Ban kids from full-size games or we'll never produce our own Messi

Posted Monday, June 27, 2011 by The Sun

HE used to walk on to football's biggest stages and even competed in the greatest football tournament on the planet - the World Cup.

As a player he represented his country, as a manager he held his own in the Premier League until relegation took its toll.

But now his life is spent slogging up and down motorways to watch eight, nine and 10-year-olds playing football for the sheer love of the game on worn-out pitches and mudbaths - venues a million miles away from those he used to grace.

But it is here, at the very grass roots of our national game, that Gareth Southgate knows a revolution in British football must begin.

If we do not transform the way our kids are taught to play football then we as a nation will never reach the giddy heights attained so emphatically by Barcelona.

Southgate, in his role as the FA's elite performance director, watches kids being forced to play on full-sized pitches in 11-a-side games and recoils in horror.

And he watches the parents on the touchlines, shouting and screaming as they seize on their chance to be Alex Ferguson for 60 minutes or so.

It has to stop.

Southgate's blueprint would only permit 11-a-side matches at Under-13 level with an emphasis instead on 9 v 9 and 7 v 7 games for younger players.

And the matches would be played on reduced-sized pitches using smaller goals.

The former England defender, 40, said: "Everyone has to get on board with it and parents, too, have to realise why it's right.

"How often do you see little Jonny getting the ball, trying to take someone on or play a pass out of defence and he loses it and the opponents score? His team-mates point the finger and parents go mad on the touchline.

"So the next time he has the ball he hoofs it down the field out of play and gets a round of applause - daft isn't it?

"At the moment there is one long league season but we want to split the season into three. Start with friendlies, then a league and a third part where teams of similar strength play each other instead of getting hammered by ones at the top.

"That's not easy for some parents and junior teams, especially those who like winning all the time."

Southgate added: "We didn't see that playing 11 v 11 on a big pitch with full-size goals when you were 10 was ridiculous - now it seems obvious.

"If you had a hairy-legged striker who had grown up quickly, he would get to play over a little lad who had more skill.
Teams just played one way from back to front as quickly as possible.

"Paul Scholes was the best player I ever played with and he wasn't a big lad. But I think he came through because Manchester United are one of the most patient clubs, whereas a lot aren't.

"We must be careful not to become Barcelona obsessed. But if I was a small kid in England, I would look at them and think, 'Do you know that small guys can make it'.

"When I travel up and down the country, I'm seeing as many Barcelona shirts as anything else.They are talking about bits of skill they've seen and they are open to different ideas. Now we've got dads and kids looking at it and saying 'Why aren't we playing that way?'"

Southgate added: "Remember, I didn't see us play in a World Cup until I was 12 because we didn't qualify in 1974 or 1978. We didn't qualify in 1994, either, or for the last Euros. It's not alien territory.

"There's an acceptance that we've got to look deeper at ourselves. We are realising it's not just the fault of one manager who is in charge at one given time or one ball that didn't cross the line or whatever.

"Generally speaking, we've lacked enough creative players. In my lifetime in England, I've only seen Gazza, Scholes and Rooney who were truly great and had the creativity to unlock a packed defence by dribbling or passing.

"The FA guidelines for years were about direct play and organisation but football has evolved. We're not in a disaster zone but we can't stand still while others go forward.

"I worked with Glenn Hoddle and Terry Venables who were excellent forward-thinking coaches. But are we encouraging those types of people as much as we could be?

"The more experienced people like that we can get involved, the better. I know they would be happy to help other coaches."