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Why it’s time for the FA to take responsibility

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In a week where the new FA chairman Greg Dyke outlined his ‘vision’ of 2022 world cup glory for the national side, but ruled out any such feat at the upcoming World Cup in Brazil, the FA must take responsibility for England’s failings.

The FA can blame the Premier League as much as it wishes for England’s inability to compete at international tournaments, and of course there is no doubt that the Premier League has some questions to answer. For me however, the FA has much bigger questions to answer themselves. They can blame the foreign managers for opting for cheaper European players , but by doing this they are continuously avoiding larger issues.

One of these issues is player education. Now by this I don’t mean sending the likes of James Milner and Ashley Cole back to school – no disrespect to the pair but that didn’t work the first time around. A lot of English players and their agents need to be taught and encouraged to make better decisions, one’s that will enhance their chances of gaining an England place, and in the process making a bigger pool of talent for the England manager to choose from.

An example of this would be winger Scott Sinclair. Whilst at Swansea, during their first season in the top flight, Sinclair was a automatic first choice and was a prolific player for the Welsh club. His performances for many merited an extended run in the England side. However at the end of the season when Manchester City came calling, Sinclair and his agent made a poor decision, to sign for the riches that City could offer the youngster. This was clearly a bad decision, the now West Brom midfielder, went from being a guaranteed starter for Swansea to sitting in the reserves at Manchester City behind the wealth of talent they possess. Jack Rodwell another example of making a bad career choice, leaving behind a first team spot at Everton to join City.

These particular scenarios highlight the importance of making good career choices, keeping your mind wholly focused on representing our country at a senior level. Although perhaps this is what separates the exceptional players from the rest?

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