Why my father stopped me going to play at Crewe 20 years ago
Rumours about the club were circulating as far back as the 1990s, says former
N youth player ot all roads led to Crewe for young players in the 1990s. Even back then there were suggestions of impropriety and unsubstantiated rumours that may have deterred parents from allowing their sons to go in the direction of Gresty Road.
In 1996, I was one such player, having been offered the opportunity to train at the club with a view to receiving the prized offer of a place on their Youth Training Scheme, the final hurdle before a professional contract.
At the time I was coming towards the end of a four-year association with Blackburn Rovers, the then Premier League Champions. Crewe and their manager Dario Gradi had forged a reputation for developing precociously gifted players and resuscitating the stalled careers of other young players.
The broken dreams of Neil Lennon, David Platt, Robbie Savage et al had been pieced back together in south Cheshire and the attraction was obvious to a player like me.
I had been somewhat of a conundrum for Blackburn, primarily because my August birthday meant that my physical development was a step behind most of my contemporaries in a group that contained David Dunn and Martin Taylor.
Blackburn also had the financial muscle of Jack Walker, shiny new facilities at Brockhall and Kenny Dalglish at the helm, widening the pull of the club. In modern-day terms, think Manchester City.
Yet when playing for a professional club first superseded the old junior leagues in 1994-95 (my under-15 year) I had to drop down to play for the under-14s, as Blackburn only operated under-14 and under-16 teams. They neither had the staff nor infrastructure initially to deal with colossal changes to youth development arrangements. Imagine the Premier League champions in such a position now.
From that perspective Barry Bennell’s association with clubs, beginning nearly two decades earlier, is not entirely surprising.
Indeed I can think of at least one professional club, who, in the 1990s, employed the manager of a highly successful junior team and were immediately able to recruit four players to their centre of excellence.
When I was cut adrift from Blackburn, Crewe were one of 15-20 clubs to make contact. Twice through their then youth development officer, Malc Hughes, my parents and I were told of their interest and I was offered the chance to train under the watchful eye of Gradi, who would only then be properly able to assess if I had a chance of making the grade at Alex.
Yet while that sounded like a fantastic opening, even in the 1990s rumours were circulating. Was it malicious? Yes. Unpalatable? Yes. Was there evidence of anything? No. It was all unsubstantiated. Nevertheless, it left my parents feeling uncomfortable.
Rumours at that age, particularly between parents, are rife. They still are today, about different issues. Yet they were enough; forget about Crewe, I was told.
So, like so many others to have passed through youth development systems during the 1990s, I was shocked but not entirely surprised to hear the harrowing stories of Andy Woodward, Steve Walters, Paul Stewart and David White.
The revelations of Woodward and Walters, who told the Guardian of the sexual abuse they suffered at the hands of Bennell, a former coach at Crewe and who has since been exposed as a serial paedophile, can only be admired for courageously laying the foundations for others to come forward.
In Bennell’s case there were stories of him being a pied piper figure with youngsters who played for him and visited his stall on the old Manchester underground market.
I have spoken to players and have friends who have been through the Crewe system, all have told me of their enormous enjoyment, in particular, of working with Gradi, yet I instead elected to join Tranmere Rovers.
I may have fallen away from the professional game at 19 but thankfully I have few regrets about the circumstances.