Interesting conversation on Xtter last week on talent development in English football, and the next generation of superstars.
So Callum Murray’s Something in the Water: The Story of England’s Football Talent Hotbeds provided some very timely background reading, with a case-study of the emergence of south London as a hotbed of soccer talent development,
Murray identifies some of the factors common across old and new hotbeds — working class communities with strong community support for children and their aspirations, space (and time) to play — but goes on to address some of the reasons why south London is now outperforming areas in the north of England that have traditionally produced disproportionate numbers of top footballers.
And there could, perhaps, be cross-over for cricket, and other sports, looking for new talent.
Factors contributing to the new south London football talent hotbeds
Facilities — somewhere to play, somewhere to compete
Perhaps significantly, “state of the art” facilities are not on the menu — the inner-city “cage” (or MUGA — multi-use game area) is Murray’s “field of dreams”.
A flat, all-weather surface, surrounded with a fence or wall that defines tbe playing area and keeps the ball “on the island” and in play.
In cramped inner city areas, green fields are in very short supply. But the local cage offers a viable alternative. And a very different learning environment.
The ball rolls freely. And you learn to stay on your feet (or to live with grazes and friction burns).
Murray rehearses the known benefits for skill development of playing in a confined space and in small-sided games, comparing the urban cage to the contribution of fútbol de salón (futsal) to the development of so many great South American footballers over the years.
But he then identifies further elements in the south London cage culture, possibly more significant.
Cultural diversity & population flux
Specifically for south London, and in direct contrast with traditional talent hotbeds in the north-west and north-east, Murray identifies the ethnic diversity of the area as a positive factor.
Different cultures, different ways of playing, even different languages spoken, all contribute to create a varied learning environment.
And the fact that new people are always moving into the area presents the incumbents with new challenges.
Challenge culture
Murray is strong on the challenge culture of the cage environment. It’s all about being the best, about having the best skills, doing the other guy down.
Winner stays on.
Now, this could become hugely confrontational (maybe it does, sometimes).
Perhaps the presence of the coaches from professional clubs (see below) mitigates the potential conflict?
But the continuing challenge to look (and be) top dog must be a huge motivation to autonomous skill development.
Players in the cage want to be the best. Really want it.
When that result really matters
I thought that this insight from Marcus Rashford, in an impassioned article explaining how he had always been a Man U fan, first, then a footballer, perhaps captured the gladiatorial nature of the cage, and also highlighted the direct impact of genuine consequences on player development.
I remember they used to have these five-a-side tournaments all over Manchester where every player had to pay a pound to get in. It was all ages. You had kids playing against almost grown men. I’d always be asking my mum for a pound, because if you won the whole tournament, your team got all the prize money. It was just about enough for a ticket to Old Trafford. We were so young, but we actually won it a few times.
Marcus Rashford, Who I Really Am, The Players’ Tribune, February 29, 2024
Rashford and his team mates really wanted to win that prize money.
That result really mattered.
Coaching — or “community outreach”?
Although Murray does praise the contribution of “high-level coaches” to the south London phenomenon, frustratingly (for a coach), he is vague about what was actually happening in the cage, as “..[t]he players were put through their paces, doing drills and ball mastery combinations, with high-level coaches supporting them through it all.”
Being told by the author that “[f]or the most part I think I just watched, smiled and clapped”, whilst it neatly encapsulated his awe on seeing the cage in action, falls rather short on detail!
I would have liked to hear more about what the coaches were actually contributing in the cage — but perhaps that is the point?
Perhaps, what these coaches, some from top Premier League clubs, are doing is not imparting skills and knowledge. Perhaps it’s not even really “coaching”, by a formal definition of the term.
A coach will improve a participant’s experience of sport and physical activity by providing specialised support and guidance aligned to their individual needs. [emphasis added]
CIMSPA
Perhaps what they are doing is facilitating the cage culture.
By offering some support to the younger players, who might otherwise get driven out of the cage. By giving that seal of approval from the pro game, providing a conduit for players to progress to a Premier Academy. By making the cage a slightly less intimidating place.
Helping to make the cage a community space, but not dominating it.
By just being there.
Conclusions
So what is it that has transformed some south London council estates into the hottest of football talent hotbeds?
- Somewhere to play, somewhere to compete
- Ideally a flat surface with a barrier round the outside to keep the ball inside.
- Cultural stability
- It has to be about the game (whatever that game is), so players can come back, over time, and develop within the game.
- In contradiction of the “no early specialisation” mantra, this could be a sporting monoculture.
- Cultural diversity & flux
- Lots of ways to play the game; new ways to play; new challenges.
- Challenge culture — results matter
- It’s not enough for players to just turn up and want to get better — they need to want to get better, to want to win
- Community support
- Beyond coaching, it’s vital that someone facilitates play
Perhaps a blueprint for other sports?
The Teesra 