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ON THE FRONT FOOT Nov 2018
Issue Four
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No regrets Danny Cipriani on being the first rockstar in rugby
Smells like team spirit Europe’s Ryder Cup victory
A sobering tale George Green opens up about the addictions which cost him his career
+ Auf Wiedersehen
EPL
Young English footballers moving to the Bundesliga
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INTERNATIONAL PLAYER CARE CONFERENCE NOVEMBER 12, 2018 CORINTHIA HOTEL, LONDON
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he International Player Care Conference, which attracted a capacity audience in 2017, will focus on the many challenges facing sports people, clubs and organisations who operate in an increasingly global market. With speakers from the Premier League, Serie A, the Bundesliga, Ligue 1, the MLS and more, this year’s conference be more international than ever. Delegates will benchmark against best practice in player care and gain new strategies for the dayto-day challenges of a high pressure environment. The International Player Care Conference is an essential date in the calendar for agents, player liaison officers, coaches, medical staff, players’ union officials, targeted service suppliers and club administrators who are responsible for prioritising athlete welfare in a global sporting landscape.
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This year’s topics will include: • View from the top: gaining boardroom support for player care • Picking up the team after a tragedy or crisis • Supporting players through a relentless touring and travel schedule • Identifying trustworthy financial and professional advisors and persuading a player to make good choices • The athlete’s view of what makes great player care • Managing the tensions that can arise between club and country ...and much more. Use the contact details below to ensure your place.
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Issue # 4 Contents 4 Conference preview 6 Big Interview: Danny Cipriani 9 Tackling professional risks 10 Sonny Pike: what could have been 12 Shown the door: backroom clearouts after change of manager 14 Europe’s Ryder Cup team smells like team spirit 16 In brief 18 Relocation 20 Cyber protection 22 Auf Wiedersehen EPL? 25 Getting the best for less 26 A sobering tale: George Green opens up about addictions 28 Agent’s angle: Dave Brammer, Stellar Group encourages young players to be brave 30 Life after sport: new charity X-Pro on dignity for old players
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Welcome to the November edition of On The Front Foot, the magazine for Player Care. The Ryder Cup, young England players in Germany and the rise of veganism have given us plenty to chew over in this issue. Our big interview this month is with rugby’s first rockstar, Danny Cipriani on his sport, relationship with the media and hopes for next year’s World Cup. We draw inspiration from Europe’s demolition of the USA team in the Ryder Cup and ask what Thomas Bjorn did to get the team to pull together. We feature two former footballers who had the world at their feet but struggled to deal with the pressures of the game. We go behind the scenes to unpack the decision which has seen a number of young English players go overseas to get first team game time. Then we look at the impact on back room staff of a change of coach or manager and ask whether it is always a good idea to remove a familiar face and source of support from players. Finally, I’d like to draw your attention to the preview of our upcoming Player Care Conference. As you read, we are hard at work preparing to make it the best yet and I hope you’ll be able to join us. Happy Reading Spencer Hidge Director Premier Sports Network t. 0208 4191100
Publisher Spencer Hidge Editor Phil Savage Design SB Communications To send feedback or articles for publication contact Phil Savage at editor@premiersports.agency To enquire about advertising contact David Watts at davidw@premiersports.agency On The Front Foot is published by the Premier Sports Network copyright ©2018. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced without permission.
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CONFERENCE PREVIEW
International Player Care Conference
Top-level speakers from Europe and North America means this year’s conference will be a step up from previous editions. Player Care can sometimes struggle to register in the boardroom of even our largest sports clubs but this year’s speaker lineup shows that is changing with director-level speakers and delegates attending the conference in November.
The view from the top will come courtesy of Keith Harris, Deputy Chairman at Everton FC, Paul Barber, CEO at Brighton and Hove Albion FC and Jeff Mostyn, Chairman of AFC Bournemouth who will outline how they as directors view the importance of player care. They will share their perspective of the costs and benefits and how investments in a more caring culture can pay dividends at their clubs. This year we have an unparalleled array of Player Care expertise from the UK and Europe starting with Manchester United legend Nicky Butt who now manages the club’s academy. He will be tracing his route from player to manager and giving his personal insights into the pressures on young players today. Alongside him former Arsenal star, Jermaine Pennant will share a few of the revelations from his book, Mental, where he admits that his inability to deal with overnight fame and fortune led to him being seen as a wild child of football. As a player care manager, it would be interesting to ask whether you think anyone could have helped channel that energy more productively. Care for players off the pitch is part of the largest clubs’ competitive advantage and lessons from team managers and coaches from around Europe will be a vital part of the day’s programme. Representatives from AS Roma, SS Lazio, AFC Fiorentina and Club Brugge KV will provide an opportunity to discover how continental European clubs approach player
care and the state of the art in Italy and Belgium. New for 2018 is a session where leading agents and players’ representatives give their views on managing professional athletes in the sports of boxing, golf and football. They are the guardians of an important set of relationships and the way they work on behalf of their stars plays a crucial role in their success, contentment and longevity. With travel an increasing part of life as a sportsman or woman, making sure they arrive in the right place and in the right shape is now a job in itself. We have the opportunity to review the transportation and logistics operation of two North American clubs who between them travel millions of man miles every year. Completing the stellar line-up we have former players Sonny Pike, Ryan Mason and Ryan Smith, athlete agents Matt Kendrew, Christophe Henrotay and Egis Klimas alongside our expert professional advisors making this the best Player Care conference you can attend. As ever, our invite-only format guarantees you an unrivalled opportunity to expand your professional network in player care and to leave feeling better equipped to deal with the challenges you face in your role. To register your interest and reserve a place at this year’s must attend event visit: 0208 4191100 enquiries@premiersportsnetwork.com www.premiersportsnetwork.com @SportsNetwork
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Player care in a crisis: the Fiorentina story AFC Fiorentina Team Manager Alberto Marangon to reveal how he lifted his players after the sudden death of their captain. A sudden tragic death will hit any community, but when it’s a football team and the captain dies in his sleep the night before an away game, the consequences could be devastating. At 31, Fiorentina’s Davide Astori was in the peak of fitness so his teammates were shocked to discover his body in his hotel room. Astori had been the backbone of Fiorentina’s defence since 2016 and had been due to sign a new contract. Astori left a wife and two-year-old daughter behind and the tributes poured in from the football family in Italy and around the world.
