- Your View |
- Message Boards |
- Polls |
- Sky Cast
State of the Game debate
We want your views as Sky Sports News investigates the problem of participation in grassroots football.
Back to story
We want your views as Sky Sports News investigates the problem of participation in grassroots football.
Back to story
Are you tough enough to win an amazing trip to Oman with Leo Houlding? Enter now!
Sign up to our FREE Friday email. Each issue is stuffed with exclusive sporting news, soccerettes and competitions.
Play our free Soccer Saturday Super 6 competition and you could win £100,000.
Comments
Nick Freestone says...
The local pitches where I live get cut once a year - need I say more - it is a lack of motivation as people my age would rather go out on a weekend than pay for the priveledge of playing on rubbish and dangerous pitches, sub-standard officials as well as all the other costs and stresses with running a team. Unless you are playing at a decent level it just is not worth it. 5 a side teams / leagues are cheaper, easier to run, quicker and the surfaces are generally speaking well maintained, it's not even a contest.
Posted 12:59 28th April 2008
Phillip Lewis (Liverpool fan) says...
i don't buy into the excuses i have read/heard so far. i think the move towards 5 A-side will reap rewards eventually as in these games thought is concentrated more on control of the ball and thinking about more aspects of the game creating a more intelligent footballer. admittedly 11 a-side is more difficult to organise but there are helpfull websites that provide support for such instances. i know that in my area (wrexham- who sadly got relegated) the reasons for decline is largely based on lack of advertising for trials and so access to 11 a-side football is difficult. to validate such a point my friends and i are currently seeking to play but are unaware of how to join any of the local teams. sadly there is also a culture in sunday league, probably the easiest of 11 a-side to enter, whereby violence is prevelant and there are a large number of players who will enter a game with the sole intention of hurting the opposition, people who do not deserve to play football stopping those with a true passion for the game. better support available at grass roots, for referees and the organisers of clubs , and better deterents for those who have no desire to play the game the right way is the first step....fans will play anywhere, anytime, the next steps can be taken after these are in place.
Posted 12:46 28th April 2008
Ryan Hayes says...
I have played sunday league football since i was the age of 6 and played for both of my schools but had a year out at the age of 16, due to my college education but have been back playing this year for an 11 a side team called the Hayrick along with a 5 a side team at ryton connection. One think i have noticed over the last 2 years is that this is key moment in a teenagers career whether he is going to progress or not onto a higher level, but for most the oppourtunity is'nt there and this needs to change for the future of young kids. I work 5 days a week but still manage to play 3 times a week, but for alot of other youngsters instead of paying the couple of quid for a nice game of football and being active they would rather socialise in another way and go for a drink down there local. 5 A Side is great oppourtunity for people of all ages to come together and have a game of football, I think this will encourage people to go back into 11 a side football in the near future.
Posted 12:44 28th April 2008
Chris Mucklin (Chelsea fan) says...
I've been training kids football now for over 10years and i've never seen it in a poorer state than as it is now. Why! well its easy - the FA have done nothing to help grass roots football and i cant speak for other areas but in Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire the local proffessional clubs are a disgrace when it comes to grass roots football in the community. Yes they put on a lesson here and there but all they care about is hand picking the best kids not letting them play local football and then throw them out after a few years. I must have had over 10 players go to pro clubs and not one is still there. They all hated it after the first season and cant wait to play good local football every week. I've never had an approach from any club wishing to take my players and never had a thankyou. The FA who have taken a back seat until now are also a joke. The level 1 course that they say needs to be done is rubbish, a five year old could pass it. When are they going to realise that a coach and a manager are two separate things and dont go together. A good coach does not necessarily mean he can manage. But in the end the problem lies with parents. Ask them to get involved and 99% of them dont want to get of theier backsides to do anything. How many dads take their kids to the field for a kick about nowadays? Lazy parenting means lazy kids and thats were all the problems lay!
Posted 12:36 28th April 2008
Shaun Clifton (Liverpool fan) says...
