England / France - Failure & Responses

[Im_Spartacus]

The last time France failed to qualify for a world cup in 1990, they hit back in spectacular fashion. They went back to grassroots, stole players from all over their empire, invested in youth by setting up Clairfontaine, all with a plan to culminate in hosting the world cup 8 years later. Forget about today, which is clearly the death of that generation of players, but look what happened when they got it right - best team in the world for best part of a decade.

England's failure in 1994, seemed to result in no great changes being made, although this bollocks about Burton has been on the boil for years, but still seems not only uncertain, but is seen as a bit of a white elephant.

Regardless if England "fail" in this world cup, it is obvious to a blind man on a galloping horse that we have absolutely zero talent coming through to replace the so called "golden generation". Should we not find a job for the likes of Gerrard Houllier who would love to work back in England, ask him to do whatever the fuck it was he did in France, build our youth coaching to the best in the world with the aim of being serious challengers in 2018 whether we are hosting it or not.

It just seems that our youth policy has no substance at all as things stand, and every fucker is still arguing over Burton, when it is crystal clear that the FA need to be throwing their money at it to get the very best talent for England and English clubs.

Or is it just that the often threatened "we have too many foreigners in the PL" which is now coming to bite us on the arse in the next few years and is to a large extent irreversible?

[Ted Hughes]

I think it's partly because the academy system has turned out to be breeding ground for Ishmail Miller's & Lee Cattermoles rather than Messis & Zidanes & partly because we still have many kid's coaches/parents who have a Graeme Taylor/Charles Hughes mentality. The parents also often see £ signs when a kid has a modicum of talent & that's what motivates them rather than a love of football.

As you say, the FA were also supposed to be building an English replica of the French elite academy but decided to put more private boxes & free champagne in Wembley stadium instead, thus running out of money.

When Ferguson initially said the academy system was a pile of shite, I laughed at him thinking he was jealous of our success. After seeing scores of talented kids at City get worse rather than better & those who do come into 1st team contention often riddled with bad habits & lacking any kind of football intelligence (Weiss being the latest) I've completely changed my mind & agree with him. It breeds mediocrity. What we've been coaching them I don't know but we haven't produced 1 player of consistant quality, not one. It's not so obvious when all your 1st team players are shite but it's become so, now we have good ones & you can compare.

Very few other clubs are doing better though, they're all shite. Hopefully we'll nick all their best players & get better coaches to teach them but for England; it's looking grim. Perhaps the next batch will be better though when Sir Trev's influence bears fruit.

[Rag_hater]

The kind of football that is liked in england sliding into tackles flying around at a 100 miles an hour no time for skill is the reason why we will never win a major tournament.
People in UK seem happy thinking the prem is the best league in the world and the are watching the best quality there is where it is far from the truth.
The rest of the world plays the game in a way that is more skillful so the Uk will not compete with it because it plays the game in a different way that is not good enough to win against good teams.
However it appears that english fans think they have the best but it is nothng more than the strength the money.
Unless there s a change in mentaity on how the game should be played(the englsh fans like it being played by real men as somebody said) there is little hope.

[Kladze]

The kind of football that is liked in england sliding into tackles flying around at a 100 miles an hour no time for skill is the reason why we will never win a major tournament.
People in UK seem happy thinking the prem is the best league in the world and the are watching the best quality there is where it is far from the truth.
The rest of the world plays the game in a way that is more skillful so the Uk will not compete with it because it plays the game in a different way that is not good enough to win against good teams.
However it appears that english fans think they have the best but it is nothng more than the strength the money.
Unless there s a change in mentaity on how the game should be played(the englsh fans like it being played by real men as somebody said) there is little hope.

Nice of you to elucidate us as to why English clubs are always so poor in European competitions :-)

[Ted Hughes]

The kind of football that is liked in england sliding into tackles flying around at a 100 miles an hour no time for skill is the reason why we will never win a major tournament.
People in UK seem happy thinking the prem is the best league in the world and the are watching the best quality there is where it is far from the truth.
The rest of the world plays the game in a way that is more skillful so the Uk will not compete with it because it plays the game in a different way that is not good enough to win against good teams.
However it appears that english fans think they have the best but it is nothng more than the strength the money.
Unless there s a change in mentaity on how the game should be played(the englsh fans like it being played by real men as somebody said) there is little hope.