The match due to be played on the day was postponed as a mark of respect, but it was what happened after that really came to define the team’s reaction. They were in action a mere six days later beating Benevento on a particularly emotional day for the club. At the end of the game many of the players and team management were in tears struggling to comprehend the loss of their talismanic leader. The story of the team that rallied to win their next six matches including an historic victory against Roma will be part of the International
Player Care conference in London in November. Fiorentina Team Manager, Alberto Marangon will share how the team brought players and fans together and turned their performance on the pitch into the most fitting tribute to their fallen captain. Marangon’s team found comfort on the football field which was the one place they could channel their emotions. Thankfully most player care managers won’t have such a tragedy to deal with but the lessons from Fiorentina are valuable even if the circumstances are less extreme.
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BIG INTERVIEW
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No Regrets Rugby Union wunderkind, Danny Cipriani was rugby’s first rockstar, his mercurial talents wowing fans and dividing opinion in the game. He spoke to On The Front Foot and shared insights into how he got into rugby and how it has treated him. Danny Cipriani was one of those boys at school that all the boys envied, and all the girls loved. Blessed with lightning speed and a natural athletic talent, he was offered a role as a batsman with Surrey County Cricket Club, played junior football for Queens Park Rangers and played county-level squash. Circumstances overruled however, and rugby played a bigger and bigger part of his life. “It was taken out of my hands with the school I went to,” he says. “I was at a football playing school until I was 14. Then I had to move to be nearer home and the rugby took over. I just really loved playing different sports when I was young, but I think circumstance always plays a big part when you play all sports.” It is a truism that behind every successful man there is a woman, and in Cipriani’s case it was his mother, Anne. She brought up Danny single handed, worked long hours as a cabby and stretched the family budget to send him to the private school where football played second fiddle to rugby. His first experience at
club level was at Rosslyn Park in Roehampton, but he was spotted by Wasps and made his debut for their academy side aged 17. Three years later he started in the back line in the game that saw the Bucks-based side win the Heineken Cup Final. It was around this time that Cipriani’s chequered relationship with the media really got off the ground. He was the bright hope for the future of England rugby expected to replace Jonny Wilkinson but he was also the wild child whose private life was reported to be as colourful as his on-field play. Other stars of the sport have had their fair share of media attention but Cipriani seemed to be the first Rockstar of rugby, a trailblazer who was thrust into a media spotlight familiar to the world of football but a new experience in rugby. So did the media and the sport itself struggle to understand the phenomenon? Cipriani is fatalistic. “I don’t think it was a case of understanding, it was just new. No one was versed into how to deal with it,” he says although the attention clearly left its scars. He is on record saying that many of the stories reported about him were exaggerated or downright untrue and the whole experience has left him much more guarded on the rare occasions when he speaks to the media. In the end, he had to leave the media circus behind and focus on his game and, as with any apparently ‘natural talent’, put in the
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BIG INTERVIEW
dedication and hard work to make a success of his playing career. Now in his third decade and still challenging for a place at the very top of English rugby he looks back with gratitude at those who helped him get there despite the inevitable injuries that are part and parcel of the modern game of rugby. “I was very fortunate to meet an amazing physio when I was 18 called Kevin Lidlow. I’ve had great help with all the clubs I’ve been at.” He is full of praise for the unsung heroes of the clubs for whom he has played saying, “The medical departments have always been some of the hardest working people in the clubs. They have helped with my recovery and rehab at the different times I’ve needed it.” So, does he think that the playing schedule, physicality and injuries in rugby have reached a tipping point? “Unfortunately in sport there are always injuries. I’m not sure it’s a case of it being worse now in rugby; it’s sometimes just bad timing and, depending on how the media report it, depends on how much attention it grabs.” He does accept that, as a contact sport, rugby players are always going to be at risk of injuries though saying he thinks “the issue is more time on the training field, which all the strength & conditioning guys I’ve seen are working on improving. It’s a question of more intensity but less time training.” At country level, England Rugby Union is facing a huge few months. Eddie Jones has injury worries and some big decisions to make in the autumn internationals which will serve as a prelude to next year’s World Cup in Japan. Controversially for some, Cipriani has not figured in his plans so far, but for fans of the sport, it is only a matter of time before he pulls on an England jersey and brings his unique talents to bear on the world stage again. Talk to the player though, and he is not getting ahead of himself. “Any English player would love to be part of the World Cup squad, but there is a long season ahead. Getting better day by day and week by week is my focus. Then we’ll see where I’m at in a month in three months, in six months.” On his day, Cipriani has the talent to change a game for club or country. The next few months will show whether he has the form, fitness and fortune to guarantee his selection and earn him that place on the plane.
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When it comes to insurance it pays to ask an expert Professional sports people face risks that others are not exposed to says Alister Muir of N&R Sports. “When it comes to insurance, for most of us it’s a grudge purchase,” accepts Alister Muir of N&R Sports a specialist division of Nowell & Richards. “But to focus on price alone can risk leaving an athlete dangerously exposed.” N&R Sports specialises in advising sports professionals about the full spectrum of insurances they should consider. Professional sporting success leaves sports men and women facing an increasing set of risks which should be managed prudently. Many categories of insurance become more complex with factors such as age, a high profile and high asset values. So, whether it is insurance for property, a vehicle, personal possessions, career-ending injury or reputation and lifestyle, it pays to talk to someone who understands both the risks and the products that protect against them. “N&R Sports offers tailored insurance solutions for sports professionals who some insurers can be reticent to cover. With experience working for a range of sports stars, we understand the profile, lifestyle and associated risks faced by a career in professional sport. And, with no ties to any single insurance provider, we use our expertise to find
the right insurance solution.” Muir points to the emerging category of Influencer and Public Figure Protection as an example of a range of risks faced by stars who are high-profile on the sports field and off it. “The rise of social media has revolutionised our communication habits and now has a big impact on our buying decisions, with brands now looking to high profile individuals to promote their products. This opens up a potentially significant new revenue stream, but alongside that there are new and evolving exposures that need to be considered. A throwaway comment, unwise post or even a picture in the wrong clothes can inadvertently breach a sponsorship contract or offend an individual. This can lead to expensive legal action which has prompted specialist insurer Hiscox to develop a product offering protection for mistakes made in the media spotlight. This includes cover for breach of promotional contract and confidentiality, defamation, falling foul of advertising legislation, causing personal distress and unauthorised access to social media.” If you think these sorts of risks are unlikely, then consider a few scenarios. Take a situation where in a post-match interview a player blames his boots for his failure to score. The boot brand
terminates his personal endorsement deal and sues for reputational damage. Or, a sports star may forget to use #ad or alert his followers to a sponsored post which could lead to a regulatory investigation into both themselves and the brand. Can an athlete always be expected to know whether they may infringe copyright for an image posted online? Creative artists will protect their work and can look at infringements as an opportunity where personal wealth could be a factor in any settlement negotiations. In all of these real-life examples Influencer and Public Figure Protection Insurance would offer assistance and advice to contain any crisis situations and cover the costs of legal action and damages. Maintaining a good reputation can only be beneficial to on-field and off-field sporting success.. N&R Sports has been working with high net worth individuals and specialist insurers like Hiscox for over 40 years and provides a trusted and discreet service. They resolve any issues personally and quickly and, in the event of any incident, they follow a claim through to its successful conclusion. To find out more speak to Alister Muir 07526 173484 Alister@nowellandrichards.co.uk.
