Cod War Three: ENG-ICE
So which countries is the lad eligible for? Can he play for Scotland?
See, we're on the wrong track with this "better coaching in England/UK" pipe dream. Look at modern international teams; full of players who are Albanian/Swiss, German/Turkish, French/Algerian, etc. Multiple eligibility is the way forward.
Meanwhile, the England squad consists entirely of players who only ever play in England, and can barely say 'Bonjour' in Spanish. The lad Dier is regarded as a welcome bonus, an oddity, because he learned football somewhere foreign. THAT's what England need more of.
For all true Englishmen, your duty is clear. Pick a country with a decent coaching set-up, spend your summer holidays there, and shag yourself stupid. In 2040 your Euro-bred sperm will win the tournament for England.
Geoffrey de Ste. Croix wrote: My son has just finished his first year football training in his local football club in Zwolle. He’s just finished in the minis (5-6 years old). He has 2 x 45 minute training each week. His coach holds both KNVB and UEFA licenses and his training is designed with fun and age appropriate basic training in mind. My son plays on an all weather pitch designed for kids his size during the summer and autumn months. In winter he plays in indoor facilities. Both outdoor and indoor facilities are based in the same boys club, which has multiple all weather pitches for different age ranges as well as a grass full size pitch for the seniors.
All this costs us is €1.50 per month. The KNVB sets a nominal sum that goes up with each age level to ensure social inclusion. The club acts as a social club for the kids, with a ton of other activities outside football and as a community centre for the local area. Children’s access to high quality football facilities and coaching is viewed a social right, a right which the Dutch appear to view as an absolute bedrock in children’s development, both in health terms and benefits in socializing and building individuality. Footballing excellence and subsequent elite player development is viewed as a happy side effect. The football club is at the very centre of the Dutch community.
My son’s club is identical across the entirety of the country. A work colleague who lives in a village of just under 500 people recently had their kids football club facilities upgraded to the tune of €100k, the funding coming from the KNVB, gemeente and various local organizations.
I can directly compare the facilities my son has access to, the coaching and the cost with his older cousins in Glasgow and the North West of England who play football. It is a complete and utter embarrassment to compare.
If you want to know why English football will never deliver the goods at international level and will continue to decline, just look at the absolute seriousness the Dutch, Icelanders and various other countries take their children and look at the football facilities each of these countries deliver to their kids through investment. And then look at England and the rest of the UK.
Once every 5 and 6 year old in the UK can enjoy access to the footballing facilities and coaching my son does then the UK game can start to rebuild. But it is never going to happen.
All this costs us is €1.50 per month. The KNVB sets a nominal sum that goes up with each age level to ensure social inclusion. The club acts as a social club for the kids, with a ton of other activities outside football and as a community centre for the local area. Children’s access to high quality football facilities and coaching is viewed a social right, a right which the Dutch appear to view as an absolute bedrock in children’s development, both in health terms and benefits in socializing and building individuality. Footballing excellence and subsequent elite player development is viewed as a happy side effect. The football club is at the very centre of the Dutch community.
My son’s club is identical across the entirety of the country. A work colleague who lives in a village of just under 500 people recently had their kids football club facilities upgraded to the tune of €100k, the funding coming from the KNVB, gemeente and various local organizations.
I can directly compare the facilities my son has access to, the coaching and the cost with his older cousins in Glasgow and the North West of England who play football. It is a complete and utter embarrassment to compare.
If you want to know why English football will never deliver the goods at international level and will continue to decline, just look at the absolute seriousness the Dutch, Icelanders and various other countries take their children and look at the football facilities each of these countries deliver to their kids through investment. And then look at England and the rest of the UK.
Once every 5 and 6 year old in the UK can enjoy access to the footballing facilities and coaching my son does then the UK game can start to rebuild. But it is never going to happen.
See, we're on the wrong track with this "better coaching in England/UK" pipe dream. Look at modern international teams; full of players who are Albanian/Swiss, German/Turkish, French/Algerian, etc. Multiple eligibility is the way forward.
Meanwhile, the England squad consists entirely of players who only ever play in England, and can barely say 'Bonjour' in Spanish. The lad Dier is regarded as a welcome bonus, an oddity, because he learned football somewhere foreign. THAT's what England need more of.
For all true Englishmen, your duty is clear. Pick a country with a decent coaching set-up, spend your summer holidays there, and shag yourself stupid. In 2040 your Euro-bred sperm will win the tournament for England.
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