8 minute read
Josh Coley 38 Town U18s
JOSH COLEY
COLEY
For most, the route to professional football is seldom straight forward. However, in Josh Coley’s case his path into the football league has been especially difficult. Many 16-year-olds may be ready to compete in youth leagues organised through football academies across England. However, the Town loanee was competing in a men’s non-league division. Here, three points was all that mattered. Words: Nickolas McInally
Speaking on the experience Coley said: “I’ve been playing men’s football pretty much since I turned 16. I had one year of academy football when I signed for Norwich but other than that I’m 24 now and I have been involved in it for most of my football career.
Despite his seven years of experience in men’s football, the 24-year-old believes he has still to develop in reaching his full potential.
At 19, Coley was featuring for Baldock Town and during the 2017/18 season he picked up Young Player of The Year in the division as the side gained promotion and won a domestic cup.
Reflecting on the standout season, the wide man said: “Baldock Town was a great spell in my career, I was playing with my mates and enjoying football. We were winning games and we achieved some great things. I think I scored something like 26 goals and got 32 assists.
While his impressive form stood out on the football pitch Exeter man was working as a Labourer as the dream of professional football remained.
However, Coley believes this experience has helped him to appreciate the joys of professional football at this stage of his career.
He explained: “I was working with one of my team mates at the time, I enjoyed it but I want to stay in professional football. I think that helps me to put in the extra work to continue to improve as a footballer. Whether people see it or not doesn’t matter to me because I do it for me and my career.
In a standout season for non-league Baldock a chance at professional football beckoned for the winger. With interest levels high, it was Norwich City where he would be given an opportunity to impress on trial.
Discussing the opportunity, Coley said: “There was an agency who reached out and offered to help me. There was a lot of clubs who wanted me to come in on trial and I went to Norwich for a week.
Kieran McManus/Shutterstock Coley playing on loan at Dunfermline Athletic
“I trained Monday and Tuesday and they said they would like to extend my trial for another week. Then I was asked to join the side on a pre-season training camp. When we got there, we played Borussia Dortmund and won 6-0. I started and played 72 minutes and we were relentless that day. It was their U21 side, but they were a good side and it was a great experience to go up against them.”
However, despite playing against one of the best sides in world football, this paled into insignificance for what followed after the match.
In recalling the day, Town’s number 10 stated: “We were going back to the hotel and the gaffer for the U23 side at the time asked to speak to me in the hotel. I knew this was going to be the conversation where I found out if I was getting a deal or not. Everyone was downstairs, and he didn’t say anything for what seemed like an eternity. Then he said, ‘The club would like to offer you a deal.’ I just remember giving him a hug and there were tears coming because this was everything I had ever worked for.
A phone call and some text messages quickly followed as Coley began to inform family and friends of the news that he had just achieved one of his dreams.
Recalling those phone calls, he said: “None of them could believe it, obviously when you get to the age of 20 it’s probably harder to win that contract. There was definitely a shock factor for them and me. It was all a bit surreal; I remember phoning my mum and she was in tears because she knew how much I wanted this it was a great achievement.”
While some may view the trade of first team football for academy football as a potential risk to a player’s development, there was no doubt in the winger’s mind when the contract was offered.
He said: “I don’t think it was a risk, this was always an opportunity which I wanted and if I had the chance to play for an academy, I would relish it. Looking back, the amount of information and everything I had learned was all stuff I needed to know about the game. It was a given for me, it didn’t matter what age I was. The opportunity to have access to this information and the facilities was something I could never pass up.”
A loan spell with Scottish Championship side Dunfermline Athletic would follow. However, this was one which prevented a strong challenge to a relatively inexperienced Josh Coley.
He explained: “Dunfermline was my first experience of professional football. That was a difficult challenge to adapt to. I was around eight hours away from where I was living, and I wasn’t playing every week so being away from my family it was hard.
“I think that took its toll in the end. I wish I had played more; I was 20 with little experience in
professional football and with players who were more experienced than me they tend to get picked.”
After his period with Dunfermline came to an end so to did the winger’s time with Norwich City. However, upon reflecting on this period in his career the Town number 10 believes the significance of the move impacted his ability to perform.
He said: “From the minute I got there it all felt a bit surreal, I worked so hard to prove I was good enough, but I don’t think I got over the fact I was actually there, and I think that stopped me from playing my best football.
“When I found out my contract wasn’t going to be renewed, I was numb. I had seen a lot within those two years, and I thought I was done with professional football. I didn’t really want to be around it. I don’t think I was prepared for the experience of professional football.
“I left there and went to play with my mates again and just got back to enjoying football. I was there for three months and then we went into lockdown and didn’t have a club. I think there was a bit of fortune, and I was able to get a contract with Maidenhead in the National League and I loved my time there.
After a standout season in the National League, Coley was given his opportunity in the football league once again as he signed for Exeter City in the summer of 2021.
However, after an injury plagued the first six months of his league season, the winger found his first team opportunities limited.
He said: “The injury seemed to be getting worse and there was no progress. I had to have a couple of scans to get to the bottom of what was happening. I tried to train with it and there was still pain. I was watching the team do so well and knew it would be tough to get myself in to the team straight away.”
After completing the loan move to Town in the summer transfer window, Coley has revealed it was a sustained period of interest from Simon Weaver which convinced him to make the move.
He explained: “I knew the gaffer had been interested in me for a while and he had wanted me to come here to do what I do best so that was probably one of the main reasons. I’m from York originally, I lived here for 16 years, and I have a lot of family in and around Harrogate so that was another factor.
