Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal Coach, is an impressive individual.
Once again, in one short interview you find a few gems that apply to any level of Football. What is a player worth, developing your own players, losing players to other clubs, building a team takes time, winning, pressure on coaches and so on.
All these things are going on right now in the Premier League pre- season. There is a couterie of players who are moving from one club's training to another, trying to work out which club will have a roster that is best placed to win. Makes you sick! Just join a club, buy into the season and get on with playing the beautiful game. Give your club a chance.
The worst of it is that soon (well already for some) the same behaviour (less the money) will appear in some form in the Junior Clubs as they recruit for their Div 1 teams.
Everyone likes to win. Not every one can win. Either way, we can still have a good or bad season. Up to you. Give your club a chance.
Hope you enjoy it.
Peter - you say "The worst of it is that soon (well already for some) the same behaviour (less the money) will appear in some form in the Junior Clubs as they recruit for their Div 1 teams." Couldn't agree more but have you seen the ad placed on the Capital Football website, no less, by Canberra FC...
ReplyDelete"08.02.11 – Canberra FC Trials - Boys Under 13's/14's - Canberra FC will be holding trials for Boys Under 13 and Boys Under 14 at Deakin Oval on the 20th and 27th of February 12 pm to 2 pm. Trials are for both outfield players and goal keepers. Please contact ..."
CF have kicked out PL clubs before because they didn't apparently have a good enough junior base. Maybe some junior clubs should be kicked out because they don't actually represent a district of Canberra and therefore do not have any juniors coming through for their teams so their only option is to advertise and grab juniors developed at other grassroots clubs. Now there's a thought.
I did wonder if anyone would pick up on the CFC ad. I agree with your sentiments.
ReplyDeleteIt is very hard for Pl clubs with little money to hold players that come upt hrough the junior ranks, start to do well and then....!!! A Club with cash makes on offer, and they go. There is a core of players who stay at their club and without them I don;t know where we would be.
Its sad to loose a good player for reason of money, but there is no profit in criticising them.
As to juniors, I find it deeply troubling when a PL club or another Junior CLub starts hunting young players. As you suggest, why not grow their own? Or is that too much like hard work? Parents share some responibility for allowing this behaviour to take hold, as a few too many hunt around looking for what they think is the best option for their child. Just give your local club a go.
It would be good if Capital Football and the Junior Football standing committee got on the front foot in a very public way on this one.
Poaching young players in a small community like Canberra is not the way ahead. Its not right!
Let's be fair now - CFC's great PL rivals have been openly trying to poach players into their new development squads, almost a whole team of ex-U13 playing squad or current HPP players seems to going there, so it's not just CFC.
ReplyDeleteAnd maybe even your own club hasn't been backward in recruiting girls into their teams...
In any case, if a player wants to move, and the parents are happy to move them, then why shouldn't they be allowed to do so? Or do we want a closed shop like Radford, Marist etc. that don't allow their students to play with any other club?
Let's face it, football in Canberra is so messed up in so many ways (not just junior boys, but also talented pathways, and some of the farcical girls "competitions" if you can call them that) trying to unravel all of this and make it work like maybe some of us think it should, would take a genius - it's only a matter of time before it all unravels irreversibly...
Well I hope it doesn't all unravel, though I find myself more in sympathy with the thrust of your post than against, more than I care to think.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I have observed and others have remarked upon, is that once our better players get into development programs and ACTAS (women during the program and men after its concluded), any linkages they have with the club they first began can be pretty slim. Their frienship groups tend to be with the players in the development program(s). They then prefer to move to a club in groups.
There is little to be done, though CF did limit the number of ACTAS players per PL club.
Your right, it is a bit of a mess.
What's the answer?
Well what do you know it has re-appeared again on the CF website...
ReplyDelete"21.02.11 – Canberra FC U13's and U14's Trials - Canberra FC will be holding trials for Boys Under 13 and Boys Under 14 at Deakin Oval on the 26th of February 10 am to 12 pm. Trials are for both outfield players and goal keepers. Please contact ... for all enquiries."
Don't tell me that this is not recruiting junior players from other clubs because they haven't grown enough of their own players of the standard required to win premierships which is the only important thing. But how could they grow their own? Who do they represent?
Yes, this poses some important questions for all Junior Clubs and Capital Football's Junior League Standing Committee.
ReplyDeleteTime to have your club represent these issues to your Zone rep.
Why doesn't CF just apply the Junior League rule that limits the number of Div 1 players from other clubs and players returning from CF Playing Squads to all the clubs in the JL? (including the big 2, Bel U and CFC)
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see if they fit within the rules for all their JL teams once they have announced their squads for the season.
CF website again...really this is getting to be a bit of a joke. Also importantly note they are only asking for Division 1 players!
ReplyDelete02.03.11 – Canberra FC are seeking Boys Under 12s and Boys Under 13s division 1 players
Canberra FC are seeking Boys Under 12s and Boys Under 13s division 1 players. Please contact xxx via email, xxx for all enquiries.
Does the left hand talk to the right hand at CF? Or is it that BelU and CFC have some special status?
It looks like Canberra FC are now looking for 12 and 13 division 1 players. Don't expect CF to do anything, they're happy to advertise it on their website.
ReplyDeleteWoden must be spewing, especially after what CFC did to their U16s last year (virtually a whole team). But Woden had the last laugh, knocking them out in the finals. And the U13 Woden team also pipped the CFC U13 team for the premiership, and that CFC team was full of Div 1 players that came from other clubs (and CF did nothing about either of these). But I guess it just goes to show you that raiding other clubs' juniors doesn't always work !
ReplyDeleteYou make a very astute observation. The loss of nearly a whole cohort of players to CFC was a misreable thing to happen to the Club. I like to think they have prospere at CFC, but I know for sure that CFC did nothing to for them before their arrival.
ReplyDeleteI should say that two young lads stayed with Woden. They did what was right and good fortune has come their way.
At the time Woden was very concerned, but the preseason soon revealed a group of new players, some of whom were only waiting their chance and others who came because they knew that the coaching and support was first rate.
As you say, Woden cleaned up CFC and progressed to the GF. The moral of the story - is give your club a chance.
You are also correct about the Woden U13 team. They were well coached and more than a match for the very talented CFC team.
If you don't invest in developoing juniors and be patient as the age group cohorts grow in number, among other things, then you don't know muh about junior football. Attempting to attract to only the best is good for the league tables, but doesn;t do much for the rest of the young players.
I like CFC very much, but I don't like this business of advertising for Div 1 players. Why not just ask for players at any level and form them into teams and play them at the level you think is best?
Now it has started I doubt we will ever stop it and while CF provides an oportunity for clubs to do this sort of thing, nothing can stop it. What clubs do on their own website is their business.