Nice of you to elucidate us as to why English clubs are always so poor in European competitions :-)

Perhaps one day we'll get the occasional crappy English team into the latter stages of the Champion's league or the Uefa Cup. We can only hope.

[Slim]

The kind of football that is liked in england sliding into tackles flying around at a 100 miles an hour no time for skill is the reason why we will never win a major tournament.
People in UK seem happy thinking the prem is the best league in the world and the are watching the best quality there is where it is far from the truth.
The rest of the world plays the game in a way that is more skillful so the Uk will not compete with it because it plays the game in a different way that is not good enough to win against good teams.
However it appears that english fans think they have the best but it is nothng more than the strength the money.
Unless there s a change in mentaity on how the game should be played(the englsh fans like it being played by real men as somebody said) there is little hope.

Nice of you to elucidate us as to why English clubs are always so poor in European competitions :-)

Perhaps one day we'll get the occasional crappy English team into the latter stages of the Champion's league or the Uefa Cup. We can only hope.

An all English Champion's League final? Not if the Norwegian's have something to say about it.

[Im_Spartacus]

The kind of football that is liked in england sliding into tackles flying around at a 100 miles an hour no time for skill is the reason why we will never win a major tournament.
People in UK seem happy thinking the prem is the best league in the world and the are watching the best quality there is where it is far from the truth.
The rest of the world plays the game in a way that is more skillful so the Uk will not compete with it because it plays the game in a different way that is not good enough to win against good teams.
However it appears that english fans think they have the best but it is nothng more than the strength the money.
Unless there s a change in mentaity on how the game should be played(the englsh fans like it being played by real men as somebody said) there is little hope.

Nice of you to elucidate us as to why English clubs are always so poor in European competitions :-)

Perhaps one day we'll get the occasional crappy English team into the latter stages of the Champion's league or the Uefa Cup. We can only hope.

Clearly the clubs involved in the CL have 50% or more foreign players. RH's comments are perhaps relevant to the international side which is where I was heading with the post, as opposed to the academies of PL clubs, although admittedly the two are interlinked.

I think RH is right as you were about the way we coach our kids. I remember not long ago hearing that we were changing the rules for kids football as the pitches were too big until age 12, or some other bollocks.

If I think back to my formative days, the best players stuck out like a sore thumb. I was at Bury from 10-14, and some of the players there were fucking awesome, but of them all, only Phil Neville got a career out of it, when I swear at 12/13/14 there were many better players who given the right development would have progressed into players just as good if not better. Our training was shite, no concentration on skills, but lots on fitness and physicality. Multiply that around the country, where the best players at all the lower league clubs are just wasted by 13/14 and are told by their parents to concentrate solely on their exams so let the football slip.

Someone should be stepping in for these kids who are borderline but not uber talented (like Beckham was for example), having an academy/school of maybe 150 kids per year and even the ones signed upto top clubs have to attend the academy until they have completed their education (school leaving age is going upto 18 in a couple of years) to age 18 so the FA can ensure that the ENGLISH players get the coaching the national association wants, wheras the clubs import talent, and the best english players are pushed aside without getting the attention they deserve

[Ted Hughes]

The kind of football that is liked in england sliding into tackles flying around at a 100 miles an hour no time for skill is the reason why we will never win a major tournament.
People in UK seem happy thinking the prem is the best league in the world and the are watching the best quality there is where it is far from the truth.
The rest of the world plays the game in a way that is more skillful so the Uk will not compete with it because it plays the game in a different way that is not good enough to win against good teams.
However it appears that english fans think they have the best but it is nothng more than the strength the money.
Unless there s a change in mentaity on how the game should be played(the englsh fans like it being played by real men as somebody said) there is little hope.

Nice of you to elucidate us as to why English clubs are always so poor in European competitions :-)

Perhaps one day we'll get the occasional crappy English team into the latter stages of the Champion's league or the Uefa Cup. We can only hope.

Clearly the clubs involved in the CL have 50% or more foreign players. RH's comments are perhaps relevant to the international side which is where I was heading with the post, as opposed to the academies of PL clubs, although admittedly the two are interlinked.

I think RH is right as you were about the way we coach our kids. I remember not long ago hearing that we were changing the rules for kids football as the pitches were too big until age 12, or some other bollocks.

