FULL HOUSES IN ICELAND

No excuses, this blog was written a while back...its been in the "pending box" for a while. I thought I would get rid of it on you.l Its your guess to put a date on it!

Today sees some of the less glamorous nations (apparently) play their group matches with Austria, Hungary and Iceland on stage along with the more favoured Portugal (only because they have Ronnie, oh and Carvalho (24 years old), Gomes (22), Mario (23) and Sanches (18). They think they have a golden future.

Austria play Hungary in the Hapsburg derby. Both teams were graced with being brought into the 20th century of football by Jimmy Hogan, who carried modern football from England into Europe and he created the Austrian 1930s Wunderteam and was credited with the success of magnificent Magyars. See this previous blog:
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Austria has the fabulous Christian Fuchs of Leicester City in tow and Hungary has Gabor Kiraly-who? well he is the  40 year and 75 days old goalkeeper, once of Crystal Palace. The oldest ever to play in the tournament.

But it is towards the Arctic Circle that I look, to marvel at the development of football on an island that is mainly volcanoes and ice. Still regarded as minnows, with a country population of 325,000, Iceland (FSI) have recently jumped from FIFA rank 131 to 28 and the team faces Portugal this evening.

This improvement is the result of a 20 year project putting football on a pedestal alongside the many "World Strongest Man" titles that Iceland holds. There is not a lot else to do, so locals spend a lot of time body building and are regarded Giants, Their footballers also are gathering a reputation for themsleves and are a surprise addition to the Euro16. Their first major international tournament.

The project has provided places to play football especially during the winter. From 2000 indoor arenas known as Football Houses have been built, the first one at Keflavik near the capital's airport. There are now 7 full size "houses" and 4 half size ones with 100 artificial mini pitches where youngsters can learn and olders can play competitively.

Since the 1990s coaching has been promoted with 180+ UEFA A  and nearly 600 UEFA Bs. For every 500 Icelanders there is a qualified coach. In England the ratio is 10,000:1.

I could list the various players who have since gone abroad. 21 out of the 23 in the squad ply their trade across Europe but I would run out of space-too many letters. Gylfi Sigurosson of Swansea might ring a bell and so might Johann Gudmundsson with Charlton and Aron Gunnarsson on Cardiff's books. There are 70 Icelanders earning a living abroad, having developed their talents from the mainly semi-professional Icelandic league. Thanks to Football Houses, Icelandic football is on the way up.

VINTAGE CARR

Enough of the Euro16 for a moment, now that we have to wait until Thursday to see our boys blossom. and win those 3 points. Today the obituary of a classic "all rounder" Donald Carr was reported in the Telegraph and if you have the opportunity to read it all then do. There are many fine anecdotes.

I know we are talking about bygone days when true amateurs could mix it with the professionals and where double or even triple internationals were possible and would make headline news.

Who played football for Scotland and cricket for England? Dennis Law and Ted Dexter. Sorry!

Donald Carr was born in 1926 and went to Repton School in Derbyshire where he excelled in cricket and football. This school has produced a number of brilliant all rounders including CB Fry and when Charterhouse visited Repton or played them at soccer in Godalming, we knew we had a serious opposition. They were not on our cricket fixture card but we had played Repton at soccer since 1907 and in 1908 played them on December 22nd. When did term finish?
The Old Reptonians played the school first in 1880.

Carr left school in 1944 and joined the army in 1945. He managed to play cricket for Derbyshire, eventually taking a place at Worcester College Oxford in 1948.

Carr was once described as a batsman who remained "stronger on potential than achievement". That seems like a typical schoolmasterly kind comment and as for his captaincy, his reputation was such that he was better fitted to bear the blame; clearly a young man who was mature and prepared to stand up for his decisions and actions.

Carr played for  the Oxford University cricket team in 1949 through to 1951, being captain in 1950. He also played a full time winter sport, winning soccer Blues v Cambridge University  in 1950 (2-2) and 1951 (0-0), where he would have opposed anothere remarkable all rounder, Charterhouse's Peter May (PBHM). Carr also played for the famous amateurs Pegasus, winning the Amateur Cup Final with them at Wembley in 1951 (beating Bishop Auckland in front of 100,000) and 1953 (Harwich and Parkeston 6-0 also 100,000 in the crowd).

Cricket was his strength, he played for Derbyshire 1946-63, England twice and then became important in cricket administration with the MCC, being awarded an OBE in 1985.

Apolos for scruffy photo. You get the drift.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARM AND ARISE SIR ROD

I am just hoping that the dank cloud cover clears nefore this afternoon's garden party in the village, the band playing at the pub and the Sykes Cup third round tie at the cricket ground. Then it is the Northern Irish with a sumptious dinner afterwards. What a day! All we need is sunshine.

Happy Birthday mam (or marm) as we were told at Charterhouse when her Royal Highness and Phil visited the school as part of her patron's duties. I worked there for 40 years and we had the one visit, although prior to taht she had visited in the 1970s. On both occasions she came to open new buildings (no, she is not a janitor). Mrs Bailey was privileged to be chosen as one of the staff members to meet her so she had to get her "marms" right and courtsey.

