The future of England

Sturridge and Didac contest possesion

Cast your thoughts back to the 27th of June 2010. Does the date ring any bells? None were ringing until I researched the date. It was that day almost a year ago when England were tactically outclassed by a dominant Germany in South Africa eventually crashing out of the World Cup in humiliating fashion having been dealt a footballing lesson in their 4-1 defeat at the hands of the old foe.

Questions galore were asked as to the future of English football. The Media and Twitterati began asking questions as to where, as a nation, the country goes now in terms of footballing ability. You just have to look at the ability of the players that are currently in Denmark participating in the European U21 Championships to see the quality in depth of the future English players. 

The likes of Kyle Walker, Phil Jones, Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge, to name just a few, highlight the talent that is available to Stuart Pearce and, to an extent, Fabio Capello as well. The fact that Andy Carroll, Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs and Micah Richards, all potential starters in my opinion, aren't in Denmark further outlines the strength in depth available to the England management staff.

Following that 4-1 loss to Germany last year, Sir Trevor Brooking, Director of Football Development, rightly expressed his concerns about the future generations of the game. England were completely outshone by their European counterparts both at the World Cup and on Sunday night in Denmark against tournament favourites Spain.

It appears as though the problem doesn't lay at the feet of the player but instead their lack of technical ability. The heartbeat of the Spanish national side, current European and World Champions, is in the midfield trio of Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Sergio Busquets. It is no coincidence that all three play for Barcelona and have been developed at the clubs fabled La Masia training ground. 

The closest England come to a player of their quality, especially technically, is Wilshere. The 19-year-old has been bought through the Arsenal ranks and had his rise to prominence overseen by Arsene Wenger. It is no surprise that Wilshere looks a class above the rest of the England midfield especially with Wenger relying heavily on the training a youth academy prospect receives as a youngster.

This is how English clubs should be looking towards their youth. Nurturing them from a young age will go a long way into securing the next Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Wayne Rooney. You only have to look at the current Barcelona squad along with the Dutch and Ajax squads of yesteryear to outline the importance of nurturing youth. 

Wenger changed the entire way football is viewed upon in England with his Arsenal side looking to play football how it should be. Barcelona have perfected the total football recipe as shown in the Champions League final where they completely outplayed and outclassed Premiership Champions Manchester United. The result was the biggest 3-1 win in the history of football and further highlighted the importance of nurturing youth as eight of the Barcelona starting XI had been part of the La Masia training at some point in their career. 

So, as we can see the problem isn't the players available to Pearce, Capello and future England managers. The problems arise from the training pitches of the country’s top teams. More clubs need to adopt the Barcelona youth product philosophy if the nation is to succeed in the future.

Anyway, I have got to go.

Laters,

Macca