Why is it that English speaking nations don't produce players with 'flair'?

[Cooldude]

It isn't pointless when it's done with purpose. It's a very effective skill.

Can't remember many players who do it with purpose, they just do it coz look I can step over. Take Ronaldo for example, he would not be any less of a player without them.

The last bloke I can think of who did stepovers well was Zidane, Messi is as good a dribbler as any and he doesn't really do them.

 

[BlueBen]

The OP raises a fair question and one that I have thought about as well. The reasons offered already are all probably valid.

I also wonder how much socioeconomic factors come into it, such as the poverty that racks countries like Spain and a continent like South America. For example, and I am probably generalising and mean no offence to anyone, you regularly hear or read stories from these places about kids who should be at school, but whose parents can't afford to provide them with an education, so they spend most of their time playing soccer on makeshift pitches in slums, backstreets etc. as it is such a simple game to organise and play (in terms of not requiring much more than a group of people and an object to kick around). These kids therefore spend more time playing the game and therefore spend more time on the ball, hence they learn to "appreciate" the ball more than kids of the same age in other more "affluent" countries.

 

[Cooldude]

It's purely down to the cultural attitude to football, England basically values dogged industry more than refined craftsmanship, they like their lads getting stuck in doing the team thing and run around a lot, that's what they value as a good footballer. You try anything daft and showpony and suddenly the coach has a go at ya. They'd rather see their players being apparently mentally rugged and being able to dog out a fight more than actually playing great technical football, and that's where the coaching emphasis will inevitably go

The whole mentality of the nation on football has to change if they wanna create more players of greater technical and creative ilk

 

[glenferry23]

Can't remember many players who do it with purpose, they just do it coz look I can step over. Take Ronaldo for example, he would not be any less of a player without them.

The last bloke I can think of who did stepovers well was Zidane, Messi is as good a dribbler as any and he doesn't really do them.

Denilson used to be pretty damn good at them. The real Denilson I mean, not that pretender who played for Arsenal a few years ago.

 

[Cooldude]

Haha that's why I could never mentally come to terms with the Arsenal Denilson being bad, I always go back to the actual good Denilson, awesome name and awesome player

I'm trying to think of the great dribblers in the world and how many of them actually use stepovers as one of their main weapons. A lot of them just has great ball control while sprinting and knows how to change directions quickly

 

[SM]

Lallana.

 

[Cooldude]

Lallana is more of a Cruyff turn man, he's brilliant at that

 

[SM]

He's definitely seen as unique in the English system, or at least is by them over there, in that he actually has the flair and technique that a lot of English players get drilled out of them.

 

[Cooldude]

Lallana is an interesting player, he has the industry and also the technical ability, while not being top class at either of them

He is more of a German footballer, Germany, now there's a place where footballers have that English endeavour while being encouraged to develop their technical game. Even the Bundesliga games by the lesser teams are played by footballers looking to get on with it and play on the ground quick passing football, that's the way they've been brought up to play

 

[BM123]

I wouldn't say that the Germans play with much flair myself. It's why Italy and Spain have caused them all sorts of trouble in recent years.

 

[elhadjihenry]

Viduka had flair coming out of his arse, Rogic has a bit of it in him too. The current generation of English young players - Sturridge, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sterling - have it as well.

Its more of a culture thing where south american etc kids grow up playing street football, where these english speaking nations typically play a more structured game from early on, so focus on fundamentals rather than flair.

 

[Cruyff14]

Can't remember many players who do it with purpose, they just do it coz look I can step over. Take Ronaldo for example, he would not be any less of a player without them.

The last bloke I can think of who did stepovers well was Zidane, Messi is as good a dribbler as any and he doesn't really do them.

Figo was great at stepovers too.

 

[Thistle]

It's purely down to the cultural attitude to football, England basically values dogged industry more than refined craftsmanship, they like their lads getting stuck in doing the team thing and run around a lot, that's what they value as a good footballer. You try anything daft and showpony and suddenly the coach has a go at ya. They'd rather see their players being apparently mentally rugged and being able to dog out a fight more than actually playing great technical football, and that's where the coaching emphasis will inevitably go

The whole mentality of the nation on football has to change if they wanna create more players of greater technical and creative ilk

Pretty much this but it's deeper than just coaches it's players and team mates too. Try anything fancy in training in England and defenders will kick your legs in, while the rest of the team tell you to stop ******* around.

 

[Cooldude]

Oh yeah Figo was great, too, probably influenced Ronaldo in a way (and the diving)

Probably there's a gradual shift in the appreciation of technique in England lately, there are less teams playing like say West Ham and Stoke (which was everywhere like 15 years ago) and more teams trying to play it on the deck and pass it around like Soton. The young bunch of English players coming through are technically very sound, too

 

[freshazimiz]

Joe Cole was one of the names that went through my head when you say english players with flair.
He was pretty good back in the days till he found KFC.

 

[ADL9798]

In the past you had guys like Barnes, Gascoigne, Hoddle, Beardsley, McManaman, Le Tissier, Best and Dalglish running around who played with a lot of flair in the Brazilian sense of the word. However, during the late 90's and 2000's, while there were some very skillful players running around British football, there weren't many that I would call 'flair' players, they were more what you'd call efficient in their attacking play. Now you look at the current crop with the likes of Bale, Sterling, Sturridge, Chamberlain, Lallana, Wilshere and it's clear that there's been a resurgence in this type of player in Britain which is great to see.

I tend to agree with the suggestions made here that these players have always existed in Britain but that they had that flair coached out of them because it was seen as uneccessary and undesirable. However, in the last 5 or so years English football has realised the importance of skill and flair and that they've been left behind in this regard, so young players are again being encouraged to play with more creativity and imagination.

 

[Gibbsy]

How good was Le Tiss, guy was a fun. How he only got capped 7(?) times is beyond me

 

[Cruyff14]

He was fat and lazy though wasn't he? Guy had ridiculous amount of talent though.

 

[Flapjacks]

Yeh what Cruyff said, you want flair though that was your guy. Guy was a freak

 

[Benno_900]

Ross Barkley
Raheem Sterling
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Daniel Sturridge

 

[Dirty Bird]

I haven't read page 2, but could it come down to the economic environment as well as there being too much structure?

I know in Australia, England and the US, there's more of a focus on coaching from a young age, trying to get the kids into a routine.

Whereas in Africa, South America and Spain, the money isn't there in the lower ages (ie, sub 10 years old) so kids just go out into the street or park etc. and just play for fun. And naturally the better players start to showoff, try and improve individually and get this flair?

I know when I was walking the streets of Barcelona, in a recess at a pre-school there were 40 kids just running around with a football trying to score and there was 2 or 3 who were just decimating everyone else. They were running around 15-20 other kids and getting a shot on goal.

Is this, well, organised chaos a reason they develop this flair? Because there's no structure in these lower economic environments? I don't know, but when you notice they come from some of the poorer countries around (Africa, South America etc.) it does look like it might be a contributing reason.

 

[moto748]

On German football, we get a highlights programme on TV here of the Bundesliga, and the football produced is more attacking and skilful than the EPL in my book. You see great goals every week. Serie A, by comparison, is dismal.

 

[BluesMan]

Genetics would play a fair role

 

[Gus Poyet]

Those "flair" teams are the softest cry babies running around. Have the highest % of diving cheats running around.

Australians play it like people who have also at some stage played a bit of Aussie Rules or Rugby. They can take a bump and not roll around like they have been shot.

 

[Cooldude]

Those "flair" teams are the softest cry babies running around. Have the highest % of diving cheats running around.

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