If I think back to my formative days, the best players stuck out like a sore thumb. I was at Bury from 10-14, and some of the players there were fucking awesome, but of them all, only Phil Neville got a career out of it, when I swear at 12/13/14 there were many better players who given the right development would have progressed into players just as good if not better. Our training was shite, no concentration on skills, but lots on fitness and physicality. Multiply that around the country, where the best players at all the lower league clubs are just wasted by 13/14 and are told by their parents to concentrate solely on their exams so let the football slip.

Someone should be stepping in for these kids who are borderline but not uber talented (like Beckham was for example), having an academy/school of maybe 150 kids per year and even the ones signed upto top clubs have to attend the academy until they have completed their education (school leaving age is going upto 18 in a couple of years) to age 18 so the FA can ensure that the ENGLISH players get the coaching the national association wants, wheras the clubs import talent, and the best english players are pushed aside without getting the attention they deserve

The biggest problem with the England team the other night was that they couldn't play the kind of high tempo & tackling game that they would in the PL. If they'd played the way English club sides do they'd've had no problem beating Algeria. Players bottling it under pressure in an England shirt is a different problem to not having talent. If you put together a skill, goals, passes etc video showing the best in Europe over the last 5 years, Rooney, Gerrard & Lampard would figure heavily in it & compare with most of the best in their positions. Ashley Cole & Glen Johnson would compare favourably for skill to almost any fullbacks in world football. There's 5 players for a start who between them couldn't pass wind v Algeria. That's a psychological rather than physical problem.

What worries me more is where the next Gerrard, Lampard etc will come from. I haven't seen more than a few decent prospects in the 20-21 age bracket in the whole country, both our Johnsons & Joe Hart being amongst the best.

[Lev Bronstein]

Despite the fact that the Sky 4 have done OK in the CL, the layer below haven't pulled up many trees in the Europa/UEFA/whatever cup. Underlining what we all know - the massive gap between the top 4 and the rest (at least up to now).

Whatever happens after the WC, I can see the need to replace quite a few of the England squad in preparation for Euro 2012. I can't see Lampard, Ferdinand, Gerrard or James lasting the pace.

The temptation must be to wipe the slate clean and start the campaign in autumn with a squad that will be mostly under 25. Sure there'll be venom from the press, sure they'll be given little chance, sure they'll struggle, but in four years time there's a chance that England, with the right manager, will be a team.

[Ted Hughes]

Despite the fact that the Sky 4 have done OK in the CL, the layer below haven't pulled up many trees in the Europa/UEFA/whatever cup. Underlining what we all know - the massive gap between the top 4 and the rest (at least up to now).

Whatever happens after the WC, I can see the need to replace quite a few of the England squad in preparation for Euro 2012. I can't see Lampard, Ferdinand, Gerrard or James lasting the pace.

The temptation must be to wipe the slate clean and start the campaign in autumn with a squad that will be mostly under 25. Sure there'll be venom from the press, sure they'll be given little chance, sure they'll struggle, but in four years time there's a chance that England, with the right manager, will be a team.

Fair point about creating a 'team'. That could make up for the lack of many brilliant individuals but unfortunately we have to qualify for the Euros & it's likely that Gerrard, Lampard & Co will be wheeled out on zimmer frames along with 97 year old Beckham, anyone Harry recommends & a plethora of talentless raglets the press get suckered into believing are world beaters.

Can't agree about our teams in the Uefa. Some of course have ducked out almost deliberately, not wanting to tire players, but teams like Fulham & Everton have competed in spite of having no resources to speak of.

[Lev Bronstein]

Despite the fact that the Sky 4 have done OK in the CL, the layer below haven't pulled up many trees in the Europa/UEFA/whatever cup. Underlining what we all know - the massive gap between the top 4 and the rest (at least up to now).

Whatever happens after the WC, I can see the need to replace quite a few of the England squad in preparation for Euro 2012. I can't see Lampard, Ferdinand, Gerrard or James lasting the pace.

The temptation must be to wipe the slate clean and start the campaign in autumn with a squad that will be mostly under 25. Sure there'll be venom from the press, sure they'll be given little chance, sure they'll struggle, but in four years time there's a chance that England, with the right manager, will be a team.

Fair point about creating a 'team'. That could make up for the lack of many brilliant individuals but unfortunately we have to qualify for the Euros & it's likely that Gerrard, Lampard & Co will be wheeled out on zimmer frames along with 97 year old Beckham, anyone Harry recommends & a plethora of talentless raglets the press get suckered into believing are world beaters.

