11 a side football - boring

Well anyways I've most likely played at a higher level than you and watching the game from the touchline and actually playing out on the pitch at that level are 2 completely different things so interpretation from experience is an advantage. Anyways your attitude is kind of symptomatic of the problems of English football. The whole man up thing ... if we're ever to sort this country's problems out from the bottom we're going to need to open up about these things rather than slam them down and just saying man up and get on with it. It's that culture and vision that sees this country failing in football.

Attitude is also a problem. Hoofing the ball for years, it is all a lot of people know how to do. I believe the FA is trying to get more youth teams to play small sided football, giving each player more touches of the ball. Touches of the ball are so important to a player's development. Coaches will also need to be re-educated in their thinking at grassroots level. Rather than playing the effective way that you know, try other systems and strategies. A team that only has one angle is ineffective when that angle is blocked. A successful team needs to be dynamic and know how to play many different styles.

So, to re-cap. If you want to be successful in England, either adapt to your surroundings, or convince the whole nation to change their ideals.

Does anyone just not get 11 a side football?? For some reason I just don't enjoy 11 a side and I can't put my finger on exactly why. Tbh I don't know why I carry on playing. It probably sounds a bit whiny making excuses but it just feels like a different sport sometimes. Long balls, horrific pitches and you have to be so fit to really make an impact on the game. I've been playing for a reserve team in the Zamaretto Prem and more recently a Ryman South team but even in those teams it's more to do with physicality than actual ball technique. Played at the weekend ... lost 2 studs during the game on some pebble beach pitch and lots of pinged bouncy balls .. I felt like I was cage wrestling or something. Alot of the time as well you're just running to follow your man. I find it difficult to really impact on a game and even when I played recently for a mates Sunday team I played ok but again it was just ok even though technically I'm probably the best player on the pitch. Everyone else seems to enjoy 11 a side though and have no problems with the fitness side. Even though I'm relatively fit (can run 2 miles in 12 minutes) for some reason I can be blown out after 10 minutes (at semipro level) to the point where if I'm trying to beat a player I just can't because my legs feel dead and I just haven't got the energy to go past a player. I don't get it .. it seems you have to be super super fit. It's pretty embarrassing ... I've had to pretend to have taken a knock just to get a breather Even things like getting my balance right on an 11 a side pitch I find difficult at times .. football is so much easier on astroturf/concrete.

I'm not sure if I've got some kind of genetical lack of energy if there's such a thing or whether it's just something mental/confidence or whether I just don't know how to apply my ability. It's really annoying because I want to enjoy it and get to the bottom of what it is that's just not going right. I don't know if this explains anything but I first joined a semipro team in November so I never had a preseason + alot of games were cancelled over the winter so I haven't played loads this season and I've ended up playing for 3 clubs this season.

Anyways does anyone find similar problems with enjoying 11 aside?

I know the FA are trying to do the right things but I'm not sure delaying kids' introduction into 11a-side football would make too much of a difference. As soon as they get on the pitch the attitude and approach will change inevitably I feel.

I would just say that no one is ever coached to play hoof ball. Training sessions will always focus on small sided games and possession work but it's hard to translate it as soon as you make the game competitive.

I am stating that this is how things are, not that I agree nor disagree with the philosophy behind them. I provided you with the option of converting the whole of the UK in their football ideals. Moaning about it on here will do nothing.

Football in England is very much about strength and athleticism. That is how it is, that is how it always has been, and that is how it will be for a very long time. It cannot change overnight. You wanting players to take more time on the ball and rely more on technical ability is a good idea, but that is not going to work any time soon. This is like going to a Muslim country and shouting from the rooftops that they should all change to Christianity.

A country's football culture is always derivative of its environment. Spain are the current world champions and play a very different style of football to what England plays. 2010 was the first time Spain won the cup, and the seven teams to win it before them won playing their way, not anyone else's.

For a fundamental change in English football tactics across the land a massive upheavel is needed. The FA is currently working towards this, but it will take a very very long time. What is the difference between England and Spain?

England - Spain
Rain - Sunshine
Muddy pitches - Flat dry pitches
Cold - Heat

Football tactics are nothing more than a product of their environment. In England it is cold, so the players run around more to keep warm. This means that everyone moves about like a headless chicken, meaning less time on the ball, less time to think, and a lot of rushed decisions. The pitches are also usually muddy and bumpy. It is only at the top where they look like carpets, but even up there you see a lot of mud. This creates a culture of long passes because anything along the floor gets stuck in the mud.

In Spain it is hot, so the players are a lot more melancholic in their approach. They slow it down, and pass the ball so that someone else can do the work. It is too hot to play at 100mph. The pitches are also much better than those in the UK, meaning that passes end up going where they are intended.

The way to combat this is either for you to move to Spain, or convince the FA to let the nation reverse the season and play in the summer, or provide many more astroturf pitches at affordable prices. You can't change the weather, but you can change other things like pitches.

Attitude is also a problem. Hoofing the ball for years, it is all a lot of people know how to do. I believe the FA is trying to get more youth teams to play small sided football, giving each player more touches of the ball. Touches of the ball are so important to a player's development. Coaches will also need to be re-educated in their thinking at grassroots level. Rather than playing the effective way that you know, try other systems and strategies. A team that only has one angle is ineffective when that angle is blocked. A successful team needs to be dynamic and know how to play many different styles.

So, to re-cap. If you want to be successful in England, either adapt to your surroundings, or convince the whole nation to change their ideals.

I play 11aside and you complain about the game being physical. How about building yourself up and being physical yourself.

I enjoy nothing more than a good two footed inch perfect tackle.

Also the muddy and bad pitches around sunday league standard are a result of the councils doing nothing to the pitches. Many have been there for years, played on all during the winter months then just left over the close season. Our council next season are increasing the pitch costs by 40% for the season. Yet the standard will remain the same. Money needs to be invested in grass pitches.