Paul Scholes & the demise of young English talent

England got very lucky in stumbling on a very talented generation of players - the likes of Beckham, Gerrard, Lampard, Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole, Owen and others. For one reason or another, it never came together for them at major tournaments, but they retained their place in the team for years, and now that they're getting on, the youngsters coming behind (who aren't quite as gifted) haven't had their chance

The other problem is all the way from junior levels to the top level, physicality has been prided over technical ability and intelligence - it's why Scott Parker was in the England team ahead of Michael Carrick. Gerrard too is a bit like that - too many glory balls, not enough intelligence. There was one article I read recently (I think it was in The Blizzard) that suggested Roy of the Rovers was to blame, because it told a whole generation that it didn't matter how you played for 89 minutes because it would all come good in the last minute with a bit of luck - which is of course ridiculous

There has, to a certain extent, also been a lack of coherence and consistency in the tactics the various England coaches have employed - too many shifts in style. The lack of time players get together at international level these days doesn't help - hence why a Spain side built around Real Madrid and Barcelona players works, because most of the players play together anyway. If I was England coach now, I would look at Manchester United very closely, and build the team around those players (Rooney, Cleverley, Carrick, Young, Smalling, Jones etc), with a few others thrown in from Man City, Chelsea and elsewhere. But Roy Hodgson is doing a decent job at the moment

I can't say I really follow the England team too closely these days. Nor have I done so for the last fifteen years.

But it does seem there is the opportunity for younger players to play for the full international side much sooner than in the past. There's also the chance for them to play more international football than their predecessors because of the large number of qualifying games and the wider deployment of substitutes. To this effect I was taken by Wildebeeste's reference to how rarely Mike Summerbee played for England. Checking the facts, Summerbee appeared eight times for England. That's less than Danny Welbeck and only once more than Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. On the surface that strikes me as something positive.

The downside is that, even after being capped by England, players are not automatically first choices for their club teams. That would have been wholly and utterly unthinkable back in the mists of time when a young Wildebeeste was able to recite complete team line-ups. The reason, of course, is to do with the multi-nationalism of the game - it really is a classic example of an international free-market economy - linked with squad systems and team rotation.

So you get a situation where it's possible for a player on loan to play for England. That might not be a bad thing if it's a young player gaining regular experience at the same level of his parent club. In fact it may be a mightily good thing. But,in the historical context, it's an amazing thought.

Then you have examples of players not making it at the largest clubs, being moved on and still being part of the England squad. Andy Carroll didn't crack it at Liverpool and is now with a more modest club by Premier League standards. But will that blitz his England prospects? There's no reason why it should, I suppose, but - again - that's an indication of change within the Premier League.

Indeed, it's worth asking how England would do in the Premier League these days. Actually that's always been a tempting question. Would, for example, England's 1966 World Cup team have performed better over forty-two games than the Liverpool team that won the league in 1965/66? Or the Leeds side that finished second? Or Manchester United in fourth place? It's not automatically true they would have done and, besides, it's always a moot point as to how international teams compare to the best club sides (Spain and Barcelona anybody?). Yet, even from my detached and half-interested perspective, I wouldn't imagine the present England team would do particularly well in the Premier League. Maybe that talks in equal measures about the strength of the league and the internationalisation of the clubs as well as structural weaknesses. I don't know enough to really argue it further.

Yet I'm struck by the strange case of Jack Butland who played in the Olympics and gained a full cap at the start of the season. Last year Butland didn't play a single game for his Championship parent club. Indeed, he only made his league debut for Birmingham this season. Last season, as we know, he played in our division. And, after keeping a clean sheet on his Cheltenham debut, I believe I'm right in saying he conceded his first goal in league football to Billy Bodin of Torquay United. Now Butland is a full-international. I'm not sure if that's due to him being a future superstar - which he may well be - enlightened selection and youth development policies (which I'd like to think is true) or a drastic weakness in a playing position where the English once considered themselves so strong. As usual, I guess it's a mixture but it's a telling story. The biggest certainty is that Butland needs as much first team football from now on - including the right move at the right time. It'll be interesting to see what happens next to Jack Butland.

I'd guess that if Scotland FC were in the English League they would hovering around the in the relegation zone in the second tier these days, and yet the great Celtic side of 1967 won the European Cup with a team who were all born in the West of Scotland. Where did all the talent go? A vegetarian haggis to anyone who comes up with the answer but somehow it seems that, like West Indian youngsters and cricket, Scottish lads are no longer captivated by football. Maybe the fact that the Scottish League is full of second rate players from exotic lands rather than Glaswegians has something to do with it. Plus the loss of the Home International Championship, when the match against England was the one occasion guaranteed to galvanise the Scots.

Wales would possibly be Third Division play off material but Northern Ireland would struggle to take a point away from Plainmoor or Home Park at the moment.

I reckon Wales and Northern Ireland are slightly better than Wildebeeste suggests. But not by a great deal.

Running a Northern Ireland team, in particular, seems an uphill struggle these days. Not only is it susceptible to its best players increasingly playing lower down the English leagues but it's a small place anyway: 1.8 m people which isn't too much more than Devon and Cornwall combined. Then it has the problem that its' footballers are also qualified to play for the neighbours. Look at the demography and you suspect that around 40% of the population may seriously consider that option if it was available to them as footballers. I know I would, because political considerations aside, playing for or supporting the Republic of Ireland strikes me as fun compared to the dourness of being associated with Norn Iron. I can see why players such as Eunan O'Kane have followed that path especially since their communities would have been caught up in the craic of Ireland getting to those World Cup and European Championship finals. I'm almost tempted to enquire as to why Northern Ireland doesn't just pack it in - in both football and all aspects of life - but I know carrying on is important to a million of those 1.8 million people. And some of them carry umbrellas which may give me a nasty prod. If you follow my drift.