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HEALTH AND WELLBEING
Sonny Pike He was touted as the next George Best, but for Sonny Pike the pressures of fame became too much and and mental health issues led to the collapse of his fledgling career. He was the next big thing, with scouts at Manchester United, Tottenham and Ajax clamouring for his services. Now he hopes his experiences will serve as a warning to clubs, parents and young players of the pressures that come with the weight of expectation. He seemed to have the world at his feet, but for football prodigy Sonny Pike, trouble was brewing. Suffocated by the pressures of making it as a professional footballer,, his parents’ divorce, a financial disagreement with his dad and a brush with fame, he broke down. Now in his mid 30s, Sonny can reflect on how things might have worked out differently if help had been in place. Here is a taste of the story he will be telling in full at Premier Sport’s Network’s International Player Care conference in November.
Child prodigy “I began playing football when I was 5-years-old. What made me fall in love with the game was watching Paul Gascoigne in the 1990 World Cup,” Sonny told SunSport. “I wanted to be Gazza, I even wanted to outdo him and win the World Cup for England. At that point in time it was all I wanted to do. I loved playing and dreamt of being a professional.” Sonny played for various youth teams in Enfield then in East Anglia, but at 12 a lot of the big clubs started to take an interest. “Norwich, Ipswich, Manchester United, Tottenham, Blackburn... it was a only handful of clubs that didn’t ask about me.” “I knew I had a knack for scoring goals. I was scoring more goals than anyone else. I thought I must be quite good when I used to play in the park and the lads who were 18-years-old would pick me in their team first, and I was only small.” Not only was he a star on the pitch, he was a
marketers dream off it. The camera loved him and he was soon courted by sponsors. “I was the Coca-Cola kid, I did McDonald’s adverts. At the 1996 Coca-Cola Cup Final between Leeds and Villa I was introduced to the crowd before the teams came out. “I was sponsored by Mizuno, who made me a pair of boots that had a gold tongue. Only me and Dwight Yorke had those boots in the country at that time. “I became a model for Paul Smith, and before that I had a lot of local companies who wanted me to promote their products.” It was only when he hit 14 that the pressure started to take its toll. Things had become difficult at home and he struggled to concentrate on his football. Life went from bad to worse when, encouraged by his father, he fell foul of FA rules and was banned for a year. With no one to turn to, Sonny began to feel the strain. Mentally he was shot to pieces and he struggled to voice his problems. “I did start to feel pressure. My dad was the one who use to help me, but when I stopped talking to him it became really hard,” he said. “The mental health effect was the biggest issue. I struggled with that and I didn’t even know what was wrong with me. We’re starting to have those conversations now, but back then you couldn’t talk about it. “I remember looking up at the coaches, and not physically saying it, but pleading with them to help me out.” ”I pretty-much had a mental breakdown on the pitch. I came on for 15 minutes, I was given the opportunity and I just walked off. “The pressure of me going on, it was just too much. I looked at the coach and just walked off. I broke down and I knew it was all over from then.” Sonny wants his cautionary tale to be a lesson for aspiring footballers the world over. However, he feels professional clubs need to do a lot more to protect
the mental health of players that suffer hiccups along the way to achieving their dream. “I think I’m the first person of my age that’s been able to come out and tell a story like this, because of the Premier League and how fame and money are all part of it.” Today, Sonny drives a taxi around central London and admits he enjoys being able to work on his own terms. It also allows him to shares his traumatic life story at schools, warning youngsters of the dangers that pressure can cause. “It took me three years to do the knowledge, and the best thing about it is I can do my own thing. I love London, I enjoy driving a black cab and it gives me a lot of freedom. I can still work on going into schools and football clubs to give talks about my experience. “I’m definitely not as mad about football as I used to be, but the more I’ve started to talk about my life, it’s like I’ve got what I’ve needed to get off my chest. Sonny Pike will be speaking at the International Player Care conference on November 12th
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“I wanted to be Gazza, I even wanted to outdo him and win the World Cup for England. I loved playing and dreamt of being a professional.�
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BACKROOM STAFF
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A change of manager can mean a wholesale clear–out of backroom staff with far reaching consequences for both them and the players. With the departure of Arsene Wenger from Arsenal FC, the longest serving Premier League managers are Eddie Howe at Bournemouth closely followed by Sean Dyche at Blackburn both of whom celebrated six years in charge in October. In that time every other club has gone through at least one and often two or even three changes proof that managerial tenures are shorter than ever. Managers, though, will often see the signs long before the axe finally falls, but spare a thought for the backroom staff whose roles may be equally precarious. They may not become the immediate casualties of a board who have lost faith in the top man but can soon find themselves surplus to requirements when a new manager is appointed. Many managers have opted to make immediate changes to medical personnel on their arrival, including current Man City boss Pep Guardiola and Belgium national team head coach Roberto Martinez. When David Moyes took over at Manchester United, he chose to sack Mike Phelan despite the advice of his predecessor Alex Ferguson, and he probably regretted it when he found himself out of a job less than 12 months later. That may have prompted Sir Alex himself to query, “Is it merely about flexing your masculinity by using your status to wield power and ring
sweeping changes?” There is an argument that there is no point in suddenly changing routines that players are comfortable with. “It can be counterproductive, saps morale and immediately provokes players to question the new man’s motives,” Fergie mused. “A leader who arrives in a big club setting or inherits a big club role needs to curb his impulse to display his manhood.” The treatment room is probably as close as football gets to the confessional with the best physios offering someone to laugh or cry with and playing a vital role in recovery from injuries both physical and psychological. Derek Wright, Newcastle’s physio of 34 years has been a confidant to players since the 1980s. He has been called “a brilliant man” by Alan Shearer who said he was “a man you can trust, brilliant at his job and the most down-to-earth guy you’ll ever meet. He helped me enormously with my injuries. A rock.” Wright wears all this lightly. Mention of the confessional maybe apt, he has been Newcastle’s priest, although the description makes him laugh. “I’ve never thought of it like that,” he says, “but it’s important you don’t just treat the injury. With some players you know there is something wrong, so you cut it back to the bare bones and just talk.” Like Tony Toward, the team administrator, and Ray Thompson, the kitman, Wright is part of Newcastle’s fabric, binding a restless club together. “I worked out recently that I’ve had 28 managers, including interims and
caretakers,” he says. “They’ve all been different. Those first five years under Kevin (Keegan) were amazing. We were winning every game. It almost felt easy. He was such a good man-manager.” Newcastle’s current manager, Rafa Benitez was perhaps unusual in not insisting on bringing his own team with him but Wright has looked on with admiration at what he’s done. “His eye for detail is incredible. The injury record since he’s been here has been phenomenal and that’s down to his meticulous planning, when to use or rest players. At the same time, he has a depth of feeling. Some people have worked here who haven’t had a clue about Geordie people.” Wright joined Newcastle just as the era of the bucket and magic sponge was ending, but it was still just him, Jack Charlton and his assistant, divvying up jobs. The room he inherited was “dirty”, the only rehab equipment an “old, rusty multi-gym”, and now there is an ensemble of doctors, sports scientists, soft-tissue specialists and performance coaches. Yet amid all this progress, old truths linger. “It’s the hands,” Wright says. “They’re the most important tool.” He is 60 this year and for more than half of his life he has manipulated limbs, rebuilding footballers when they are broken, in their lowest moments, full of fear. Where once he represented a new approach, he is now unashamedly old school. But with his gift for getting the players on side, there is no question that he and others like him have a huge part to play in football today, whoever the latest manager is.
