Roeder on Sportsweek (5 Live) earlier

[Tom_NUFC]

Roeder was on earlier. Here's a summary of what was said.

 

Michael Owen's recovery is going well. He has been running in straight lines this week. However it is too early to say when he will play, he needs to start twisting and turning in his training, which he will be doing soon, but that will be a big test, as will training with the ball and tackling. But Roeder is optimistic that Owen may be able to participate in a few games this season.

 

He's happy with the general performance of the team so far this season. He was very unhappy with the manner Newcastle was knocked out of the FA Cup, but he's very pleased with the performances in the UEFA Cup, which he sees as a major chance of some silverware this season. It was put to him that considering all the injuries, Newcastle were doing well. He replied by saying that injuries are not an excuse, but that it can make things difficult and that he'd had to call upon young players to step up, and was very pleased in the way that they had responded.

 

Roeder was asked about the Academy situation following Ferguson's comments this week. Roeder said that it is hard to find academy players that are up to the standards, due to the rules about clubs only being allowed to sign players based within an hour of them.

It was put to Roeder that the tradition of the North East as a strong area for producing quality players put Newcastle at an advantage over many other clubs, but Roeder disagreed. He argued that they have to find academy players up to the right standard in a relatively small area, with "a lot of grass" to the south, "a lot of grass" to the north, "more grass" to the west, and "quite a lot of water" to the east.

 

Roeder was asked about Arsene Wenger's comments that FA Cup replays should be scrapped, and he said that he agreed with Wenger, as fixture congestion is a big problem.

[Guest BooBoo]

Disagree with all this bull about scrapping replays. Since when is football all about catering for the big teams. Its those teams responisbilty to build a squad which is capable of competing on various fronts.

[Tom_NUFC]

Aye, I don't think they should be scrapped either.

 

I remember before the one replay rule came in. Replays could drag on and on.

 

I remember us playing Nottingham Forest in a FA Cup tie in the early 90s (I think it was 1991) which went to three or four games.

[Belfast Boy]

I can see why Roeder is against replays though, we had about three against Watford before his own goal knocked us out!

[Mick]

The amount of grass to the North, West and South hasn't changed recently, it didn't stop the area from producing players in the past, it's just an excuse.

[The Bonk]

The amount of grass to the North, West and South hasn't changed recently, it didn't stop the area from producing players in the past, it's just an excuse.

 

An excuse for what?  If the talent isn't there, what can you do?  If you're saying our coaches aren't good enough, then you've got a case. 

 

[Mick]

 

An excuse for what?  If the talent isn't there, what can you do?  If you're saying our coaches aren't good enough, then you've got a case. 

 

 

I expect that the talent is around but we're not finding it or we're not developing it, the only other thing I can think of is that Playstations and Nintendo's are causing problems with kids not leaving bedrooms for hours on end.

[The Bonk]

 

An excuse for what?  If the talent isn't there, what can you do?  If you're saying our coaches aren't good enough, then you've got a case. 

 

 

I expect that the talent is around but we're not finding it or we're not developing it, the only other thing I can think of is that Playstations and Nintendo's are causing problems with kids not leaving bedrooms for hours on end.

 

I hear they have the Internet on computers as well.  That might cause some problems. 

 

On a more serious note, maybe expectations are too high at the moment.  Are too many kids getting compared to the Rooney's and Crynaldo's of the world?  I think club ambition comes into play as well.  Especially at the Toon, where we're so desperate to win something, the youth get overlooked.  Is that the case?  It certainly seems like it from an outsiders point of view.  (I'm a Geordie who grew up abroad)

 

 

[Mick]

 

An excuse for what?  If the talent isn't there, what can you do?  If you're saying our coaches aren't good enough, then you've got a case. 

 

 

I expect that the talent is around but we're not finding it or we're not developing it, the only other thing I can think of is that Playstations and Nintendo's are causing problems with kids not leaving bedrooms for hours on end.

 

I hear they have the Internet on computers as well.  That might cause some problems. 

 

On a more serious note, maybe expectations are too high at the moment.  Are too many kids getting compared to the Rooney's and Crynaldo's of the world?  I think club ambition comes into play as well.  Especially at the Toon, where we're so desperate to win something, the youth get overlooked.  Is that the case?  It certainly seems like it from an outsiders point of view.  (I'm a Geordie who grew up abroad)

 

 

 

You might be right about expectations, a lot of kids are late developers.

 

A few kids look better than they are because they are bigger, the smaller ones catch up and have missed whatever chance they had.

[Guest Knightrider]

Bit of a let down to hear Roeder go along with the 1 hour location radius rule as the reason why many academies aren't producing players up to standard. Complete and utter bollocks and simply jumping on Fergie's bandwagon who has an ulterior motive for spouting this nonsense given he more than anyone has benefited in the past from being able to cherry pick the best youngsters regardless of location, the Neville's are from Bury, Beckham London and Giggs Wales for example. Fergie is a willy character and knows, because of his record with youngsters and Man Utd's standing, that were this rule to be reversed, he'd be able to cherry pick again so of course he's going to say that.

