Courtesy: The FA.com


Students evicted

By Graeme Dell

Wednesday, 15 August 2007

Hi there.

I'm still in a very humid Bangkok where the past two weeks have been somewhat of a rollercoaster.

I’m never far away from Futsal wherever I seem to travel these days and the day before we left Harrow School the Thai National Futsal Team came in to train ahead of the Asian Games. We played them here with England in 2004 and they remembered me which so it was nice to catch up with some old friends.

With our holding camp work completed we’ve now moved into the Games Village. It’s the same location used for the 1998 Asian Games at Thammassat University campus, north of Bangkok City.

The facilities in the Village Park are exceptional. It allows the athletes to watch a load of sport in their down time, all within easy walking distance of the Athletes' Village.

Our group games started well with a hard earned yet deserved draw against Mexico who were stronger than they’ve been before. One of our challenges is to prepare the players for an unknown level of competition and I feel that we’ve done that. Yet, no matter how much you re-inforce to players how good the other nations will be, it takes a couple of matches for that to settle in.

We went a goal behind in the first half courtesy of a wickedly deflected free-kick but considering this was our first game together as a group I was otherwise reasonably happy. Substitutions in Futsal is key to success and blending players is an art and football is no different.

I made some half-time changes and that worked well with one of them, Jan Klukowski drawing us level. It’s hard to come to a tournament like this not having any pre-games preparation but that’s what challenges us as coaches and the players. The problem is that you can’t try things out and work out your best configurations until you are into tournament play which isn’t ideal but that’s a funding issue.

Next up was Morocco, bronze medallists two years ago and who had come with a clear intent to do better this time. We started slowly again and soon went 1-0 down but after a good half-time discussion, somewhat rhetorical I might add, and a few changes we sparked in to life and played the second half in a way I had been hoping for with free-flowing pacey football, eventually running in as 4-1 winners.

That resulted in a clear message reverberating around the village at how well we had played and several of the national coaches found me to congratulate me which was a real compliment.

For me, these games are about challenging myself against the best coaches in the world at this level. Our group matches finished on Saturday against Khazakstan in the 35,000 seater National Stadium and once more we ground out a 1-0 win against a resilient team.

What I thought at the start was a fair group, proved to be a very demanding one but we managed to win it, only the second time for a British team. Not having lost a game, scoring six and conceeding only two goals, our record was only bettered by one other team - Japan.

I have to look at that as an over-achievement by the players in this unrelenting environment, performances which have secured our place in Belgrade in 2009 courtesy of reaching the final eight and already improving on our 13th place in 2005.

The players have been fantastic and their application first class. I couldn’t have asked for a more positive, focused and dedicated bunch of players to work with but that’s the result of the unseen leg work which goes into putting this squad together beforehand.

I have taken some stick for selecting so many US based players but the reality is that they’re well ahead in terms of fitness and technical capability than the UK based players. We’ve gone in to every game with a full fit squad which says a great deal about the choice of player, training and preparation programmes and injury management in since we arrived.

I also think I can make a difference to these lads and that’s been evident already. I refer to my staff group as the performance enablers, the ones who create the environment to enable the athletes to perform. I don’t do excuses, sport and performance is black and white for me but by eradicating any potential for excuses allows everyone to focus on improvement.

The experience of these games gives them something they can take back to better their footballing stature and as educators that’s our priority.

Gary Phillips has now joined up with John Peacock and the U17s in Korea ahead of their World Cup campaign but Matt Greig has joined us.

This opportunity will give Matt, just like Dawn Scott with the women, a chance to practice strategies that can be used with other England teams when they come this far east. Gaz used his first week with us to test out his U17 plans so there are benefits all around for the FA Youth Trusts investment in this programme.

Preparing teams for this type of tournament is as much about education and strategy off the pitch as it is tactical on it. You’re here for the long haul and that takes a special type of mentality which applies to the coaching staff as well as the players and we have focused heavily on that since we arrived.

Arriving in an Olympic type village for the first time is an eye opener and these games were no different. The ecclectic mix of athletes can be a major distraction, and with 12,000 of them you have to be prepared and much of that has become my forte.

This time it covered both the men’s and women’s programmes although the girls' Head Coach Laura Harvey has done a fantastic job and my mentoring role with her has been a walk in the park. She’s one for the future for sure and with a work ethic mirroring mine and that’s what counts. Her dad and I worked together in the FA Centres of Excellenec Programme in the 90s which is really bizarre.

There have been many issues which Laura has had to deal with which are typical of a multi-sport games but which are rarely an issue when we’re on the road with our England teams.

They’re all banana skins which as staff we have to plan for and with 2012 looming there will be few other opportunities for football staff to learn the multi-sport ropes. She has gained invaluable experiences here which will enhance her knowledge for her coaching future.

The girls also progressed out of their group having lost to China but then beating South Africa and Canada. Two of our U23 international’s, Birmingham City’s Danni Bird and Dunia Susi of Chelsea have, by all accounts, been exceptional so far although all of the girls have risen to the challenge. I’ve enjoyed working alongside them and so have the lads and we couldn’t do that in any other football environment.

Moving into the second phase we were placed in a quarter-final tie with Canada, the first and most significant of three phase two games. We started brightly and created a number of openings from wide play but never took our opportunities.

I was disappointed at that but then with the game heading for penalties we conceded a sloppy corner in the 84th minute where we defended in uncharacteristic style and allowed Canada to get the decisive goal.

We were never in touble during the game. We never looked like conceeding and therefore to go down 1-0 didn’t impress me but, that’s the game. Composure as a coach is essential and knowing how to react is key to the players education. You can’t waste chances and then look back and say "what if" but the lads know they have missed a golden medal opportunity.

I had a low ebb on returning back to the village, as did the whole group, but having lost in the quarters twice before I know as head of the group its about them and not me. I have kept everything in perspective and today's another day. Upbeat and philosophical I was itching to get out on the pitch at training and the challenge is now to finish as high as we can and they trained well.

There were other surprises, with Italy, Ukraine, Thailand and Canada making the top four. We will face a strong Japanese team from their Olympic Programme on Wednesday for the 5th - 8th positions as it’s a full ranking tournament so we’re now focused on that.

The other sports represented in the overall GB team are of a very high level. I have a daily chat with Olympic Silver Medalist Kate Howey who’s managing the Judo Programme. Their competition is world class and a number of their athletes are 2012 potential where the experience is key for their development towards that.

We had an afternoon off yesterday and went to the pool where, along with Bill Sweetenham, Performance Director of British Swimming, we witnessed a plethora of new games records such is the level of that sport here.

However, it’s a pre-Olympic year and it shouldn’t really be a surprise as that’s what these games are all about. If anyone doubts their merit around the world then the high level of sport on show is testament to how serious athletes and Olympic Programmes take them for athlete and staff development.

Catch you in a couple of weeks.

Graeme.



Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com