Last real breakthrough?

By Dave Eadevic
July 26 2014

And why England won’t win the world cup for at least a generation.

Think back a while, just as far as the 1980s, Tyneside was a hotbed of footballing talent, we had our own stars in the magical Beardsley, the wonderful Gazza (for my money the most talented player England has ever produced) and the part time sausage maker and Mackem Waddle.

Then look around the leagues, virtually every side had its Geordie. Obviously you can go back further, Milburn, the Charlton brothers numerous others.

Then you look now, Carroll aside who has come through?

I am sure there are numerous reasons for this, the dismantling of playing fields started by the evil sea hag that was Thatcher, continued under every government since, cannot of helped, add in I suppose computer games and things to do in the house and other numerous more attracting distractions and you may well be getting somewhere.

But for me the real reason is simply this. When I was a child, I was constantly playing football, on the street, at the park, for the school, when I got a bit older for the local pub; during that time I must have played with and against hundreds of players, out of all those exactly three made it.

One went off to the states and got a job coaching football (he called it soccer once during a return visit; I haven’t let him forget this.)

Another made a career playing lower league football, the third actually made it for a couple of seasons in the old first division.

As for the rest of us it remained nothing but a dream.

Now look at the streets next to where you live, do you see anyone playing football? You may see one or two young kids I’ll grant you, but nothing like the mass participation events of my youth.

The last few years I have spent a fair time in France, go into virtually any village square on an evening, and there is a football game going on, often with the encouragement/insults (my French isn’t great) of the older members of the community.

So using the same maths say one in 500 might make it as a pro, the point is they have these hundreds playing daily, just for the love of the game, nothing else.

So it seems as hardly a surprise, that France is producing a lot more players than us.

I don’t know the answers, but I do know, that although coaches are part of it, they are not the only answer there has to be a love for the game somehow re-injected into society, a few places might actually help.

So next time you see an ex public school type wittering on telly about how to revitalise the England team, remember this, they still have their playing fields, and frankly I am willing to lay money that, they neither like nor understand football.

The next generation of world stars are not on the playing fields of Eton, they are in the back streets of Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool ECT, but the people in charge seem peculiarly unaware of this.

Until we start encouraging a love back into the game, England will fail and by default Newcastle will become increasingly foreign.

Why we don’t produce players anymore.

Discussion started by TyneTalk (IP Logged), 26/07/2014 12:05

TyneTalk
26/07/2014 12:05

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Andrew The Mag
26/07/2014 21:49

Hats off and well @#$%& said tbh

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