Can't agree about our teams in the Uefa. Some of course have ducked out almost deliberately, not wanting to tire players, but teams like Fulham & Everton have competed in spite of having no resources to speak of.

I sort of see your point, re uefa but I'm sort of sticking to mine. Put it another way, if the PL was so good we'd see more efforts like Fulham's - which suggests a gap between the second layer of the PL and the second layer of other leagues. (Mind you we could get into a discussion about the lack of genuine competition in the PL -up to now anyway. And we've had that one a million times)

One of the problems at the moment is that England have one or two class players. They are built up to be world beaters, "Rooney . can win us the World Cup" sort of thing. To my mind this has two effects. First, too much pressure is placed on too few shoulders. Second, Rooney, for example, starts thinking the entire team, structure and tactics revolve around their over-inflated talents. Either way, the strength of the team, the group is diminished.

You, like myself, has spent many a year watching football. We've seen a team of eleven talented individuals play like eleven individuals and get beat by a team that plays like a team. I think that the national squad have forgotten that.

[Dazzacity]

The kind of football that is liked in england sliding into tackles flying around at a 100 miles an hour no time for skill is the reason why we will never win a major tournament.
People in UK seem happy thinking the prem is the best league in the world and the are watching the best quality there is where it is far from the truth.
The rest of the world plays the game in a way that is more skillful so the Uk will not compete with it because it plays the game in a different way that is not good enough to win against good teams.
However it appears that english fans think they have the best but it is nothng more than the strength the money.
Unless there s a change in mentaity on how the game should be played(the englsh fans like it being played by real men as somebody said) there is little hope.

Was it your aim to type complete shite??

[Ted Hughes]

Despite the fact that the Sky 4 have done OK in the CL, the layer below haven't pulled up many trees in the Europa/UEFA/whatever cup. Underlining what we all know - the massive gap between the top 4 and the rest (at least up to now).

Whatever happens after the WC, I can see the need to replace quite a few of the England squad in preparation for Euro 2012. I can't see Lampard, Ferdinand, Gerrard or James lasting the pace.

The temptation must be to wipe the slate clean and start the campaign in autumn with a squad that will be mostly under 25. Sure there'll be venom from the press, sure they'll be given little chance, sure they'll struggle, but in four years time there's a chance that England, with the right manager, will be a team.

Fair point about creating a 'team'. That could make up for the lack of many brilliant individuals but unfortunately we have to qualify for the Euros & it's likely that Gerrard, Lampard & Co will be wheeled out on zimmer frames along with 97 year old Beckham, anyone Harry recommends & a plethora of talentless raglets the press get suckered into believing are world beaters.

Can't agree about our teams in the Uefa. Some of course have ducked out almost deliberately, not wanting to tire players, but teams like Fulham & Everton have competed in spite of having no resources to speak of.

I sort of see your point, re uefa but I'm sort of sticking to mine. Put it another way, if the PL was so good we'd see more efforts like Fulham's - which suggests a gap between the second layer of the PL and the second layer of other leagues. (Mind you we could get into a discussion about the lack of genuine competition in the PL -up to now anyway. And we've had that one a million times)

One of the problems at the moment is that England have one or two class players. They are built up to be world beaters, "Rooney . can win us the World Cup" sort of thing. To my mind this has two effects. First, too much pressure is placed on too few shoulders. Second, Rooney, for example, starts thinking the entire team, structure and tactics revolve around their over-inflated talents. Either way, the strength of the team, the group is diminished.

You, like myself, has spent many a year watching football. We've seen a team of eleven talented individuals play like eleven individuals and get beat by a team that plays like a team. I think that the national squad have forgotten that.

Re Uefa cup; I don't think the top sides we have in it are arsed about it. City, in theory, will be next season, but if we're in a top 4 spot &/or challenging for the PL , it will soon go to the bottom of our priorities too. I think the 2nd layer of our league is way ahead of almost everyone elses bar perhaps Spain. Our 2nd layer is Liverpool, City, Villa, Everton etc. I recon that's pretty good.

Re England, I agree about the team structure/ pressure thing but it's not just about underperforming imo; most international teams do, it's about sometimes grossly underperforming to an almost unbelievable level.

Look at MacClaren's team. We were all technically inferior to Croatia & they were an example of how football should be played. Until we got our act together under Capello & it was suddenly realised that Croatia are not even on the same planet in any aspect of the game as a fully functioning England team. Mostly MacClaren got the piss taken out of him because of that, so he goes to the mecca of football coaches & wins the league! Now the same players are producing MacClaren performances under Capello!

