Messi…..allowed to become great!

By John Cartwright

The other night I saw Lionel Messi score 5 goals in a EURO Championship game for Barcelona against Bayer Levekusen. Following the transmission of this game a documentary was screened about Messi, and it included film of him playing when a boy of 7 years of age. The footage showing Messi playing as a youngster reflected exactly how he now plays as a senior; the ability to run with the ball; beat opponents and score goals exactly like those I had just watched him score against the Germans. From a child footballer to become the greatest player on the Planet is not luck; there has to be several important decisions made about him that allowed this progression to happen.

The Ugly Game

By John Cartwright

Recently, I was unfortunate to see a football match; I think it was a football match, they used a round ball and there were two different groups of 11 players on the field, beyond that there was little else that resembled the ‘Beautiful Game’ as described by Pele. How we tolerate such awful standards and blindly accept the rubbish on view amazes me.

This was a game played by professional players in the NPower league 2, so I did not expect a Barcelona standard, but I should be able to see some playing quality during the 90 minutes. The ball, or should I say the ‘canonball’ was ‘hit’ and headed with vigour but without subtlety and care.

Baresi – Defending Craftsman

Stumbled upon this footage of Franco Baresi in the 94 World Cup final. Obviously we all know about the penalty miss, but it struck me as another great example of how lost the art of defending is today in many players. Baresi had exemplary timing of tackles and an uncanny knack of reading and anticipating play.  Notice how often he is able to step into midfield and overload as well – a starter of moves as well as a stopper of them.  He was also 34 at the time of the 94 World Cup and had missed most of the tournament with a knee injury!

A Real England Manager

By John Cartwright

The job of Manager to the England football team has been a ‘Poison Chalice’ to almost all of those who have taken on the role. Perhaps the problem stems from the title, England Manager, for isn’t it a Coach we should be seeking?  The job requires so much more than a personality, presently having a successful period in Management at club level. The role should include the control of English Football from junior to senior level with the appointee providing a self-designated playing method along with a re-design of the coaching and development infrastructure here.

Play a match? No thanks!

By Stephen Roberts

Growing up I was a street player, I was raised in a quiet cul de sac that led to an entrance of a Junior School, so when school was finished for the day the road was virtually deserted. We played 3v3, 4v4, 5v5 or whatever we had at our disposal with the fencing all around used as goals and a rebound surface.

Those games were fantastic, we learnt to deal with the ball and understood the importance of hitting the target when shooting (the fence was a nightmare to climb) and all of the kids in the road were good players and competition was fierce, just how we liked it.

That cul de sac was our own little Wembley, to such an extent that none of us played for clubs until we were 13-14years of age, the occasional school game was all we played.

DISTANCE: FOOTBALL’S REALITY CHECK.

By John Cartwright

Everything we do in life concerns decisions on distance (time and space); the ‘how long / how far/ ifs/ what’s/ where/ when’ etc. decisions we make occur continuously every day of our lives.  Can one imagine the possible disasters that could happen should our decision-making on distance be incorrect?

What Are We Trying To Do?

By Mark Fogarty

Over the last 16years I have worked at many Professional clubs and in many capacities, from Dev coach, 9-16′s coach, youth team coach, Academy recruitment, first team recruitment etc.
I have met and watched many different coaches and observed many sessions, some good and some bad. During this time I also worked firstly as a coach Educator for the FA and then over the last 10 years, a Coach Educator for Premier Skills, founded by John Cartwright and Roger Wilkinson.

Is Winning Important

By Adam Murray

Is winning important? This is a question that I believe a lot of us have varied opinions on and can open up a big can of worms. As a professional footballer for 14 years at different levels there has been one thing that has not changed, the IMPORTANCE of winning.

If you are winning you are being successful! Now hands up who enjoys being successful? I imagine most of us have our hands up.

Wasting valuable coaching and development time –The Twelve Commandments

By Roger Wilkinson

I remember John Cartwright making the point to always remember that players, no  matter what their level or experience, come to training with expectations, hopes, ambitions and trusting that the coach is going to inspire, teach and improve them. Those sentiments were thrust in to the forefront of my mind when I recently watched an age group women’s international team work in one of the countries we were running courses in.

Individuality

By John Cartwright

My Dictionary refers to Individuality as; ‘different from all other things, and interesting and noticeable’.  I suppose that, like everything else in life, there are levels of individuality with ‘Genius’, I assume, ranked by mankind as the highest level of human accomplishment. But learning never ends and, although a person may achieve such a status in his/her profession to be called a genius, those who reach such heights must continually seek to go beyond their present ability to keep at the forefront of their profession. How does a Genius regard those who don’t possess a similar level of knowledge or ability as him/herself? Do they ignore them or combine with them? Well, I suppose individuality to the point of Genius, produces both types of response and relates to the character of the person in question.