The paucity of English opportunity thread

Yep ozil is better than any playmaker England has ever had if I look at his chance created totals and assists etc

It's all about the system

That's why England need to develop more passers or admit we aren't very technical and play to our strengths

 

Ozil has gotten loads of stick from German fans over the last 2/3 years.

 

Where I do part company somewhat from many of the experts is over the benefits of academy football. Almost to a man they are very disparaging of the academy system. They almost seem to think the academies are a waste of time after a lad leaves school. The u18s is a big step up from schoolboy football. So what is wrong with even a very talented lad playing at that level for a lengthy spell - maybe a season. Then similarly in the u23s (with the various competitions).

Many kids do look like they need a good shaking or better still a kick up the arse. But every year they do some tweaking to the format to make things more competitive - with some success. But after two or three seasons of that, good players obviously need a good loan (if there is no sign of sufficient first team action). It's then up to the players to thrive and if they haven't been doing it already, they will need to compete to survive. But most pundits and the like seem to be obsessed with teenagers getting Premiership experience. I don't see anything at all wrong with them starting out at a lower level - and proving their worth.

Tim Sherwood (for example) one time Technical Director at the Spurs Academy, last night on The Debate, on Sky Sports, was very scathing, seemingly arguing that it is better to come up through non-league football, like Ian Wright and Jamie Vardy did. (to give the players determination and fight, in a physically competitive environment). He came out with similar arguments to those we've heard before from so many others. Ian Wright didn't add much, but a couple of weeks ago he expressed the strong belief that young players shouldn't be attached to clubs until they were 14/15.

Sherwood also claimed that all u23 games were the same. Same style of football. Everyone with a little no.6 playing sideways and backwards. Half the players wanting to play at no.10 because no one would tackle them etc. And he even complained that they played on bowling greens these days.

 

And we need to build the team around passers - Wilshere if fit, Barkley, Lallana, Loftus Cheek etc. - instead of always trusting the no nonsense midfielders who are useless at this level. I personnaly don't think "playing to our strengths" would work at international level, never did.

 

Does Sherwood realize how the successful countries produced their players over the years ? Has he heard of La Masia ? I quite like him but he should use his brain a bit

 

Something about: FIFA Turn Spotlight on City's Youngsters -

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...s-spotlight-Manchester-City-s-youngsters.html

 

Talking about effort, energy, fight and commitment, the four teams in today's live Premiership matches were really going at it like hammer and tongs right up to the final whistle. I hope their respective youth players were watching, because like it or not, that is the sort of commitment demanded these days.

 

Apologies for using this as the catch-all England thread, but six players are starting for Arsenal v BATE: Wilshere, Nelson, Willock, Holding, Walcott, and Maitland-Niles.

Here it is - our team for #BATEvAFC pic.twitter.com/MWya0BGgiS

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) September 28, 2017

 

^^Have a look at the bench too.

 

A bit weird that McGuane didn't make the U19 squad if he's fit.

 

Amn wasted at lwb

 

Half the team is out of position. 2017 Wenger - it is what it is.

 

They are still cruising, 3-0 so far.

 

And playing well. I actually don't think it's a problem in this game - I'm sure neither AMN nor Nelson would choose to start as a wing-back, but they're playing so high up the pitch that they're effectively wingers anyway.

 

Less surprising, but Everton have six English starters too. Well, seven, but one of them captains Wales.

Jordan Pickford, Ashley Williams, Mason Holgate, Leighton Baines, Jonjoe Kenny, Wayne Rooney, Morgan Schneiderlin, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Tom Davies, Idrissa Gueye, Sandro Ramírez.

Calvert-Lewin and Lookman are on the bench.

 

bit late to the party, excellent article indeed. The kane example is particularly telling and shows how difficult it is for youngsters in the lower divisions. "Kane spent four loan spells looking like the dictionary definition of mediocre (14 goals in 56 games), before exploding at spurs". Even worse for technical midfielders arriving in a team favoring a direct approach.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...0-of-the-best-talents-at-premier-league-clubs

The Guardian's series in it's 4th year about the best young talents at the Premier League.

 

And the BBC about the same subject: http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/41471883

 

Anyone have any idea who this might be? Some 20-year-old defenders at Premier League clubs who didn't get a loan:

Chilwell
Gomez
Kenny
Holgate
Walker-Peters
Clarke-Salter

JCS was 19 over the summer so possibly not him. Gomez and Holgate might be less likely since they looked well placed to get games at their parent clubs, and perhaps the same goes for Chilwell.

EDIT: Paul Joyce is the Times's northern football correspondent, so perhaps he'd be more likely to have that sort of information on Kenny?

 

Here's the whole article for anyone who's struggling with the paywall:

 

When I first read it I assumed Clarke-Salter.