Article by Steve Cooper

[Eric the Half a Bee]

https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/india-2017.pdf?cloudid=fjwpw6fm22y9jrkkarj8

This is a few years old. There's an interesting interview with Cooper from page 30 where he talks a lot about the England DNA.

"There’s a clear philosophy in place now, and has
been for the best part of the last three or four years.
There’s a clear line that goes from the U-15s to the
senior team, of what we call the England DNA. The
main part of the DNA is how we play, the playing
style, the principles of play and how we want the
team to look – their identity on the pitch.
That’s how we train, how we coach the players, and
also the learning environment that we create around
the players and the staff.

So we have a clear philosophy: how we play, how we
train and getting to know the environment. Every
team is responsible for adhering to the England DNA.
It’s still quite early in the plan, it’s only three years
in but we’re starting to make some decent progress.
I hope that you can see some of this in how the
teams are playing, or in the idea of how the
teams should be playing."

It tallies in with Nathan Blake's thoughts that we need a whole club philosophy and way of playing, so that youngsters can step into the reserves and know what they're doing, and reserves can step up into the first team with greater ease. Having the under 23s playing a passing game, then expecting them to adapt to a long ball game if they get a chance in the first team makes it much more difficult for them to adjust.

[life on mars]

Re: Article by Steve Cooper

I note Ponty boy Cooper began his coaching career at Wrexham's academy

[NYCBlue]

Re: Article by Steve Cooper

I note Ponty boy Cooper began his coaching career at Wrexham's academy

Just comparing he and Harris' Wikipedia pages is depressing.

[surge]

Re: Article by Steve Cooper

David’s remit at Cardiff City FC will be to oversee our entire Academy coaching department, lead on coach and player development across all age groups from U9 to U23 and work with first team staff to ensure a smooth transition for players through the Academy and into the first team environment.

Whilst refining current playing and coaching styles, David will be entrusted with aligning all age groups within the Academy to create consistency in play and progression across the three phases of Academy development.

https://www.cardiffcityfc.co.uk/news...t-david-hughes

“Building a long-term project at Millwall was exciting and fulfilling,” he said. “Then leaving there at what I believe was the right time and coming to Cardiff and, in some ways, starting again, building a club from academy upwards is a great project as well.

“Ultimately, without getting too carried away, the plan is to have 11 Cardiff City kids in the first team one day as men. Not easy, but that's the focus and what the club want to see after a period of time."

https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/foo...ty-b74912.html

Cooper's highlighted quotes on England are very similar to the plan in Wales and any football club/side that has ambitions of successfully bringing through youth players.

Fortunately, a very similar message is being talked about here now. We had previously chopped and changed plan at academy level almost as much as we have at first team level so, based on my memory of things, you would end up looking way back to Ben Nugent (2012-2013 season) and before that Joe Ralls (will be 28 this year) as our last real attempts at bringing through young players before this season.

[Eric the Half a Bee]

Re: Article by Steve Cooper

Cooper's highlighted quotes on England are very similar to the plan in Wales and any football club/side that has ambitions of successfully bringing through youth players.

Fortunately, a very similar message is being talked about here now. We had previously chopped and changed plan at academy level almost as much as we have at first team level so, based on my memory of things, you would end up looking way back to Ben Nugent (2012-2013 season) and before that Joe Ralls (will be 28 this year) as our last real attempts at bringing through young players before this season.

Thanks for those. That gives me more optimism that the club knows what it is doing.

However, the playing style needs addressing. It's fine having all the smooth transition for the youngsters, but the way we play is so different from the under 23s that it's more tricky making the step up. If Harris wants to change that he has to stick to his guns and the club back him in that. Instead he's under pressure to get into the playoffs and so we keep reverting to hoof ball and trying to win set pieces.