Portsmouth FC boss Harry Redknapp fears that "Xbox culture" is turning English youth off of football, forcing managers to search for players abroad.
Redknapp has insisted that England's gaming culture is the reason for the lack of domestic talent, and managers shouldn't be the target of criticism.
"I'm fed up with managers being made scapegoats for the state of our domestic game," he wrote in his national newspaper column. "The English working class is turning its back on football - and that is not my fault.
"It may sound old and corny but when I was growing up, working class lads like me in the East End lived and breathed football.
"Now I rarely see a kickabout in the park. All I see are the dazzling lights of bedroom windows from the glare of TVs and computers. It seems football cannot compete with an Xbox."
Redknapp adds: "I do have a lot of foreign players at Portsmouth but believe me I'd love nothing more than to field a team of 11 so-called 'home-grown' lads born within the city limits. But it has become harder and harder to find enough kids of the kind of quality required to make the grade without buying an air ticket."
The former West Ham United manager is now looking to Africa as a source of real-life footy passion. He said: "Maybe they have the hunger and drive that working class boys of England had 30 years ago but now is replaced by video game passion."
Is Redknapps argument justified? Some kids might prefer a virtual stadium to a tiny park kick about, but real football and a game of PES are not the same activity at all.
What a load of rubbish. I suppose it's nothing to do with the increasing loss of playing fields and cutting back of sports in school... even though we keep hearing about UK kids being 'obese'.
Harry needs to shut up. As a Pompey fan that's probably the dumbest thing he's said since "I'm moving to Southampton". Sure, people like playing games and watching movies- but those that are interested in sport are still going to go out there and play.
Ah well. Up the Pomp nonetheless, Harry go back to what you do best and get us into Europe
What Harry Redknapp is forgetting is how much green belt is being sold off to greedy house developers. There's hardly anywhere left for kids to have a kickabout these days. He's attacking a symptom but not the cause.
What Harry Redknapp is forgetting is how much green belt is being sold off to greedy house developers. There's hardly anywhere left for kids to have a kickabout these days. He's attacking a symptom but not the cause.
To be fair if he's talking about his local area i live here and there's plent of places to play and a few to train properly so he has a bit of a point. But he's still missing te fact that people played football because they didn't have a choice, theres all sorts of activities kids can do nowadays if they're motivated corectly by their parents.
Indeed, Xbox might be stifling homegrown footy talent, but at the same time it’s nurturing homegrown gaming skills. You never know… videogames my spawn a videogame league that becomes the most followed sport the world has ever seen, where gamers will be portrayed as heroes and headshots heralded as ‘true skill’ and respected transnationally. If this ever happens, then England may have a chance at becoming world champions.
Was he sober when he made this statement, I see loads of people playing football in parks, maybe they should stop looking for Wayne Rooneys and Ronaldos and nurture people who are decent at the game.
I've got a lot of time for Harry Redknapp and he does talk sense I used to live and breathe football and my friends and I would play everynight but the areas that we played are now overrun by k**b heads who beat up passers by and to the comment about kids being obese well thats why! cos kids 8-15 yr olds are playing video games all the time don't get me wrong I loved my n64 back in the day but I prefered football any day of the week
Football's a single game amongst many, many others, and as fun as it is to watch, it can't even compare to the new wave of non-physical gaming that computers have granted us.
It's still got it's hardcore nerd followers, (many of which put even hardened gaming nerds to shame with their obsession) so it's in no danger of dying out any time soon.
I say let it fade into the background, so we can have the better sports that are out there get all the airtime, such as women's volleyball, women's gymnastics, women's mudwrestling, and Kabaddi...
The problem is that the school rules are messed up now. No longer are kids allowed to lose. You're not allowed to fail. sports days were pretty much abolished because it makes the useless kids feel bad. And if you can't win or lose then how do you discover who is the best at something?
Seriously, the real culprit is the attitude of political correctness gone nuts. Lay the blame there.
These kids who are crap but have never been told are in for a big shock when they get into the real world.
If the English working class is turning its back on football it is because they cannot afford to go to and watch overpaid footballers! I would love to take my kids to see my local team but simply cannot afford it. I wish people would stop blaming computer games for everything!
Maybe its more to do with tickets for Football matches being far too expensive. Young kids arent going to football anymore, its more and more businessmen and hardcore fans that will go whatever. One match and a father takes his son, gets a drink each and something to eat. A program and then of course getting to the match and home, its extreamly expensive. Thats your biggest problem right there.
Also with Schools not putting a lot into sports, and encouraging a culture where no one is a loser, that cant help. Then you also have to consider how many people would like their 12 year old kid out and about playing football. With paedophiles about and the violence on the street... its todays society which is bringing this change along.
