You can’t attend a game at any level in England without hearing it at least once: “pass the ball!” has become the new “hoof it up to the striker!” and the benefits are plentiful. We are now seeing a lot more English players with confidence in their passing and will begin seeing so many more in the next few years. It sure is an exciting time to be English, but has this pass-the-ball mentality run the risk of going too far?
Passing mentalities have proven to be successful, particularly in recent years, and many nations and clubs swear by it. After all, everyone knows the ball can move a lot faster than players can, so passing is naturally a huge part of going forward, especially when counter-attacking. Defensively too, it is one of the most vital skills to build into a side, in order to keep possession and force the opposition to chase the ball. Passing is something that still needs to be taught, but there is an argument to be made that we are beating the natural individual talent out of our youth and we could soon be stuck with a generation of average Joes, all too worried to take on an opponent by themselves.
Whenever a player has the ball, particularly at younger ages, he should be encouraged to try to take on opponents. It’s tiring to hear people say: “that’s what training is for” because even the most high-octane training sessions can’t come close to replicating the mental pressure, speed, and unpredictability of real matches. These players need to be supported when they attempt a piece of skill to bamboozle an opponent or decide to try their luck with a tricky dribble.
Too often now, parents shout from the sidelines, chastising their kids for wasting possession when a simple five-yard pass was on. These children are being taught that risk equals failure, not risk equals reward, so it is reflecting in the lack of standout individuals being produced at the top level. Plenty of players have a good range of short passing, and some even extend this to long passing too, but how many exciting English players do we have currently that can light up a game in the same way that Luis Suarez, Sergio Aguero or Eden Hazard can? Very few.
What is even more frustrating is that when a player emerging with this ‘showmanship’ in his game is found, we criticise them for not having the brains to think for the team, or being wasteful. Raheem Sterling is the best example of this in recent years. Despite usually doing something positive on the ball — even something as simple as running several yards forward — fans want him to ‘recycle the ball’ or ‘look for the simple pass’. This is the same ideology that has produced one of the most dismally unexciting England squads ever.
We should embrace players like Sterling. Serge Gnabry came on for West Brom against Chelsea this weekend and was not the most popular man on Twitter when he tried to take on the Blues’ notorious defence instead of playing the ball out wide, eventually losing possession. There should be applause for players who try to take games by the scruff of the neck and force something through. Just a couple of years ago, Gnabry was criticised by Arsenal fans for not having much impact and simply making up the numbers. A high percentage of his play went sideways and he seemed too intimidated to attempt something special. In the game against Chelsea this weekend, he was the exact opposite and, whilst people accepted he looked promising, there was a general consensus that he was profligate and had a fairly poor game after coming on.
There needs to be a balance in the outlook of this. Whist encouraging more individual flair, we need to stress the importance of how passing is still an important element, and this should naturally breed players that can make these decisions in games. But this culture of criticism for individual talent needs to be exposed and needs to stop. We don’t need a thousand Gandalf’s screaming “YOU SHALL NOT PASS!”, but there needs to be an appreciation for both sides of the game.
The simple pass-and-move type players will always have a place in football squads, and some schools of thought believe they should outnumber the highly talented individuals, but football needs the forward-thinking characters for the sport to evolve, as well as keeping it exciting and unpredictable.
How many times has a flair player in England been destroyed because they ‘make too many errors’ or ‘don’t work well in a passing team’? These same players are hailed overseas — in leagues coveted for their ability to attract so many skilful individuals — and yet we wonder why so many players prefer to play there than in England.
Equally, English players going overseas have struggled in recent years and, although this can be attributed to many different circumstances, it certainly won’t have helped that they have been brought up in a nation that is so one-dimensional with its coaching techniques.
The huge rise in statistical use will also not help develop players in a risk-taking way. It has been reported many times that some players would rather not challenge for a header than get a black mark on their record for losing an aerial duel. I’m sure this is not the only statistic that sees this happen either. If every time a player thinks about attempting a dribble, but then remembers he might lose possession and be hauled off for ‘dropping’ statistically, he won’t ever make the dribble. The one time he then makes the dribble, he’s much less likely to be as confident as his counterpart in La Liga who attempts eight dribbles every game.
Whilst passing mentalities and statistical data will both be pivotal in building great teams of the future, is it time we stepped back and let our players try something special, without the fear of being plastered across the back pages of every newspaper and branded ‘wasteful’ and ‘overeager’?
What coaches need to do is encourage players — from grassroots all the way up to professional football — to build up an individual confidence as well as their team skills. Only then will the top individuals seek to play in England, and only then will we see the rise of a great England team.
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