So to help celebrate the occasion there are the Birthday Honours and I have been overlooked again. Hmm! But these haven't:
Rachel Anderson-first FIFA recognised football agent-services to equality. MBE
Marieanne Spacey-English Ladies Footbasll Assitant manager. MBE
Emma Hayes-Chelsea Ladies-MBE
Steve Gibson-Middlesbrougth FC and local industry and business. OBE
Alan Shearer-Football punditry and his Foundation. CBE
http://www.alanshearerfoundation.org.uk/
Anna Kessel-Sports' journalist and co-founder Women in Football. MBE

And finally, another great footballing legend Rod Stewart at 71, with 6 kids from two marriages, is awarded a Knighthood which he will wear well!

Rod is an very keen Celtic fan and Scot of course and has just moved from Wood House (once lived in by Winston Churchill) where Rod had a grass football pitch on site, to a new pad Durrington House in Essex, where he has got permission to build an astro pitch so long as it doesn't have floodlights. Rod is not up to playing now that his knees have "gone" but he does host matches for mates and enjoys the banter. No doubt his six kids will bring their mates round for a 6 a side.

XHAKA v XHAKA

Albania, 42nd in the FIFA rankings, play Switzerland (ranked 15th) today with the Xhaka brothers on opposite sides. Such is the complication of Europe, with cross border movements and nationality changes following migration. 

Taulant plays for Basel and is an Albanian international, whereas Granit has just signed for Arsenal and is "Swiss"! Their father originally lived in Albanian Kosovo when it was part of Yugoslavia in 1989 and fled to Switzerland having been a political prisoner for nearly four years in the late 1980s. There are over 20,000 Kosovans in Switzerland. Five other members of the Albanians side were born in Switzerland and four others grew up there.

The Albanian FA was founded in 1946 when they played their first official international against Yugoslavia. Since then progress has been slow but this is the first official football tournament for the Albanians who managed to beat Portugal in their qualification group, away 0-1. Other countries they had to overcome in qualifying were Armenia, Serbia and Denmark, no mean feat. They have also recently beaten France in a friendly. 

In their Euro 16 group they also have to face France (17th)  again and Romania (22nd). Needless to say there will be more Swiss supporters in the crowd at Lens than Albanians, but a decent percentage of Albanians will have travelled from nearby European countries where they have now settled since the troubles. 

The other "low" ranked qualifier is Iceland, 34th.  The Icelandic national side first played an official game in 1930, against the Faroe Islands and have qualified for Euro16 coming second to the Czech Republic, and above Turkey, Latvia, Kazakhstan and amazingly beating the Netherlands twice, 2-0 and 1-0.

The Netherlands ranked 14th in FIFA were probably the most surprising omission from the tournament. Other notables having a rest this summer  are Bosnia 21st, Denmark 38th, Greece 40th and Scotland 43rd.

CUISINE, CONCOCTIONS AND CULTURE

When I was just about to write about the meals that the English team chef  Tim De'Ath was preparing for the meals, I decided that I would be making obvious statements such as "Is that a name that promotes confidence in the team?"

The French have also dented my confidence in writing again about mascots when I cheerfully wrote about the French mascot Super Victor, a cheery young lad with 16 on the front of his shirt and a ball in his hand.

It appears that the mascot shares his name with a giant sex aid. If you Google Super Victor Toy when you want to buy a memorable present for your young son then you will be surprised with the result. The name was chosen through a uefa.com poll, winning 47% of the votes beating Goalix (see English mascot in past) and Driblou, a name which doesn't fill me with confidence either. Since there is an Erotic Shop in Chantilly, our boys may find a gadget called Driblou displayed in the window.

Let me bring you back to earth although you only have a few two days to try this out. If you live in London and know where Hoxton is, then go visit the Patterns of Play exhibition which celebrates artists and football themed work. Try the link and go to shop:-

http://www.patternsofplay.co.uk/groupstage/

Sorry its a bit late but maybe there will be another showing and you can buy online.

Let the games begin.

CLUBS OR HUBS

I read in the Telegraph today a piece entitled "The French example that the English will never follow". This was bringing to our attention that Clairefontaine is not only the home of the France national team but also serves as the French Football Federation's Academy for the Ile de France, that is the Paris region, where 23 young, selected footballers "board" from 13 years old for two years and get an "education". At this "school" they train daily, live a controlled life and are schooled at nearby Rambouillet where they are encouraged to gain the Baccalaureat. The education is paid for. At weekends and for school holidays they go home and join their "home" clubs.

There are 11 other elite "regional hubs" serving other areas of the vast country, which is 37% bigger in area than England. The system was founded in 1988.

The article says that the Premier League would never countenance the FA hot housing our best young talent at St George's Park, near Burton, let alone in a series of regional hubs. Unsurprisingly, the idea has worked so well for the French that all 23 graduates from this year's Paris "academy" have been taken on by professional clubs. The historic list of alumni is long and impressive.

This appears to be a more grown up approach to developing our the best young footballers than the present English rapid and sometimes desperate pursuit of young talent by our home clubs.

