THE ENGLISH PROBLEM

The elimination, once again, of a National Team of England, in this case, in the European Under-21 played in Israel reopens, if ever it was closed, the debate about football in England.

As possible causes of this new defeat, different options are considered:

1) The level of the coaches is very low and, therefore, the educational level of the players is too.

2) Player’s salaries are so high that foreign players come at the expense of local players.

3) The typical system of play in the Islands (the famous 1-4-4-2), is not suitable to the current time.

It can be a bit of this and, perhaps, other things, though, the issue of wages does not seem to serve as an excuse. If a player is good, you will want him and you will pay him well, regardless of nationality. Perhaps, we should look at the problem in reverse: Why there is almost no English players and no English coaches outside the Islands? Is it possible that the fact of being quite well paid make them not to want to go outside? Or, maybe, there are other reasons.

And, the issue of the "system", is not convincing anybody. You know that I'm an advocate of "styles" and for me, the "systems" (formations), are just players put on the pitch in a certain way when the game begins. The most important thing is how you play.

The first thing you see when you watch the matches of the English selections is that the "A" team plays one way and the rest, in a different way. If you look at Spain, Germany, Holland and Italy (to give some examples), we find that everyone plays the same. From the U-16 to the “A” team, the style and the system ("formation") are almost identical. In England, it does not happen. I do not value what way is better. I consider that they are different. How do you want to succeed in a Club/National Team if every team plays differently? Sorry, but I do not understand it.

What also surprises me about England is the lack of competition. Competition in the sense understood in Spain. That is, any team can be champion of Spain at U-19 or U-16. In England Elite competitions are only between what is known as "Academies" which are the most important teams. In Spain and, more specifically, in Catalunya, which is the case I know best, any child of 15 years may have the option to play against Barça and Espanyol, regardless of the category where the 1st team is. A team may play 1st Catalan Division (5th Division), but U-16 team can play the Championship of Catalonia as any. That is, the competitiveness is very high. In England, "B" teams play Reserve League. In Spain, any "B" team can play in the 2nd Division (I mean sporting merit, obviously). It is true that Latins are very competitive by nature, but, the fact of playing in a league every week, knowing that you can have, as a bonus, to play the following year against one of the "big", it sure helps. Moreover, to improve, you have to play against people who are better than you. If you always play against people worse than you, hardly you get better.

Coaches are good and bad everywhere. In England, Spain, Germany, Holland and Italy. Moreover, today, it’s very easy to exchange/share information (Internet, Training Courses worldwide, etc.), Access to ideas, training methods, etc. is very broad.. This blog has followers of more than 50 countries across the 5 continents. So, to say that in England Coaching Courses are not good and, therefore, that the knowledge of coaches is not adequate is, at best, a half truth. One can get his badges and then continue their training and learning without leaving home, with a simple "click" on the computer. And coaches who believe they already know everything once they have the badge, there are everywhere.

Competition is the key to success. Competing players. Competing coaches. And, do not confuse to compete with winning at any cost, which are two completely different things. I personally want to win always. I do not like to lose even when playing alone. But I don’t want to win using any way.

Jordi Pascual

You can  follow me on Twitter: @JordiPascualP