IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/spomar/v23y2020i3p536-547.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An exploration of young professional football players’ perceptions of the talent development process in England

Author

Listed:
  • Webb, Tom
  • Dicks, Matt
  • Brown, Daniel J.
  • O’Gorman, Jimmy

Abstract

The identification and development of players in English professional football has become an increasingly significant topic of debate given the historical perceived underperformance of the English national team at international tournaments. To enhance understanding of the challenges and barriers experienced by English youth footballers, the authors explore the developmental experiences of English professional football players from different levels of the English football pyramid. Professional players (N = 11) from football clubs in the top four professional divisions in England took part in individual semi-structured interviews, which were analysed inductively using thematic analysis. The data revealed three interrelated themes that were perceived to mediate player identification and development pathways at professional clubs. Pathways for young players to progress and experience first-team competitive football differed when the level of the league that the players operated within was considered, with significant issues also raised relating to the suitability of the under 21 league structure, the importance attached to the educational welfare of young players, and variations in the identification of player attributes. This study sheds new light on the priorities and processes of talent development and education provision in English football.

Suggested Citation

  • Webb, Tom & Dicks, Matt & Brown, Daniel J. & O’Gorman, Jimmy, 2020. "An exploration of young professional football players’ perceptions of the talent development process in England," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 536-547.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:spomar:v:23:y:2020:i:3:p:536-547
    DOI: 10.1016/j.smr.2019.04.007
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1441352318304893
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.smr.2019.04.007?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kim Werner & Geoff Dickson, 2018. "Coworker knowledge sharing and peer learning among elite footballers: Insights from German Bundesliga players," Sport Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(5), pages 596-611, December.
    2. Werner, Kim & Dickson, Geoff, 2018. "Coworker knowledge sharing and peer learning among elite footballers: Insights from German Bundesliga players," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(5), pages 596-611.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tuan, Luu Trong, 2020. "Coach humility and player creativity: The roles of knowledge sharing and group diversity," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 284-301.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:spomar:v:23:y:2020:i:3:p:536-547. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/716936/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.