Apparent Lack Of Talent

[Down Under Sheep]

Have been thinking about this for a while now, so i would like some opionions on this topic?

 

There seems to be a major lack of young good prospects coming from the North East region. (Maybe i'm wrong, and i hope i am, having been away from the place for a while).

 

What are peoples opinions on why the talent has disappeared? If in fact it has? Is it still there, just AFC are not seeing it?

 

Has the standard of living afforded to people in the north east (oil rich etc etc etc) meant that kids just aren't playing football anymore?

 

Has in fact the oil industry, where people can get paid the same as a footballer at AFC but have a career spanning 40 years instead of 15 taken a lot of propective talent away from the game?

 

Just want some opinions on why you think there seems to be a lack of local talent? Or if indeed there are some really exciting prospects?

[robbo]

i dont think its refined to the NE region, i think its britain as a whole lacking stellar talent. you can look at the liverpool man city game tonight and who was playing that the clubs had developed?

 

city had nobody.

liverpool had spearing and flanagan (i aint counting carragher since hes not far from retiring) but that was it from 22 players, and even then those 2 are not regular players. hell, id never heard of flanagan before tonight and i really cant see spearing being at liverpool for the long term.

 

going back to topic though, as a region, i doubt our Football development officers are doing enough to get young kids playing from an early age. i know down here its very much geared towards just getting numbers in so that they can write down figures and say their scheme attracted x many kids, the onus isnt on developing talented players.

 

id also go as far as to say coach education isnt where it should be for a country of our footballing heritage. there are no doubt countless dads out there with the entry level qualification that basically means you can identify when a pitch is unplayable, but doesnt actually give you any real coaching credentials. granted the club accreditation schemes in place do reward clubs that try to better educate their coaches, but its not enough.

 

if we want to see real development, we need more clubs established with better ability to attract young players, parents to push their kids away from the house and into sport, then also push the coaches to work towards higher levels of coaching. Lastly, there needs to be a more clear player pathway established so that kids are given the opportunity to go to tournaments and such where there will be club scouts. there will always be ones who slip through the net ie that guy on the newcastle bench who was spotted playing sunday league a few months back so was signed up and is now playing premier league football...but i honestly think the SFA should be looking into giving junior clubs better tie ins and affiliations to senior clubs so that their players have a better chance of being looked at.

 

thats my tuppence worth at least

[Down Under Sheep]

Agree that there needs to be more involvement in the community between the big clubs. Especially links to junior football clubs.

 

With regards to tournaments also i agree. I remember as a kid playing in the champion street thing at hazelhead, Aberdeen football festival in the summer, etc.

[madjockmcferson]

Aberdeen has 4% of the Scottish population, the North East has 12%. I wonder if similar numbers make up the professional players in the SPHell / SFL?

[Down Under Sheep]

Good point.

 

Like i said, maybe there is talent there? I just don't seem to hear about it so much now. (bring back the green final!!)

[ollie1903]

Have been thinking about this for a while now, so i would like some opionions on this topic?

 

There seems to be a major lack of young good prospects coming from the North East region. (Maybe i'm wrong, and i hope i am, having been away from the place for a while).

 

What are peoples opinions on why the talent has disappeared? If in fact it has? Is it still there, just AFC are not seeing it?

 

Has the standard of living afforded to people in the north east (oil rich etc etc etc) meant that kids just aren't playing football anymore?

 

Has in fact the oil industry, where people can get paid the same as a footballer at AFC but have a career spanning 40 years instead of 15 taken a lot of propective talent away from the game?

 

Just want some opinions on why you think there seems to be a lack of local talent? Or if indeed there are some really exciting prospects?

 

Compared to who/when?

[athenaeum]

Kids dont play football like they used to because theres so much more for them to do.

 

Plus the fact that parents are stricter about letting them out.

 

They are also lazy c'unts imho

[RUL]

Well the obvious is compared to the 80's even 90's when was the last decent player to come through our youth system? Personally the last player I can remember thinking "had it" was Kevin McNaughton. At other times I have been impressed with Pawlett and Fyvie on occasions also but never as consistently as Kevin.