I think both Warren Clarke and Lee Durham made some good points, but I also think there have been changes in two other areas that have added to the issue. Firstly small-sided, mid-week leagues are now more widely available than they were a few years ago, so people now have the option of playing the game they prefer rather than the one that just happens to be available. Not everyone wants to play 11-a-side, and at the end of the day the most important part of the sport is the enjoyment of it. Remember as well that to the average person there is a lot more variation in the standard of teams in small-sided games, so it's easier to find your level. Second is a cultural change. Far more people now work weekends than, say twenty years ago. Therefore they may not be available on Saturdays and Sundays. The only 11-a-side usually available in the week is floodlit matches in Saturday leagues, and not everyone is up this standard of football. I think as well that the official figures only take into account affiliated matches. I know in Blackpool for example there is a lot of 'friendly' football between teams from hotels etc. So 11-a-side is being played, just not being recorded.
Posted 12:25 28th April 2008
Stuart Donkin says...
small sided football is more fun and less complicated, plus players develope quicker. they are always involved. 11 aside football nowadays is too complicated, every weekend there is a debate about offside. hardly anyone knows the rules properly and we are expected to teach young kids this rule ? with parents who run the line, and think they know the rules, with parents reffing the game and think they know the rules ! what chance have kids 11 years old got ?? none no wonder they end up playing small sided games. Off side should revert to a simple rule, either off side or not. with regards to players behaviour, why are the FA trying to sort this out at grass roots level ? Get the superstars into line first and then once we see good habits children and more likely to follow and listen to grass roots coaches. Until this happens we have no chance. Hit the players hard, in the pocket and in suspensions Rio ferdinand should get a 5 match ban for kicking the steward, accident or not ! what would have happended if she has been seriously hurt ? then we would have a different story on our hands but the problem is top brass are too scared to do anything and I bet nothing happens to him.
Posted 12:21 28th April 2008
Rob Gateley (Everton fan) says...
I recently started my own club F.C Spartans and take part in the Wallasey Junior league. I coach u6s,u7s,2 under 9s teams and an u13s team and recently went to a league meeting and they intend to knock the teams going into 11-a-side in the league down to 12 teams per division so all teams can play cup competitions (only the u13s boys and 2 girls teams took part this season) now some clubs are able to field 2/3 teams at 11-a-side and they are not going to be allowed so where are these players going to go as other teams will already have there 11-a-side squad , the council postponed 6 weeks and only gave 2 weeks extension on top of the season in a place with 15 pitches only a handful are decent, therefore not all league games are going to be played in some divisions thats without the open age teams playing there as well. The league commitee do a great voluntary job and have their hands tied by an awful council that takes £111 pitch fees with no changing rooms and never cut the grass on a personal level my teams will be ok, but when you have to tell kids who you may have had since the age of 6 that they cannot play for you no more it really is a sorry state for the game, it makes my blood boil but reap what you sow England.......(Would it be possible to mention what a great job Sue Rogan has done as league secretary of wallasey junior league over the years and will be missed )
Posted 11:01 28th April 2008
Warren Clarke (Nottingham Forest fan) says...
I think the biggest problem in English football is with the kids. When i was at school, if you asked us what our footballing dreams were we would say ''to score the winner in the world cup'' or something similar. Ask a kid the same question now and the likely reply will be ''to get an Aston Martin and a big house''. I'm also amazed by the way kids can do 300 keepy uppys and balance a ball on their nose but show no real understanding of the game at all. That is why we appear to be technically outclassed by teams we should be taking apart.
Posted 11:00 28th April 2008
Lee Durham says...
I think its quite obvious that the 16-25 age group is very immature in our country and society as a whole, this age group tends to lack motivation and discipline which are the main causes! This is generally the age group where you get the idiots that are more interested in meeting up for a brawl on a Saturday or Sunday rather than playing tactical football! This is why the more mature people at this age would rather further their education than be battered and abused on a football pitch, also its realistic to think if your playing grass-roots at 16-25 your not likely to make a career through football so the more realistic people look for new options whilst the ill-disciplined people ruin a good kickabout on a Saturday and Sunday for real fans of football!
Posted 09:53 28th April 2008
Add Comment*
All fields are required