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In this episode, Marcelo and I speak to Richard Allen, the Ex – Head of Talent ID for the FA as well as the Ex-head of Recruitment for Tottenham and Academy Director for QPR. He was responsible for creating the original Talent ID courses that govern how we scout in England today.
These courses range from teaching scouts at the grassroots level what they should look for and how academy directors should manage their heads of recruitment and their scouting departments.
We ask the question have academies in England got this right?
He discusses the importance of technical skills and game intelligence to the psychosocial factors that separate good players from great ones, Richard offers a unique perspective on what it takes to succeed in football. He also discusses the critical role of scouts, the complexities of overcoming biases, and the power of long-term development strategies.
Join us as we explore the inspiring journeys of players like Harry Kane and Andros Townsend, and learn how persistence, patience, and the right environment can make all the difference. Whether you’re an aspiring footballer, a coach, or simply a fan of the beautiful game, this episode is packed with valuable lessons and stories from one of the industry’s most respected figures.
Expect to learn how English recruitment works, the English talent ID model,the psychological and social factors which helped Harry Kane get scouted and much much more
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Could you develop your child into a footballer if you followed the ‘perfect’ formula? Sean Conlon, the founder of We Make Footballers and a Scout with Chelsea believes some people can. Follow our journey to discovering what it really takes to become a footballer.
How much is down to luck, genetics or being born into a football family.
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CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Intro
01:24 – Current Role in Football
06:37 – Success Stories at Tottenham
11:50 – Harry Kane’s Impact
16:56 – Andros Townsend’s Journey
19:30 – QPR Insights
22:45 – Football Association Overview
28:58 – Changes at the FA Explained
33:07 – We Make Footballers Initiative
33:41 – Creating a Footballing Philosophy
36:14 – England DNA Development
40:31 – Recruiting Players for England
43:38 – Player Attributes to Look For
47:15 – Lack of Controllers in England
49:30 – Development Time for Players
51:40 – What Would Kroos Be Like at 7
55:50 – Coaching Philosophy Explained
57:50 – Understanding Technical Ability
01:00:14 – Importance of Football IQ
01:01:33 – We Make Footballers Franchising
01:03:58 – Communicating with Heads of Recruitment
01:06:20 – Trust in Scouting
01:07:10 – Technical Player Development in England
01:09:04 – Academy Business Models
01:12:44 – Talent ID Course Overview
01:14:31 – Educating Beyond Technical Directors
01:15:36 – Player Assessment Environments
01:19:15 – Teaching Talent ID Course Content
01:22:28 – Data Influence in Scouting
01:27:45 – Work with FIFA
01:31:20 – Weak Soccer Programs Discussion
01:32:45 – Role of Genetics in Football
01:37:55 – Raising a Future Footballer
01:42:00 – Proudest Moment in Football
01:44:38 – End
#FootballPassion #KidsFootballTraining #DevelopFootballSkills #RaisingFootballer #YoungFootballers
20 Comments
Brian clough said it very well would you learn to drive from some one that can’t drive
My point being many of scouts or coaches have never played at an elite level
I am not saying that all of it but there should be a lot less emphasis on winning and learning to play developing fundamentals
Football is a simple game of passing and receiving the ball !
Football IQ definitely gets missed, because the irony is you have to have said IQ to notice it in others. That's why physicality is always rewarded in age group football, because it's easy for any pleb to observe and quantify it. Unfortunately physically and physical feats are just proxies of talent, not actual talent.
14:06 – 200 right foot, 200 left foot finishes – AFTER training 😮
Are there diversity quotas in English youth scouting?
40:58
I seen a kid play last month at a youth competition I went to Belfast for. I watched him the whole tournament and he was the standout by miles. I spoke to his parents who where really nice people apart from his local boys club he is unsigned but very young, so probably because of his age. Just starting secondary school Ithey said the boys model in Belfast which has a great soccer history and reputation.
Honestly touch skill speed kid was the full package.
Kyle Higginson. His name was. I won't forget it and will be looking out for him. I've never seen a kid that good.
If England have terrible managers it’s wasted.
Great video but the rediculous background sound is too loud and drives me insane.
As Michael Owen said, you DON'T have to be a good footballer to play in the Premier League any longer. You just have to be an athlete who is robotic and learns a 'system'. Actual talent, skill and a footballing brain is a disadvantage in our ever decreasing league. England's senior team has had 3 tournaments on the bounce where they have had ridiculously easy draws against awful teams and yet they still managed to lose each time they faced a decent team. Our UK players get worse each season, and the majority of the best players in our league are foreign. Prime Michael Owen would be worth £200 million in this league.
Wharton is that exact type of midfielder. He's very much a Carrick mould player and really needs the national midfield built around him.
i'd rather have a player who loves football like kane than a player who is just there for the money like Ozil
1:06:00
No World Cup-winning experience from ANYONE. Check out the children on Spain's wings. Need that 'doing it' experience. Anything else in the same old, same old from when I played back the 80's. NO CHANGE, NO TROPHIES LOTS OF CHITTER-CHATTER.
Same old story.
English grass roots about winning.
Not developing.
Football is three things.
Pass
Shoot
Dribble
That's it.
Parents pick their son's or daughters.
Coaches pick their favourites
Managers pick their wing men.
Some of the best players never make it
And that is mostly because of the system
Who you know
Not what you know.
⚒️
Whats the name of the program or camera he is talking about at 1:24:51
All you guys do nowadays is creating robots not football players. The game is getting more and more boring due to the inability of a lot of players to dribble and improvise!!!
They scout kids that are larger/more developed for their age group (aka earlier puberty). The other other kids will catch up later but hy then it's too late for their football careers
questions were better than the answers
In Australia you just see the same body type – stocky, skilled midfielders. End up with no Strikers.
The boys academies are getting better but the girls academies in England today have a very high 'number of blondes' to use the same phrase as Richard.