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TEAM EUROPE
Smells like team spirit
Leaving some of the world’s best players to eat their dust, Europe showed how to win as a team. On paper, they had the far better players. But by the end of the final day of Ryder Cup, what was clear was that America never really had a team. The talk in the run-up to this year’s Ryder Cup was all about the all-star bench of American golf stars - Johnson, Spieth, Reed, and a resurgent, Tiger Woods - taking the event by storm. Instead, Jim Furyk’s team lost the cup in a spectacular flame-out, 17.5 points to 10.5, Europe’s widest winning margin in decades. The European win was carried over the tournament by Britain’s Tommy Fleetwood, who was spectacular until the last few holes of match play, and Italy’s Francesco Molinari, who was spectacular throughout. The Svengali of the entire European operation was the dour, masterful Danish captain Thomas Bjorn. The responsibility for this superb team effort by the Europeans will be judged by history as settling on Bjorn’s broad shoulders. It was his months-long deep analysis of his rookies and his major pros in composing his bench, and his absolute mastery of which players to put in the many combinations that the weekend demanded, that bore the decisive victory. Bjorn’s was a game of chess played with, and against, his fellow major-league PGA stars, both rising and waning. Bjorn ruled the chessboard as a latter-day Viking king, with precise, pointed, tactical brutality. The case in point was the so-called Moliwood pairing of Fleetwood and Molinari (opposite), who raced through Saturday’s play. Molinari himself, the understated winner of this
year’s British Open, won all five of his matches over the three days. Nobody on the American side could match that brilliance or that consistency. By contrast, Phil Mickleson had to be benched, Woods got the heebie-jeebies early in the last round losing to Jon Rahm, and Jordan Spieth was upended by rookie Thorbjorn Olesen, 5-4. Captain Bjorn’s English wild-card choice, Ian “The Postman” Poulter (below), took World No. 1 Dustin Johnson to the cleaners. In the aftermath he donned a blazing royal-red full-body mock-up of a Royal Mail postbox as if he needed to stress his reputation as the man who always delivers. Thomas Bjorn gave his team extra motivation by promising to get a tattoo of the final score if they won. But critical to the success was the backroom staff who did not drop their guard until it was over. Relentless in his pursuit of excellence, recovery, nutrition, and practice, Bjorn also trusted his 12 individuals to come together to make a team. The backroom staff, the chefs and nutritionists, the physios, the caddies. Thomas pulled the entire team together behind the scenes and that’s what made the difference. “The modern golfer is different,” he said. “They’re very healthy and focused on recovery. They’re used to having a big team around them and I wanted to give them an environment they could recognise, that was better or on a par with what they normally have.” With the result in the bag and the American team resorting to back biting it’s pretty clear Bjorn did the job.
“The modern golfer is healthy and focused on recovery. They have a team around them and we gave them the kind of environment they normally have.”
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IN BRIEF
Trust fund
Young footballers should have some of their wages put into a trust to stop them spending it, says Danny Webber. Former Manchester United striker Danny Webber thinks teenage players should only have access to 20-30% of what they earn until they get older. The rest could be held in a trust managed by the Premier League or the Professional Footballers’ Association, he says.
Lack of ‘edge’ in academies Jack Wilshire says other ways of coming through the game may prove their value. Gareth Southgate painted a sorry picture of English football when he claimed there have been no world class midfielders since Paul Gascoigne. Southgate claimed Gazza was the only England midfielder capable of running a game at the highest level to come along in the past 50 years. Now, Jack Wilshere, who was himself hailed as the new Gascoigne, has said he believes some of today’s academy graduates “lack an edge” and need to go out on loan rather than settle for the less pressurised environment of reserve team football. “I think there are different ways of coming through, just as you’ve seen with Jamie Vardy,” said Wilshere. “Maybe some players don’t learn to get that edge, that tough streak.” England’s under-17s World Cup winning team may provide the future but last summer’s World Cup squad included the likes of Jamie Vardy, Harry Maguire and Nick Pope who all worked their way up through the lower leagues. “Maybe in the academies you take things for granted. Everything is perfect for you - you’re not playing on bad, frozen pitches in January. Some people are born with an edge but I also think you’ve got to be careful with coaching. “I saw some players who want to get stuck in and want to run with it and it seems that in England, you’re not supposed to run with the ball. Some coaches are keen to knock that out of their game. I think that’s big, that’s important.” “Southgate talked about how Gazza was so confident that he played as if he was playing with his mates. Not many players have got that confidence.” Willshire who is currently developing his interest in coaching added, “We are producing enough technical players, but it comes down to almost having a bit of arrogance on the pitch, that confidence to show what you can do. “You don’t want players doing silly things but it’s good to be in a relaxed state of mind where they can just enjoy their football, block out everything and enjoy their football.”
“There are too many young lads out there earning big money who are just blowing it,” Webber says. “I am watching a lot of players who earn money very early and have got a different idea of what it is to be a footballer.” The PFA has said that it is already “actively pursuing” the idea of a “mandatory saving scheme”. Deputy chief executive Bobby Barnes has been quoted as saying that the PFA and the Premier League have been researching the idea for some time. “We have consulted with senior players at all Premier League clubs and have unanimous support.” Webber, who also played for Watford, Sheffield United and Portsmouth in an 18-year career, said most youngsters come from a background where they have “no education in finance or money”. He said they spend their money on cars, holidays and tables in night clubs. “There’s got to be a way they are laying some foundations because they’re young and they don’t have the experience with money,” he said . “If you’re 17 and you leave school, your overheads are very small. If you’re earning £10,000-a-week, it’s a massive salary. If you can’t live on £2,000-a-week of that and still have a nice car, still have a nice watch, then there’s something wrong.”
