I am sat here, on my own, thinking footy. Specifically remembering some of my playing days. Have some brilliant memories, on and off the pitch. Usual stories of 20 a side on the rec. Played for a boys team and got picked up by a local Saturday mens side at 14 or 15, cant remember. First game I was ringer because they had 10, rang my Dad and said get him here. I knew a couple of lads in the side who were a couple of years older than me. Manager said play up front out of the way . 2 mins in we get a corner and a lad I knew says stay edge of box nee bugger will mark you and I will ping it to you. I smashed a volley into the top corner and then never touched the ball again . Anyway signed on and played 2 seasons up top with my Dads work mate. Weird. I was never a centre forward, but he was and I played around him. Went off to non league at 16. What a learning curve. Probably equivalent of step 4 now. Brutal. I played wide left for second half of a season and my legs were never any colour other than black or blue. Moved into CM next season and loved it. Became a man then. Had to give it back. Moved for uni when I was 18. Played uni footy for 3 years, which was a good standard. Travelled back each weekend for first 6 months for my non league side, but got too much so stopped. After uni played semi pro again for about 6 years. Had a great time. Played CM with a solicitor, I was a junior accountant. We werent your typical non league CM pairing, but man we never took a backward step. Loved playing with him, time and again we were in amongst something together. As career took off I travelled so stopped the non league stuff as it was wearing on relationships. Played at a decent Sunday morning level for few years but it just got ****e. No refs, endless scraps, lads trying to break legs. Stopped. Then invited to play in a 5 a side league. This will sound daft, but it was an unbelievable standard and invite only. Never played a better standard of football in my life. 8 mins each way, two leagues, fastest football ever. In a hall, walls in play. It was unreal. Had lads who played futsal for England, semi pros, ex pros. I would say it was elite level. 3 or 4 deep on the balcony with spectators - it was well known. We had teams in that league go to national 5 a side and win. I played for a side for one year, but they were a running team and I was getting older. Was allowed to have my own side next season and I brought in some old lads and we played a very different way. It was about keeping the ball, at all costs. We did well. I have a bunch of trophies. I ended up back up front, full circle. I was a strong lad, who could use his body well. So I played back to goal and was our wall pass. I held it while lads came to support from deep. I wouldnt let any body get round me. What a few years that were. We finished as a team as we hit 45. There were lads in other sides 18 to 30 and fit as lops. It was getting too much for us. But we never rolled over, ever. There was 7 of us in that group and we loved it. I once brought in a young lad, a coach I knew who had been a pro but stopped playing at 24. He lasted one week and wouldnt come back. Too fast and too brutal for him . Best thing, every team in the bar after, for a couple of pints. Apologies, this may be a bit self centered. Not meant to be, just remembering stuff. Would love to here other lads footy days. Wish I could play just one more season.
Good read, enjoyed that although I moved around too much to progress. I made it as far as a trial for Alfreton Town but had to work, missed it and was never invited again. The highlight of 'my career' was playing at the stadium for Antibes in the south of France where a world cup had been played. It's on the marina in the shadows of a massive defensive fort. I'll have a scan and see if I can find a photo. I played in a team made up entirely of French lads and they really took to me. Very proud of all that tbh. Found it please log in to view this image
Played left back the vast majority of my life. Didn't really get picked up till I was 12ish. Ended up at Darlington before it went south. Played for county for a good while. Then was at Sunderland for a bit. Dan Smith got the nodd over me. Sure it was because his family helped take the squad out abroad. He was a canny player but thought I was up to, if not better than. Didn't work out, so went to play northern league for a bit. Got bored and ended up being a bit easy to be honest , which meant I sacked it off to get into my current career.
