How many Sussex born and bred players should the Albion have in the first team squad?

[turienzo's lovechild]

That's my point should it be say 20% of Sussex born and bred, i.e 5 in a squad of 25.

There's always the point of EU employment law etc, I'm not saying we make it a hard and fast law but should we aim to achieve this through nurturing local talent as a start point for a national squad and more English players in Premiership & Championship squads?

Our game is being ripped apart by cheaply imported players, I'd say the Albion with its local talent is doing well but we must try to maintain this. That said how many minutes this season have local lads contributed to our games?

DOES it go against EU law though? Bilbao get away with it and Spain is in the EU...

 

[GreersElbow]

We Should invade Hampshire, Surrey and Kent. Once we've secured them I'm sure we could quickly take over the UK.

Ethnic cleansing in the counties and shire of any Palace fan? We could establish a fort on the border of London to ensure the glorious revolution does not get counter-attacked,

 

[Frutos]

Couldn't care less where they come from, I want us to have the best players available to us, be they from Brighton, Barcelona, Brisbane, Bangkok or anywhere in between.

 

[Tim Over Whelmed]

DOES it go against EU law though? Bilbao get away with it and Spain is in the EU...

It's like minimum wage, Human Rights, EU funding and grants, each country applies a different rule to it. In a factory in Portugal in 2009 we were paying the equivalent of £4 per hour when here the minimum wage was probably around £5.80.

I don't think there will ever be a FL rule but maybe it makes better FFP sense to grow local talent.

 

[Tim Over Whelmed]

Couldn't care less where they come from, I want us to have the best players available to us, be they from Brighton, Barcelona, Brisbane, Bangkok or anywhere in between.

But the problem is English players aren't getting a look in, our game and technical standards are in decline and the national team is a joke .... other than that I agree get them from anywhere!

 

[Frutos]

But the problem is English players aren't getting a look in, our game and technical standards are in decline and the national team is a joke .... other than that I agree get them from anywhere!

They aren't getting a look in because they aren't good enough.

This stems from poor standard grass-roots and youth coaching, and that is where change needs to come from.

We have 2000 coaches in this country who hold the highest standard of coaching qualification, Spain have 32,000 and France, Germany and Italy each have many, many times our total.

Player quotas are tokenistic nonsense - we should be teaching them properly right from the start so that they get into squads on genuine merit.

 

[BigGully]

Many are not good enough for sure, nothing new there, but opportunity is being stifled for those that perhaps if offered support and the trust of their manager would become good footballers where now they cannot..

Take are own starting 11, there are a few that are hardly setting the world alight, most of them foreign, but they will trusted and remain in the team until their form switches.

Most foreign players that arrive and block pathways for our own talent have at some time been given opportunities that perhaps their own talent at that particular time didnt deserve, some thrived and developed into the players that are then bought by English clubs and so it continues.

Yep I agree that we do have problems with the nurture of our young talent, but even our own talented coaches are being denied opportunity, we have gradually sub-contracted out our top league to something that has no real roots in the English game or its destiny.

 

[maltaseagull]

None - unless they are good enough.

This. But with the caveat that we should be finding and bringing on talented footballers from Sussex withing a year or so.

I would imagine we would be looking for talented players to populate the new academy already.

 

[beorhthelm]

There's always the point of EU employment law etc,

what law? EU employment only means EU residents are permitted to find work elsewhere in the EU, not that they have to be found employment elsewhere. Barca and Athletic Bilboa both have policies to promote Catalonia/Basque players to the squad, i think Bilboa is quite strict about it. there is a rule about minimum 5 "home grown" players in the squad in the premiership, i thought it was in the championship too, not sure though. if the league members agree, no reason there shouldnt be a 20% local rule, though how you define that in the UK would be difficult.

with the acedemy, it might be viable for the club to promote such a policy. we've been pretty good at sourcing good League 1 players for the past decade, how many of them could have made a league or two higher with good facilities in their youth?

 

[Tim Over Whelmed]

They aren't getting a look in because they aren't good enough.

This stems from poor standard grass-roots and youth coaching, and that is where change needs to come from.

We have 2000 coaches in this country who hold the highest standard of coaching qualification, Spain have 32,000 and France, Germany and Italy each have many, many times our total.

Player quotas are tokenistic nonsense - we should be teaching them properly right from the start so that they get into squads on genuine merit.

I agree, I coach an Under 11s team and on the day the transfer window closed, having seen whatever it was spent £600m or something, had to pay £500 for the kit for this season from my own pocket.