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Diet debate Is veganism good for top athletes?
Veganism has become massively popular in recent years and the meat and dairy-free diet has now reached elite-level sport. Athletes who are vegans claim that they have more energy, can recover quicker and enjoy a much brighter mood and higher motivation, but could they be missing out on vital nutrients? Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin, Argentina team-mates Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero and Bournemouth veteran Jermain Defoe are all vegan during the season. Manchester United defender Chris Smalling also largely follows a vegan diet, with his wife Sam turning into an expert vegan chef. A number of elite athletes in the US have also gone plant-based in a bid to improve performance. Tennis superstars Serena and Venus Williams and NFL quarterback Tom Brady are high-profile members of the pro-vegan movement. Brady has even launched his own range of vegan performance meals called TB12 Performance. But some sports nutritionists question whether a vegan diet is really a good idea for a top athlete. Dr Sarah Schenker a former dietitian for Norwich City and member of the British Dietetic Association and The Nutrition Society, is one who is not so convinced. “It’s very on trend,” she says, “but some of the perceived health benefits of being vegan have been a bit misinterpreted or are maybe a bit overrated.” She may have trouble persuading football’s vegan converts, however, who are crediting their diet for all kinds of benefits. Messi’s longevity at the top is at least partly down to his transformation from fast food and fizzy drink fan as a teenager. Pep Guardiola was well known to have had some very public battles with him over his refuelling habits. One Camp Nou urban legend claims that Guardiola even ordered a drinks machine to be removed because it was too close to the dressing room. Now 31, Messi – also a self-confessed fan of the Argentine-style barbeque - has admitted to coming to realisation that: ‘What you can put into your body at 18 or 19 years of age is not the same as what you can put in at 27.’ He says his performance has improved since ditching fizzy drinks and meat and claims a diet of fresh fruit, nuts, seeds and salads has extended his career.
He had suffered 11 injuries between 2006 and 2013 but the nutritional change also helped to drastically reduce those physical set-backs. It also brought an end to the strange vomiting fits he had at the start of certain matches. Hector Bellerin is another player who swears by a vegan diet saying that cutting out meat and dairy products has given him more energy and helped prevent injury. “For me the most important thing is the inflammation in my body after games and the speed that my body recovers compared to before,” Bellerin said in March. “I’ve always had little problems in my ankles when I played very hard games. They would get inflamed and very stiff. Now I don’t even have to strap them to play anymore. His claims are also supported by Jermain Defoe who said: “I started cutting out meat and I realised I felt different in terms of energy. I wasn’t getting any muscle injuries, and I was noticing a difference in my skin.” Dr Schenker, though, warns about the limitations of a vegan diet. “We talk about high and low quality protein. Most vegetable sources are low quality protein. The body needs essential amino acids, you have to get them from your diet. “Animal sources of protein contain large amounts of amino acids. Vegan sources contain some but not all of them. The only vegan source that is comparable to getting animal protein is soy. That’s fine, but soy isn’t for everyone and you can be limited with what you do with it - there’s only so much tofu you can eat. “With professional advice you can make it work but it takes a lot of thought and effort. Good nutrition is always best from a balanced diet.”
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RELOCATION
Football transfers today Life in between clubs and countries.
Football fans treat the transfer window a little bit like Black Friday – it’s a chance to drool over the shiny new players that will take their team to the top of the league. Spare a thought for the players and their families though. For them, football transfers mean long periods of doubt and uncertainty about where they will be living next week. In the two football transfer windows of the English Premier League and the Championship, a total of 667 players were either sold or loaned, and 249 of these had to relocate either to or from the UK from overseas: Australia, Germany, Italy, China, the USA… the list of international football club transfers is a long one. Look worldwide and the figure grows much larger – of the estimated 56,000 male professional footballers across the globe, 12,051 are expats, according to the Football Observatory. To make sure the player can focus on their new job, the clubs, the agents and sometimes the players themselves will put in place a football relocation package. So, what is involved in a football transfer from a player’s perspective, and how long does it all take? WORK PERMITS The first thing is to establish that the player has a right to work in their host country and obtaining visas and work permits
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is no easy matter. Specialist knowledge is often required – it may be easy for a superstar like Neymar to move from club to club, but players with a lower international profile can struggle to get the necessary paperwork. The rules vary from country to country, but usually require a team to demonstrate that similar local talent is not available. Even when a player has arrived at a club in one league, it doesn’t always mean he can transfer to another team. Sandro, the Brazilian midfielder, moved to Queen’s Park Rangers from Tottenham Hotspur after four years in the UK, but still ran into some difficulties. FINDING A NEW HOME Once the ink is drying on the contract, the medical is complete and the registration papers have arrived at the local football association headquarters – and 14 seconds can be the line between success and failure – it’s time to find somewhere to live. No one wants to spend most of the season in a hotel. Choosing a new home is never easy, but when there is time pressure and limited availability
it can become a real conundrum. Relocation assistance is often a minimum requirement to find a home furnished to the standard a player expects. Occasionally a player might move into a home that belonged to a former star of the club they are joining, but more often they have different tastes. While players like buying property that may appreciate in value – a good investment for their wage packet which could dry up with a bad injury – the highest end of the market also means waiting for the right buyer. Patrick Vieira, the French midfielder, was still trying to sell his Manchester mansion in 2017, more than a year after leaving the UK for New York. SHIPPING THEIR BELONGINGS Young men with a lot of money to spend will tend to spend it – and that means when they move, they have to find a way to ship a lot of gear. When that means watches, shirts or winner’s medals, the main issue is security and insurance. But when it comes to cars, there are all sorts of other problems to solve, such as import duty and whether or not a carnet de passage is
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required. For those players with a car collection running into double figures, that’s no small undertaking. RELOCATING WITH FAMILIES It’s often said that footballers’ wives and girlfriends know what they’re signing up for, but that doesn’t make football transfers any easier for them, particularly when young children are involved. Transfer windows are not generally well aligned with the school year – popular schools are invariably full by the time the end of the transfer window comes in September. Clubs and relocation agents can often assist with this through relocation assistance, offering options that players and their families might not know existed. A football club transfer is an exciting time for a player, the club and the fans, but it doesn’t end when the whistle blows for kick off. There are an awful lot of things to consider, arrange and make happen, which is why a football relocation package is an essential expense. For advice and assistance, contact Santa Fe Relocation and find out how to make it past deadline day.