Played rightnwing in an unfashionable school team, but boy where we good, mens local football at 15, where i played full back, much to the disgust of the clubs chairman as his boy wasn't considered. Sundays where spent playing with my mates in a brilliant team, that just enjoyed it, played right back in a hell of a back 4, kieron and Wayne at centre half and Stephen at left back, we where a proper unit, Kieron was a hell of a centre half, so cultured on the ball, Wayne a proper centre half, could head and tackle anything. Me and Stephen would get forward but our main job was to stop the wingers. Nevwr made the district teams as it was who you knew rather than ability, didnt care i enjoyed smashing the district wingers on a sunday much more. Offered the chance for trials at West ham, Leyton orient and Colchester when I got to 16 Couldn't get in my school team at 14, but was playing Saturdays against some hard players. Had an honest conversation with my dad about going and he was honest enough to tell the truth that I didn't have the pace and looking back he was spot on, a tricky winger I could deal with all day, a fast one who would punt it past me and just run I struggled like hell. Trials where rejected and I moved up to playing Saturday for a few quid and Sunday with my mates. Then at the age of 22 playing on a Sunday I cleared a ball and my foot caught full force on the bottom of a lads boot and I tore my ankle ligaments. Here was me with a house and wife (married at 21 like a fool) potentially not being able to work, thankfully I could manage work on crutches but it made me realise I had bigger responsibilities. Ankle finally healed and I eased back into Sunday morning football with my mates team, just for the laugh, but I had no confidence in my ankle, it wasn't as strong as before and mentally I was worried about getting injured, so I knocked it on the head. Haven't played since. I'd give anything to go back and get that buzz of a proper tackle
Good levels mate. I had a trial for Darlo, and Hartlepool, wasnt up to it. Played for Tow Law in norhtern league. Slope probably contributed to me kmackered knees
Good little club and still going strong. I played for Bracken Park and in the five a side midweek league. My worst ever game was playing rugby in a trial in Nice when a work colleague asked me to try out. I was in the gym 5 days a week, working as a bodyguard and full of confidence ... ... I was knocked all over the pitch and took a fortnight to recover
Brilliant mate. Beginning to sound like we coule rustle up a sound not606 team. Baggsy subs bench though I knackered
Was up at Alfreton a few weeks ago mate. Had a couple of young lads I coached go in there. Lovely club and clubs like them are the foundation of our pyramid. I was given a cup of tea and bourbon biscuit when I wandered in. Brilliant.
My ankle wouldn't take it, cold weather it plays up something wicked. That and I'm probably 5 stone plus over my 'fighting weight' I did think about trying walking football but it would frustrate me as my body wouldn't let me do what my brain wants it to
My biggest 'enemy' in non league footy round here, now my best mate, is trying to drag me to walking footy in his team. I havent relented because it feels too far fetched. He was an absolute warrior on the pitch though, stongest lad I hqve ever tried it om with, and maybe I just need to give it a go.
I'd love to try it but know I'd be frustrated as this fat arse body and ankle won't let me. Maybe one day I will give it a go, just to see if I get the same nervous buzz of energy
Overlooked at a young age, I could have made it to the highest level. Needed to have players of a similar ability and on the same wavelength around me. If anyone had witnessed me and @Mikki Disco destroying the other lads and 'taking the piss' we'd have had our deserved call-ups. I was Smith, he was Gray. Halcyon times. What a loss to the world.
Aware that I wasn't going to get anywhere, I packed in playing at 16 to concentrate on refereeing. Thought I could reach the kind of level that I'd want to doing that but, as it turned out, I didn't enjoy it and had packed it in by the time I went to Uni. Highlight of that was running the line in a friendly that a number of former Newcastle players and one former Sunderland player played in. Started playing again at Uni, in a very good team, with lads that either had, or went on to, play at respectable levels. Probably my favourite of all the teams I played for. We won a lot and spent a lot of time together off the pitch. Some of the nights out were legendary! Left Uni and played Sunday League for a long time and had just joined a vets side when Covid hit. Then I moved house. Moved to be closer to my wife's family. Father in Law had been a good player and coached and managed at clubs between Conference South and Step 4. One day he said the club he was at needed someone to do some opposition scouting and that he thought I'd be good at it. So I did a game and the club were happy with what I did so I started doing some of the formal courses and haven't looked back. I really enjoy it and I've moved clubs a couple of times and worked for some quite well known people. Occasionally toy with the idea of doing some coaching qualifications but I'm not sure I've got the temperament for it and I wouldn’t want to do kids coaching. So, my story is more about not playing.
Was a decent centre back but I didn't have a very nice childhood so I kicked out at people. Literally. I used to boot centre forwards up and down the pitch. Team should have called me hallmark the way I picked up cards. Brother was much better. Played in the York academy and got offers to join the academy at Sunderland and United but the same ****ty childhood did away with that.
PE teacher at school was part of the Mags academy until Keegan cleared him out. Load of lads from my year were at Wallsend Boys Club so we never stood a chance - most PE lessons were spent kicking balls at the bottom of the field whilst the PE teacher focused on "his" lads. After school, started playing 5-a-side and 11-a-side and found out I was quite decent. Deep lying playmaker, 2 footed with an eye for goal. Never took it any further. Love the game, should have gone into coaching Mate growing up was immense, unbelievable player. Got an injury at Lilleshall and ended up with a solid career in the Northern League
Captained Hertfordshire as a 12 year old and played for Tottenham for a single season at 12/13. Then other kids caught up with me (I was an early developer), and I ended up a decent enough youth player. Played a single game for Stevenage reserves as a 17 year old before going to county league but stopped playing at 21 and haven’t kicked a ball since. Weirdly I don’t miss it at all. Despite loving football.
