Wotte, manager of Utrecht when Motherwell played them in the 1998 friendly, has had a long career as a player and manager. He had a spell as technical director of Feyenoord, was coach of the Dutch U21 squad and he managed Southampton among a long list of others.
For too long we have seen our national and club teams lose out to foreign opposition that displays a level of technical ability that we can’t match. The only way the turn the tide is to have a wholesale re-evaluation of our youth development systems and every club, school and community has a part to play.
In recent years Motherwell fans have seen us lose to Nancy and Odense. In both cases our opponents demonstrated a high degree of technical ability as well as superior athletic skills. There is no reason why teams from the SPL, composed mainly of home grown talent, should not be able to overcome such opposition and if the country gets behind the strategy outlined in the McLeish report we’ll have a fighting chance.
The formation of local and national academies is a major part of the new structure and it is likely that senior clubs will have to concede some ground to ensure their success. Elite players have to be identified and given the chance of building their skills with the same exposure to the ball as is found elsewhere in Europe.
To reach the target of 10,000 hours over the ten year development of our players they will need around three hours training every day. That’s a massive commitment – a life changing decision – but if we are to see our teams populated by skilful home grown talent it is the price that will be needed.
Youth coaches
On the bright side we are not starting from scratch. The youth development schemes at several of our clubs are well organised and popular. The efforts at Motherwell are recognised as being among the best in the country and the popularity of the scheme has created a waiting list. There is likely to be some change of direction following the Director’s appointment but our club’s commitment to the community aspect of encouraging local youngsters to play football and fostering their interest in the Mighty ‘Well will continue.