The FA Community Shield... Early marker or just another pre season fixture?

As the TDA sat down to watch the Charity Shield a few things were being discussed.... can City live up to the hype of their squad and spending power? Can United deliver on their promise to improve on last season with their new younger (English) squad? And will the Charity Shield mean enough to the players for us to get a real game?

Well the latter left us under no illusion, probably the best Charity Shield in recent times!

What was clear is that Sir Alex had certainly learnt from the loss at Wembley back in May.  Despite still lacking total match fitness and sharpness the way United pressed, and their 1 touch combination play in the final third, was at times Barcelona-Esq.

The first half, for United, highlighted a need for a world class centre midfielder, someone who can dictate the tempo of games as Xavi and Iniesta do for Barcelona.  Tom Cleverley, who looks a real prospect, has clearly learnt the game during his loan spells away from United and looked comfortable in the centre of midfield.  A young man with great early vision, able to play off 1 touch and not afraid to play under pressure in tight areas.  

Sir Alex seems to have done it again.... assembled a squad of young gifted players able to win titles and even champions leagues!

City on the other hand can learn a lot from their Manchester rivals.  Potentially the best squad of players in the Premier League, but yet they still seem to have the shackles on at times through negative tactics.  A lack of creativity in the centre of park meant limited quality service to the front 4.  

Both Barry and De Jong, as good as they are being holding centre midfielders, fall a long way short of some of the other top 4 clubs midfielders (Wilshere, Fabregas, Adams, Gerrard, Lampard, Essien).  However, City will get some success this year due to their size and power, and with the added spice of Aguero to come (and who knows who else may be brought in) I’m sure City will capture more Silverware this year – Just not the League and certainly not the Champions League

The result will emphasise that although City can buy all the best players in the world, if you haven’t got the Experience of winning Leagues, Champions Leagues as United have it makes it very difficult to sustain a challenge over a full season fighting on all 4 trophy fronts! 

An introduction to Strength & Conditioning

Strength and Conditioning is the physiological development of athletes for sport performance. The role of the S&C coach is to bridge the gap between the theory of training and applied training, helping athletes to refine their attributes so they perform better and remain injury free.

Strength & Conditioning is not just lifting weights - it encompasses the entire development of the athlete and what is needed to improve physical performance. 

This includes all corrective, core stability, balance, Plyometric, strength, speed and agility, and endurance training. 

We can also access pre-habilitation programmes to ensure optimum preparation prior to training or match-day to ensure optimum performance. 

Here at the TDA we have access to several Strength and Conditioning coaches who work alongside our technical coaches to assist them in designing specific programmes that will address the particular need of the athlete. They design and implement individual programmes, coaching correct exercise techniques, administrating performance testing, conducting functional screens and always ensure athletes are training safely and effectively. 

There are many ways that a well constructed programme can be of benefit - a systematic, progressive periodised programme will target both strengths and weaknesses and will help maximise performance gains.

For more information or to see how Strength & Conditioning can work for you and your team get in touch!!

A Numbers Game....

Are kids at grass roots level playing enough football? Following on from our previous blog on “changes in youth development”, we wanted to focus on the amount of football being played at grass roots level. Whether it’s on the park with friends, or training with a local club, are England’s kids spending the right amount of time with a football at their feet?

The average grass roots child in England from U-10’s through to U-16’s might receive 1 hour of training, and play 1 hour in a match in the space of 1 week. At school the average child participates in 2 hours worth of physical education per week (but this is not always football). What the kids do outside of school away from organised football is sometimes limited – (Weather, Child Safety, Xbox, TV, and Internet!). I think it’s safe to say that a majority of kids don’t rush home from school and go straight to the park anymore! In fact, it has been said that on average, a child plays up to 14 hours of video games per week!!! 

So we can work out that roughly, a child aged 10-16 years might play anything from 3 – 6 hours of football per week.

Now consider this:

K. Anders Ericsson, a psychologist at Florida State University researched into the amount of hours of practice and game time that it takes an individual to become an expert. He came up with the figure of 10,000 hours being what is needed for an athlete to become a master in his/her chosen sport. Now I’m no mathematician but I have put my limited mathematical skills to the test!

From the age of 10, if a child were to play 4.5 hours of football a week, that would work out at roughly 40 minutes of football per day, and would take them until around the age of 53 years old until they were considered an “expert” using Mr. Ericsson’s theory. Due to age, a footballer’s career is often short lived, so to be a master of the game at age 53 seems an extremely unlikely scenario.

Compare this to the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta, who regularly clocked up around 2-3 hours of football a day from a young age and are presently considered “experts” or “masters” of the game. Are our youngsters in this country getting anywhere near this sort of time dedicated to playing?

It is said that actual time spent playing in a football match as opposed to playing on the park or practicing, is a big factor in the development of young players. This theory isn’t exactly rocket science, as the more a player is used to playing in a competitive match and dealing with match situations, the better they will adapt and learn.

Statistics show that in England young footballers at grass roots level up until the age of 16 will have played roughly between 150 – 200 matches of football. Now, compare this to Spain, where by the age of 16 a young Spanish footballer will have already played in 500 matches! More than double that of a child in England!

These statistics don’t apply to every young budding footballer, of course there will be exceptions, some footballers are naturally more gifted than others, but these figures just give a little insight into the amount of time, hard work and dedication needed to succeed in the beautiful game.

Spanish Deja Vu...

As I sat watching the U21s first game in Denmark it became all too familiar; An English team chasing Spanish Shadows!

Once again, this time with the youngsters, we saw technique and the ability to find time and space on the ball, conquer an English team that was suppose to deliver so much promise.

