UEFA Nations League 2024/25 competition

How has that happened consistently for 40+ years now?

our own country constantly say “not big enough.”,”pool of players isn’t great” but Portugal have about the same population and have consistently developed world class player after world class player for so long now

 

Lol, I think he was with Clarke possibly. Think he mightve been involved in Scotland too. Also around Villa too.

 

Aye * gets about

 

Fucksake is Liechtenstein another we English colony ? * save the king tune nooooo

 

Aye * was that, lol

 

Have to say Miller does spray the ball about well.

 

I put it down to weather and then practice time because they have more time in better weather.

Like if you google Scotland gets on average 1,200 hours of daylight time a year, Portugal gets 2,800. Then add in the weather, Portugal probably ranges from warm to mild year round, Scotland from mild to cold.

Average 18 year old boy in Portugal might spend 4/5/6 hours with a ball for every 1 hour of a Scottish boy. So in the end they turn out much more skilled.

I'd bet if someone studied it weather patterns would tie into how good a players are produced in that area.

Like even Spain is quite big, the Basque region I think is a bit cooler than the very south of Spain, i'd probably expect man for man they produce better footballers than the south just cause they also get that extra bit of time per day over years to play football.

Would imagine the same in Brazil even, theres probably hotter drier areas of Brazil and then wetter, mushier areas and whatever and then sweet spots in between where people there got to play more football and turn out better on average.

 

Why do Norway develop good players more often than us or Sweden? Wales? Iceland? Denmark?

 

Good logic and is potentially a factor…. But then like @Westlondonscot says there are other countries that then go against that. I’m assuming it all starts at coaching. But surely the natural talent percentage wise is still there for our kids

 

Probably still be that though, even though Norway or Sweden are probably similar to us it's likely slightly better footballing conditions somehow, either drier, less windy, more light.

Like England for their size never produce as technical a players as southern European countries and probably is fairly similar to Scandanavian levels population wise.

I don't think it's really to do with coaching, you can't take like a mediocre 7 year old and turn him into Messi with coaching, Messi by 7 would probably already be 90% of the type of player he ends up on his own just naturally how he plays and sees things.

 

Scotland winning 4-0, is it like with the huns, is that Scotland back on track for World Cup Qualification again?

 

Maybe Messi would, although I still think he needed good coaches to guide him on how to unlock his potential. He had them too being at Barcelona since he was 12. But coaching is important, but not just that, getting kids involved in sport in general. Making sure kids are fit to turn into footballers. I'm sure about 10 years ago Scottish children were some of the most inactive in the world. Maybe it's changed but that explains things.

 

I always feel it's pretty individual though.

If coaching produced players you'd probably find many players of the same level and type and style from the same youth teams etc but you don't it's just random.

Almost every player would likely become 85% of the player they are on their own with no coaching I think. Maybe they'd be helped mentally and fitness wise by coaches and be more motivated etc but in pure footballing skill it's more natural and nurtured alone by the individual over a long time, most of that time like 95% of it them on their own with a ball with nobody elses input.

 

Pure footballing skill, yeah probably but football is more fitness based than it used to be. A lot of the players in 70s,80s and 90s had * diets, not be that fast but still shine. I don't think it's so easy now.

 

True but you can always get fit at any age really.

A 16 year old boy from a village in Africa who only played football with his pals or on his own and not even for a team before, who is naturally highly skilled could get fit and learn tactics etc fairly easy once playing in a team or under coaches and if he was skilled enough might play for Barcelona even despite never really playing proper football before just because on his own he got to a really high level of skill with a ball.

But you couldnt even take an 8 year old athletic naturally fit boy whos never played football before and put him into the Barcelona academy and create a good player out of him by coaching him well and all the time.

For me players have got to get good on their own and some of it is just natural and then time honing their skill which is almost all done on their own anyway.

Even if someone plays for a team and coaches its only like 3 hours a week, you don't get good from that, you'd get better running about your house and garden and hitting shots against a wall 2 hours a day which is how people actually get good.

 

Loved playing one-a-touch against this guys flat when young. Had a perfect different colour bit on the side we had to hit. Made me a pretty accurate striker tbh because we'd always batter the thing until the chased us away screaming must have been * * tbh now I'm an * and understand..