Coaching For The Brave

In a previous blog, Developing at all Costs , I described a scenario that made me wonder if Win at all costs had been hidden by some coaches and simply morphed into " I must be developing these players at all costs" It was a strange occurrence but as time has gone on, I've seen it time and time again. A more recent discussion with various coaches on Twitter has left me wondering how far we've come down this road and whether "development" has turned into something just as extreme. Disclaimer* Developing footballers is a noble pursuit that I actively encourage and partake in. I am a strong believer that Football is for everyone. It encompasses a wide spectrum of opinions and outlooks. This is healthy. The game is too valuable to belong to one school of thought. I've written previously about how a coach should work out their philosophy based on their values and principles. There is nothing inherently wrong with setting up your tea...

Futsal and Youth Football I've hesitated in writing this for a few months now but after spending sometime mulling the subject over, I thought I'd bite the bullet and suffer the flak that will inevitably find itself my way. Twitter is my University of choice. It's where I find ideas and swap opinions with like minded fellow Football Coaches. It's amazing, I am constantly surprised at the level of resources out there and more importantly the generosity of many of the people I come across. It's also chock full of people determined to see every exchange as a battle that must be won. This is why I've hesitated. For months now I've been engaged in exchanges about Futsal and in particular why it's a great development tool. Throughout these discussions, I've asked one simple question: Why? Now some have taken this innocuous enquiry at face value and tried to explain the reasons why they feel it works so well, some have just trotted well us...

Should England drop Wayne Rooney? Predictably, as the final whistle blew on England' s defeat to Italy, Twitter exploded with abuse for Wayne Rooney. In typical British fashion, the same press that has spent a decade building Rooney into England's talisman couldn't wait to join in and lay the blame for the whole sorry result at his feet.  Club allegiances surfaced and idiots on Social Media everywhere insisted Wayne didn't bring anything to the game and should be dropped. We don't deal in knee-jerk reactions though so let's take a closer look at see if the criticism is worthwhile. So, should England drop Wayne Rooney? The arguments seem to revolve around the following issues: Sterling deserves the Number Ten Role. After such a fantastic season for Liverpool, Raheem Sterling deserves his place in the England squad. However, is he a better Number Ten than Rooney? Well, there is no point comparing International careers so lets look at thi...