Redknapp warns of England doomsdayBy GRAHAM OTWAY
Last updated at 21:47pm on 28th February 2008
England could be in the international wilderness within a decade unless radical changes are made to our footballing culture, warned Harry Redknapp yesterday.
Redknapp, whose highriding Portsmouth team is dominated by overseas players, believes the long-ball game favoured by so many teams at all levels is to blame for the current shortage of home-bred Premier League players
Redknapp expresses his concern at English players and his admiration for Trinidadian players and women Shaka Hislop has introduced to himAnd, after watching Wednesday night's dour FA Cup replay between Middlesbrough and Sheffield United, Redknapp says numbers will continue to decline unless coaches and managers revert to the passing game.
"I'd like to see every manager get his players to try to pass the ball to each other," said Redknapp.
"That would improve the standard of the game throughout the country from the lower divisions all the way through.
"I've seen a few games lately and thought 'what is that, a football match, why don't they try to play some football?'
"We need to encourage young players. It's going to be a problem for the England team in years to come unless we do something. The standard at youth level at the moment in my opinion is at an all-time low."
Halfway through the Cup replay, Redknapp switched channels to watch a game that he believes proved his point.
"It was Barcelona against Valencia. There were four minutes to go and Barcelona were losing 1-0 and the commentator said they had to get the ball forward.
"But they just didn't kick it upfield in the air and hope it would drop to someone. They kept playing and passing and they got a goal. They had a belief in how the game should be played.
"We need to produce more managers and coaches who believe in playing football. A lot think the long ball is the way to play and are quite happy to lump it and play horrible and win."
Redknapp also pours scorn on the argument that the long ball is the only way to survive in English football's lower leagues.
"When I was manager of the Bournemouth team who walked away with the title in the old Third Division, we had two little wingers and played our way out of the division.
"I still see too many just happy to kick the ball anywhere. You can coach players and get them to play football. Glenn Hoddle went to Swindon and they passed it through midfield. He improved people by encouraging them to play good football. But there are too many clubs just prepared to lump it anywhere.
"Certain clubs have good young players who will not develop into players who can step up into the Premier League because their clubs don't want to pass the ball. They're never encouraged to play football."
Redknapp remains a committed fan of many members of the current England team. Players such as Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand fell under his wing at an early age, but he despairs at the next generation.
"The current England group is fantastic but when you start going down lower it is going to get harder because big clubs are signing more foreign kids. It's not ideal.
"At Portsmouth we've had a couple of kids in from Trinidad this week who look very good players but you think, 'where are the English kids?'
"We need to start finding some and need to produce them at a younger age. But where will they come from? They're not playing in the streets, we are not producing and I don't see a great amount of talent about.
"I watch youth games and there aren't too many players who are jumping out at me.
"I don't see too many coming through like Joe Cole or Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard or Jermain Defoe."
Source:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/sport/football.html?in_article_id=522651&in_page_id=1779
