Nearpost - I'm from Burton - now England's football centre!

So why do I know so much about football?

Grew up in Burton-on Trent, England. We played the beautiful game in Burton now the centre of English Football excellence.

The beautiful game we learnt and played?

You know where you turned up in cars, waited for 2 minutes before the game - ran out, scored late on. Knew no team mate would celebrate with you - then legged it to the cars and got away quick.

Why the rush: Opposing Team, team of Coalminers had a reputation for:

A;) Chucking the Ref in the river if they lost
B:) Smacking you in the face once you'd made a cross and everyone had followed the ball.
C:) Chasing you down the field, the full length should you score and god forbid cheer.
D:)Grabbing your throat should you try and run past during a game.

We played the beautiful game in Burton, much like Barcelona! We were taught pace, quick feet and speed of thought and you didn't hog the ball too long.

Maybe the FFA should employ some of these ex-coalminers - best Coach I ever had.

So it is no wonder the English FA has gone to the heart of the game - to re-invigorate and take the game to another level.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2011/nov/08/fa-100m-facility-england-burton

FA hopes £100m facility will bring England level with rest of the world

David Sheepshanks, chairman of St George's Park, is convinced England's state-of-the-art centre at Burton will in time result in improved performances