The problem with the versatility argument i.e the need to develop players who can play anywhere on the field always runs into the practicality wall. It is no longer practical at the teenage level to endeavour to develop all-around players because of the increased need for early specialization. Yes during weekly training sessions all players can participate in non-positional drills that will provide continual development of their soccer skills. However, it is neither practical nor really beneficial for coaches to round-robin players across all positions in practice or in games with the intention of developing abilities for players in all positions. Granted that there will be players who demonstrate a high level of versatility and could be masters of more than one position. But these are the exception not the rule. Now I am not saying that mid-fielders and forwards should not work on defending. They need to because they have to defend while in their positions. Similarly defenders need to be able to pass from the back and outside backs need to be able to attack on the flanks. These positional alternate skills definitely need to be developed. But again this is different from having defenders move to play as forwards in a game for the sake of developing positional versatility. The bottom line is that there is such a need for specialization in the development process that the player needs to spend just about all the time they have in mastering their positional requirements if they are to play the game at a high level.
