Hi, hope you are all well.
During a journey home from training last week, I listened to a radio debate on what age young players should start to play on a full-size pitch.The discussion centred on the fact that in local kids' leagues, lads start playing full-sided matches on full-size pitches when they are at under-11 level .
Having helped out with my little boy's under-eight's team, it is a topic I feel very strongly about.
After coaching the lads since the start of the season, it has become obvious to me that the key ingredient for them to improve is to have as much time with the ball as possible. I would be surprised if any youth coach disagreed. Unfortunately the switch to playing on a full pitch at such a young age runs contrary to this principle.
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It is no secret that footballers, not to mention managers, are a bunch, but I am sure many of you would still be surprised at some of the rituals we adopt.
Throughout my career, I have come across a lot of strange behaviour in the run-up to a game. Indeed, the best known habits, such as deliberately putting on one sock before the other, only scratch the surface of what really goes on in footballers' minds.
I have never regarded myself as someone who could be classed as superstitious, although there may be some things that I do on a match day or leading up to a match day that could be viewed as falling loosely into this category.
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Hi, hope you are all well.
I was reading the other day about a new campaign for football fans called
For those of you who have not heard about it, the basic concept is for fans to try and create the best football chants for individual players or teams.
There is also an educational focus on the campaign for adults to try and brush up on their language skills (which strikes me as being a good reasons for yours truly to get involved!).
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Hi, hope you are all well.
For players and fans alike, penalty shoot-outs are not for the faint-hearted. For me, this was emphasised more forcibly than ever by that extraordinary spot-kick contest in the Scottish League Cup semi-final, which ended in an for Celtic over Dundee United.
I was obviously delighted for my old man that Celtic won. At the same time, it was impossible not to feel a lot of sympathy for United. This is always the case concerning the losing team in a penalty shoot-out. It is a cruel way for any team to go out of a competition, and because of the general perception of penalty shoot-outs as little more than lotteries, you can understand why so many people in the game would like to see them scrapped.
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Hello, I'm Gavin Strachan. I describe myself as a "journeyman" player after 13 years in the game as a professional. I'm currently between clubs, having been released by Notts County. I'm also studying journalism and the aim of my blog is to provide an insight into the life of a footballer.
Here are some 