Journeyman Read Online Free Page A
Author: Ben Smith
good at it. I just need to keep reminding myself to be patient.
Meanwhile, like an ageing journeyman heavyweight boxer, I have been lured out of football retirement for a few extra quid.
I was convinced, after being deemed surplus of requirements by AFC Sudbury, that I was hanging up my boots for good, so I made no attempt to find another club and was instead looking at coaching and scouting options. However, the reality is you have to work much harder doing either of those things to earn less than you would through playing, even if it is at a low standard in front of one man and his dog.
A couple of weeks into my ‘retirement’, Mark Stimson, the manager of Ryman Premier League side Thurrock FC, rang me and asked if I would come and play for him. He offered me £200 per week after tax plus £25 an appearance and £25 a win. Considering they were bottom of the League with one win all season I was not banking on the win bonus too much!
I was not in a position to turn down that sort of money from a manager I really respected. I’d spent a month on loan at Kettering Town with Mark in the 2011/12 season – the club itself was a shambles but I took to him straight away. He’s a brilliant coach who simplifies the game and paints pictures for his players in training sessions. We also share similar footballing philosophies, which is important when you become a stubborn senior player and are less likely to submit to managers who can be, especially at this level, less qualified than yourself.
Only two weeks into the arrangement, however, and I’m already struggling to motivate myself – so let’s see how long it lasts. I need to regain my full love for the game; there is still opportunity to earn good money playing in the lower leagues but I have got to want to do it. Money has never been my main motivation to play football, but it is at the moment – and it’s not enough.
CHAPTER 3
IN THE BIG TIME
SEASONS: 1995/96, 1996/97
CLUB: ARSENAL
DIVISION: PREMIER LEAGUE
MANAGER: PAT RICE (YOUTH TEAM)
W ITHIN A MONTH of finishing my GCSEs in the summer of 1995 I was embarking on my first ever pre-season as a full-time player alongside David Donaldson, Lee Richardson, Jason Crowe and Mark Thorogood – all of whom had also signed two-year YTS contracts. It seems like another lifetime ago, but I can recollect some memories vividly.
The then assistant youth development officer Steve Rowley gave me a lift to my first day of training and I bounced into the training base at London Colney confident in my own mind that I was going to be a superstar.
My first day also coincided with the first for new manager Bruce Rioch. He had the unenviable task of taking over from the hugely successful George Graham, who had been relieved of his duties after being found guilty of receiving illegal bungs. I had grown up watching Graham’s team (youth players were given complimentary tickets to every home game) and although the style of football was not aesthetically pleasing, the team was superblyorganised and built on strong foundations, with sprinkles of genius from the likes of Ian Wright, Paul Merson and Anders Limpar. But, being honest, Arsenal under Graham did not play my kind of football.
We were not the only new boys on that first day either. Arsenal had also signed two undeniable superstars who were massive heroes of mine: the mercurial Dennis Bergkamp from Inter Milan for £7.5 million and David Platt from Sampdoria for £4.75 million. I used to watch Bergkamp every Sunday afternoon on Channel 4’s coverage of Italian football and Platt was the sort of box-to-box attacking midfielder I had tried to base my game on.
I will let you judge who you think was the most successful of all these new signings arriving at London Colney that day, although what I will ask is this: did Bergkamp or Platt ever grace the hallowed turf at Hereford’s Edgar Street?
My youth-team manager was Pat Rice, the legendary ex-Arsenal right back. He was the
Meanwhile, like an ageing journeyman heavyweight boxer, I have been lured out of football retirement for a few extra quid.
I was convinced, after being deemed surplus of requirements by AFC Sudbury, that I was hanging up my boots for good, so I made no attempt to find another club and was instead looking at coaching and scouting options. However, the reality is you have to work much harder doing either of those things to earn less than you would through playing, even if it is at a low standard in front of one man and his dog.
A couple of weeks into my ‘retirement’, Mark Stimson, the manager of Ryman Premier League side Thurrock FC, rang me and asked if I would come and play for him. He offered me £200 per week after tax plus £25 an appearance and £25 a win. Considering they were bottom of the League with one win all season I was not banking on the win bonus too much!
I was not in a position to turn down that sort of money from a manager I really respected. I’d spent a month on loan at Kettering Town with Mark in the 2011/12 season – the club itself was a shambles but I took to him straight away. He’s a brilliant coach who simplifies the game and paints pictures for his players in training sessions. We also share similar footballing philosophies, which is important when you become a stubborn senior player and are less likely to submit to managers who can be, especially at this level, less qualified than yourself.
Only two weeks into the arrangement, however, and I’m already struggling to motivate myself – so let’s see how long it lasts. I need to regain my full love for the game; there is still opportunity to earn good money playing in the lower leagues but I have got to want to do it. Money has never been my main motivation to play football, but it is at the moment – and it’s not enough.
CHAPTER 3
IN THE BIG TIME
SEASONS: 1995/96, 1996/97
CLUB: ARSENAL
DIVISION: PREMIER LEAGUE
MANAGER: PAT RICE (YOUTH TEAM)
W ITHIN A MONTH of finishing my GCSEs in the summer of 1995 I was embarking on my first ever pre-season as a full-time player alongside David Donaldson, Lee Richardson, Jason Crowe and Mark Thorogood – all of whom had also signed two-year YTS contracts. It seems like another lifetime ago, but I can recollect some memories vividly.
The then assistant youth development officer Steve Rowley gave me a lift to my first day of training and I bounced into the training base at London Colney confident in my own mind that I was going to be a superstar.
My first day also coincided with the first for new manager Bruce Rioch. He had the unenviable task of taking over from the hugely successful George Graham, who had been relieved of his duties after being found guilty of receiving illegal bungs. I had grown up watching Graham’s team (youth players were given complimentary tickets to every home game) and although the style of football was not aesthetically pleasing, the team was superblyorganised and built on strong foundations, with sprinkles of genius from the likes of Ian Wright, Paul Merson and Anders Limpar. But, being honest, Arsenal under Graham did not play my kind of football.
We were not the only new boys on that first day either. Arsenal had also signed two undeniable superstars who were massive heroes of mine: the mercurial Dennis Bergkamp from Inter Milan for £7.5 million and David Platt from Sampdoria for £4.75 million. I used to watch Bergkamp every Sunday afternoon on Channel 4’s coverage of Italian football and Platt was the sort of box-to-box attacking midfielder I had tried to base my game on.
I will let you judge who you think was the most successful of all these new signings arriving at London Colney that day, although what I will ask is this: did Bergkamp or Platt ever grace the hallowed turf at Hereford’s Edgar Street?
My youth-team manager was Pat Rice, the legendary ex-Arsenal right back. He was the
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