It was like he’d never been away. Kevin Blackwell returned to football management last Saturday and helped his new team, Bury, to a battling away point at Stevenage.
For the last 18 months or so, Blackwell’s name has been conspicuous by its absence from the managerial merry-go-round. That’s because the 53-year-old, one of the most qualified managers in English football, truly believes that when it comes to coaching, travel broadens the mind. Continue reading
It’s a popular notion that most footballers are rich and don’t care too much about the problems of society. After all, why let facts get in the way of a good story?’
Well, here are the facts. Community interventions by professional footballers in this country have accelerated from around 9000 during the 2005/6 season to 35,000 in 2010/11. Perhaps the question we should really be asking is why aren’t we hearing more about what goes on behind the scenes?
English football’s troubled relationship with the media came under scrutiny this week from a man well qualified to speak on both areas.
Gary Neville had the assembled national media hanging on his every word at the Soccerex European Forum in Manchester.
Ask any England fan what was the most important event for the future of our national game in recent weeks and it’s more than likely they will tell you it was the draw for Euro 2012.
Yet the man in charge of English football is not so sure. For while he craves success in Poland and Ukraine next summer as much as any England fan, David Bernstein believes The FA’s National Game Strategy for 2011-2015 is equally, or perhaps even more important.
Paul Bracewell was a member of arguably the finest midfield to grace English football during the 1980s.
So when the former Everton star talks about how vital it is to keep kids active and playing football whatever the weather, he knows what he is talking about.
It’s been a big year for women’s football in England, from the grassroots to the very top of the game.
At the World Cup finals in Germany, the Three Lions were a penalty shootout away from a first-ever semi-final appearance and the only side to defeat eventual champions Japan.
Gareth Southgate has heralded changes to youth football which could have an impact “for decades to come”.
The FA’s head of elite development was speaking to club coaches and league administrators from across the East Midlands at the penultimate ‘Your Kids Your Say’ Roadshow event at Nottingham University.
The Roadshow has visited 16 towns and cities across the country this summer, and showcases radical proposals which aim to improve technique, prevent kids dropping out of the game and ultimately raise the standard of English football.