 

There is a great reduction in kids playing football, all over Scotland. Watching the Scotland U16's a few weeks back I thought the technical ability on show was poor and teams appear to be favouring players with speed/strength, forfeitng that football fans want to watch good football players.

 

I am fairly sure Robbo alluded to the above being true where he was as coaches feel its easier to coach a player to play footall than to coach someone to be fast and so forth. The result of this appaling coaching technique, imo, is the standard of footballers we are seeing is hopeless.

 

The other problem in Scotland is the demon drink. Sure we all know of cracking players who have been lost to civiilisation, let alone football, due to drink.

[barassie_afc]

Jess, Booth and Robertson aside I cannot really think of a crop of NE talent that has come through the ranks, even the great team of the 80s was not littered with players from other teams/areas.

[athenaeum]

Well the obvious is compared to the 80's even 90's when was the last decent player to come through our youth system? Personally the last player I can remember thinking "had it" was Kevin McNaughton. At other times I have been impressed with Pawlett and Fyvie on occasions also but never as consistently as Kevin.

 

There is a great reduction in kids playing football, all over Scotland. Watching the Scotland U16's a few weeks back I thought the technical ability on show was poor and teams appear to be favouring players with speed/strength, forfeitng that football fans want to watch good football players.

 

I am fairly sure Robbo alluded to the above being true where he was as coaches feel its easier to coach a player to play footall than to coach someone to be fast and so forth. The result of this appaling coaching technique, imo, is the standard of footballers we are seeing is hopeless.

The other problem in Scotland is the demon drink. Sure we all know of cracking players who have been lost to civiilisation, let alone football, due to drink.

 

 

Drink and drugs especially

[dezzy_dan]

i dont think its refined to the NE region, i think its britain as a whole lacking stellar talent. you can look at the liverpool man city game tonight and who was playing that the clubs had developed?

 

city had nobody.

liverpool had spearing and flanagan (i aint counting carragher since hes not far from retiring) but that was it from 22 players, and even then those 2 are not regular players. hell, id never heard of flanagan before tonight and i really cant see spearing being at liverpool for the long term.

 

going back to topic though, as a region, i doubt our Football development officers are doing enough to get young kids playing from an early age. i know down here its very much geared towards just getting numbers in so that they can write down figures and say their scheme attracted x many kids, the onus isnt on developing talented players

 

id also go as far as to say coach education isnt where it should be for a country of our footballing heritage. there are no doubt countless dads out there with the entry level qualification that basically means you can identify when a pitch is unplayable, but doesnt actually give you any real coaching credentials. granted the club accreditation schemes in place do reward clubs that try to better educate their coaches, but its not enough.

 

if we want to see real development, we need more clubs established with better ability to attract young players, parents to push their kids away from the house and into sport, then also push the coaches to work towards higher levels of coaching. Lastly, there needs to be a more clear player pathway established so that kids are given the opportunity to go to tournaments and such where there will be club scouts. there will always be ones who slip through the net ie that guy on the newcastle bench who was spotted playing sunday league a few months back so was signed up and is now playing premier league football...but i honestly think the SFA should be looking into giving junior clubs better tie ins and affiliations to senior clubs so that their players have a better chance of being looked at.

 

thats my tuppence worth at least

 

I'd agree with the bit in bold here.

 

Part of the problem is that the folk taking youth Football at grass roots level are dads and uncles and Jimmy from the pub. They berate and scream at kids for not winning a crunching tackle or hitting the ball long, but fail to see that enjoyment and taking the pressure off them is best for their development. How will kids ever learn the sufficient skills to become a great player in that environment?

 

I'm not sure how it is in the north, but I see this all around Glasgow when I'm playing on a Saturday. It really saddens me to see kids treated that way. It should be all about enjoyment at that age and less about winning. When they enjoy themselves, they will be more receptive and enthusiastic towards training, where you can teach them the fundamental skills.

 

I think Football is in the dark ages here and if we don't do something to address the problems within the culture of our game, then I fear we could be left behind for a very long time.

