Former England and Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has "described St George's Park as 'boring,'" according to the BBC. Gerrard said that the FA's £105M ($164M) national football center "needs to be more player friendly." The 330-acre St. George's Park site in Burton, Staffordshire, opened in '12 as a "base for all 24 England teams at various levels." It includes a "replica of the Wembley surface and an altitude chamber to mimic a variety of playing conditions." Gerrard said that he "thinks the complex needs a golf course to help overcome the 'shyness' in the England squad." St. George's Park Managing Dir Julie Harrington said that a "nine-hole golf course is planned" for the center. Gerrard: "It's an unbelievable site but they need to be a bit more realistic around it. They need to make it a little bit friendlier for the players. It's a top place to train and prepare but away from the training pitch and the games, it can be boring. ... When you get to England, you want to have your lunch and go to bed and keep away from everyone because there's a shyness. There needs to be an England atmosphere when you turn up and you know each other, you want to be with each other" (BBC, 6/24).
