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Friday 5 September 2014

The Way Forward | A Lesson in Game Intelligence

Could it be that English players lack the key skill required to compete in the modern game?
Whenever England play we have an opportunity to analyse, critique and bemoan our standing in the world of football. After a poor World Cup in which we showed naivety and a lack of quality both in attack and defence we have had to sit back and have a moment of existential debate. Who are we? What do we represent as a nation? And most importantly, what is it that we need to enhance which will take us further? 

We even set up a commission to find out the problems (yet to save time one only needed to read my book The Way Forward to find out the issues). Our failings have been attributed to lack of playing time, lack of opportunities and an over-abundance of foreign players in our domestic league which is hampering the development of our domestic players. I have to agree with all the above. However is it a case of our young players just not been good enough? This article will assess what may be the key aspect which is holding English football back.


In our Academy system we have some very talented youngsters, players who can handle the ball, who possess skill and speed. Watching the Chelsea vs Fulham Youth Cup final last season highlighted the level of players our top academies are producing. However, while watching those players you allow for a certain lack of game intelligence, poor decision making and bad timing. You give them the benefit of age and experience and say "they'll get it as they grow older". The question is, do they? 

Watching England play this week and you see a problem, something which does appear a common issue in the development of English players. And while some will blame the manager Roy Hodgson for his conservative, safety first approach, which seemingly restricts the expression and ingenuity from his young players, one does look at the players he has and you do wonder if these players are of the right level, mentally, to help the national team succeed. England’s problem appears to be one of lacking game intelligence.

Street footballers lacking tactical nous
Let us first begin with our captain Wayne Rooney. This is a player who has been a key member of the national team and England’s biggest club this past decade. He is on course to break goalscoring records for both club and country. And yet Rooney has never hit the heights he promised to. Some blame a lack of application, especially in the off-season, and while his buddy Ronaldo was working on enhancing all facets of his game, Rooney appeared to prefer relaxing and holidaying. For a player who evidently struggles physically after some weeks ‘rest’ then this perhaps is not the best mentality to have. 

But I feel the issue with Rooney and the reason why is not on the level of a Messi, Ronaldo or even Iniesta is that he lacks the tactical nous and intelligence to dominate games. Last season van Persie complained of being denied key ‘passing lanes’ in games, which was restricting his effectiveness. The issue was plain to see, it was Rooney. While being given free licence to roam around the pitch by David Moyes Rooney was actually taking away tactical options for the team. His apparent lack of appreciation to move into space to create for others was not there. It was a selfish approach to wanting the ball, not playing with and for the team. It was same in the game against Burnley this past week where Rooney kept taking up Juan Mata's space time and time again. It was no surprise United struggled as their captain was denying their playmaker opportunity to get on the ball in the areas he can do damage.

Yes Rooney’s stats last season looked good, but one only has to look at how United performed as a team to see the problem. For me, Rooney fails to appreciate space and tactical positioning. It is not too surprising when he considers that 95% of his development came from the streets as a kid. For me Rooney is not a modern player in the sense of using his brain, he is a street football who while effective, lacks the intricacies of the mind to achieve further greatness. Effectively he is a raw talent, still

When he broke on to the scene he was free of any worries at all and this is why he excelled, however you were looking for more from him as he developed, more insight, intelligence and nous. Unfortunately that just doesn’t seem to have come.

The same can be said of Jack Wilshere. The ‘best technical player’ of his generation, one on whom we all expected great things as a 17 year old coming through at Arsenal. It appeared finally that we had the player we had desired, we had our own Iniesta. And yet, five years later and Wilshere appears to have gone backwards. Yes two long term injuries have not helped but one does have to ask questions of his intelligence in regards to picking these up, especially the broken foot he suffered last season playing for England, going in for a wreckless challenge after taking a poor touch in the wrong place. 

Wilshere is what I would call ‘all technical’ in terms of his skill set, what he lacks is the tactical intelligence to use these technical skills smartly and effectively. What I mean by this is his understanding of movement and positioning. Compare him to Xavi and Iniesta, or Isco and Thiago to compare players closer to his age, all four of these players are more intelligent and more tactically astute than Wilshere. They understand the tactical set-up they are playing in, they understand how to create space for themselves and others with smart and intelligent movement. They also ‘read the game’ ahead of them excellently and thus this allows them to have greater 'vision', they see pictures before they receive the ball. Wilshere for me struggles with this side of the game. And yet, this is the most important element of the modern game!

