However in turn, the England manager (whoever that is) has to prevent himself from discriminating against players who play for clubs outside the top six. Its impossible to expect players to make sensible career choices when considering which club to play for, if their ambition is to wear the three lions shirt, and yet the manager won’t pick from any club lower than 6th place. For other countries such as Spain, who have such an extraordinary wealth of talent, this doesn’t have to be the case, partly because there are a substantial number of Spanish players playing for Spain’s top two clubs- Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Another issue for the FA to tackle is to clearly define the relationship between the England Senior and the Under-21 sides. For example, Spain and Germany, tend to keep some of their finest young talent in the under 21 side and allow them to mature at their own pace until they surpass the age of 21- only in exceptional circumstances pushing them into the senior set up earlier. This provides these younger players to grow as both individuals and as a unit, to, when ready, go on to represent their senior sides. However there seems to be a trend with England that when young players have a few good consecutive matches for their clubs, they are rushed into the first team and all the responsibility and pressures that come with such a role. This for the most part seems to have a negative effect on these younger players, who are thrust into the limelight without enough preparation.
There is frankly no way that the Spanish or Germans would of called up the likes of Ross Barkley, Andros Townsend, Raheem Sterling, irrespective of their club form. This is because the German and Spanish FA’s seem to have a better perspective on player development and a greater foresight into the long term future of their national sides rather than a short term view. Allowing the three aforementioned players to develop in the under 21 sides, whilst playing regularly for their clubs would be extremely beneficial for the English senior side- it’s a model that’s used by the best footballing nations in the world. In the short term, placing these youngsters in the senior squad may seem a ‘fair assessment’ of their abilities. However this is completely acting against the long term interests of the national team, by not allowing players to develop at under 21 level and become used to playing competitive international football.
By placing young talents in the senior team after a good run of form for their clubs, it more often than not ends in a promising young player being dropped from the senior squad in the next squad announcement when they drift out of the media spotlight, leaving the player lacking confidence and feeling as if their international chances have been damaged, when really it should just be the beginning of their international careers.
ThisisFutbol.com are seeking new writers to join the team! If you’re passionate about football, drop us a line at “thisisfutbol.com@snack-media.com” to learn more.