Football Coaching

Cast your mind back to the 1970s and 1980s; a time when English defenders in the professional game were fearsome and fearless in equal measure. For fans of a certain age, visions of Stuart Pearce’s crunching tackles live long in the memory. The iconic sight of Terry Butcher covered in blood after guiding England to the 1990 World Cup Finals...

England’s continual failure to make a lasting impression at a major tournament finals is now a matter of embarrassment for football’s richest domestic governing body. The Football Association has tried foreign coaches, English coaches, controversial coaches, and safe-bet coaches - all without success. But it doesn’t matter whether the current England coach is Sam Allardyce or Sam Fox, very little...

The huge riches that await the very best young footballers in England are beyond the wildest dreams of most. Worldwide fame, untold riches and the opportunity to do something they love for a living can be attractive pull factors to the game for youngsters. But the biggest rewards are reserved for less than one percent of the children who are...

The failure of the England team at Euro 2016 demonstrated just how important the head coach - and the rest of the coaching team - is to a football team’s chances of success. Despite having a wealth of talent at his disposal, Roy Hodgson couldn’t stop his team of wealthy superstars from being beaten by European minnows Iceland. Does that...

There is a huge debate raging across the UK regarding the best way to develop our footballers of the future. It is now widely accepted that we’ve fallen behind the likes of Spain and Germany in terms of technical ability, coaching and the production of well-rounded players. But the Scottish FA may have developed a new way of producing its...

If you’re looking to improve your overall game as an outfield footballer, you’ll need to master the four basic skills of the game before doing anything else. You’ll need to first master the necessary techniques, and then practise your heart out to make the most of your natural ability. By continually practising the art of passing, tackling, shooting and heading...

Being an FA accredited referee is a highly rewarding and enjoyable job; in fact many referees claim it’s the next best thing to actually playing the game. The role of the modern referee is vital in many respects. As well as officiating matches, referees play important roles in their local communities, and work with footballers to improve their discipline and...

In 2014 the Football Association announced ambitious plans to build more than 15 so-called football hubs around the country. The FA wanted to transform the way football is played across England. What the FA really meant was that they had been shamed into doing something about rotting football facilities and the shocking state of municipal pitches around England. A total...

The nature of football puts great strain on a player’s knees. Whether in training or in the heat of match action, the pressure of constant shifts in weight, twists and turns can take a heavy toll on the knees. A lot of players ignore twinges and nagging pains for fear of missing matches - but this can often lead to...

The Premier League has come under fire in recent years for its apparent lack of activity at grassroots level in England. But has this criticism been fair? Record revenues from broadcasting deals and sponsorships have made the Premier League the richest domestic football competition in the world - by quite some distance. While the vast majority of this money goes...