Hypothesis - The game in many countries is boring and predictable because we are excluding a major group of young footballers - the ratbags.

In a world of political correctness scouts now say things like - 'we look for attitude', 'we look for posture', 'we see what kind of family they are from'...

And they it like they are schoolmasters who know things that we don't..(self righteous)

Subtext - we look for kids that will fit in, we look for kids that have buy in, we look for kids that don't cause trouble....

Maybe just maybe we should be ding the opposite

Show me the kid with attitude (maybe he is courageous and questions authority), show me the kid who doesn't accept the system, show me the kid that thinks for himself, show me the kid with swagger....

Can we then manage these kids, turn their swagger and confidence into onfield performance? Or are clubs and scouts looking for an easy path producing hundreds of tom cruise types...

Think of this list

Paul Gascoigne
George Best
David Beckham
Diego Maradona
Paulo Dicanio
Ibrahimovic
Cantona
Mersen
Higuita

All awesome, all larger than life Ratbags

Would these players get a look in these days? How many of these young players are we missing out on?

The English team is so bloody boring - how could they do with a Gazza now?

Its like those singing shows - we have judges telling people what they want and yet we don't see acts like the Rolling Stones or Bob Dylan anymore

Bring back the ratbag

Add Robin Friday to the ratbags list.

But have we really had any in Australia?

Never heard of Robin Friday but goggled him - real ratbag! 

Kevin Muscat says hi!

Yeah, I was thinking purely of strikers, but Muscat must be number one Aussie ratbag of recent times.

These type of players don't get a look in these days (here) purely based on the play from the back and good individual players are not given the chance as it once was.
The robotic type of player and style of game blows most chance a talented rogue/ratbag would get selected.
Your list has some of the most skilful we've seen last 30yrs - makes you wonder how could they "control" a Best type today haha.......
I miss the ratbag/rogue player.

Agree LFC

I think for some reason once people get into administrative and coaching roles they start moralising too much. Its this idea that all players need to be role models.

Pick the best darn player and work with them to get the best football out of them. Yes you will have many misses, some disruption to the culture but you will also un earth the gems.

Its interesting to see in the NBA they let their characters just be characters. Ben Simmons was caught out at 1 am after a game the other night and no one really cared. these guys are under so much pressure just let them relax and be people. If they play crap after a night out then they will learn what they can and cannot handle. If he scores 30 points with 3 hours sleep then who really cares??

One size doesn't fit all...

NBA had Rodman, Charles Barkey and lots of other guys with big personalities. Many of these guys don't need to be over coached and a good coach gives these superstars some slack. Their personalities are allowed to play out in a game...

Same could be said for the Best's Maradona's etcetc which coach really had a handle of these types once they made it back in the day ? when your that good the performance on the day says it all and kept the nah sayers and traditionalists quiet and importantly club admin.....

Todays world is and has become "sterile" football wise in some ways and the "control" is far more evident from the beginning due to the almighty $$$$$$$, I suppose Balotelli is another example but who hasn't retained any consistency but his antics would make club admin shaking at the knees regards to what sponsers may think, as I said money rules it all now, when a maturing Ibra is pretty much the last of the mohecans the cupboard is bare.

I guess we did have Kerem Bulut as a rogue ratbag character, but he was quickly hounded out of Australia by various sanctimonious elements....

You couldn't put him down as a exceptional consistent game changer thats for sure - a rogue/ratbag absolutely. 

agree

Bolatelli - perfect 

It's called flair or the x factor. Unpredictability. The fans love to see it. 

Ill throw Daniel Arzani into this discussion (after the Hungary game and reading an article about his upbringing). 

He reckons his entire life he was labelled a hog and even at Sydney FC he was labelled 'uncoachable' and let go. 

Takes great strength of character to keep believing in yourself despite just about everyone(in the system) trying to make you conform. This is why I think the scouts and the developers have got it wrong. We need the kids who can think for themselves, and not beat them into submission...

I do compare it to those TV shows like 'the voice' where experts sit in judgement of young artists and virtually none of the winners have gone on to have really meaningful careers. The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan would not make it past the rehearsals. The over judgement of young players by too many people is producing boring generic players who are too scared to take risks. 

We are all to blame for this...

Agreed we seem to want to smash the personality out of the player. 

We've made the truly fucked up mistake of coaching players to fit a chosen (national) system, as opposed to building a system based on the talents of the individual.

These things happen when you put idiots in charge of youth development.

Im not sure they are idiots. 

We see this everywhere in coaching and education in general. The more the politicians and the education academics change the system the more it stays the same. How can Australian kids be going backwards when thousand of experts know best? 

What is needed is a visionary leader. 

More than anything this is a philosophical debate. Rigidity never works. Change is the only constant. There is a time for everything under the sun. We need a system that is rigorous yet flexible to cater for most things. 

Picture a football team that has a coach that knows the importance of structure, discipline and team work but also fully appreciates flair and creativity. Not just in words but in actions. The best plans / systems and processes allow  for all these aspects to work harmoniously. Barcelona handles both Suarez and Messi. I

Its the leader though that needs to sell it, explain it and keep it on track. The rest of the well meaning people, have thousands of mostly biased ideas about  the way forward. hence the confusion.

Start with shifting attitudes towards difficult players. Harness don't destroy.

Youth development does not need to be micro managed by some pseudo visionary leader/s.

We've been down that path......it doesn't work.

Strip away the rampant wankery that has pervaded FFA youth development over the past decade, or, at least make those IDIOTS accountable for the wasted money and rubbish players that's been churned out under their watch.

The results are in, for all to see, and these dunces have failed miserably.

He had to leave Australia due to his criminality not because of the reason you specified.