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Is Britain lacking in football skills?

Football skills
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Roger Spry is a thoroughly fascinating man. The former Wolves apprentice has worked with some of the most successful coaches in European and world football, including Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger and Mario Zagallo.

He has spent the last 25 years working as a conditioning coach, helping to improve the skills of some of the most talented players in the world like Luis Figo and Deco.

Although he is almost unknown in England, Spry knows what he is talking about. And he believes British players need to improve their skills game to get into line with their European and South American counterparts.

When I asked him about his role as a conditioning coach, I assumed he worked on fitness. His reply was suitably swift - on the continent a conditioning coach works on technical skills rather than athletic ability.

He also thinks we need to change our mentality to the game from an early age, focussing on enjoyment and development rather than the pursuit of victory.

What do you think? Is he right? Are British players lagging behind their world counterparts? How can we change this mentality?

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comment by Yossi The King (U3884388)

posted Jul 12, 2007

We don't produce players with induvidual skills like the south Americans counrties do.

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comment by Tony_D (U6069886)

posted Jul 12, 2007

We English, and note here I said English not British, have a rather annoying little character trait.

Rather than solving a problem in it's early stages and saving ourselves vast amounts of grief we wait, and wait, and wait until the problem becomes so vast that we end up with a crisis on our hands.

Of course Spry's way is "right", they've known how to produce proper footballers in Europe and South America for decades.

But English football has not quite sunk low enough yet for it to decide to change it's ways. And until English football is in such a mess that there is no other option than to "sort it out" we will carry on doing what we always have done.

Sorry folks, may sound cynical, just being realistic.

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comment by DunkirkRovers (U8857051)

posted Jul 17, 2007

Why hasn't the English FA contracted Roger Spry to 'coach the coaches' in the real technique of the game?? It is obvious that a huge change is needed in English coaching and management methods in the areas of technique, match tactics and overall strategy to actually achieve something for a change. The English FA needs to set up a training programme for coaches led by people who really know something about the game, like this man.

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comment by Tony_D (U6069886)

posted Jul 18, 2007

Why, since this article has been here for days, have only 3 people commented on it?

Pretty much validates my point about us English.

Much rather "oggle" at the departing Beckham and live off what he did rather than look to the future...

Wow...feels so good to be right...

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