One Two Magazine Edition 1 December 2015 One Two Magazine Edition 1 December 2015 | Page 21

Quiz
it, even allowing players to switch off their
academic education in favour of the football
dream?
Most clubs have tiered recruitment centres
underneath the academy. So let’s say the
academy has 120 players. Each age group
may have then up to four lower levels
beneath that academy level. There could be
well over 500 further players then ‘feeding’
that academy and at some clubs they are
paying for that privilege to be in that
window of opportunity. When I meet some
of these players and ask them who they
play for, they don’t tell me their great grass
roots club name, they tell me the name of
the professional club. So their perception is
that they are actually a player for that club.
That amazes me on two levels. One is that
for me, where is the elite then? All these
players and possibly parents think they are
‘elite’. Secondly, what happened to being
immensely proud of the grass roots club you
played for? The root to being a professional
could just as easily happen by being the
best player with them. Be the best player in
the school team. Be the best player in the
county team or region team. It’s not all
about a guarantee because you’ve got a pro
club on your jumper and a coach that
delivers (in some case