1.5 million sounds low? How many “young people” are in the UK? Tens of millions, surely?
Nearly 1.5million people play football, only 180 will make it to the Premier League.
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
It puts things into perspective a bit. The amount of times we all slate players for being shite and saying ‘how the feck is he playing at this level’ ‘I could do better’ etc. but in reality any of us lot wouldn’t get anywhere near them if we were having a kick about. 
Maybe their just counting the kids in football academy’s around the country.
As it's the premier league they're probably only talking about boys and then not all of them will be playing football. It also depends on what level of football they're looking at.
I've played against a team that had two players who play for the Iraq national team right now, in their mid 20s.
The difference in skill is ridiculous, and the two of them weren't even trying, they won 4-3 with the two of them either scoring or assisting all 4 goals.
The difference in skill is ridiculous, and the two of them weren't even trying, they won 4-3 with the two of them either scoring or assisting all 4 goals.
Yeah, I know he made it as a footballer, but was watching an interview with Jamie Carragher yesterday. He was saying he was a striker when he was a young kid, scored more goals than any kid on Merseyside in his age group. He became an attacking midfielder in his young teens, then a central midfielder before finally becoming a defender in the Liverpool youth team.
I know it happens fairly often but at the same time part of me is "nah, he was never a striker". You just don't think he'd have had the skill or that he was a bit of a donkey but he really wasn't compared to us mere mortals. Same sort of thing with the guys that look like poor Premier League players. They were absolutely destroying their junior leagues and would be streets apart from the amateur level.
that would mean each academy has 16k players.
I'd imagine it'll be all under 16's registered or affiliated to a registered FA club
Pretty much. A group of us used to rent out a 5-a-side pitch to play on. We had a guy in our group who had moved here from DR Congo and had been in some football training camps there growing up. It was almost impossible to get the ball off him. He was going for trials with teams like Bolton at the time but couldn't get a look in.It puts things into perspective a bit. The amount of times we all slate players for being shite and saying ‘how the feck is he playing at this level’ ‘I could do better’ etc. but in reality any of us lot wouldn’t get anywhere near them if we were having a kick about.
But what would numbers from the caf look like, that's the real question.
You’re probably right. I wasn’t really thinking about it it was just the first thought that popped into my head, couldn’t be arsed doing the maths.
even smaller. more people in the US, plus NBA squads are smaller too.
Currently you have 513 players in the PL with 321 legionary which makes 192 "english" players.
Overall there should be approx. 11mio (in the year 2015) people playing football, with 6.25mio adult male and 2.49mio boys. If count now all adults or only boys, either way the number 180 to 1.5 mio is false.
https://www.thefa.com/news/2015/jun/10/11-million-playing-football-in-england
Overall there should be approx. 11mio (in the year 2015) people playing football, with 6.25mio adult male and 2.49mio boys. If count now all adults or only boys, either way the number 180 to 1.5 mio is false.
https://www.thefa.com/news/2015/jun/10/11-million-playing-football-in-england
Plus you have to be nearly 7 foot tall..
This is called something in economics but i cannot remember what. Whereby only a small number of people will ever make it. Like those trying to become hollywood stars or setting up a company that becomes huge.
That's the thing, I'm sure only a very small percentage make into any top sports league. The numbers for NFL are probably similar too.
Hard?
That reminds me, there's some stat that goes the opposite way in the NBA. A surprising number of people of a certain height playing in the league. Can't remember the exact the numbers, but it's something like" if you are American, 7ft and over you have a 9% chance of playing in the NBA".
Edit: Wow, it's actually said to be 17%. I don't know if myth or not:
Kids football at junior and academy level is utterly brutal.
I was a coach at a local charter standard club for about ten years and some of the things you see would make you cry. A tournament we attended one summer had all the local teams from a twenty mile radius plus two invitational teams which were called Manchester Blue Astro's (Basically Citys elite age group aged 7) and Manchester Red Rockets (Same for Utd). Bear in mind the local kids were bloody good, like really good but these from Utd and City blew them away. Every Saturday morning the scouts are round all the top junior clubs like hawks. Inviting the kids to 'just a friendly couple of sessions' The reality is at the age of 7 if you think you are going training at Utd, City, Bolton etc of course you are going to jump at the chance. The parents think its a one way ticket to paradise. The reality is, it's a meat grinder. The kids go for 8-12 weeks and the week before they get invite back or not. Obviously at that age, if you are not invited back or you get the standard letter of thanks but no thanks, best of luck, no sling your hook, the kids are devastated. And so it repeats as the majority will bounce around a few clubs, lose the love of the game and end up either giving up or at best making it semi pro.
As my eldest went from Junior football to Open Age Sunday league, we had one lad come down to training aged 18. It was like dropping Prime Ronaldo in any team. Clearly out of place in a Sunday League team. His background was he had been attached to Burnley for 4 years and was let go at the end of his apprentice. And you could see that was a lot more common dropping out of a decent set up into nothing really.
I was a coach at a local charter standard club for about ten years and some of the things you see would make you cry. A tournament we attended one summer had all the local teams from a twenty mile radius plus two invitational teams which were called Manchester Blue Astro's (Basically Citys elite age group aged 7) and Manchester Red Rockets (Same for Utd). Bear in mind the local kids were bloody good, like really good but these from Utd and City blew them away. Every Saturday morning the scouts are round all the top junior clubs like hawks. Inviting the kids to 'just a friendly couple of sessions' The reality is at the age of 7 if you think you are going training at Utd, City, Bolton etc of course you are going to jump at the chance. The parents think its a one way ticket to paradise. The reality is, it's a meat grinder. The kids go for 8-12 weeks and the week before they get invite back or not. Obviously at that age, if you are not invited back or you get the standard letter of thanks but no thanks, best of luck, no sling your hook, the kids are devastated. And so it repeats as the majority will bounce around a few clubs, lose the love of the game and end up either giving up or at best making it semi pro.
