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"I hate this elitism. I think it's too young to have elite players"

2017 was a year that promised much for Irish soccer but ended up delivering chastening disappoint...



"I hate this elitism. I th...
Soccer

"I hate this elitism. I think it's too young to have elite players"

2017 was a year that promised much for Irish soccer but ended up delivering chastening disappointment as Denmark laid waste to our dreams of going to the FIFA World Cup next summer.

This week on Team 33, we were joined by former Drogheda United and Monaghan United manager and ex-Ireland women's head coach Mick Cooke to talk about some of the domestic and grassroots issues that have been happening during 2017, including the League of Ireland season which saw Cork City triumph and the structure of the Premier and First Divisions prepare for change.

But we also discussed the development of young players in this country, with the FAI following the implementation of the National Under-19 and Under-17 leagues with a new Under-15 competition and lay the ground for a similar format for the Under-13s category. It's an encouraging sign that there is interest being taken in developing young players.

But on another point about age grades, the biographies of many future elite players will tell you that sometimes their talent does not blossom until their late teens when they overtake players who were perceived to be ahead of them in their early teens.

"I do and I don't," said Mick when our own Joe Coffey asked him if he feels Under-13 is too young for development squads.

"I hate this elitism. I think it's too young to have elite players. Then all of a sudden, I think, at Under-13, if you're going round picking squads and you pick 30 players out of a league, where do the other players go? Who says at Under-13, they're going to make it. Roy Keane never got capped underage, so would you not have picked him at Under-13 or Under-14 or Under-15."

Mick continued: "I think creating this elitism so young is wrong because then you have a group of players who think they've made it. 'I'm in this squad or I'm in that squad'. And then I might be palling around with you and my Dad will say, 'Well, you're better than him. You should be in that squad'. Like, where does it lead to? Changing times obviously, but I always felt Under-15 was time enough to start putting pressure on people because I think at Under-15, you can decide then, do I want to play rugby, soccer or hurling, what do I want to do?" 

You can listen to the full chat with Mick Cooke on the podcast player or stream/download on the iTunes podcast app for free: 

"I hate this elitism. I think it's too young to have elite players"

00:00:00 / 00:00:00

Recent interviews on Team 33 include former Man United cult hero Andrei Kanchelskis, ex-England international Carlton Palmer, Chelsea legends Bobby Tambling and Paddy Mulligan, Dutch legend Johan Neeskens, ex-England striker Darius Vassell, Liverpool legend David Fairclough, former Ireland midfielder Mark Kinsella and former Everton forward Tomasz Radzinski. Plus our in-depth chats with Tony CotonPackie BonnerNobby SolanoRon Atkinson and Alan Curbishley are still available on iTunes. You can find them all in one place by subscribing to Team 33 on iTunes.

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