Scotland may not be Championship relegation material but they're definitely Championship level. You only have to see where their players play and to which size of club they migrate, even from Rangers and Celtic. I love Scottish football but what a bloody mess. I don't think it's been quite the same since that day a few years back when they went in to an international match with an Argyle player wearing the number nine shirt. At least it was Plymouth Argyle rather than Argyll.

All of which suggests that international football is often very ordinary football that shouldn't be portrayed as something that's on another plane. That's fair enough, surely. It doesn't have to be good; it's just two countries putting out representative teams to play each other.

But the question remains about our own international football policy following the forthcoming international recognition of the People's Republic of South Devon. I'm arguing for this to be based on the TQ postcode area which, I think, brings in South Brent and Chagford. Stefano is over the border in Ivybridge, so we'll need him to move so he can head up the disciplinary apparatus.

Now, by my reckoning, that gives us at least 250,000 people which is enough to give the likes of Andorra, the Faroes and San Marino a good stuffing. I'm sure Mervyn Benney will happily take on the role of president of the PRSDFA and there's some excellent talent around the Devon FA and SDL who can administer at international level. Playing wise we've got Dan Gosling and we can easily naturalise Garry Monk and Mike Williamson even if they weren't born in our democratic republic. Mark Ellis likewise will qualify by residence and education although he was born in Plymouth. He'll be the People's Captain naturally. Ashley Yeoman will fit nicely alongside Gosling in midfield and we can use Kettering's Ben Gerring and Ed Palmer in defence. Also, with Truro struggling, some of the PRSD lads down there might be moving back to more local clubs. Admittedly we're a bit short on numbers so we'd probably have to draw on a few Bastows with Mark Loram lining up as the oldest player ever to appear in a World Cup qualifier. Robbie Herrera has agreed to be the international team manager so we're sorted there.

I'm anticipating Plainmoor becoming the national stadium but politics are likely to intervene. As we aim to be an ecofriendly, broadly socialist republic there's a strong case for making Totnes the capital. That may point to a national stadium in TQ9. Equally there's an argument for a Brasilia or Canberra-style purpose-built capital city on a greenfield site near somewhere like Broadhempston or Ipplepen. I guess that would be the perfect opportunity for a wholly new stadium.

But, on balance, I believe Newton Abbot should be our capital because - as we all know - it's the beating heart of South Devon in reach of moor, sea, towns and countryside. Forde House would be my parliament building and Coach Road the national stadium.

Torquay United could be a thorny issue. Would they remain in English football or join the FIFA-recognised Trago Mills South Devon National Football League which claims heritage back to 1902. Or 1903. Make that 1903 so we can have a 110th anniversary match against Brazil next year. It's too late for this.

Get Torquay United on board and we can bring Champions League football to Plainmoor. I'm sure we can see off teams from Latvia , Iceland or wherever in those July and August qualifiers. Group stages - here we come! That means leaving the Europa League to Buckland Athletic with them benefitting from a Thursday night football deal with PRSDTV.

As for the wider political dimension I favour the idea of a figure head presidency style. There don't appear to be many outstanding candidates I'm afraid. How about Jack Critchlow who has written so many good letters to the Herald Express over the years? Alpine Joe can be our honorary consul in Cornwall. As for the London embassy, we may have to settle for somewhere like Holloway or elsewhere in north London rather than Mayfair. I'm sure there are a few of our citizens in those parts with the diplomatic skills to successfully represent our interests.

Ruritania? Yep, we can beat them too.

You've brightened up my morning, Joe! Ironically, though, Jack Charlton, like Brian Clough, Alex Ferguson and Bill Shankly, went through his managerial career claiming to be a Socialist. He also spent his time as a player kicking lumps out of the likes of Lee and Summerbee. Do you remember his little black book? Watching the 1970 Cup Final replay it's a fair guess that the talented but arrogant Peter Osgood was one of the names in it.

Tennis, of course, is a middle class game for middle class kids. Kevin Davies's mam and dad were not in a position to send Kevin to the USA for training in the finer points. Mind you, having had the pleasure of regularly watching Davies when he was a teenager at Chesterfield I can confirm that, far from the big battering ram created (very successfully it must be said) by Sam Allardyce, he actually possesses some very silky skills. It was his creative and intelligent use of the ball that persuaded Blackburn to pay that big fee to Southampton.

I don't believe that there are no undiscovered Messis or Ronaldos out there in our cities. When I lived in Nottingham and occasionlayy wandered down to the Forest Recreation Ground there were always lads from Hyson Green kicking a ball about and some of them were geniuses. There was no chance of any of them making it professionally because they were too alienated (and also too cool, preferring to wear their shorts over trackie bottoms and pose rather than to run) although St Ann's did provide the game with Jermaine Pennant, who was snapped up by Notts County.

What we need, of course, is a system which provides equal opportunities for the lads from Hyson Green and the Manor, with money spent on providing them with the coaching and facilities they need in their schools and communities. In other words, the only answer to the football skill shortage is Socialism!

And with that, I am off back to bed with a cup of coffee and
today's Guardian.

Yeah, reckon the playing fields sell offs and centrally set targets might have had more to do with it than Guardian-toting teachers.  

Oddly enough, I've always found teachers to be a pretty conservative bunch too. I guess the "teachers as communists" line fits neatly into the "zionists"/reds under the bed narrative though.

You were meant to say:

"I resemble that remark".