There's limited support at grass roots and yet of all the sports in the UK it is the most followed and, possibly, has the most coaches. Most youth team managers struggle to get a parent to run the line let alone have a second coach, goal keeping coach or any other form of support.

 

[BigGully]

I agree, I coach an Under 11s team and on the day the transfer window closed, having seen whatever it was spent £600m or something, had to pay £500 for the kit for this season from my own pocket.

There's limited support at grass roots and yet of all the sports in the UK it is the most followed and, possibly, has the most coaches. Most youth team managers struggle to get a parent to run the line let alone have a second coach, goal keeping coach or any other form of support.

I agree it sometimes is a challenge running minor teams, but it is generally far more positive experience than not, well it should be.

I am not too sure with your kit buying gripe, it isnt unique to England to have to try and fund your own kit and equipment, who do you think should buy it ?

 

[Tim Over Whelmed]

I agree it sometimes is a challenge running minor teams, but it is generally far more positive experience than not, well it should be.

I am not too sure with your kit buying gripe, it isnt unique to England to have to try and fund your own kit and equipment, who do you think should buy it ?

Without doubt it a positive experience, the guys get a great deal out of it and I enjoy the coaching and seeing the lads have fun.

I think that with the amount of money washing around at the top end of the game more could be done to fund grass roots football. In my experience it is the coaches, who already give up time and pay for a considerable amount, who end up funding the kit also. You say "Who should buy it?" my question is "Should the coaches be buying it?". Parents these days can sometimes just see football as a cheaper alternative to childcare.

The game is short of coaches and referees and all the time you add financial as well as time commitment you take more people out of the pool of people who are likely to stay in the game.

Previously the vast majority of clubs had qualified coaches managing the team now you often turn up to find it's someone's Mum or Dad who are doing this.

We need to invest in coaches in terms of development, support and retention.

 

[Frutos]

I agree, I coach an Under 11s team and on the day the transfer window closed, having seen whatever it was spent £600m or something, had to pay £500 for the kit for this season from my own pocket.

There's limited support at grass roots and yet of all the sports in the UK it is the most followed and, possibly, has the most coaches. Most youth team managers struggle to get a parent to run the line let alone have a second coach, goal keeping coach or any other form of support.

Exactly, and if we're doing it 'wrongly' (please don't take that as any slight on your own efforts) from that stage then we're lagging behind already.

If the FA want real change, rather than a publicity-grabbing quick fix, this is where they need to be doing their work. It will take time, but the rewards are there to be seen in the German, Spanish and Dutch examples, to name but three.

 

[Daffy Duck]

This. But with the caveat that we should be finding and bringing on talented footballers from Sussex withing a year or so.

I would imagine we would be looking for talented players to populate the new academy already.

Don't think anyone from the club ever goes to watch youth games on a Sunday. I've never seen or heard of any scouts being present at any of the games I've watched over the last 7 years.

I think they need to get people out looking at some of the youth players on a Sunday all over the county. I've seen some really skilful youngsters playing and I think the club needs to be a lot more proactive in actually going to watch these kids.

At the moment it seems to be "it's who you know".

 

[BigGully]

Without doubt it a positive experience, the guys get a great deal out of it and I enjoy the coaching and seeing the lads have fun.

I think that with the amount of money washing around at the top end of the game more could be done to fund grass roots football. In my experience it is the coaches, who already give up time and pay for a considerable amount, who end up funding the kit also. You say "Who should buy it?" my question is "Should the coaches be buying it?". Parents these days can sometimes just see football as a cheaper alternative to childcare.

The game is short of coaches and referees and all the time you add financial as well as time commitment you take more people out of the pool of people who are likely to stay in the game.

Previously the vast majority of clubs had qualified coaches managing the team now you often turn up to find it's someone's Mum or Dad who are doing this.

We need to invest in coaches in terms of development, support and retention.

Hats off to you, I think the problems you experience are not unique, however my point was that in my experience most youth football sides actually have quite 'considerable' funds and most teams within that structure are well resourced.

Look at most training sessions for under 6's upward and the training equipment is impressive.

It may be that at times the clubs seem a little hesitant to distribute their money, well the money derived by volunteer coaches giving up their time !!!

I have seen clubs stockpile £1000's when it should be constantly redistributed, for kit, equipment and qualified specialist coaches, but it doesnt happen often.

I don't see finance as the key problem with the youth teams, I also think you needn't feel responsible for the welfare of the England National Team, leave that to the Academy's to ponder, just make a safe, enjoyable environment for your boys to win, lose and make lifelong friends.

 

[The Birdman]

All of them after the Accadamy has been going for 10 years