[Bianchi on Ice]

I wouldnt say we were on a different planet to Croatia Ted. Who would you rather play needing to win tomorrow? Croatia or Slovenia?. In Zagreb, England scored first, game turned on its head, Croatia ripe for the counter. Its 50/50 that game. Little details. So far, its been the huge details like passing, movement and intelligence that have let England down, with a bit of nerves thrown in.
I said in another post the system should have been radically overhauled during the eighties but the odd exceptional result delayed it all. Its sad we are still talking about whats wrong now, when you could rewind 30 years and many were saying the same things.
If England go out tomorrow its below par, but not the biggest shock. Italy drawing with the Kiwis is.

[Kladze]

The kind of football that is liked in england sliding into tackles flying around at a 100 miles an hour no time for skill is the reason why we will never win a major tournament.
People in UK seem happy thinking the prem is the best league in the world and the are watching the best quality there is where it is far from the truth.
The rest of the world plays the game in a way that is more skillful so the Uk will not compete with it because it plays the game in a different way that is not good enough to win against good teams.
However it appears that english fans think they have the best but it is nothng more than the strength the money.
Unless there s a change in mentaity on how the game should be played(the englsh fans like it being played by real men as somebody said) there is little hope.

Was it your aim to type complete shite??

No, it was his aim to stay consistent with his own argument that waifs like Robinho would be fucking world beaters in the premier league so long as they could be guaranteed ten minutes thinking time every time they received the ball.

[Ted Hughes]

I wouldnt say we were on a different planet to Croatia Ted. Who would you rather play needing to win tomorrow? Croatia or Slovenia?. In Zagreb, England scored first, game turned on its head, Croatia ripe for the counter. Its 50/50 that game. Little details. So far, its been the huge details like passing, movement and intelligence that have let England down, with a bit of nerves thrown in.
I said in another post the system should have been radically overhauled during the eighties but the odd exceptional result delayed it all. Its sad we are still talking about whats wrong now, when you could rewind 30 years and many were saying the same things.
If England go out tomorrow its below par, but not the biggest shock. Italy drawing with the Kiwis is.

Perhaps I'm exaggerating but not by that much imo as it's very rare those kind of results come up in those circumstances . If Brazil achieved the same it would be the greatest thing anyone had ever seen. We beat them 9-2 over 2 legs! A team who was supposed to be an example of how we should play football. If it was the other way around how much charity & reasonableness would England get by comparison? We fucking slaughtered them, let's not be shy about it!

Imo if England go out tomorrow it's the worst result in my lifetime. We have quality players & a quality manager. That's all that should matter.

[Bianchi on Ice]

I understand your point Ted, but maybe by beating Croatia 9-2 over 2 legs it distorted things. Just like if England come out of the blocks early against Slovenia, win 3-0 and gain some much needed confidence. That would distort things too, especially in the minds of the press, who are creating these molehills then standing back pontificating about it. England would then be under just as much pressure to perform in the second round, which, even if they went out then, to a much more accomplished side, would still arguably be the most abject campaign since before I was born(If you don't include not actually qualifying for the finals, which has happened far too often). I totally agree with the point that other than this "Golden generation"(I thought the price of Gold was sky high?) the players to come in don't, on the face of it, seem to be anything other than functional fit-ins in the premier league.
Is this the result of a faulty amateur, schools and youth system? Yes.
Will the FA do anything about it? maybe. I think they are making tortoise-like steps to change it but how long does this take? 20 years? minimum. You are also looking at a change in attitudes, top to bottom.
England CAN suddenly spring to life, win a couple of games and get into the nitty-gritty. But as far as I can see the ball is not round when we play its a hot potato and it will not carry them further than last eight on a regular basis. With almost 60 million inhabitants AND a high profile league structure (there are larger countries than England without one so thats their excuse) there is an underlying problem. I could say I was a victim of the system but I wasn't because I was shit!

