Club v Country - A solution for European Footbal

The issue

One of the perennial problems affecting the modern international game and club scene is the perceived club v country clash. This conflict may well explain the preference for domestic clubs to withhold valued players from national teams which inhibits the later development and chances of success.

A solution

A radical answer would be to make a clearer distinction between the club season and the international season; to have them occurring in separate parts of the calendar.

Fundamental to the solution is the replacement of the traditional home and away qualification group system with separate concurrent tournament based qualification groups (perhaps arranged geographically). These would be held in one month, after the main European (winter based) leagues have finished (e.g. June) and hosted by one or joint countries (based on seeding or awarded to suitable biding countries).

For UEFA European Championships the system would resemble the following diagram;

For UEFA area FIFA World Cup the system would resemble the following diagram;

© S C Low 2013

Improve the quanity and quality of English football coaching

One solution to the comparative lack of quality coaches in English football (compared to countries such as Spain, Germany and Netherlands) would be the establishment of an A-Level qualification in Sports Coaching and Management. One option of such a qualification would be to focus on football, with other students choosing to apply common elements of coaching and player management in others sports such as Cricket or Netball.

© S C Low 2013

Replace Goal Difference as the first option of seperating clubs with a National Team Appearance Value

If two or more clubs finish on the same number of points in a league (Premier League, Championship etc) their relative position (who is placed above the other) is decided by the following principles (in order);

1. Team with the highest Club English Player Performance Value (EPV) is placed first
2. Team with the greatest goal difference is placed first
3. ...

The EPV is derived by the method (or similar method)  shown in the diagram below. In simple terms every player in the current first team squad of a club is given a EPV; this is based on the number of appearances (Caps) they have been awarded by the English national side; at all age ranges from 16 to full national side status. The club EPV is then the sum of all the player specific EPV's accumulated by their first team squad members. The club EPV will vary constanly as English National teams (at all age ranges) complete UEFA and FIFA fixtures and clubs recruit or sell elegiable English qualified players.

In essence clubs are rewarded with a greater potential of a higher league position (winning a league, gaining promotion or entry into a UEFA competition) by having their squads populated with England International players.

© S C Low 2013

Seed the English Football Association Cup based on English Player Appearances for the National Team

From the 3rd round of the English FA Cup (FAC) each qualifying club is awarded a ranking position based on thier club English Player Performance Value (EPV).

The EPV is derived by the method (or similar method)  shown in the diagram below. In simple terms every player in the current first team squad of a club is given a EPV; this is based on the number of appearances (Caps) they have been awarded by the English national side; at all age ranges from 16 to full national side status. The club EPV is then the sum of all the player specific EPV's accumulated by their first team squad members. The club EPV will vary constanly as English National teams (at all age ranges) complete UEFA and FIFA fixtures and clubs recruit or sell elegiable English qualified players.

So, a club will have a club EPV and this value is used to rank all teams who are qualified for the FAC 3rd round. The top 32 clubs in this ranking are thus awarded a seeding position (1 to 32) based on this ranking (based on thier club EPV) and the draw is made for this and (possibly) subsequent rounds of the FAC based on thier seeding; with the higher seeds being kept apart for as long as possible.

In essence clubs are rewarded with a greater potential of winning the English FAC (and qualification for UEFA competition) by having their squads populated with England International players.

© S C Low 2013