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SECURITY
Cyber protection for players and clubs A casual approach to data, information on phones and the net can leave stars and their employers exposed. We are all aware of just how much personal information there is out in cyberspace but criminals, the media and the public are getting much more savvy about using it which means it pays to take precautions, says James Gray of Raytheon. Having a social media presence is an important part of being in the public eye but how many sports stars actually sit down and think about what personal information people can find out about them? And it’s not just about a desire for privacy but something much more fundamental. “Mobile apps often give details of an entire network from which it’s quite easy to engineer more targeted attacks. Given the profile of many sportsmen and women there will be people trying to do that whether it’s to gain some sort of financial advantage or simply to find out
more about their personal lives. It doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together then try to triangulate through an email. Some of the social media platforms have had data breaches which have led to spear fishing attacks which try to capture personal data. “Sometimes it’s as basic as changing the settings on a person’s phone but unless the conversation is happening it can be missed.” In the context of player care, Gray says, clubs perhaps need to consider how to protect players. “As these things get more complicated you can’t be expected to be an expert in everything. But there is some basic educational work which can be done very easily. As far as social media goes, the links between personal and professional life can be blurred. Making sure those things are effectively split is the first place to start. That extends to location settings on a phone too where more and more apps gather information on a
user’s whereabouts.” It doesn’t take long before there is enough information out there to start triangulating and building up a picture which is way more complete than anyone could ever have envisaged and that can affect a player’s security or that of his family. “It’s about weighing up the benefits and setting those against the costs when it comes to social media,” says Gray. “We tend to be quite paranoid about it, but I do think that players and their clubs need to understand the trade off that they are making when they share their lives on social media. Understanding privacy risk is the first step to helping players and clubs weigh up the impact and likelihood of information getting into the wrong hands.” There is no single answer to the question of how much information to share, but by having the conversation, at least everyone can start to think about where the lines should be drawn.
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ACADEMY TO FIRST TEAM
Auf Wiedersehen EPL? With the brightest young English players struggling to get game time in the Premier League, is playing in Germany the future? “The grass isn’t greener in general, but the average age of debutants in Germany is way lower than in England.”
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When Gareth Southgate announced his squad for England’s Nations League games last month, one name immediately stood out; that of Jadon Sancho. The headlines write themselves: Jadon Sancho (opposite) is the first player to be born this century to receive a call up although he has been with the England setup since 2015, but perhaps most interesting of all, he now plays in Germany for Borussia Dortmund. The England manager’s hand may have been forced to an extent by injuries but Southgate claimed he would have picked Sancho anyway saying: “He has real presence with the way he plays and I think he can have a real impact with us.” Coming with a £10m price tag and the number seven shirt, Jadon Sancho’s move from Manchester City to Borussia Dortmund was big news 12 months ago. However, he is far from being the only young Englishman in Germany, but just part of an increasing number who have made the move to play more meaningful games than they expected to get at home. When Sancho turned down a new contract with Manchester City he declared that “the time is right for a new challenge, where I can to start to fulfil my potential”. Manager Pep Guardiola said that the teenager “visualised that he will play more than here”, adding: “I don’t know what will happen.” What has happened is that, in a little more than 12 months, the player has made 21 appearances for Dortmund, including two starts in the Champions League this season. He has set up five league goals already this season, more than any player in the Bundesliga, the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A or Ligue 1 earning him the nickname of “Europe’s assist king”. Sancho would almost certainly have had some playing time had he stayed at City too, but how much? Phil Foden, the star of England’s Under-17 World Cup success last October, has started five games for City and come on as a substitute in ten others. Those figures are not dissimilar to Sancho’s at Dortmund — nine starts, plus 12 outings as a substitute — but the difference is that coach Lucien
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Favre regards him as his 12th man and his first option from the bench. England’s (and Southgate’s) success at junior level is well known but not only is Sancho the first member of the world cup-winning U17 team to make the senior squad, he has also made it at a time when most of England’s Under-20 champions are still waiting to make a serious breakthrough at Premier League level. Guardiola would justifiably ask how many other 18-year-olds are playing
first-team football for a Champions League team and pointing out that overseas players are responsible for 66% of the overall minutes played in the Premier League. But that is cold comfort for those looking for their chance to shine. So is it possible a partial solution can be found in the Bundesliga? Could Germany help their old rivals England towards the summit of world football? Stephan Kallass, a player’s representative working between England and Germany thinks there are opportunities. “The grass isn’t greener in general, but, if you compare it to England, the average age of debutants is way lower in Germany. German clubs are trying to keep up both domestically but also on a European level. Many of them can’t (or don’t want to) pay over-the-top transfer fees for ready-made players so they try to find alternative ways and many see the best is to get young players with high potential.” The trend is wider than just England, he says. “German clubs are not only bringing in English players but we see smaller clubs like Mainz are also taking talent like Diallo and Mateta from France. In recent years the number of high quality English players hasn’t been that high but that is changing now for the better, with many of the English youth teams being absolutely top.” Large, high quality squads in the Premier League can prevent more game time being given to untested players. But for German clubs the results can be good on and off the field. “Although the strategies are obviously risky as they’re not finished players, when coached well and being in a good environment these players development can turn out to be very positive stories both in sportive but also financial way.”