[vanderark14]

Kids dont play football like they used to because theres so much more for them to do.

 

Plus the fact that parents are stricter about letting them out.

 

They are also lazy c'unts imho

 

agreed, went past the local park a few times now on a Sunday afternoon and there were no kids playing football, on a sunday it used to be full of kids in every set of goals.

[baconman]

Jesus wept where do you start with this one!!

 

Tell you what I'll raise the point about attitude.

 

Our attitude to sport and in particular football is still in the dark ages. We teach our kids to charge around crappy fitba pitches, kicking lumps out of each other, little emphasis on skill, intimidate the oppostion and ref..........................the list goes on!! Even the likes of Lennon do the same thing at the so called highest level..........great advert for the game that prick is?!!

 

Until we change our attitude nothing will change.

[RUL]

I think there's a lot of stereotypical views being offered here and I am not sure how much credence there is in the comments. Most dad's and so forth aren't able to offer any comment these days, the league rules dictate that only the coaches can offer advice to the lads and so forth. There's been a change from 11's to a 7's structure but the basic requirement is that you need money to play football these days and some families can't afford boots and so forth. I understand the Paul Lawrie foundation helps in this regard, with local teams, but more could be done by the SFA in this regard.

 

We all see parks empty but if they put up some goal nets and dished out free balls at schools the parks would be loaded again. We all used our imagination when we used to score goals, smash the ball of the tree and in for the picture perfect goal but the SFA sits with X amount of dosh and never hands out footballs/pumps and so forth. They are sponsored by Adidas but no offer is ever made to offer cheap boots to kids at school or fk all!

[StandFree1982]

I blame the following:

 

Drink Culture

Influx of Foreign players into the leagues

SPL too small and clubs not risking playing youngsters in important relegation / european fighting games

English clubs being able to steal our young players with lure of bigger wages

Getting rid of the reserve league. Although we have the youth league, a lot of players arent getting a chance once they hit 21 and being moved on.

[Stoneybloke]

This is maybe an old fashioned view, but when Scotland produced fantastically talented footballers, there was little or no organisation or coaching. Even proper footballs were a rarity. In fact most kids played in the street with anything they could find, tennis balls being commonly used, which meant that many developed superb ball skills as a result. Those days will never return and there are many other attractions for kids to pursue. Just look at the decline in the quality of the Scottish international side over the years and the number of foreigners playing in the league. In terms of participation, Football is in decline in this country and has been for many years.

[barassie_afc]

correct

 

also, do you think Ronaldinho, Robinho and Ronaldo grew up with proper footballs and brand spanking new, 356G pitches?

 

no, they grew up playing in the streets with anything they could use as a ball, so thats not an excuse we can use, surely?

 

 

Grew up in poverty and had to escape via football ? Unfortunately our white underclass would rather swig cheap alcohol and scrounge off the government. However its probably bigger than that. A lot of nations have moved on in terms of coaching since we had a good national side, we havent and now you are seeing the impact.

[StandFree1982]

correct

 

also, do you think Ronaldinho, Robinho and Ronaldo grew up with proper footballs and brand spanking new, 356G pitches?

 

no, they grew up playing in the streets with anything they could use as a ball, so thats not an excuse we can use, surely?

Think it's more down to the coaching than the equipment!!

 

We probably spent more time coaching tactics and ball skills rather than letting natural talent come through.

 

Any bit of grass we have around towns have "no ball game" signs, and are next to houses! It's difficult to find somewhere locally to play sometimes. The government complain about obesity, then take away parks and sports!!

 

Computer games and TV have probably contributed to the lack of decent players coming through

[Down Under Sheep]

Lots of good valid points, like i said, i don't have an opinion per se, i just wanted to garner other peoples opinions. I certainly remembe when i was i kid, every spare minute was spent playing football, anywhere!!

 

I was just trying to work out in my own head whats changed so dramtically in the space of one generation.

[barassie_afc]

what, you think some of the places these guys grew up in, isnt as bad as Glasgow, Dundee, Edinburgh or Aberdeen?!