[Ted Hughes]

I understand your point Ted, but maybe by beating Croatia 9-2 over 2 legs it distorted things. Just like if England come out of the blocks early against Slovenia, win 3-0 and gain some much needed confidence. That would distort things too, especially in the minds of the press, who are creating these molehills then standing back pontificating about it. England would then be under just as much pressure to perform in the second round, which, even if they went out then, to a much more accomplished side, would still arguably be the most abject campaign since before I was born(If you don't include not actually qualifying for the finals, which has happened far too often). I totally agree with the point that other than this "Golden generation"(I thought the price of Gold was sky high?) the players to come in don't, on the face of it, seem to be anything other than functional fit-ins in the premier league.
Is this the result of a faulty amateur, schools and youth system? Yes.
Will the FA do anything about it? maybe. I think they are making tortoise-like steps to change it but how long does this take? 20 years? minimum. You are also looking at a change in attitudes, top to bottom.
England CAN suddenly spring to life, win a couple of games and get into the nitty-gritty. But as far as I can see the ball is not round when we play its a hot potato and it will not carry them further than last eight on a regular basis. With almost 60 million inhabitants AND a high profile league structure (there are larger countries than England without one so thats their excuse) there is an underlying problem. I could say I was a victim of the system but I wasn't because I was shit!

Imo our problems have been caused by too many theorys, too many so called experts etc etc, people believing that tactics win games when all tactics do at the top level is HELP win games or cause defeats. Tactics are for teams without the quality players, the best players need guidelines not brainwashing. It's about players carrying it all out but taking it further themselves.

It used to be about kids kicking tin cans down cobbled streets & loving the chance to actually kick a football & do tricks with it. Then it became all about listening to Derek Dougan, Jimmy Hill & even Malcom Allison, telling everyone what they're doing wrong tactically. Now every fucker including me is obsessed with it, yet the teams who win stuff will be the ones with the best PLAYERS who actually perform & also carry out the tactics to a level that's neccessary but not being stifled by it (& doing that's dependant on their mentality not just their ability).

[ant london]

I was talking to my girlfriend about this the other day. She comes from a very sporty family (she had a US college scholarship to play basketball, her dad was an AFL coach and her grandad won three Aussie Rules championships with Essendon) and follows football closely so I actually do listen to what she has to say.

She was telling me that for the AFL (the Australian Rules league) they basically have a league-wide academy which is funded by contributions by all the teams in the league.

Essentially it is a mega-academy and then each years players are drafted from it (I guess in a similar way to the US college sports drafts).

In terms of our national game, obviously this is more challenging as the AFL doesn't have the number of teams that the Premiership and Football League does BUT I don't see why a variation on the theme couldn't be worked where we have maybe a couple of these mega-academies and one of them is an elite academy where the aim is to produce International/Premiership quality players.

As someone says above, there currently is a great system in place for turning out your run of the mill players (some PL standard, others not) in each club running its own academy. The gems (a Rooney, Walcott whoever...) still do come through these systems but these players are always going to emerge as they have exceptional natural talent and it would take a team of idiot coaches to not be able to spot them.

What the current system does NOT do, however, is provide a framework for these exceptional talents to be truly world class. The only way to really do that, to my mind, is to enable them to develop as youngsters alongside (on a daily basis) equally gifted kids who spur them on and where they all (with the input of top level coaching) push each other harder and higher.

To my mind this is exactly why the generation of Beckham, Scholes, Neville, Butt, Giggs etc achieved so much, so young. Them all arriving at United at the same ages is a quirk of fate (combined with good/fortunate scouting). If any of those players had spent their development training with Dickson Etuhu, Joey Barton, Paddy McCarthy and Willo Flood.....well I would bet you they wouldn't have emerged quite the same player.

The other benefit of such a pan-Premiership or elite (and less elite) academy would be in the drafting process where there would doubtless be a system where the weaker teams had an opportunity to pick up players who would ordinarily be out of their reach. Sure those kids could be ultimately transferred to bigger teams but the benefits are multiple.....the kid gets to actually PLAY a lot in the PL, the lesser team gets a boost from the talent it can deploy on the pitch, the PL therefore becomes a bit more of a level playing field and a competition and finally...when they do get to full international or top 4 PL level teams....they should all be a lot more capable of doing the business and being a "finished article"

Oh and also, financially, each club doesn't have to sink millions into its own academy which could be amazing, good, average or pretty shabby. Clubs could put some money into community programmes and create local facilities for the good of local people rather than spending millions replicating facilities that give them debatable benefits

[Slim]

Well that's all great but seeing as you were basing that entire post on the premise gathered from your girlfriend, I should point out she is wrong. The AFL has an AIS academy, but most players are drafted from the state leagues after having come through their colts(u18) ranks.