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ACADEMY TO FIRST TEAM
Beating the Premier League Odds: Kevin Danso Kevin Danso was born in Austria to Ghanaian parents who moved to Milton Keynes when he was six. At nine, he joined the MK Dons Academy. By the age of 15, a number of Premier League clubs were keen to sign him. Manny Danso, the player’s older brother, looks after his affairs and was unsure if the Premier League was the right way to go. He said: “We wanted to know what the educational aspect was. One club wanted him to do a BTEC. I wanted him to do A-levels. “The problem is not new. Even if you are working to an average of one player coming through the academy system at each club per year, there is no guarantee it is going to be from your age group. “At a minimum, clubs look at players across a three-year cycle. More realistic is five. The odds of breaking through are exceptionally small.” Faced with such odds, Manny Danso spent eight months in Germany analysing the approach of different clubs in terms of youth development. Armed with all his research, he told his nephew that Augsburg was the best fit in all aspects but one. With five international appearances to
his name already, Danso’s decision to move to Germany has paid off handsomely. Manny Danso said: “It was by far the worst financial package we were offered. “Kevin said: ‘Where is Augsburg?’ He had to go on Fifa to see what the kit looked like. My mum thought it was a crazy idea. “But he went over for two weeks. He has now been there four years. The decision has been totally vindicated.” In March 2017, aged 18 years and 165 days, Danso became the youngest player to play for Augsburg in the league. Against Wales the following September, he won his first full cap for Austria. Young lions in Germany 2017-18 Player
Left
Joined
2017-18 Bundesliga Appearances
Career Bundesliga minutes
Goals
Career PL minutes
Jadon Sancho
Manchester City
Borussia Dortmund
12
685
1
0
Ademola Lookman
Everton
RB Leipzig (loan)
11
575
5
441
Reece Oxford
West Ham
Monchengladbach (loan)
7
463
0
215
Mandela Egbo
Crystal Palace
Monchengladbach (in 2015)
1
10
0
0
Ryan Kent
Liverpool
Freiburg (loan)
6
241
0
0
Kaylen Hinds
Arsenal
Wolfsburg
1
90
0
0
Kevin Danso
MK Dons
Augsburg (in 2014)
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2
0
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Getting the best for less For young players, buying a pre-loved watch may be the best way to make an impression on a budget. One of the leading Swiss watch brands has in its advertising the phrase: “You never really own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.” They are conjuring up images of timeless value and family heirlooms to justify the hefty price tag but they may have stumbled across an opportunity. Young players are under all sorts of pressure to look and act the part often long before they start earning the kind of money that would enable them to afford it. Many will go out and spend it anyway, but buying through an auction could be a better way to acquire the best watch brands without splashing too much cash. Founded in Birmingham in 1876, Fellows are a family-run firm of auctioneers and valuers. The company’s origin can be traced back to the collapse of an order for bicycles. When William Henry Fellows was left with the unwanted order he decided to sell the bicycles by auction. Fellows holds more than 100 sales a year with specialist watch and jewellery auctions becoming increasingly popular. Their locations in Birmingham’s historic Jewellery Quarter and London’s Mayfair make them ideally suited to offer a range
of expert services, including valuations and consignments, across the UK. Their online bidding service, complete with live audio and video, enables anyone to participate in all of the auctions wherever they are. Fellows takes pride in a friendly manner and excellent customer service. Their aim is to provide the ultimate auction experience where, as a collector, vendor, or someone who is curious about the world of auctions, clients can participate with complete confidence. Long-term relationships with clients show how much a service tailored to the specific needs of each individual is valued. They continually try to find new ways to innovate and expand so that they can improve this service. As well as investing in spacious and comfortable salerooms, they have developed technology to make the buying and selling process as simple as possible. Industry-leading website and bidding platforms, both for desktop and mobile devices, allow customers to navigate all aspects the auctions without ever attending one in person! Buying at Fellows couldn’t be easier and there are a variety of bidding methods, from experiencing the auction in person, to placing bids via the website or telephone bidding. They also partner with external bidding platforms so that bidders can take part live from anywhere in the world. Before placing an online bid on an item, clients first need to register with Fellows. The online registration process is quick and simple, and once a Fellows account has been created, they are able to manage bids, compile a wish list, view bidding results and manage payments. Whether it is special jewellery or a watch, Fellows’ sales include lots to suit all budgets and tastes.
Auctioneers & Valuers Watches | Jewellery | Luxury Goods
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ADDICTIONS
A Sobering Tale
Former Everton prodigy, George Green opens up about the addictions that cost him his career. George Green arrived at Goodison Park as a freshfaced schoolboy and was quickly compared to Wayne Rooney. Four years later he was standing on railway tracks near his hometown of Dewsbury waiting for the next train so that he could end his life, his dreams of making it as a Premier League
player ruined by cocaine and alcohol. Green left without playing a first-team game having spent five weeks of his four years at Goodison Park in London’s Priory hospital receiving treatment for mental health problems and addictions. “Everton paid for it all, I think it was about £5,000-a-week,” says Green, who was playing in the Toffees’ U21 side by the age of 16 alongside future England internationals John Stones and Ross Barkley. “Before I turned 18 you wouldn’t catch me out at night. As soon as I was 18 it was like a
new world opened up. I was drinking, doing drugs and playing football. The first time I took drugs I’d gone to watch football in a pub with mates. I was offered cocaine and it changed my life.” At first Green was able to hide his habit from his youth-team coach Kevin Sheedy, but before long he was taking 30 grams a month and life was spiralling out of control. “I was spending way over £2,000 a month. I remember one particular Monday morning I was supposed to be training. I didn’t wake up until the afternoon. The night before I’d gone
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to a friend’s house for drink and drugs. I think that’s when alarm bells started ringing at Everton. “I remember phoning a welfare officer at Everton one night. I was crying and said ‘I need help’. Soon after I was admitted to the Priory.” Having joined Everton as a £150-a-week schoolboy, Green’s earnings reached £110,000-a-year at the Premier League club and he believes he has earned at least £500,000 playing football. “I have an iPad to show for it. That’s how much of a downfall my life has become because of drugs. I squandered it all. I’m embarrassed.” Green had four clubs within 14 months of leaving Everton. Soon after his release from the Toffees, he joined League One Oldham on a two-year deal. He lasted five months before his contract was cancelled by mutual consent in November 2015. “It was due to drink and drugs, I’d fallen out of love with the game and decided I didn’t want to play anymore.” By now, Green was on a downward spiral. He had a drink-driving conviction and, after blowing much of his earnings on alcohol and cocaine, he was struggling financially. In addition, he was suffering from depression. He did not stay away from football for long. A week after leaving Oldham, Green had signed for non-league Yorkshire side Ossett Albion for £80-a-game. He had gone from Everton to the eighth tier of English football in less than six months. It was around this time he first contemplated suicide. “Leaving Everton hit me hard. I was stood on a railway track ready for a train to come. I remember it being around eight or nine o’clock at night. I hadn’t written a note. It was all the pressures of everything in my life. “The drugs, the alcohol, my mental health, football wasn’t going well, lack of money. Then there was an announcement over the speakers that the next train was delayed. I thought ‘it must be a sign that it can’t be my time to go’. I broke down in tears and walked away.” Green’s mental health problems continued. He took an overdose after joining Salford City on loan from Burnley in early 2017. “I went in the pill cupboard at home and took everything there was. I wanted to die at that time,” he adds. Now Green is back home again near Dewsbury with fiancée, Charli, their two-year-old daughter Daisy and another on the way. Gone are the flash cars and the hangers-on who formed part of his life when he was at Everton. He now drives a Kia Rio to and from Chester, the club he joined in July from National League North rivals Nuneaton. Money is tight, but the player blames no-one but himself. Green’s support network includes former Aston Villa and England defender Gary Charles, a recovering alcoholic who now has a business which provides care to people who are experiencing a wide range of problems, including depression and alcohol/drug dependency. “There’s not a day I don’t speak to him. He’s a lifesaver,” says Green. If his addictions were not enough, Green has an additional battle in his life. Two months after signing, he has yet to make his Chester debut because of a back injury which is likely to require surgery. He’s frustrated and impatient, but has kept himself busy by getting to know Chester fans at home games, signing autographs and posing for pictures. Chester, a fan-owned club with a community trust, run a weekly mental health and wellbeing session which offers vulnerable members of society a chance to get out and play football. Green hopes opening up about his problems will raise awareness of mental health and addiction issues. “Football is the only thing I am good at. Without it I’d be dead,” he says. “I thought my career would be over if I came out and started talking about my issues with drugs. Then I said to myself ‘how about being honest for once in your life and admit your problems’. “If my story helps one person, I’m happy to tell it. I’m happier, healthier and way more positive than I was.”
