To your friends you’re doing something they would love to be doing. Academy football is what every child wants to be a part of, or is it?
17-year-old Jeremy Wisten sadly took his own life over an October weekend. Speculated that it was after the depression of being released from Manchester City Academy. Just 17, his full life ahead of him but the ‘beautiful game’ is anything but beautiful when you hear of stories like this. Truly, truly tragic!
Having spent 7 years in Academy football myself from 7-14 you don’t really reflect on what it is like till you’re older. I was training 3 nights per week age 7, add to that my Sunday morning match anywhere across the South of England. Aged 7 – my parents working full-time jobs getting me from North London to Rickmansworth 4 times a week. You take it for granted as a child, it is just what parents do to give their son the best opportunity. Statistics say it is less than 1% who make it from Academy Football to Professional Football, add up all the lads in an Academy. 2, possibly 3 are making it as a Professional – FROM THE WHOLE ACADEMY!
Jeremy’s awful passing needs to be looked at from a much bigger picture. I personally know what a terrific setup Manchester City have at The Etihad. Could Manchester City have done more, yes, they probably could have but this isn’t just Manchester City it is more than likely a worldwide issue. The loss of Jeremy is the most tragic but the biggest highlighter that Academy setups and football need to re-evaluate the way they look beyond the footballer, and see a person. The stats show how many Academy players will make it. What about the other 99% of players who aren’t going to?
Academy football is all some know, I got released from Watford aged 12. Me and my dad left Rickmansworth one Thursday evening after training, we had just had a meeting with my coach Steve Emanuel and Academy Director Chris Cummins. After 5 years of heading up the M1 and round the M25 my Watford career was over. I cried the whole way home, “Technically good enough, just to small.” Them the words of the Academy staff. Aged 12 – rejection from all I had known for 5 years.
Onto MK Dons I went, 2 years later the same scenario. 4 times a week the 20 minute drive to Woughton-On-The-Green from my new Leighton Buzzard home. Aged 14 – another meeting. “Physically not developed enough, sorry we’re going to have to release you!”. Older and more understanding I was heartbroken again. For me I had let my family down, 7 years my Mum and Dad had gotten me to every training session, every game. Some Saturday mornings I was out at 6:30am delivering letters with my postman Dad so he could get me to training for 9. Training finished and straight back to delivering letters till the last letter fell through the Mrs’ Smith’s gold letter box as her Jack Russel tried to bite my fingers.
Rejection is part of football, I get that. It is a ruthless industry, the Professional game clubs are dealing with men. Academy football you are dealing with children and families. Clubs need to look at the 99% who won’t make it but sadly clubs are judged on the 1% who do make it.
Academies judged on how many players they produce for the first team, it is as simple as that. It doesn’t matter what little Johnny who is getting released at 18 will go on and do now. Little Johnny had been with the club since he was 7, he just isn’t quite good enough. It is alright though, that BTEC he done in his scholarship will put him in good stead for the big wide world. He has only known football for the last 11 years, being the main lad out of his friends who is going to be the ‘next big thing’, his family getting him to all his training sessions and matches. Now, released.
For me, when I got released I felt like I had let my family down. 14 years of age waking up the morning after being released by MK Dons feeling like I had let my Mum, Dad and two brothers down. I was meant to be a professional footballer, earning thousands a week, paying back financially all the hours my mum and dad had put into my development. Mum and Dad were meant to be sat retired in their beautiful house that I had bought them, nice car on the drive. My two brothers not having to worry about mortgages cause I was going to buy them a house each, that Friday morning I woke up after my Thursday night release couldn’t have seemed further from that.
What more can academies do?
Firstly, I think giving academy players a better education in their scholarship years. I’m not sure a BTEC in Sports Management is going to really set you up for the outside world when all you have know is football. Give players’ options. One lad might absolutely love football, regardless of if he makes it professionally or not. First year scholarship – Level 2 Coaching Award – second year scholarship, UEFA B Coaching Award. Ok, he isn’t going to get a pro, guide him towards how he can get his UEFA A Licence, get the PFA in to tell them about other ways to stay in football. Media, setting up your own coaching company, go and be a PE Teacher and teach all sports as well as football.
Then, look at what other players’ might be interested in. I’m not saying you can cater for every preference but guiding these players in their 2-year scholarship needs to be more rigorous. Prepare them for the real world – no disrespect – BTEC Sports Management or whatever the course is now is not going to help greatly. Find out about these players more as people. What do their parents do? Do they love football to want to stay in it regardless? What would they like to do if football didn’t workout?
Bring people in from the outside world; Policemen, bankers, business owners, accountants. Let them tell these scholars what they do for work. Bring in ex-scholars, ones who didn’t make it as a pro. What do they do now, how did they adjust to life after being released as a scholar?
It shouldn’t take something as horrific as a young academy player taking his own life for this to be spoken about. Football is a ruthless industry, from 7 years old as you enter an academy all the way through to the Professional game when it is a dog-eat-dog world. It is a team sport but teams don’t get released, individuals do. These individuals aren’t just academy footballers or seasoned professionals, they are people. People who have got to go home to parents and families and tell them they are not needed anymore. 18 year olds leaving all they have known since they were in Primary School being told that their life is changing.
Jeremy Wisten was a Manchester City Academy Player, but more importantly he was a person. The player might not have made it, the person should have had a life whether that be in football or away from the game. He should have grown up to tell his kids, his grandkids, about all the amazing times he had in the Manchester City academy, how he went on to do great things after he left the academy. A true tragedy that hasn’t been able to happen, it should never have took something like this for people to reflect how academies are and the ruthlessness of places like academy football. I hope now it can be addressed and young people in academy football can be looked as beyond players and more importantly as people.
RIP Jeremy Wisten.
JJ O'Donnell 