Has anyone on here played professionally?

My Dad was at City in the 1960's, unfortunately never quite made the first team but was playing for the reserves, A team and B team, my Uncle had a similiar story but he was at United a few years earlier.
 
only at the local semi pro level at 16, I was offer a two week trail at Southampton in the 70's by a coach who worked at Southampton and went on to run the academy at Liverpool under Daglish and brought Fowler etc through. But back in the 70's I was a very shy, unconfident, skinny 16 year old, so packed in football, in fact I hated football after that and didn't play again until in my mid 20's in the local works league.
 
TheCentralScrutinizer said:
met a few like that over the years,all the talent in the world but could really take it or leave it & never took it that seriously,each to their own i suppose...
Click to expand...

I read Craig Bellamy’s autobiography and he’d played as a lad with someone who scored goals for fun throughout his youth career but never took it seriously. He gave up at 16.
 
peoffrey said:
A lad from my first work was offered a contract at Walsall as an 18 year old but turned it down because he liked drinking, smoking and chasing the girls too much. What a wanker.
Click to expand...

Why? Because he didn’t do what you would have wanted?
 
My old fella was offered trials for Spurs but sacked it off for the pub. Seems to be a recurring theme. I could be a flat cap wearing Chas and Dave loving wanker in a parallel universe. In fact aside from the flat cap, i'm already there. If you were a flat cap without being a farmer I can only advise you to get in the fucking sea.
 
Ric said:
A friend of mine who played in the same junior side as me is probably the best natural talent I’ve ever shared a pitch with. It was obvious from a very young age that he was streets ahead of everyone. He was the best player in our league, and then for Stockport schoolboys, then his county, and then England u-15s. A long story short, despite his prodigious talent he didn’t make it as a pro and just ended up playing non-league for a while. Always makes me think just how fucking good even the very shittest players in the league must be though, relatively speaking. We scoff at some players, but football is an industry where you don’t simply fluke your way to the top. 99.9% of those in academies don’t make it, so anyone who goes on to play either professionally or even semi-professionally must be fucking brilliant.
Click to expand...

Exactly what Nick Hornby describes in Fever Pitch, talking about a lad called Gus Caesar who was brilliant for Arsenal at every level rising up through school, youth teams, to the reserves, but then failed utterly in the first team - only the top 1% of the top 1% that make it all the way.
 
SWPISHOME said:
Had trials for Sheffield Wednesday and Ipswich that's as far as I got. After my second trial with Ipswich and didnt make it I started to lose interest and ended up drinking the head of myself every weekend :)
Click to expand...
Think a lot of capable players took that route. More than ever now lifestyle is a big factor in making it, that's not a criticism. Trials at Ipswich and Weds you must have been decent.
 
When i was about 5 a lad next door was having trials at City, he'd have been about 14 at the time. I was convinced he was going to play for us, he never did.
 
Ric said:
A friend of mine who played in the same junior side as me is probably the best natural talent I’ve ever shared a pitch with. It was obvious from a very young age that he was streets ahead of everyone. He was the best player in our league, and then for Stockport schoolboys, then his county, and then England u-15s. A long story short, despite his prodigious talent he didn’t make it as a pro and just ended up playing non-league for a while. Always makes me think just how fucking good even the very shittest players in the league must be though, relatively speaking. We scoff at some players, but football is an industry where you don’t simply fluke your way to the top. 99.9% of those in academies don’t make it, so anyone who goes on to play either professionally or even semi-professionally must be fucking brilliant.
Click to expand...
This. My young nephew is a great player. Hopefully joining counties academy when this is over.

Anyway... he was always by a million miles the best player for his sunday teams as a 11-12 year old. We all thought he had a ‘chance’. Eventually went for training with City and i went to watch him at the velodrome (dunno why there). He suddenly looked decidedly average amongst his peers. A good player but probs the most average on show.

So, hes a great little player, may make semi pro (hes still only 16) but was so far behind the better players it was startling
 
Ric said:
A friend of mine who played in the same junior side as me is probably the best natural talent I’ve ever shared a pitch with. It was obvious from a very young age that he was streets ahead of everyone. He was the best player in our league, and then for Stockport schoolboys, then his county, and then England u-15s. A long story short, despite his prodigious talent he didn’t make it as a pro and just ended up playing non-league for a while. Always makes me think just how fucking good even the very shittest players in the league must be though, relatively speaking. We scoff at some players, but football is an industry where you don’t simply fluke your way to the top. 99.9% of those in academies don’t make it, so anyone who goes on to play either professionally or even semi-professionally must be fucking brilliant.
Click to expand...

You have to be very good. When I was young my school team used to play against Yew Tree from Northernden and Paul Stewart was in there side, he was head and shoulders above anybody else in the two sides. We later were both at trials for Manchester boys in 1978. Unfortunately for me Paul played in my position so there was no way I was getting picked. I met him again in February, he was doing an after dinner and I had a brief chat about them school matches With him.
 
peoffrey said:
He can do all that after he retired. Playing football is the dream of many a man. I bet you’d have done it.
Click to expand...

I could have knuckled down playing for the youth team of a non-league side whose team often fed S****horpe United’s academy. On occasion had scouts from Doncaster, Hull and S****horpe watching me and several others.

I quit as the pressure was stinking even at that level. There was hardly any fun in it, coaches were arseholes and you were giving shit for every mistake. I was trained by S****horpe’s goalkeeper coach a couple times a week, and he outlined exactly what I’d have to do, and where I could end up. And that’s if I was very lucky.

Fair play to those who want to do it and can stick it, but as fit as I was and as much as I learned, I fucking hated playing and training for them and Saturday and Sunday matches turned me a ball of anxiety.

For me, I was out and went to play with my mates before failing to give a toss about playing again until my mid 20s. The only side I regret is fitness, nothing else.

Based on my rather small, low down the ladder experience, I’d never judge anyone for choosing their own path.
 
I knew a lad who's younger brother played for England school boys. He was at a premiere league academy and got 1 contract so left there at 17.

That was enough to set him up for a decent career in semi pro / non league and he was earning more than most of his mates through his 20s but never got back in the league. I think he just found his level and enjoyed it.
 
A mate at work won a scholarship to a college in Spartanburg, South Carolina, but had a bad injury (he fucked his ankle or knee n I can’t remember which) shortly after arriving there, and that was that.

I asked him if he thought he would have made it if he hadn’t sustained the injury, but he was not sure.
 
Had a friend at school who was far and away the best schoolboy player I ever saw, played for England Schoolboys (scoring a bunch of goals for them) ended up signing for Watford(when Graham Taylor was there the first time), had a major falling out with the club apparently had real attitude problems and felt as an England international he should not be treated like the other apprentices. Ended up leaving Watford for Layton Orient and hit the booze pretty hard and was out of the professional game before he was 20, really sad story to be honest, just goes to show you that talent only takes you so far.
 
Last edited:
manimanc said:
I think 99.9% of us men are all failed footballers and rock stars to a certain degree.
Click to expand...

It’s a tough choice. Music is an abhorrent industry but a hit record will make you for life. Deep down, I’d like to have played slightly more but having tens of thousands of people singing your song at Wembley would be incredible too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Unread Posts

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top