by Festus Sowah

Created on: May 30, 2008

'Get stuck in!' 'First time!' 'You showboat, pass the ball'! These are some of the things yelled on kids' games on Sunday mornings in parks across England. A young kid daring to dribble past players or showing some imagination risks incurring the wrath of their coach or parents to the point where it's questionable whether they'll be allowed their Sunday roasts. Coaches have got it wrong at grassroots level. The safety first mentality drilled into these kids are stifling their creativity. It is no coincidence that the English team's major criticism is their lack of invention and failure to excite. Until this is remedied, England's football team will continue to be what it is - so much promise and little delivery.

Blatter's 6+5 initiative may be commendable in trying to protect local players but this is just trying to deal with the symptom as opposed to the cause. As things stand, the reason why the English Premier League is one of the best leagues in the world is because fantastic players are playing an extremely marketable style of play. High, sometimes frenetic pace dictated by the atmosphere generated by fans, thrills and spills and increasingly sublime skills mainly provided by foreign players. Make no mistake, the English provide excellent players, Gerrard, Rooney, Joe Cole, Beckham and Rio Ferdinand spring to mind. However, the depth of such talent is the issue. They seem to be the exceptions rather than the rule.

The most successful manager in Arsenal's history, Arsene Wenger withstood all sort of criticism to do things his way. He has achieved success in recent years with very few Englishmen in his side. However, he has indicated that the next generation of Arsenal first-teamers will comprise mainly of Englishmen. This implies that he's had time to get the players very young and is not only working on honing their talent and technique, but their mentality and game intelligence as well.

One thing you cannot fault the English player for is spirit. They are one of the best collectively in the world at that. For a top class football nation however, their ball retention is disappointing. Fabio Capello, as outstanding a coach as he is needs to get the balance right of playing with a high tempo, pressing and keeping possession for longer periods than the team does now. He won't have much of a problem with the first two. The best players in the current England side like Gerrard or Lampard do not hold the ball for long periods. They love the quick 'give and gos' or 'one-twos'. Playing against top opposition this could leave a side open to the quick counter attack for instance. Capello has his work cut out to improve the current England football team in the short term. They are exactly where they are supposed to be, failing to qualify for Euro 2008.

The key to improving the England team is to look in the medium term. The foreign players seem to be preventing English players from coming through. However, the current situation can be used as an opportunity for English coaches to learn and understand what makes these players tick and try to implement in their coaching programs.

Learn more about this author, Festus Sowah.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.