 

This one hour radius ruling was designed to give all clubs a fair chance of developing their own local talent from the Premiership down and to cut out the short-cut or easy fix way of developing talent. That's Wenger, Fergie and now Roeder all coming out to criticise the 1 hour ruling in the wake of England's defeat to Spain, yet deep down I think they know that is not why academies seem to be failing. They are just looking after their own interests here.

 

As big name managers or managers of big clubs with larger than large catchment areas anyway, they should forget about their own interests for a moment and speak openly and honestly about the situation and give their real answers or opinions to the probing questions about developing talent, especially Roeder who knows that level so well.

 

Fergie actually hints towards the real problem with his opinion that there are only a select few natural talents like the Rooneys and Ronaldos out there, that the rest are nurtured and conditioned via hours and hours of practice and coaching. I.e. they become footballers, not born footballers. Ironically wenger also shares that opinion too yet when the debate crops up about developing talent and why we seem to lag behind other nations in that regard, they prefer to speak about other things or give more credence to other ideas, like the 1 hour radius ruling which is just ridiculous.

 

The problem today is that most clubs are out there looking for the next Wayne Rooney and letting not so talented kids but kids with something about them who need hard work and lots of good coaching to actually make the grade, go by the wayside. That's how you have the likes of Lita and Doyle coming to the fore today, cast aside as no Wayne Rooney, they are extremely lucky a good coach like Coppell took a chance on them and that the team that plucked them from obscurity made it to the Premiership to give them a platform to showcase their dorment talent, otherwise, despite being talented or good enough to have an impact at this level (as they've proven in some shape or form), they'd end up as journeymen or going without decent coaching that these raw players need. There are hundreds of Litas and Doyles out there, good enough, but who will end up scrapping it out in Division Three or the Conference. Look at Lee Trundle, an exceptionally skilful player, very talented, but he's no athlete and is a bit of a stroller, he doesn't fit the modern prerequisite.

 

Imagine if he recieved top quality coaching and was given a chance at a higher level in his late teens and early 20s and developed in the right invironment? He could have been a half decent Premiership player. Too late now. How many Trundles are out there? I've seen some fantastically gifted players play on park pitches over the years, whose skills put top-flight players to shame, yet they obviously didn't make the grade. Makes you cry when you see the likes of Amdy Faye playing in the Premiership yet a kid I went to school with who was talented as hell is now playing for Greenock Morton.

 

Football needs to accept that the Rooneys are very rare, that 95% of footballers are made and not born, and require good coaching and the right environment to make the grade, and that includes given youngsters a chance at the highest level, which brings into debate once more the foreigner issue which needs addressed in my opinion.

 

We are taking kids from foreign climes who either grew up playing street football (the best coach there is for any kid) and/or who have been coached by top coaches in their childhood and teens in the right environment, to replace our kids who haven't been brought up on street football or been coached by top coaches, unless they ended up at a Man Utd or another top club, who can offer kids those things, but they only look for the Rooneys remember. It is no wonder these foreign kids look better than our own.

 

Another thing I believe is partly to blame why we aren't producing talent - the destruction of street football in this country which has been replaced by 5-a-side courts 30 quid a pop to hire, chartered clubs where any tom dick and harry with a L1 coaching certificate are coaching kids who want to be footballers, right up to under 19 level, no ball signs and mor and more alternatives to football. Anyone who has witnessed organised kids football in this country will tell you how brutal it is, they very rarely get a kick and pushy parents on the touchline shout "pass it" as soon as they get on the ball. Effectively playing their kids' football for them.

 

Many foreign countries don't have our "organised" grassroots level, kids have street football, that is why Brazil produce technically gifted footballers like they were a factory, one after the other.

 

France do have organised academies for kids, but they have great coaches and even better philosphies, it isn't about winning with them, we have tried to copy and failed because our football culture is different.

 

It needs to change.

 

Newcastle used to regularly produce top-level players, and every decade we could guarantee to produce a top-class/world-class footballer. Not since Shearer burst onto the scene back in 88 have we produce a player remotely close to his level though, that is 19 years, a whole generation and that's not acceptable for a hot bed of football.

 

Look at the current crop, I doubt the Taylors or Carrolls will get anywhere near the level of Shearer, Beardsley, Gazza, Robson, Bruce, Waddle et el, so we could be looking at 30 years since Shearer and another 5-10 from now before we get just one.

 

We need to:

 

1: Adopt a new attitude regarding organised kids' football at grassroots level - we need to somehow replicate or try to replicate street football, thankfully there is a nationwide campaign aimed at doing just that.

