they easy to coach? Imagine that lot in front of you as you shout “ok guys in you come, what did you learn there then”? What did this lot do when you shouted “Stop stand still” “Oi, Listen to me” “Oi, Stop bouncing that ball and concentrate”? Were they easy to manage & control or did they test managers? I had a reasonable size business and without question, the most difficult person to manage as an employee, was the most successful salesperson. Do I sack him for an easy life? So, these certainly are characters, they have a view of how they see things, they’re willing to say things, they’re willing to try things. So are they ‘Eccentric’? I looked that up for definition and found this…

What is an eccentric person? Is it a form of insanity? Or are these people simply free spirits who have the courage to do their own thing?

There are five salient qualities: nonconformity, creativity, curiosity, idealism, and self-awareness of being different.

Some secondary characteristics include: high level of intelligence, being opinionated and outspoken, possessing a mischievous sense of humour.

I thought then of other sports people I admired. Ronnie O’Sullivan, Usain Bolt, Muhammad Ali, Chris Eubank, John McEnroe, Valentino Rossi, Serena Williams, Floyd Mayweather, Mike Tyson and so we could go on. But their is something similar here, big personalities.

When you consider music there are a vast array of great artist like Kurt Cobain who are not frightened to try new things and could be argued are very much their own people. Michael Jackson, Elvis, Prince, Sinead O’Connor, Liam Gallagher, Morrissey are great examples and today we see the amazingly creative Lady Gaga.

To really look to cement my view that some great people can be so called ‘different’ I looked further into history and found a couple seemingly great people who were noted for being difficult, different, unusual, learning issues, sleep issues, concentrations issues etc. These are Thomas Edison, Beethoven, DaVinci, Oscar Wilde, Michelangelo, Albert Einstein & Charles Dickens. No, surely you don’t need any more convincing that genius doesn’t always march around nodding they’re head, looking you in the eye and ticking the boxes.

If kids are actually ‘pieing off training’, that to me is another issue. Likewise unruly, nasty behaviour or bullying. All completely unacceptable on my watch. But others might need different types of activity and a certain level of discovery to keep them stimulated. Maybe they are just bored? Find a way, try something new. This includes some that might just need an enjoyable environment. Is smiling wrong? Some coaches think learning looks stern faced. Not always, you can smile and learn. It’s called a different way. I know for example, I cannot learn in a presentation/dictatorship fashion. I work in technology but was shown a computer application in a presentation. It doesn't stick, I have to be hands on to learn. But because the lesson was one person talking for an hour, it didn't stick. When I later asked some questions the reply was ‘you have already been told this’. This was a person in coach education.

Lastly if you do nothing else please look up this great guy. One of the best presentations Ive seen. Actually, why is it this stuck with me? Was it interesting? Did it contain personality? Was humour injected?

Please see my key snippets I feel relevant to us in football youth development.

Ken Robinson said in his great TED Conference ‘How schools kill creativity’

-       Were educating our children for a world that we don’t know what it will look like? We don’t even know what it will look like in 5 years’ time.

-       All kids have tremendous talents and we squander them pretty ruthlessly

-       Story of the little girl drawing a picture and the teacher asked what it was a picture of. The girl replied “it’s a picture of GOD”. The teacher said “but no one knows what God looks like”. The girl replied “They will in a minute”

-       If you’re not prepared to be wrong you’ll never come up with anything original

-       We educate people out of their creative capacities

-       We don’t grow into creativity, we grow out of it

-       We don’t think of Shakespeare being a child, he was in somebodies English class

-        Gillian Lynne was labelled with learning difficulties. She couldn't stop fidgeting and had lack of focus, she couldn't concentrate. She was taken to a doctor who actually said there was nothing wrong with her, he turned on the radio and she was moving, he told her mother to take her to dance. They took her and she said the room was full of people like her, people who needed to move to think. She graduated, formed a dance school, worked with Andrew Lloyd Webber and was a dancer/director/choreographer in a string of award winning musicals including Phantom of the Opera and Cats. Ken says, somebody else might have put her on medication and told her to calm down.

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity#t-1040693

Tony McCool

@antmccool7