Rio Ngumoha made a welcome return to playing for Liverpool this week; however, his appearance came in the under-21s. It sparked a bit of debate online, highlighting a wider issue that clubs and players face: career planning. It remains the case that in most academies, career planning is absent, leaving young players and their families vulnerable to clubs that, in many cases, also have not planned a player's career. Let me explain.
Do clubs have plans for their players?
It remains the case that in most academies, career planning is absent, leaving young players and their families vulnerable to clubs that, in many cases, also have not planned a player's career.
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"But they may as well take the extra training"
Research often flies in the face of "common sense". For example, we've all been told that practice makes perfect, so it stands to reason that the more we practice becoming a footballer, the more chance we have of "making it". Unfortunately, that is a very simple way of looking at things.
Do we medicate the fish or clean the tank?
I hear a lot of discussion about culture in clubs - clubs love to find "culture carriers" for their teams, but how often do they reflect on the environments that have given rise to certain cultures?