 

2: Improve facilities at schools and bring in specialised coaches, PE teachers know no more than your average kid does or parent. Point in example, my eldest nephew was forced to leave his school team because he couldn't get a game in goal his prefered position, he couldn't even make the bench because the PE teacher already had a few 'keepers (not his or the schools fault tbh), thankfully my nephew has found a team to play with, who allow him to play in goal and outfield, now he's improving his all-round game and really enjoying working with specialised coaches who know what they are doing.

 

3: Stop clubs taking kids into their academies, raise the age to 16 to do away with the filtering system that sees 95% of kids told they are not good enough, bye bye, having dedicated years of their lives to that particular club, 90%  of those kids who get told they aren't good enough drop out of the game altogether, only 5% stay in the game, often at lower league level or non-league, surely even 20% told they are not good enough must have something about them to have gotten so far in the first place?

 

4: Replace academies with localised centres of sport with no affiliation to any club whatsoever, so no kid gets turned away, so there is no pressure on kids to perform, to eliminate rejection. When kids turn 16 and they want to go to a club, they'll be old enough to make that decision themselves and better prepared to deal with rejection. Can you imagine dedicating 10 years of your life as a child to adulthood only be told to fuck off at the end of the line? I know a kid who went through that, and it almost destroyed him. I don't caree what you say but that can't be right.

 

5: Bring back the boys clubs, lets see your Wallsend Boys Clubs of the world prosper once again.

 

6: Limit the number of foreign players a club can play, force them to play X number of local youngsters or British kids (this isn't xenophobic), that would soon force them to nurture talent better, to scrap the idiotic search for the Wayne Rooneys. It is widely accepted that the step from reserves/academy level to first-team is all down to coaching, and opportunity, and not so much ability because if they are a whisker away, they already have the ability, it then just needs nurtured that extra mile if you like. That's Wenger speaking, not me. Give me your Taylors over your Boumsongs any day of the week.

 

7: Parents - parents need to stop being pushy and need to stop trying to play their kids' football for them, we've all seen the daft father shouting and balling at his kid, trying to make up for his own failure to make the grade and hoping through his kid, to live the dream. Let them fucking play man, at their own pace, their own level, let them make their own decisions. I swear some cunt is gonna get a slap the next time my nephew is shouted at to pass the ball seconds after just getting on it. I've been patient so far. Does my head right in. At the weekend they were beaten 6-1 by a team who don't get shouted at, who don't get told to pass it, they do what comes natural and as a result play cracking football. The bairn's team chase after the ball and kick it as soon as they get it, anyway, often towards their own goal. Senseless and you can see they get demoralised by the beatings.

 

8: The FA and Premier League need to look after the lower leagues better and provide financial assistance so clubs can improve facilities and train better coaches.

 

9: Coaching standards need to improve at all levels, I'm soon to embark on my L1 coaching course, and honestly, a kid could do it, I understand the need to supply the demand with a constant streem of coaches but they're sacrificing quality for quantity and some of the chartered clubs are a joke, my poor nephew has to wait until the summer to be registered to play league matches, he has to watch his team play league matches because of some inane ruling, all because he joined the club past the dealine. If his club play him, they could lose their chartered status from the FA. He is only allowed to play friendlies, there are 5 other kids in the same situation. By the summer he could lose all interest, not good enough.

 

10: Ticket prices need to drop so fathers can take their kids to the game, or their family, to ensure there is an endless procession of new fans and new footballers to come, today the average family has been outpriced, and kids are missing out on following the game. This is a big issue and is as important as any above.

 

Just my thoughts anyway, something needs done though.

[Keefaz]

This post was too big to even conside reading.

[Lenny]

i read it, and my response.... yes!

[Keefaz]

i read it, and my response.... yes!

 

Actually, I did read it, and my response... terracotta?

[Lenny]

i read it, and my response.... yes!

 

Actually, I did read it, and my response... terracotta?

 

you know i was thinking that as well!!!

[The Bonk]

My question is, did HTT sit there and write that or does he have these long winded response's pre written on his computer?

 

[Guest Gemmill]

My question is, did HTT sit there and write that or does he have these long winded response's pre written on his computer?

 

 

I've asked him in the past why he writes such long-winded cobblers and he claims he writes for himself, not for anyone else.  Strange thing to do on an internet forum.

 

I got about two paragraphs into his post above, then thought I'd do a quick check on the length of the whole post.  Needless to say, that was when I stopped reading.

[Guest Hodgson09]

Good post. When I complete my PhD in exercise and sports science I plan on returning to england to complete the coaching badges required to manage a football club hopefully i can get into an Assistant Managers role in a championship side work my way up into the Premiership. I'd love the opportunity to work with Wenger but I don't believe I would be so lucky.

I'm looking to focus my PhD research into football related injuries and the effective rehabilitation of those injuries.

[Guest Sniffer]

Perhaps you can also sign Roy of the Rovers.

[Guest alex]