Soccerates
Vital Squad Member
After the England side managed to crawl its way into the World Cup semi-finals and then fall to defeat of our own making, I sat back and reflected upon where we are when it comes to huge disconnect we have when it comes to producing elite coaches in the game.
We have very good coaches up and down the country, but when it comes to producing elite managers, and elite coaches, we are way behind pretty much every other major nation on the planet.
We are producing good players at all levels - heck, even look at us - propped up by our own production line.
What we don't have, I feel (from being an insider) are properly qualified, nuanced coaches who make it into management and then do well.
We've had an alarmingly low number of top division English managers for decades and their backroom teams are also filled with people from around the globe. I don't blame them for coming and getting the money but there's a huge disconnect when it comes to producing top level coaches in this country.
In my view, we simply do not take it seriously enough - we have many more courses that coaches have to jump through and the costs are an order of magnitude higher than in any other country. These courses run into to tens of thousands to go from a standing start to a full UEFA Pro Licence and this pay to coach model the FA have provided has been going on for the best part of two decades. The amount of coaches I know at the same level as myself who went abroad to gain their UEFA B Licence should be a national scandal.
The costs here have also skyrocketed, with the FA demanding that Academy coaches do the youth awards across three levels to attain the same standards that a foreign coach can do in half the time and for a quarter of the cost. It means that there's a much wider pool of highly-qualified and experienced coaches in other nations than we have here. Subsequently, we have a shockingly low number of A Licence and Pro Licence qualified coaches and managers when compared to Spain, who have over double the amount at each of the top tw coaching levels and nearly three times as many as we do at UEFA B level, which is the mandatory course you need to have to coach at academy level.
The Elite Player Performance Plan has in effect shielded coaches from risk, focusing heavily on player development, which has been a good thing for players, but means that there's little incentives for coaches to further themselves, both by the cost and a lack of real stakes for the coaches to push beyond being a good academy coach. We would not produce a Luis De La Fuente here.
The FA really need to get their act together when it comes to providing coaches from this country a better and more cohesive and import Aly cost effective route to becoming the best that they can be, not just producing good academy level coaches who are merely happy to be there. In a way, coaches are priced out here in exactly the same way fans are and the wages (which is why I won't do it) are nothing near a viable return on investment. The current system is exploitative, to say the least.
If the FA does want to get serious about coach education, then I suggest it does three things:
1. A redesign of the coaching pathway which matches the EPPP program.
2. Reduces the cost barrier to entry for coaches.
3. Works with the independent football regulator to ensure English/British coaches are supported properly when it comes to bringing forth highly qualified, experienced coaches.
We need to have a proper conversation about this, because when the chips are down, we choke.
We have very good coaches up and down the country, but when it comes to producing elite managers, and elite coaches, we are way behind pretty much every other major nation on the planet.
We are producing good players at all levels - heck, even look at us - propped up by our own production line.
What we don't have, I feel (from being an insider) are properly qualified, nuanced coaches who make it into management and then do well.
We've had an alarmingly low number of top division English managers for decades and their backroom teams are also filled with people from around the globe. I don't blame them for coming and getting the money but there's a huge disconnect when it comes to producing top level coaches in this country.
In my view, we simply do not take it seriously enough - we have many more courses that coaches have to jump through and the costs are an order of magnitude higher than in any other country. These courses run into to tens of thousands to go from a standing start to a full UEFA Pro Licence and this pay to coach model the FA have provided has been going on for the best part of two decades. The amount of coaches I know at the same level as myself who went abroad to gain their UEFA B Licence should be a national scandal.
The costs here have also skyrocketed, with the FA demanding that Academy coaches do the youth awards across three levels to attain the same standards that a foreign coach can do in half the time and for a quarter of the cost. It means that there's a much wider pool of highly-qualified and experienced coaches in other nations than we have here. Subsequently, we have a shockingly low number of A Licence and Pro Licence qualified coaches and managers when compared to Spain, who have over double the amount at each of the top tw coaching levels and nearly three times as many as we do at UEFA B level, which is the mandatory course you need to have to coach at academy level.
The Elite Player Performance Plan has in effect shielded coaches from risk, focusing heavily on player development, which has been a good thing for players, but means that there's little incentives for coaches to further themselves, both by the cost and a lack of real stakes for the coaches to push beyond being a good academy coach. We would not produce a Luis De La Fuente here.
The FA really need to get their act together when it comes to providing coaches from this country a better and more cohesive and import Aly cost effective route to becoming the best that they can be, not just producing good academy level coaches who are merely happy to be there. In a way, coaches are priced out here in exactly the same way fans are and the wages (which is why I won't do it) are nothing near a viable return on investment. The current system is exploitative, to say the least.
If the FA does want to get serious about coach education, then I suggest it does three things:
1. A redesign of the coaching pathway which matches the EPPP program.
2. Reduces the cost barrier to entry for coaches.
3. Works with the independent football regulator to ensure English/British coaches are supported properly when it comes to bringing forth highly qualified, experienced coaches.
We need to have a proper conversation about this, because when the chips are down, we choke.
