The Grassroots Problems

Now, I'm no Henry McLeish. I've not been paid millions to do pointless research to tell people what we all know already, that Scotland simply isn't producing the players that it used to, and if I had been I'd have spent it all on cider anyway and this blog would never happen.

We can all see the problems anyway. We have players who are average at best. For the most part they are "industrious" types, to put it generously. We simply don't produce the players that we used to. This frustrates me no end. I am a lover of football, and by that I mean the game played by Lionel Messi, not the game played by Barry Ferguson. So what are the problems? Why can't Scotland produce players that fans love to watch?

For me, much of the problem lies with inadequate coaching. I am an SFA qualified coach, and by that I mean I turned up to a couple of all day courses in which we ran about mad, and were given a certificate afterwards for. Yes, this is all it takes to become a qualified coach in Scotland. They let you take charge of groups of kids after this. Seriously. So, you are a coach, you have your badge, you know it all. You take over a team of kids. Only, you don't know how to relate to kids. You don't know how to encourage them to have fun. And let's face it, when you're a kid, sport is about fun, isn't it? Not for many coaches. From an early age in this country, there is a horrific 'win at all costs' mentality drilled into our young people. Football isn't fun, so one of two things can happen. The kids can drop out completely, which happens too much. Or, they can stay. But this fear of losing translates onto the football pitch. Kids are so scared to try anything on the pitch in case it doesn't come off, that as soon as they get the ball, they'll get rid of it as soon as possible. Players like Aiden McGeady are a true rarity in this country. They don't want to be the player who loses the ball by trying to dribble, so they don't bother. The result? Players like the aforementioned Backpass Ferguson.

Another problem, and this is purely a personal view, is the youth set ups of clubs in this country. To develop as a football player, a young person should basically play, and play as much as possible. Play with mates, play with a team, play with the school. Only if you are 'lucky' enough to be spotted by one of the clubs and invited to play with them, that's it. That's your football. That's all you can do. How is that beneficial to player development? Aye, fine. You might make it. But inevitably, you're let go. And what reasons do they give? Daft ones like 'you're too small'. Try tellling Xavi his height has held him back.

Sure, there are more basic reasons as well. We all know kids love eating cake and playing video games. And some kids just aren't good enough to make it. But for me, it would take simple changes in mentality to change the fortunes of our game. So why don't we do it? Are we too stuck in our ways? Are we too apathetic? A particularly hideous combination of both? I can't answer that. Maybe Henry McLeish can. That's why he gets the big bucks, and I get cider.