“Leaving Everton hit me hard. I was stood on a railway track ready for a train to come.”
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AGENT’S ANGLE
Be brave
Dave Brammer, football intermediary with Stellar Group, has some clear messages for young players that he has gained from his 16 years as a pro footballer. Dave Brammer’s career as a professional footballer took him from Wrexham in 1993 to Millwall in 2007. The former midfielder is one of the few players to have played for all three Potteries rivals; Port Vale, Crewe Alexandra and Stoke City and the only one to have captained all three sides. “The crowds weren’t always very forgiving,” he says, but the experience was a valuable one and it taught him some important lessons. “I did get a bit of stick at times, but you learn to thrive on it and looking back it was fun. To be a sportsman you’ve got to have a pretty thick skin and you get that from those kinds of atmospheres. I watched the recent England Croatia game played behind closed doors and I think the players would have felt a bit short changed. Playing with a lively
Croatian crowd with the noise and the sense of occasion would have done them good. That kind of challenge is a good one and you come out braver and more confident.” After more than 500 professional games, Brammer retired in 2009 and joined Stellar Group as a player’s agent where he has been able both to share his experience and to learn. “Hopefully you’re passing on the fact that you’ve played the game. I was fortunate to have a long footballing career and that brings knowledge and experience that can be passed on to the younger lads. But at Stellar Group I’m also learning from people who’ve done some of the biggest deals in the game.” Over the course of his career, Brammer, who works with players like Danny Ward, Ben Davies and Ben Woodburn, has seen plenty of changes not least the amount of money in the game. “From an agent’s perspective, the amount of money in the game is both good and bad. On the plus side, when the players do well financially then we do filter that down and the money is reinvested into the younger players helping their families get to games and things like that. But the money also means there’s a lot more people wanting to become agents so it’s very competitive. “Being an established company with a good reputation and client base keeps us afloat but I do
Leicester goalkeeper Danny Ward, is one of Dave Bramer’s clients alongside Ben Woodburn and Ben Davies (below)
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“My advice to young players is you’ve got to be brave. Get out there and put yourself to the test. If you’re good enough, you’ll get there.” think it’s about respecting everyone’s profession. I wouldn’t expect to become a bricklayer over night and I don’t think you should expect to become a football agent overnight either.” There is a lot of talk in the game at the moment, and especially around the England setup about pathways for young players to make the step up from the youth teams into the professional game. But according to Brammer, it’s not all about expecting Premier League managers to give England hopefuls more game time. “Some of the young players have got to be brave and respect the levels we have in the English game. I tell them not to be snobbish about playing in League One but to get out there and put yourself to the test. If you’re good enough, you’ll get there and the more games you have the quicker it will happen. If you look at a player like Jordan Pickford. He’s played football at every level of the game. My advice to young players is always you’ve got to be brave enough to say, ‘I’m just going to go and play, get experience and take my opportunities.” Brammer is as committed to the success of the players he works with as he was as a player himself. “It’s great being able to work with young players, guiding them and helping them become successful. The thing I’m passionate about is young players getting opportunities. We work hard to get them there, but they’ve got to grab their chances too. Sometimes that means taking a step back in order to take two steps forward later on.”
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POST CAREER SUPPORT
“In 1966 a footballer’s wage was £20 per week. The World Cup winning squad received a bonus of £1000 but the government took 50% of it in tax.”
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Life after sport Former professional footballer turned physio, Jim Walker has seen every sporting injury going but many don’t really show through until older age sets in. For England fans wanting silverware, 1966 may feel like a very long time ago and it was truly a different era. At the time, a footballer’s wage was around £20 per week. That may have been a few quid more than the average British worker but it’s hardly a king’s ransom. The World Cup winning squad received a bonus of £1000 which was a lot more, but the government took back 50% of it in tax. Why the trip down memory lane? Well, of course, several of those players and the many hundreds more who played alongside them in the 60s, 70s and 80s are still very much alive and are struggling with injuries picked up in their playing days. Jim Walker started his professional career under Brian Clough at Derby County who he helped to second and first division titles in the early 70s. Since he retired in 1981 he has carved out a successful second career as a physio having retrained and gained a masters qualification with research into osteoarthritis. During his life in football he has seen literally hundreds of players leave the game. He has followed many of them into older age and seen how they have struggled. “Players accept that injuries are part of playing sport, but it’s not until later on that they realise the consequences. As a footballer, if you have a knee injury, an ankle injury or a hip problem then you’ve got a 90% chance of getting osteoarthritis.” Walker, who had a knee replacement a few years ago, says he feels very blessed but he knows plenty of others who are not so lucky. “Many of these lads haven’t got any money and it seems like football has forgotten them. Without them the game wouldn’t be where it is today, so I feel we’ve got a duty to look after them.”
Walker is now part of a charity called Xpro: Life After Sport which campaigns and raises money to help former players. The group is behind a move to have osteoarthritis officially recognised as an injury caused by football. “I had a go as part of my research 10 years ago but now someone else has submitted a study to the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council and we hope this time that it will be successful. It’s not about funding a lavish lifestyle, but it would mean there would be some financial help for some of these footballers.” Dementia is another area where connections are just starting to be made with a youth spent heading a football. Alan Shearer made a documentary last year about his concerns about developing dementia but looking for conclusive proof may miss the point according to Jim Walker. “It’s going to be harder to prove a link as that would mean examining brains after some of these guys are dead. But we don’t need to wait that long. These are former footballers who are suffering now and there is enough money in the game to give them some help.” Xpro has formed a link with Community formerly the steelworker’s union which he hopes will benefit both. Having footballers as members brings some profile to the union but it also means that any conversation with the likes of the PFA would be union to union and carry more weight. As well as the medical section led by Walker, there is a welfare section headed up by former Stoke City and Republic of Ireland player Terry Conroy. There are also plans to help former footballers benefit from their image rights too. But the bottom line for Jim Walker is one of decency. “I know a former footballer who lives in Plymouth. He’s 75, he’s got osteoarthritis and he has to struggle into town on the bus. £50 a week would mean he could take a taxi and would mean the world to him. If we got our hands on 0.001% of the money that the Premier League and the FA have to work with it would make a huge difference.” To become a member of Xpro Community or to access their services call 0800 389 6332 or contact help@xprocommunity.org.
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