Never forgotten Wisten death shows tu Rmoil of failing to make grade
Often find themselves in limbo once their dream of forging a career as a footballer has been shattered
Those who were closest to Jeremy Wisten talk about the person away from football. He had just submitted his university application and, like most teenagers, enjoyed concerts, parties, hanging out with friends.
It is five months since Wisten’s death and while he was like other 18-year-olds in many ways, he had also dedicated a large part of his life to being a professional footballer at Manchester City’s academy.
Zak Golombeck, the coroner, read glowing tributes to Wisten as an “incredible talent”, who had been on City’s books since playing for the under-13s, with the dream of making it as a Premier League player and following in the footsteps of Vincent Kompany.
When he was released in 2019 after struggling to return from injuries, Wisten joined a group of young men in limbo. Hundreds find themselves in that position every year, so close to realising their dreams but unattached to a club.
The Professional Footballers’ Association estimates that there are 500-600 scholars at clubs each year, undertaking a two-year programme of full-time football and education. “If we were a university, we’d be struck off, because about one in six are still in the game at the age of 21 after being signed at 16,” Gordon Taylor, the PFA chief executive, said.
Those in the system face a conundrum as very few become professionals. There is educational support from clubs and the PFA to look at a plan B, but the perception of football is that only those totally dedicated will make it to the top.
The majority of scholars take a BTEC in sporting excellence and there is a high pass rate among footballers, although taking A-levels is not straightforward because of the timetabling of classes and club training schedules. Wisten, being at City, attended St Bede’s College and received a private-school education.
Many young players at Premier League clubs go to the most illustrious schools in their area, giving them a platform for success off the pitch. But there is still pressure to succeed at a sport they have committed so much of their lives to.
“The pressure is constant and they have not just turned up at 16, they have been doing it for 10 years before that,” said Michael Bennett,
PFA director of player welfare. “Imagine the emotional roller coaster of trying to get a contract every two years throughout that journey. They have exams at the same time, they are trying to get a contract and they are also trying to turn into young people.”
Even with qualifications, it is still a life-changing event when a player is told he is no longer needed by his club. Theo Richardson left Manchester United in 2018 and went part-time while setting up a business as a personal trainer. When with the first team, he would be saving shots from United’s global stars, then suddenly found himself playing non-league football.
“The toughest thing was saying to people that I’d gone from playing with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba to playing against Warrington on a Tuesday night,” he said. “That is the thing boys cannot handle. When your friends ask, ‘Who are you playing for?’ that is a massive kick in the teeth.
“At Manchester United, that club is all they know. When they get told they have nothing at the end of it, a lot of them crumble.
“I remember them saying, ‘You won’t need to send clips out’. People think, because you’ve been where you have, you’ll easily find another club. I went through a total of 18 clubs in that period of playing nonleague and sorting out my plan B.”
Richardson always had an eye on life after football, having suffered rejections in his career, but many have only known academy life.
Go Again, a mental-health support group supported by Wisten’s best friend Tyrhys Dolan, of Blackburn Rovers, says academy players should have similar treatment to Army veterans, such is the loss of identity. From having nutritional meals provided and a liaison officer on call, suddenly players who have been released are in the real world.
There is plenty of help available, not least from former coaches offering advice and details of trials at other clubs. Richardson says United were always on the end of a phone and he now goes into their academy to talk to young players about not making it as a professional.
The Premier League has a “robust database” of players it tracks for three to five years after they leave academies. The PFA monitors those slightly older. But all phone calls require the person on the end to engage.
Players can find themselves without a club yet believing they could still have a future in the game, which is where Shane Birtles, education adviser at the PFA, found himself after serving an apprenticeship at Huddersfield Town.
“The apprenticeship gives a lot of options but if you still feel you are good enough to be a professional, that is when it can take more time to adjust,” Birtles said. “You may not be ready to explore other careers even though support is available and the PFA visit on a regular basis.”
After Wisten died last October, Mason Greenwood dedicated his goal against RB Leipzig in the Champions League to him. “That one was for you, bro,” he wrote on his social media platforms.
Two teenagers growing up in Manchester trying to be professionals, and giving everything they could to make it.
For information on Go Again, please visit goagain.co.uk