Reading the article though, it doesnt sound like he is blaming computer games, he is simply reflecting on the state of society today.
nonsense on stilts, football used to be a lower/middle class game where anyone could go and support there local team of play in the park with your mates but a family of 4 could buy an xbox for less than it would cost to go and watch a championship game these days its mad and kids cant play in the park cause there not allowed by there parents cause they will proberly get kidnaped!!! And even if the kids were good enough and got signed by pompy they would get sold to chelsea and have to play in the reserves until they were 30 and to old to play for there country!!!!!!!!!
It's total crap, I'm a tennis player and I love playing Virtua Tennis 3 and pretty much any tennis game I can get my hands on but nothing compares to actually being out there on the court playing it yourself. I've never once said "Oh look Top Spin 2 is out on the 360, sweet, I can throw away my racket now as I'll clearly never use it again!"
What a load of rubbish. I suppose it's nothing to do with the increasing loss of playing fields and cutting back of sports in school... even though we keep hearing about UK kids being 'obese'.
Spot on, couldn't agree with you more. My nephew is 11 and used to play for a team, but they don't exist anymore as the pitch they played on is being turned into flats and the funding they received from the local leisure service was stopped, and his school don't have a team either. He likes football way more than video games but with no team to play for what is he supposed to do?
Grass roots football should be your concern Harry Redknapp, and not staring into kiddies windows!
What makes me laugh is when Gabe Newell an industry man behind a successful company slates the business end of the PS3 in terms of fiscal success the peoplebemoan him as a tit who claims he doesn't know what he's talking about.
Then along comes some lardy footballing relic who claims that 'xbox culture' is destroying football and we are supposed to even contemplate listening to this old duffer?
This is not news, this is like my granddad informing me of how during the war things were different and there was no crime.
I didn't listen to his s**t and I certainly wouldn't listen to Mr Redknapp. He should f**k off back to trying to coach a team and not cite random excuses why football is in a state of disarray. Maybe it could be more to do with the fact that footballers are overpaid and under worked w****rs who are pampered through life and as such don't show the commitment that he is trying to push off as an excuse onto other mediums.
Have to agree with Harry to a certain degree...you don't need an area of grass or sporting stadium to have a kick-around. Most of the time in my youth it was played on concrete outside the house.
I think in general it's just that kids nowadays are far more into their PC's and consoles and can't really be bottomd going outside, often getting drenched to kid a ball around, so of course the emerging, local talent will suffer as a consequence!
When I was younger there were a few 5 a side footy picths that young kids could use for free in the day time. Me and my friends would spend ages playing. Many years later and those have been replaced by shops and a skate boarding park. If kids want to play footy now they have to pay £24 to play for 1 hour on the local leisure centre footy pitch. So to be honest, I blame all the emo's and skate boarding people.
France & Italy don't have a vast pool of emerging talent as far as I'm aware and as for Brazil, football is treated almost like a religion over there where it's often the case that if the young kids want to get out of poverty, football is the answer!
All you have to do is look at the emerging obesity problem that is happening with UK kids, a lack of exercise and over-protective parents happier knowing that "little Jonnie" is safe, upstairs playing on his computer.
I didn't listen to his s**t and I certainly wouldn't listen to Mr Redknapp. He should f**k off back to trying to coach a team and not cite random excuses why football is in a state of disarray.
Just because his own views don't match yours doesn't mean he's talking s**t.
i agree with building developers buying up alot of land doesnt help but how can kids play in the streets with all the nonces around today not forgetting those useless t*wats police community officers they'll probably hand out ASBOS for having a kick about in the streets. I personally cant wait for the football bubble to burst.
There's three main causes that contribute to the lack of talent coming into the game.
1. The Premiership, Sky TV and money. Everyone predicted what would happen and it has. Why bother with homegrown talent when you can buy a team *cough* Chelsea etc...
2. Lack of sport and fitness at school. I had 2 hours of PT and a whole afternoon of Sport when I was at school. However, I know fine well that most children interested in footie would rather play it for real than on a console - unless they're s**te, but then they wouldn't want to play real football anyway.
3. Investement in Youth Training. Whilst this country has got better with its youth training schemes, centres of excellence etc... The attitude to coaching these youngsters is still stuck in the past. The current emphasis is on winning matches vice skills, technique and tactical knowledge. At youth level, winning is less important than learning the skills and attitude needed to become a professional sportsperson.
As for youngsters not being interesting in footie; rubbish. I go and see Carlisle play in every home match. The stand is crawling with youngsters, not only that, but a good percentage of them are female as well. Carlisle might not be the best supported team in the country, but they have a good age/sex range of supporters, as do a lot of lower division clubs. The sort of clubs where home grown talent is very important (then nicked by the big teams with their skyTV cash).
Hmm how do you explain France, Italy and Brazil having world class players when they have as much access to consoles as the british.
