If Croatia can reach the World Cup Final...

[mjhibby]

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Training from grass roots up needs an overhaul.

As many have said there's so much we can do better.Firstly it should be all about ball skills till eleven. Seven a side should be all about passing and moving and playing in different positions. While you need the element of winning it should be all about developing the players with a view for challenging for a first team place by 19/20. I would scrap leagues in eleven and just have cups together with friendly matches. Up till 14 players should be constantly looking to improve their touch, passing and game awareness. Defensive and offensive coaches for each young team. Introduce leagues at 14 and curtail the number of fixtures kids play. Too many of the top youth teams players are exhausted towards the end of season and their development stalls. Scrap Pro youths and let kids play with their teams till they are 16.Only when they are sixteen and are rounded footballers with their touch passing and movement being better than we have today can they be taken on by clubs
Too many kids lose the joy of playing when pick up by clubs at very young age. I see some prodigious talents drip away to being over coached or not concentrating on improving their all round game which kids are desperate for. If you make it all about winning you'll produce winners at a Scottish level. Make it all about skill and we will produce players on an international level.
There is no point in celtic or hibs winning youth cups if it doesn't produce the players to take the national game forward. Coaches need a huge change in attitudes and not concentrating on trophy hauls. Until that changes, nothing will change.

[H18 SFR]

Many years ago the vast majority of top players in Scotland came from deprived or relatively deprived areas. Nowadays, it's common knowledge that many of the players in Scottish club academies come from more affluent backgrounds. Many more deprived families can't financially support taking their kids to training 3-5 times a week etc and they drop out the academy setups.

I'm positive that the modern day youngesrers don't want it as much as some from deprived areas many years ago.

[LustForLeith]

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Lets be perfectly honest here, we have an association run by people who don't give a toss about right and wrong.

Most are in it for self gain, and to get this they pander to everything huntic.

We are never going to see progress while this is the case, and can anyone genuinely see it changing, as i cant?

I agree with this completely. I couldn’t tell you whosenin charge of Scotland at the upper levels but I bet they couldn’t tell you a thing about Scottish football.

Slight side comment but I thought for the first time in years Southgate was a manager for England who put the team before himself. Exception was maybe Roy Hodgson but the England job was maybe a step too far.

Apart from that, as far as I can see they all put themselves before England.

[G B Young]

Croatia are not the model to follow according to this. Their success is alleged to be based on murky corruption:

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/footb...llow-1-4767975