The dark side of the football road
I’m delighted for Shane as he’s as genuine a fella as you could ever meet and, in recent seasons, has matured into a very accomplished striker.
This is obviously the top end of the game, with players moving within the Premier League for millions of pounds, and it got me thinking about what exactly it takes to get there — and how rocky that road can sometimes be.
In stark contrast to the current headline-grabbing stories, there are numerous players plying their trade in the lower leagues and Conference, worrying about who they will be playing for next season and how they will pay their mortgages. At this level there aren’t any four- or five-year contracts being dished out to provide the level of security that is seen from Championship level upwards.
It has always annoyed me to the deficiencies in the level of care and guidance players get, from agents in particular, when things don’t go exactly to plan. It’s something that has bugged me for years. I have even had informal discussions about setting up an academy in Ireland for kids to get the right level of coaching to ensure they both enjoy the experience and hopefully improve to a level worthy of getting trials in England.
I would love to do this but simply haven’t got the time while I’m still playing. And it’s not something I would be prepared to do half-heartedly. The ultimate aim, of course, would be to get youngsters the opportunity to play professional football in England but, once they are over there, I would also see myself continuing to work closely with them throughout their careers.
I think the reason I feel strongly about this is rooted in my own experience. When I went to England, I had nobody to seek advice from who had been in the same situation. Similarly, there will be times that young players get injured or get homesick or lose confidence and, having experienced all these aspects of football myself, I would love to pass on the wisdom I learned from my mistakes and how I overcame them.
I believe that not enough is done for kids when they move over from Ireland at such a young age. I was 15 when I left school and started my mission to be a professional footballer. I was fortunate that the day we left Dublin airport for Wolves, I was with four other Irish players — Alan Dixon, Seamus Crowe, Stephen Hackett and Robbie Keane. But while it made it a lot easier not going over alone, there were still some horrible times in my first couple of years when I cried myself to sleep and just wanted to come home. Neither the club nor my family knew, as I didn’t want to jeopardise my chances of making it.
When you are in the youth teams at clubs it is compulsory to continue with your education but with just one day a week allocated back then — it’s one-and-a-half or two now, I think — it certainly has never been the priority for clubs who are mainly concerned with unearthing the next player who can break through to the first team. Football has and always will be a ruthless business and, as a player on the lower rungs, you are just a number. And as soon as another player comes along who can do things a little better — or will cost less — then you’re gone.
Having forged close relationships with your young colleagues, it’s heartbreaking to see players being released at youth level. It’s here where I think clubs should have more of a duty of care to ensure these young lads are better equipped to enter the big, bad world beyond football.
They should be given more options if they don’t find another club, whether it be a scholarship to play college football in America or links to local business if they aren’t academically inclined. I appreciate it may be hard to look after every player who fails to come through the ranks but more can and should be done.
I have experienced it all, having played in all four divisions in England. After playing for the first team at Wolves from the age of 19 for a couple of seasons, I had all the big agents chasing me. They would pull up in their fancy cars and talk about their most famous player, thinking this would turn my head. But, fortunately, I have never been and never will be impressed by egotistical gloating, and I quickly realised there were some very unscrupulous characters around this ‘beautiful’ game.
My phone was forever ringing as I forged a name for myself within the game, but it was amazing the way the calls dried up as soon as I had a few injuries or my form dipped.
When I was in my early twenties I never dealt with injuries or not getting selected in the right way and would sometimes resort to drinking too much, a bad habit which turned into a vicious circle. I was my own worst enemy at times but I never had an agent/advisor who was bothered enough to either recognise this or do anything to help.
I did and still do expect the proper level of care from my agent, regardless of how I’m playing or if I’m injured. In my eyes, they have a fairly simple job but to do it right it does take hard work, for which, more often than not, they are richly rewarded. If, for instance, I want to move clubs or go on loan then I expect my agent to get off his backside and make the calls. If he has exhausted all options and there’s still no interest then, fair enough, I can accept that it’s my fault as I have obviously not been playing well enough to attract attention.
At Brighton, I am constantly speaking with our younger players when I see they are down about not playing or they have to go and train with the reserves when the first team squad is fully fit. I will ask them if they’ve spoken with the manager or assistant manager to see where they stand and what they need to improve on. If I think they need a bit of a kick up the backside then I will tell them straight that they need to do more themselves, before they start having a sulk or knocking on the manager’s door for answers.
So when you’re soaking up the big transfer stories over the next few days, spare a thought for the lads who are struggling to make their way in the game or, worse, have just been told they have no future as a professional.
The reality is there’s many more of them than there are the ones who go on to make a living from the game and the fewer still who get to make it to the very top.