 

 

Cmon stop fishing, the favellas in Brazil where the sh*te and piss runs down the street , there is no brew money and folk live in tin huts. Meanwhile our scrounging c**ts are built new council housing schemes, aye its the same

[barassie_afc]

haha no, youve misunderstood

 

thats what im saying

 

youre saying kids are here turn to drink or drugs due to their bad surroundings...well, the favellas as you say ARE much worse, but these mercurial talents still burst through?

 

 

Sorry point was , football is a way out of extreme poverty for some of these guys, we hand out benefits right left and centre more now than ever so the need to escape and improve isnt so great.

[tightbreeks]

I blame the pishy football set up for children in Scotland, especially the big clubs like Hutcheson Vale etc.

 

so much wrong, where to begin.

[Stoneybloke]

I blame the pishy football set up for children in Scotland, especially the big clubs like Hutcheson Vale etc.

 

so much wrong, where to begin.

 

Whatever the set-up does or doesn't offer, as previously said, it will not answer the fundamental cultural and social issues that are at the root of the problem. No matter how wonderful the coaching or facilities are, they are no good without the raw talent in the first place.

[vanderark14]

I blame the pishy football set up for children in Scotland, especially the big clubs like Hutcheson Vale etc.

 

so much wrong, where to begin.

 

too m uch focus on the win here too and not enough focus on developing the talent

[tightbreeks]

too m uch focus on the win here too and not enough focus on developing the talent

yup self serving douchers, smothering talent and ignoring the bigger picture. There are loads of talented kids about its just that they get it in there head that it is the be all and end all playing for these little hitler run clubs.

[Mikeyboy1903]

There are players that have been let go by Aberdeen as they were deemed not good enough... If we take a look a Jack for instance, He wasn't one of the better players Aberdeen managed to have on their Youth books but has managed to start to get some first team experience.

Whatever happens behind the scenes our Youth development team almost have to take a gamble in what they see, But the better players that don't seem to be developing are binned, Most of which go into something else but you sometimes wonder if they could have been a Booth \ Jess \ Anderson .....

 

Money talks and we don't have it for investment.

[Tommy]

Natural ability is being coached out of players.

They are expected to comply with what a so called expert with coaching badges

says is the right way to play.

Yes there are some really good coaches but they are vastly outnumbered by bad ones.

[Mikeyboy1903]

David Templeton being the most recent example. We let him go and told him he was "too small".

 

This beggars belief that a club can not only be so wrong in it's ability to judge a player - or a committee or a quorum of the TWENTY THREE heads that AFC plc employs for this specific purpose - but can be so ignorant, crass and insensitive in selling the rejection.

 

 

 

That doesn't stack up because we're losing over an eighth of a million pounds every home game due to the declining crowd levels. Milne and Miller have alienated its own fan base. It costs very little to use one's imagination and invest in grass roots, affiliating the club to junior (as in youngster) and schools football.

 

 

They know better RS than me and you put together .....

 

I've watched a couple of players that would be decent Youth players to see if they would better themselves at Aberdeen but these guys have already stuck the 2 fingers up at the "regime" at Aberdeen.

 

I've been saying this all along is we need the X-Hibs coach who is now at Celtic ( John Park ? ) ..... He has an eye for talent... I for one think it's our youth development team and not the talent that bangs on the door of AFC.

[K-9]

Seems that in main AFC prefer their players to be from outwith the area for the reason that local lads will go to club but still be mixing with their same mates who will be delving into world of getting wage then hitting town getting drunk which can lead young lads astray (Callum McHattie for instance) whereas take in kids from down road and taking them away from potential dodgy mates and having them in group with other players away from the temptations.

[ollie1903]

Natural ability is being coached out of players.

They are expected to comply with what a so called expert with coaching badges

says is the right way to play.

Yes there are some really good coaches but they are vastly outnumbered by bad ones.

In a way. There is a wealth of talent out there, of that there is absolutely no doubt. You only have to have a look at the success our local boys clubs have had in recent years in their respective juvenile Scottish cup tourneys. It