England as a national team divides many of us; We have feelings of hope and passion for our nation but at the same time we have little empathy with the players we are watching. In South Africa this year I witnessed a number of England players who showed an indifference to their task and a lack of passion for their nation. The World Cup is a competition in which a player should need little motivation, yet our so called stars appeared undermotivated and selfish. In my opinion a player should treat every World Cup game as if its the last they will ever play and in the past you saw our players giving everything for the shirt. Admittedly, past World Cups have ended in spectacular failure but I cannot recall questioning the players attitude, only their ability or occasionally bad luck. The aftermath of defeat has justified that players such as John Terry, Ashley Cole in particular are more interested in personal gain than glory as a team. The alleged feud between the factions of Terry and Gerrard is a clear indication of disharmony in the squad which has been generated by the Londoners' overinflated ego. The question remains, how did this situation continue to undermine Fabio Capellos management?. It is unusual that a manager of his calibre was unable to take control and was he aware that Terry was envious of Gerrards captaincy. So what for the future?, despite the fact that England won the World Cup in 1966 (with home advantage) they remain a second tier team that every tournament year are overhyped by the press and then only months later torn apart (sometimes justified) and criticised.

The natural reaction by many of us is to question the squad in terms of who should or shouldn't have been selected. Of course, the FA are happy with the majority of us to accept this excuse but the reality goes beyond this. The Football Association was founded in 1863 and in many ways they retain their antiquated ideals and bureaucracy. The following are the FA's main 'directives' as indicated on their website http://www.TheFA.com:-

* Promoting the development of the game amongst all ages, backgrounds and abilities in terms of participation and quality. This also involves promoting the availability of the sport to the greatest possible number of people.
* Regulating the game on and off the field of play through the "Laws of the Game" and the "Rules of The Association".
* Sanctioning, either directly or indirectly, all matches, leagues and competitions played in England
* Overseeing the administration of the disciplinary system, which is applicable to all participants in the game (each club, player, competition, match official and any other person involved in the game in England is bound by the Rules) and the administration of refereeing throughout the game
* Organising a number of senior men’s, youth and women’s national competitions (including most notably The FA Challenge Cup) and the participation of England national representative teams (again, senior men’s, youth and women’s teams) in international matches, most notably the men’s senior team in the FIFA World Championships and the UEFA European Championships and friendly fixtures.

These details are only the tip of the iceberg in terms of what the FA does and I admit there are alot of positive things they do for the game. However, in my opinion I feel that English football can only be revolutionised if this organisation is given a complete overhaul. The major obstacle to change are the FA Chairmen who sit in their ivory tower at Wembley reaping the rewards of the money cow that is the FA Premiership. For years the FA were responsible for selecting the England national squad (much like the board of selectors for cricket) and this process only changed following the appointment of Sir Alf Ramsey in 1963. Forty Seven years later, the national game is still undermined by the bureaucracy of the FA as it continues to be run by footballing men who know little about football. In defeat, 'experts' have again called for improvements at 'grass roots level' in terms of changing our football culture and influencing the development of a new generation of players. This is a fair enough point but I feel that it is at the top that changes have to be made. With a new agenda for change and the establishment of a modern FA there would be a filtering down through all tiers of football and real progress would be made. The most important factors in this overhaul would be time and expectation, there must be a transition period of improvement (maybe ten years or so) and less expectation heaped on the national team. The FA itself should dispose of its traditional hierarchy and instead be run by a group of football experts of equal standing who would act as a 'thinktank' for the good of the game (retaining the Royal figurehead Prince William as an ambassador). There would be a number of candidates to consider, such as former managers with experience of development (Howard Wilkinson is a good example, as Leeds continue to benefit from the academy he pioneered), ex players who have a real understanding of the game (David Platt who has had experience at international, English and European levels), football experts/economists and exceptional journalists (such as Gabriele Marcotti who has a deep knowledge of football but also has English football at heart). This is not an unusual situation as other countries employ similar processes within their national associations with great success. I feel this is probably an impossible dream and that the FA will continue to rule the roost but if this situation did happen there would be a great future for the English game.

With a new FA in place there would have to be a number of changes to the current system to influence a real revolution:-

Grassroots

i) From youth level and upwards there should be the establishment of a different culture to our play and youngsters should be allowed real freedom to develop without fear. I believe at grassroots, football in some ways has already changed as the cosmopolitan Premiership has influenced young players to develop their individual skills to a different level compared to when I was playing as a kid in the 1980s. However there seems to be a new tendency to be individualistic and prefer the dribble or trick to the pass and this in itself prevents most players from learning the true beauty of the team game.
ii) I am sure there are a large number of excellent coaches whether qualified or not, but maybe the way they are regulated should change. There should be a 'vision' for each coach to adhere to and implement in order that their young players can develop naturally. Coaches at this level should not be geared towards winning but to nurturing the talent of the game in the long term.
iii) In order for players to develop they should not be under the pressure of competition at a young age. Up to a certain age level (maybe 12 years old) kids should be playing as much as possible for enjoyment and development regardless of results. This could be achieved by disposing of leagues, coaches could then concentrate on frequent training games and occasional friendlies. This would also allow the coach more time to work with his players and less time spent organising league fixtures and reorganising cancelled winter games. There is the argument that competitive spirit would not be learnt in this situation, but there is plenty of development time beyond the age of twelve and coaches can exert a certain level of competition in training. Along with this, passion and competition can be learned in other areas of life.
iv) Youngsters need to be taught the value of humility, respect and pride regardless of their upbringing.
v) Many youth games continue to be played on oversized pitches with parents watching. Smaller playing areas promote a natural passing game and only coaches should be verbal on the touchline.

At The Top Level

i) Introduction of the requirement for a quota of English players in starting lineups of all Premiership and Football League teams. The influx of foreign players since the dawn of the Premiership has not necessarily been to the detriment of the national team in the short term. Indeed our qualifying record (apart from under McLaren) for major tournaments has been alot better than for instance English footballs European heyday from the mid 1970's to the early 1980's. However, there is less chance for the England team to consist of groups of players from top sides at the moment.
ii) Dedicate the League Cup to being a competition for young players to experience competition as a team. Possibly 6 out of 11 starting players being English and an age limit for the majority of players (as in Olympic football).
iii) Promote an agreed style of play throughout all Englands representative sides (under 21 etc) in order that players are comfortable when called up to the national team.
iv) Establish that the captaincy of England is of less importance than the team ethic. For too long the English have been obsessed with the 'captain marvel' figure despite the fact that none of these recent captains has won a thing (Robson, Shearer, Beckham, Terry). The captain should be a representative of the team on the pitch in terms of communicating with the referee and display a level of humility. The real drive within a team should be generated from the spirit and harmony within the group and through growing together as a team. This should remove the egos such as Terry and return true passion to the whole team.
v) The new FA should have precedence over the national press and especially tabloids. There needs to be a return to reporting of football as a game and not an intrusion into private lives. Newspapers not adhering to strict regulations should be fined or at worst banned from reporting on football. In general there needs to be a patience in order to allow national football to progress and papers should not be delivering a scathing analysis of a developing side.

In reflection, these are my ideas of what needs to happen for English football to really change. I feel all these points would lead to a real improvement in our national game and a change of our ageing football culture but many are probably an impossible dream. Beyond the riches of the Premiership and playboy players there needs to be a future return to their real respect for the national team and our country itself. In addition to this, current attitudes and egos within the England side showed a real lack of respect of the biggest competition of all, the World Cup and that is disappointing.

Comment on this article