Success comes from the mind
When people talk of Dennis Bergkamp while at Arsenal they admire his mind and intelligence. His peers speak of a player who saw four or five moves ahead, who 'read the game' to near perfection and because of this made the best decisions all the time. He was a ‘genius’ not with what he did with the ball but what he did with his mind. Cruyff was the same, an intelligent thinking player, van Persie's development has come from his understanding of reading the game and becoming a thinking player. Any surprise all these players are Dutch? Any surprise that Barcelona's development school has its roots in Dutch coaching culture? The appreciation of space, movement and decision making is what defines these players and their methods. 

Henry was the same, a different type of player to Bergkamp but very methodical in his approach, analysing the opposition, aware of space and the opposition. Yes he was fast, but it was his speed in his mind which made him so effective. Arsenal’s successful period came because they had a team full of intelligence.

So when we compare these players to the present day and particularity look at the English players Arsenal have we see an issue. Chambers, Gibbs, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wilshere, Walcott and now Welbeck. All young, technically sound players. Around them are players like Cazorla, Ozil and Arteta, smart and intelligent players who appreciate the tactical side of the game. But the concern I have for the development of the English core at Arsenal is that Wenger is not a coach. Wenger is a facilitator of players development. His philosophy is one of allowing the players to create, express and develop. 

Wenger is not overly concerned or focused on tactics and while he wants to play a ‘tiki-taka’ style of football, he appears to neglect the key aspect of this approach, positional play. In my opinion Walcott and Wilshere in particular have not progressed to the levels they could have because of the lack of coaching they have received to enhance the tactical side of their game. I would even argue that Ozil is struggling to impact games because the Arsenal team is not set-up tactically well enough to bring out best in him.

Compare this to what Brendan Rodgers is doing at Liverpool we see a fluid style of football yet built in a strict tactical set-up. This allows freedom of movement and positional interchange but with an understanding of space and positioning. Rodgers' coaching and philosophy is much more Spanish in its tactical elements than Wenger’s and this is why I believe Raheem Sterling has excelled. 

Sterling has been guided and coached by Rodgers to enhance his tactical understanding of the game and his progression as a player this past 18 months has been startling because of this. He has been able to fuse the technical skills and physical speed and agility he has with more intelligent movement, and a greater understanding of positioning and timing. Sterling plays like an intelligent player because in my opinion he has been educated as one. 

I do not believe he would have reached the levels he is at now had he developed under Wenger. And counter to that, I believe the English core at Arsenal would excel more under Rodgers than under Wenger. Yes, I believe Brendan Rodgers is a better coach and developer of talent than Wenger. I believe that Rodgers understands the needs of the modern game and appreciates, like myself, that the tactical side of the game is the most important element. So while Wenger obsesses over technical excellence (which is important) he appears to ignore or neglect the importance of this with tactical, game intelligence.

Now whether it is ‘intelligence’ in terms of being able and willing to learn I am not sure and wouldn’t like to pass judgement on that regarding the players mentioned. However when you consider the career of Frank Lampard, a player who was educated privately and who is regarded as one of England’s smartest players, then you do see a correlation with his ability to excel under a very tactical coach in Jose Mourinho. 

Compare that to Joe Cole, a much more free spirit in terms of his football ability and you see the issue England appear to have. While many lambasted Mourinho for ‘ruining’ Cole what they perhaps fail to comprehend is that Mourinho was trying to improve the player, yet perhaps Cole lacked the intelligence to comprehend and implement what was asked of him. 

Lampard is proof that intelligence can propel a career forwards, just like Scholes for United who is perhaps the most tactically intelligent footballer we have produced.  As I always say, it is just such a shame we didn’t build our national team around him like Spain built theirs around Xavi. Having that kind of intelligence and understanding as your controller on the pitch has proven to be a catalyst for success, just look at Philipp Lahm for Germany, a player Guardiola said “is the most intelligent player I have worked with”. The continued signs and hints of what is needed to succeed are constantly there, listen to those greats of the game, listen to their peers, their success has come from their ‘mind’, their intelligence.