Although England came out with a credible draw it was obvious to see to the gap between the two sets of players.  Man of the Match Thiago, currently of FC Barcelona but having only played 13 games looked like a seasoned professional in the middle of the pitch, and would easily fit into any team in the Premier League.

The Spanish U21’s looked every bit capable of reaching the same levels as their senior counterparts and stuck to the same principles and philosophies that have made Spain the current European and World Cup holders. 

Spain enjoyed 64% of the possession and made 690 passes, with a pass completion rate of 86% compared with England’s 36% possession and 370 passes, with a pass completion rate of 80%.  Even more staggering is that Spain made 383 passes in England’s half while England only made 189 passes in Spain’s half. 

Even though Spain conceded a sloppy goal late on, the evidence is there to support this style of total football. 

Having been outclassed by small technical players, the FA must surely sit up and take note and look to implement changes throughout the football pyramid.  

At the TDA we firmly believe in delivering technical fundamentals and teaching the ability to apply that in any game situation.

For more information on our programmes please visit the website www.tdacoaching.co.uk

EURO U21 Preview......Players to watch!!

Xherdan Shaqiri

Shaqiri is a 19 year old Swiss, left footed midfielder.  Currently playing his football at F.C Basel, he has made 11 appearances for the Swiss National Senior team.   

Shaqiri is an attacking winger operating on the right hand side who likes cutting in onto his left foot like so many wingers today. 

He made his mark during the qualification period by scoring a ‘worldy’ against England where he cut in from the right hand side and fired one past a helpless Joe Hart.

                                                      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJAGDUKlEf4

Thomas Pekhart

21 year old Pekhart was at Tottenham Hotspur until 2010, next season he will be playing his football in the Bundesliga with F.C Nuremburg.

Pekhart is a towering centre forward standing at 6ft 2”, and it is this height that helped him to be the top scorer in the qualification period with 9 goals in 6 games!!

His height combined with his technical ability and work rate will make him a big threat in this tournament.   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgT4I0nLaaw

David De Gea

The 20 year old Goalkeeper currently has the Number 1 shirt at Athletico Madrid having kept 24 clean sheets in 84 games during his time there. 

Has been heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford to replace retired Edwin Van Der Sar.   Critics and peers are predicting big things for the young keeper citing him as the best goal keeper of his generation!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kgyx7tehgw&feature=related

Juan Mata

Mata is a 23 year old Valencia winger who can play on either wing.  Mata is a very attacking, positive player who loves to get forward with a wicked left foot!

Mata has scored 9 goals this season for Valencia and was part of the World Cup winning squad with Spain last summer.

Rumours have been circulating that Liverpool are interested in signing Mata.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZv0GgauQt0&feature=related

Thiago

20 year old Thiago is currently a fringe player at FC Barcelona having scored 3 goals in 13 games. 

Thiago is a versatile centre midfielder playing understudy to Xavi and Iniesta, which is no disgrace.

Thiago’s Father, Brazilian Mazinho was a world cup winner with Brazil in 1994 but Thiago has chosen to play for Spain.

Thiago was a substitute at Wembley for the 3-1 win over Manchester United.  

Thiago will be fresh having not played as much as other players in this tournament and will be keen to show his club manager just what he can do on the big stage.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBBc2xeEWZQ

Years ahead of English clubs

Check out this video of Ajax Academy! So far ahead of English Development its frightening!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vboXBbRfgzY

Changes to Youth Development

Plans drawn up by the Premier League are in place to restructure youth coaching in this country, which could result in those aged 10-18 getting three times as long on the training pitch.

.

Under current regulations young players at Premier League Academies, all over the UK, can only receive one and a half hours coaching each week, compared with academies in countries such as Holland and Spain, where clubs can coach every hour of the day if they want.  This continual commitment to youth development is the key to the technical attributes we associate with great players such as Johan Cruyff, Marco Van Basten, Xavi and Iniesta, who are all graduates of the Ajax and La Masia Academy programmes. 

            

The Premier League plans, backed by Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United’s Academy Director Brian McClair, could see those aged players aged 10-18 getting three times as long on the training pitch.

“It’s a fantastic philosophy and we hope that, in years to come, we have more time with young players, to teach them the basics, the technical ability and to have the confidence to take the ball all the time. We’re good at that, but we’re not as good as Barcelona at this moment in time. It’s a wonderful challenge and we can always accept a challenge.”

- Sir Alex Ferguson speaking after the 3-1 defeat to        Barcelona in the Champions League Final.

Current Academy regulations state that young players can receive no more than 3,760 ‘contact time’ hours on the training pitch up to the age of 21.

Young players at the Ajax academy in Holland and Barcelona’s La Masia facility can expect to receive 7,000-8,000 hours of coaching between the ages of 10-18.

  

Another restriction to player development in the UK is that both Premier League and Football League clubs with academy licences, can only source players aged between 14-16 from within a 90-minute radius of their home ground, however that is reduced to 60 minutes for those under 14. In contrast, Spanish clubs can recruit from the whole country.  This ruling is set to be reviewed but it is highly doubtful that the Spanish rule will be mirrored but any change can only bring about positive influences in youth coaching philosophies. 

The move to increase ‘deliberate practice time’, as called for by Ferguson, is viewed as a key aspect of Youth Development and one that will enable leading clubs to produce a new generation of leading players.

By hosting Barcelona in the Champions League Final at Wembley it seems both the FA, and Premier League have sat up and taken notice of other philosophies and are striving to implement them into our youth coaching practices.