As my eldest went from Junior football to Open Age Sunday league, we had one lad come down to training aged 18. It was like dropping Prime Ronaldo in any team. Clearly out of place in a Sunday League team. His background was he had been attached to Burnley for 4 years and was let go at the end of his apprentice. And you could see that was a lot more common dropping out of a decent set up into nothing really.
Wow that’s pretty high, like Yao Ming I always thought he was pretty bad player but got baskets because he was so big.
I guess you have a lot of small guys to kyrie, Nash, Nate, Walker etc
Fellaini could have played for the lakers
I have played football with some lads who have played at League 2/Conference North level. I played with a keeper who injured himself whilst playing for a League One club and got hundreds of thousands of pounds payout. This lad wasn't able to sign for a pro club after this so played at amateur level for years. I played with a lad at uni who has been released from Boro at 17.
They were all fecking superb. I was in the top division of a six tier division setup at Power League. I used to think it was a good level and very competitive. One day a lad came in who had been released from Port Vale. We won like 16-1. He could score from anywhere. One of my brother's mates plays for a League Two club. When he played for his school team he could win a game easily by himself scoring 10 goals.
You don't realise how good some of these players are.
They were all fecking superb. I was in the top division of a six tier division setup at Power League. I used to think it was a good level and very competitive. One day a lad came in who had been released from Port Vale. We won like 16-1. He could score from anywhere. One of my brother's mates plays for a League Two club. When he played for his school team he could win a game easily by himself scoring 10 goals.
You don't realise how good some of these players are.
Yep I know a couple of academy coaches and basically bar one or 2 who may have a chance in each cohort most of the kids who go have no chance of making it, they're just human cones for the 1 or 2 that they think will.
Probably should have.Fellaini could have played for the lakers
Yeah 'dross' is completely relative to elite sport. Phil Jones might be 'dross' at the absolute elite level of the sport United play at. He just has to drop down a level to be considered really good again, and maybe for him it's just a mid to lower table PL team which is pretty much still on the outskirts of the absolute pinnacle of the sport.
I would say there are distinct physical limitations involved.Football can be played by people of varying heights
It's exactly the same in the NBA, most adults that have an average height can play basketball but the majority can't compete with better athletes that have the same technical and tactical proficiency. The issue comes when you combine the limited amount of spots and the selection of athletes that are at the top end of athleticism and technicity.
PL mid table isn't at the outskirt of the absolute pinnacle of the sport, it's right in the middle of the pinnacle. It's a very high level when you consider all professional leagues.
Well obviously. But if you do take that place then it’s denying one of the ones below you too. I’m not sure it was meant that literally.
I was drawing a distinction between mid to lower table in the PL and the top end fighting for/winning titles and CL's. Robbie Savage played at the highest level, but I feel there are levels within the highest level and he didn't reach the absolute pinnacle.
Means nearly 1.5 million people can play in the SPL
But that distinction doesn't really exist outside of the absolute worse PL players, PL/CL contenders are made of top leagues average players and top leagues elite players while mid table teams are essentially made of average top league players. While the teams are made of a different mix of players, an average PL player isn't out of place in an elite team that's what squad players in those teams are for the most part.
Played with Viv Anderson’s son. He was ridiculously good.
I think the thing with the dross is, you are watching them play with other professional footballers from a top league, on the same screen you watch the likes of Messi do his stuff. Same even at a live match really (where you also see a lot you don't see on TV that makes some players look better)
Put the dross in a league 2 team or something and they would probably look really good. Or then again maybe not.
The pareto principle i think. Or at least it can be applied to it. Only a small percentage of people gain or succeed.
Yoa Ming was an elite scorer and excellent(efficient) shooter for a big, he was far from pretty bad.
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This is why it’s so hard to be special these days and so hard to find players who can improve the very best teams
A club like United are trying to find players who are in the top 10% of the top 1% of footballers in the world
Yet the caf scouts are still convinced they can give you a list of 50 players nobody has ever heard of who are amazing and available for 10 bob each
A club like United are trying to find players who are in the top 10% of the top 1% of footballers in the world
Yet the caf scouts are still convinced they can give you a list of 50 players nobody has ever heard of who are amazing and available for 10 bob each
The SFA will also be very interested in seeing birth certificates and any documentation you can provide about your family tree. If you meet their criteria, they will help find you a club in Scotland to get match fit.
It’s funny you should say that as I remember when I was about 8 or 9 being in a big 6 aside tournament In the north west and we were basically all signed for Everton at the time. We were winning most games by stupid scores which led to other parents actually booing us. My dad still laughs to this day about it!!
As for the commitments parents make it’s just unbelievable really. When I was at Bolton’s academy during their PL days my Mother would take me Tuesday, Thursday night for training. Saturday morning and then wherever the Sunday game was. Ideally at United/Liverpool etc as it was close but sometimes it was Newcastle/Sunderland etc. As a kid you can’t appreciate the sacrifices that the parents have to make too. As a dad of two boys I will obviously do everything possible to help them if they got the chance when older but I’d go into it knowing my experiences too and to not take it so seriously!!
Some of these responses are just proof that 80% of men in the world believe they are amongst the top 20% of athletes.