Most Brazilians do not have access to xboxes and playstations becauae they are poor. You cannot compare England to South America or Africa. As well since football is such a cheap sport (1 football between maybe 30 kids) it is therefore there only main sport in Brazil.
If England were to become how it was 30/40 years ago, then the whole way people live would be different and probably the premiership would have more English players. And it difinitely would not be so money driven.
2. Lack of sport and fitness at school. I had 2 hours of PT and a whole afternoon of Sport when I was at school. However, I know fine well that most children interested in footie would rather play it for real than on a console - unless they're s**te, but then they wouldn't want to play real football anyway.
i remember 2 hour PE lesson at my school. if it rained even the slightest then we had to run laps rather than play football. & with the amount of rain we get thats a whole lot of running. This led to many kids just wagging it. But even then they'd go and play football somewhere else, its the way it worked. none of my mates have ever put consoles before an actual game of footy & the kids of today dont either.
Well I think he has a point tbh, most kids in cities daren't go out to the park for fear of being attacked by gangs of nob heads, and parents tend to keep their kids indoors for their safety a lot more then they used too...so it's inevitable they'll be playing games.
It's down to parents to ensure the kids get the exercise they need by getting them involved in youth groups and activities, but many don't do enough of this. It's hard work being a parent, and many just find sitting their kids in front of the telly or console is easier which is a shame.
I have been someone who has thought of Harry Redknapp to be a good manager and know what he's talking about when it come to football, but I have to say after reading this article that he is talking a load of s**t!! Videogames are getting the blame for everything nowadays its pathetic. Technology has evolved, the world is changing...............Get over it!!!! Yeah kids play football but whats wrong with enjoying playing on your Xbox or Playstation??? Nothing if you ask me.
and so now kids are wanted to go out in the rain and chav and ned invested pitchs just to play ball in a park in putting all their live towords this, and then to be givien the news that you where too s**t to get into the training. then you have just wasted your own life just it let yourself down. where do you go from there eh? Get a job and wonder why you have been placed in Mcdonlds because you where to busy playing footie.
it annoys me that he wants so many to take this risk. then what happens to those who don't make it
Hmm how do you explain France, Italy and Brazil having world class players when they have as much access to consoles as the british.
Most Brazilians do not have access to xboxes and playstations becauae they are poor. You cannot compare England to South America or Africa. As well since football is such a cheap sport (1 football between maybe 30 kids) it is therefore there only main sport in Brazil.
If England were to become how it was 30/40 years ago, then the whole way people live would be different and probably the premiership would have more English players. And it difinitely would not be so money driven.
I didn't mention Africa, but I agree brazil are poor and dont have access to Xbox and Playstations but they are rife with cheap clone machines which the poor could afford. As reported here:
But surely he does have a point? Yes, yes, I know that as a gamer I'm supposed to defend my hobby to the death but in this instance...
Kids have a lot more entertainment options these days. Childrens' TV runs 24 hours a day across 8? 10? dedicated , rather than the 2 hours a day across 2 channels it used to be.
More children have TVs in their rooms, with attached games consoles, rather than having to fight for TV time in the front room.
Doesn't that logically mean that there are more demands on a kid's time?
But surely he does have a point? Yes, yes, I know that as a gamer I'm supposed to defend my hobby to the death but in this instance...
You know you sya that a lot & I dont think you are a gamer! You are a liar!!
Every piece of stick gaming takes you defend the people puttinng it down. First Manhunt 2 now this & im sure there is more. So who are you? A gamer with odd values or some spy from the government sent to our forums to try & sway us to your way of thinking
If thats the case then please explain the resurgenece of scottish football at the moment, both on an international and domestic level. We have xbox's here too you know, and only about 1/10th of the population of england.
im sick of people using consoles as excuses for there failings!The standard of football has changed from 30 years ago its more demanding more time consuming and its now a profession even without consoles most english born men would not get near a premiership starting 11 the standard is so high!!! i dont know any town or city that has not got there own leagues for all ages that are full of young talent and when the sun is shining what do all football fans do they go down the park and play footy when it gets dark go home and play xbox!!!thats why u can see the lights out of windows harry u nosy prat i mean who is gonna play football in the dark shut up harry if playin football seriously was more accesible instead of just relyin on half wit scouts then im sure more and more english players would come through but the premiership has raised the bar so high that goin abroad is the easy option and taking players from clubs that actually do have a proper youth system in place and have already blooded there players so shut up harry and get on gears of war so i can take your head off!!!
I didn't mention Africa, but I agree brazil are poor and dont have access to Xbox and Playstations but they are rife with cheap clone machines which the poor could afford. As reported here:
I know you didn't mention Africa but Harry did. And I didn't know about the clone machines. That is a good find. Still I do not think those machines are as readily available as the "real" machines are to the youth of England.
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