BUT the FA had one of these academies at Lilleshall, founded in 1984, set in a stately home with appropriate conversions both to the "boarding accommodation and the surrounding landscape". It is located in Shropshire, not far from St George's Park, ironically. The academy provided a massive opportunity for the chosen few but in turn presented all sorts of issues to the young starlets, one of whom was Jermaine Defoe, who is still playing of course. Defoe is the only one of 16 "graduates" who passed out in the last year of the experiment in 1999, to play top grade football.

Living in an academy, away from home and in boarding accommodation has its challenges, though one lad was quoted, saying that the local girls at the nearby school attended by the boys, were fascinated by this intake of new teenagers, so the lads had their pick. It wasn't all bad then.

Of the 234 young footballers who passed through Lilleshall over its 15 years, few made it to the top flight. Sol Campbell, Joe Cole, Andy Cole, Jamie Carragher, Scott Parker, Nicky Barmby, Ian Walker and Michael Owen present an impressive short list, however and I suppose this select few is not a bad return, but the French appear to have done it better.

Steven Gerrard was overlooked because of his physique and of course teenagers develop at different rates, both physically and mentally, especially between the ages of 14-16.

The boys that made it had provided the best coaches, physios, food, habits, kit and equipment and discipline. They wanted for nothing.

The FA Technical Director at the time of the school's closure, Howard Wilkinson, regarded Lilleshall as too elitist and he had a vision of each club having their own academy (which has happened), trusting the coaches at each club to do the right thing. The FA trickles down information to the clubs anyway and this is disseminated to their boys and girls through qualified coaches at the FA Coaches' Association. It is not as perfect as it seems however as many clubs are more interested in rapid returns rather than naturing talent. You could name those clubs that are well known for there youth development programmes.
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MASCOT MUST CUT THE MOUTARDE

Not that I am counting daily, but I think I broke a daily record of hits yesterday and that must have been thanks to my Walking Football buddies from Penistone Church WFC (W = Walking that is) who may have thought they were being part of a viral blog. No chance.

We don't have a mascot as such, although one or two of the chaps could possibly put themselves forward.

When I played in the Collyers GS 1st XI in Horsham, we had a mascot, Woofles, that lived in the goal net behind goalie Doughy Baker. We didn't need help actually, we were very good and Doughy, a solid guardian in nets. But you know what kids are like, anything to help explain a defeat. "Woofles was facing the wrong way", "Who left him in the coach?", "Did the ball hit him and bounce out?".

The French Cockerel "Balthazar", a long time mascot of the French football team, is banned from this tournament "for security reasons". You would think that with the deployment of every French security person capable of walking, a friendly cock wouldn't cause much stress. As its owner, who has exposed the beast since France's 1998 World Cup win, said, "My cock's part of French legend"...quite right mon ami.

So why the much publicised English mascot, Leo in France? Well, it is there to create a bit of a distraction for the squad who are in danger of getting bored in their £500 a night hotel. It will cause much amusement when the captain announces daily which member of the squad has earned the right to "babysit" it through some horrendous error. A penalty miss maybe, or diving header own goal?

On school tours, there is always need for a mascot or a forfeit sometimes known as "Dick of the Day". Yes, some poor chap has made a crucial mistake, un faux pas or similar during the day, so he has to wear the gaudy Hawaiian, nasty shirt that hasn't been washed since the beginning of the cricket tour and was last worn by the teacher-scorer, weighing in at 16 stone, 40+ years old and sweating like a tropper in a badly air conditioned score box. Not good.

Our local football team, Hepworth United (Open Age) has a "Godiva" award for the lad who has made the biggest "cock up" during the season. It is based over about 9 months, so there is plenty of scope for a belting mess up. This year the lad who failed to score a goal in any match, by tradition, walked naked from the local pub in the village, where a few beers had been consumed, to the pitch on the outskirts of the settlement; he was allowed a ruck sack to put his clothes in! Much mirth in the Pennines.

The British Lions of course have their Lion mascot (carried by the youngest squad member all the time), the Tour De France also presents a Lion to every stage winner. So far it is Chris Smalling who carried Leo. Nobody was on hand to explain why he had the honour, but the jape is to "kidnap" the mascot in which case the "babysitter" has to deal with another more embarrassing forfeit.

Actually there are three Lions of course and Leo is the larger one. Not quite sure what happe3ns to the two spares-the local school children were amused by

This year Super Victor is the mascot (emblem) for the French Euro Championships; do you remember World Cup Willie in 1966 or Goaliath in  our 1996 Euro? Willie worked, Goaliath nearly did.

Dean Ashton, briefly a member of the England squad from 2006 who only managed one international appearance, said that in his time there were dreadful "cliques" in the camp and some senior players never spoke to him. Small "club" groups formed and at meal times so there was little cameraderie in the camp. Dan Ashworth (not to be confused with Dean) the FA's director of Elite development is sent by the FA to keep an eye on Roy. Ashworth is acting like a "mascot", keeping an eye on the manager and the way the English perform in France and presumably making sure there are no huddles.

Perhaps Leo, Roy and Wayne and the many other back room staff will get that right this time round.