I think this is a very interesting article. As a lad who would play Centre half who’s main skill was reading the game I can really see what they are saying. There is a very particular mindset involved in defending properly and orientating your entire thinking around preventing danger. I never really wanted more than 2 touches on the ball and most of my work would be done with 1.
There has been a trend for quicker more powerful defenders. Sometimes though having speed covers for a lack of defensive basics. More importantly it has led to defensive units resembling 4 individuals, as opposed to a unit of 4 who compliment one another.
In relation to our academy a perfect example that bucks this trend is Morgan Feeney. On the one hand as a 16 year old he looked a very slight lad who wasn’t the quickest. Definitely not one you’d look at and fancy them and one at first impression you’d look at and think he’s there to make up the numbers. However when you watch him, as has been alluded to he does the basics very well. Positioning, body shape & technique in the tackle.
Unfortunately as football fans generally we don’t view those things as worthy and praiseworthy as attacking facets of the game. It’s taken for granted everyone should be brave, be able to tackle but there is a lot of technical skill involved in the timing of the tackle of how you position yourself and decision making when to look to tackle. It’s clear that Feeney is very good on those attributes. That’s not to say he excels at youth level yet, and particular under 21’s as because of his lack of size he is still not that effective but as he grows you can see a very natural defender in there.
I am probably as guilty as this as anyone. I saw Lees (and indeed Yarney though I think Yarney has a bit more about him) and you take a look at their physique and are wowed and think they can make the step up. In spite of what scouts say I do think a lot of snap judgements are made like that. The problem with good defending is that it needs to be seen over a longer period of time and is more subtle. Sometimes it can be as simple as being stood 2 yards to the left where most players would be 2 yards to the right that will mark you out as a good defender. The art of good defending is focussing your entire attention on minimising risk and preventing danger.
Too often defending is reduced down to concepts such as “bravery” “bottle” and the like. That attitude pervades most English thinking. A lad who doesn’t tackle is a coward as opposed to a lad that doesn’t tackle may be lacking in the technique and confidence to do so. Even that article frames defenders such as Adams, Butcher etc as warrior types whereas the focus ought to be one them as technically and mentally very skilled players. I think that’s a key difference in thinking between the English and say the Italians who understand that defending is an artform just as other areas are.
The other lads I will give mentions to here are Kenny & Pennington. Unsworth spoke of Kenny being a “throwback” and a “proper defender”. Again that was clear form a young age. He didn’t have the height or physicality to play centre half but at youth level that’s where they persisted with him because they could see he had the technical and mental skills require to play that role. Ultimately he hasn’t developed the physical attributes yet but he will be a very good full back.
I would give a lot of credit to our academy staff for this. Many will put bigger lads in there to minimise risk and get better results. Ours persisted with Kenny and now Feeney even if they were a little smaller. I think having Stubbs/Weir and now Unsworth in charge, all defenders who didn’t rely on pace has definitely helped in that regard. I know Stubbs thought very highly of Kenny. We had a 16 year old lad who was probably 5 ft 7 and 9 ½ stone playing against men.
The other one I like is Pennington. He is a clever lad and you can see he gets the art of defending. The amount of blocks he gets is testament to his ability to read the game. I think he is a very promising player.
I know
@blueblue has mentioned in relation Connolly we are very good at bringing through a certain type of player. I agree entirely, defenders up to central midfield players who display a “football intelligence” I think we have excelled at over the last 10 years. I’m not sure if it’s the coaching, what we look for in players or that we move them up the age groups quicker but we do a lot right there.
Even when we play the other two “top” academies Chelsea & Manchester City what is clear is often their players are bigger, quicker and stronger but maybe not as technically skilled in relation to defending (more so Chelsea). We are quite noticeably different there.
So yes I agree with much of the article. I put the blame on a lot of youth coaching and also scouting. I don’t doubt if you spoke to such academies they would bemoan the lost art of defending but probably not see how the re-enforce that. I am quite pleased to see that at Everton we are bucking the trend somewhat.
