The Football Association could solve all the problems facing English football in two hours 15 minutes. With the journey time between central London - home of the football men in suits - and Paris, quicker than ever thanks to Eurostar’s new services from St Pancras, the most efficient and effective system for developing young footballers is now close at hand.

The FA like sending people on trips to far foreign lands; Steve McClaren’s excursions to Los Angeles were well documented. A trip to Paris, however, would be one well worth the money.

France is well known as the first nation to implement an academy system (centres de formation) to develop young players. They also have a national academy (Le Centre Technique National Fernand Sastre), which is responsible for the training of the most talented players from the age of 16. This is coupled with a modern national coaching structure which incorporates vigorous coaching qualifications.

'They spend less money on football, have fewer registered players and fewer clubs than in England. Yet, still they produce young players the envy of all who reside this side of the Channel.'


In contrast, it was very telling earlier his week ,when, speaking on Radio 5, Chris Waddle revealed that no one at the FA knows who compiled the coaching methods which are used by our qualified coaches.

Our coaching techniques are not good enough and neither are our academies. Sir Alex Ferguson alleged earlier this year that the FA’s academy system was “falling apart”. The shortage of good young English players at leading clubs suggests he is correct.

Ferguson said: “The problem is the system. Something must be done because it is in danger of falling apart. There are countless flaws. Some are not even being run properly now because clubs are just not able to afford it. When the academies were set up, Howard Wilkinson said England would win the World Cup within 10 years. Well, they have been going eight now and I can't see it.”

Youth development at the French National Football Institute concentrates on developing the technique of each player rather than developing position-specific skills and entering the players in competitions, as we do in England. This results in a group of players who don’t just rely on pace, power and perseverance. Instead, they are all comfortable playing the ball under pressure, controlling and manipulating it with both feet, and they are capable of playing with the fluidity and verve we witness regularly at the Emirates.

Football is not the national sport of France; cycling is more popular. They spend less money on football, have fewer registered players and fewer clubs than in England. Yet, still they produce young players the envy of all who reside this side of the Channel. The FA should be assembling a team of their finest minds, including current club coaches and managers, to visit France and analyse their policies and systems to develop young players. They should then devise a strategy to implement a similar system in this country.

If we want to see players with the abilities of Thierry Henry, Zinedine Zidane, Robert Pires or Karim Benzema, to name just a few, we need to imitate the structure and coaching techniques that produced and nurtured their talents. The FA acted swifter than a bullet train to axe McClaren now they should cross the Channel with similar haste and return with the solutions that English football desperately requires.