Thomas Müller is another great example. This blog sees in the German forward a player of the past and future in one. It also sees a player who is an anomaly, an outlier as such, when it comes to the modern game and youth development. You see the thing is Müller does not look like a modern footballer. He looks unorthodox and gangly, simply put not a player you associate with ‘Academy’ football. But it is not that he can’t play, in fact this blog rates Müller as one of the most intelligent, versatile players in the modern game and find the criticism people throw at him incredible. 

It is his appreciation of space, his positioning and excellent timing of runs which makes him such a special player. No surprise therefore that his nickname is  "Raumdeuter", which means "interpreter of space". Müller is arguably one of the most tactically astute players in the modern game, no wonder therefore that he plays for the best club in world football as well as being a key part in his nation’s World Cup success. And yet there are some in England, both fans and media, who continue to say he is a poor player, that he lacks certain elements. The irony of course is that it is England and their ‘star’ players who are the ones lacking, whereas Germany are producing players with the intelligence to succeed in the modern game. Instead of criticising perhaps we should learn?

A failure of youth coaching
And so, if our players lack game intelligence, if they fail to understand tactical systems, strategies and positioning then we have to question the work done at youth level. Between the ages of 12-15 years is where I believe the tactical intelligence should be developed and ingrained in the players minds. 

Coaching at this age should be about educating players on their appreciation of space, positioning and decision making. Many of the top clubs use a 4-3-3 as the system which will educate the players best, allowing overloads in midfield, the creation of 1v1’s out wide and the freedom to move and interchange. 

It is important however that the players are able to play in various positions and not be pigeon holed early, they must ‘learn the game’ from a variety of different positions in order to gain a deeper appreciation of the game as a whole as well as being offered different spatial problems and possibilities. 

Above all the coaching at this age group in particular needs to be of a high level. It needs to be detailed, focused and structured. My concern is that in too many Academies it is not. It is laboured, basic or lacking in fine detail. I believe this is the reason why we are not producing players who are ready to play at 16/17 years is because we have not educated them sufficiently about the game. Too many coaches have focused on unopposed passing practices which fail to offer any tactical decisions, and are to be honest a waste of time. 

Players need to be in environments which will challenge them, stretch them and make them think. They need to be in realistic environments relevant to the game which will make them appreciate their role, space and positioning. Several years in this kind of environment, where players are educated to be thinkers of the game, educated to learn to read the game, learning their role and the tactical elements involved, will hopefully produce tactically intelligent players who appreciate the fine detail of the game and who don’t just possess great technical skill with little tactical nous. 

English football is lagging behind because we are still doing a disservice to our young players, and while several decades ago our problem was we neglecting skill over physicality we now neglect tactical intelligence over technical excellence. Hopefully we learn the error of our ways and begin to embrace the tactical side of the game, begin to see the importance of the mind and game intelligence, to be a great player you need these psychological factors (which for me should be the key focus of a players development).

Too often I feel English coaching and the culture of the game as a whole has failed to appreciate, embrace and perhaps understand this key element. It is a shame that players like Rooney and Wilshere have not been able to reach the heights they promised, yet with coaches like Brendan Rodgers and Roberto Martinez perhaps our next generation of young talent can be enhanced and educated to reach these heights. Hopefully the next generation of youth coaches can begin to appreciate what their focus as youth developers should be, to develop smart and intelligent footballers. 

The Whitehouse Address @The_W_Address

Following up from the acclaimed The Way Forward | Solutions to England’s Football Failings Matthew Whitehouse brings you Universality | The Blueprint for Soccer’s New Era, looking at the evolving game and pointing to what the future game holds. 
In Universality Whitehouse looks at the past two decades of the game assessing the key changes in tactics, philosophies and positions. Whitehouse lays down his thoughts on where the future game is heading. For those with an interest in the game, especially coaches, this is a book you will not want to miss!

You can get your copy of Universality by clicking this link


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1 comment:

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