One of the underlying issues in Irish football over the last 15 years has centred around the problem of developing the next generation of players.
What are the correct pathways to help develop that next generation? Should we be looking at Spain, Germany or the Netherlands, the latter of which are last two FAI High Performance Directors have hailed from?
Back in 2011, qualified youth football coach and founder of The Coach Diary website Antonio Mantero wrote a piece called Irish Kids Disappoint The World's Best Academy Coaches which detailed many of the issues that needed improving at grassroots level.
Has anything improved at youth development and grassroots level since the Dubliner published that piece?
Well, he joined me on Team 33 this week to discuss the situation including the danger of using the word "elite", the importance of futsal and whether having an Under-13 National League - which is expected to come in - is a good idea.
You can listen to the full interview with Antonio on the podcast player or stream/download on iTunes:
Recent interviews on Team 33 include former Man United cult hero Andrei Kanchelskis, ex-England international Carlton Palmer, former Newcastle and Everton left back Alessandro Pistone, 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 Coton, Packie Bonner, Nobby Solano, Ron Atkinson and Alan Curbishley are still available on iTunes. You can find them all in one place by subscribing to Team 33 on iTunes.
Also on this week's show, we discussed the issue of stereotyping of African players within the game after a controversy involving remarks by the director of recruitment for West Ham.
