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Why is it that, despite the quality of its league, England consistently fails?
England’s elimination from Euro 2016 by an Icelandic team that has never featured in a major tournament is bound to raise questions, notably this one: How effective is input by foreign managers on the English game?
Blaming their exit on the quality of players is unfeasible because, firstly, there is no lack of quality in the England squad and, secondly, several of the most impressive teams at the tournament have no more than one or two recognisable players.
The obvious query, though, would be about their ability to create and nurture young talent while ensuring that established players keep performing well.
Iceland’s success has come as a result of superior team spirit, motivation and, more importantly, tactics. All three fall in the manager’s domain.
England coach Roy Hodgson, who resigned following the humiliating defeat, has not inspired confidence in even the most dedicated and optimistic team supporter.
He has no domestic record to speak of, his squad selection had a number of startling omissions and their performances in the Euro 2016 warm-up matches were, at best, unconvincing.
Perhaps the area that needs investigation when trying to solve the issue of the country’s lack of silverware is: How are talented English managers identified and nurtured? Answer: They are not.
When searching for a (presumably England-born) manager to replace Hodgson, the Football Association (FA) has very little in the way of options. Foreign managers dominate the Premier League, not only in terms of numbers, but also in terms of success.
The last Englishman to win the Premier League was Howard Wilkinson when he led Leeds to the title in 1991-92.
The amount of money that became available to even the more modest Premier League and Championship clubs in the advent of the era of television rights means that teams can attract coaches who have already achieved success, domestically and abroad.
It just makes good business sense. Why employ a local lad when you can send a representative over the Channel to nab the tactician of a less wealthy but more successful club? No manager would decline.
England’s conundrum was not created overnight, so it will not solved overnight. For decades, domestic strategists have been alienated, resulting in a landscape that becomes exponentially inhospitable for them.
Despite being a team sport, football has long been a game that rewards the remarkable individual, often at the expense of what an idealistic supporter would call the “greater good”.
The aforementioned amount of money involved in club football raises the stakes to a level where the health of a country’s national team is not considered.
This, combined with the fact that the Premier League is – according to a 2013 report by Deloitte – the richest league in the world, means that the FA’s implementing of regulations which benefit anything other than high-profile clubs is not even considered, let alone attempted.
There simply will not be a way to regiment the employment of managers without compromising the quality of the league and, subsequently, the earnings of extremely powerful clubs. Not unless, of course, it can be applied universally – and this will not happen.
A potential solution could be to implement an apprenticeship programme that either mandates or rewards clubs which deploy English coaches in an assisting capacity. But if this was to happen successfully, a number of egos might need a level of management that could render the venture more trouble than it’s worth.
– TEAMtalk Media
