HARRY’S HUNGRY FOR EFL CHANCE
FOR Harry Panayiotou, there was nothing magical about Leicester’s unlikely charge to the Premier League title.
“I was a young kid, waiting for a chance,” says the 21-yearold striker. “And I could just see the first team getting further and further away. I was more than frustrated. I was angry, and I still am.”
Panayiotou’s story is depressingly familiar. Prolific at youth level, a star for the Under-21s. He even scored on his first-team debut, against Leeds at 17.
But, like so many of his peers, progress died on the vine. Last season, a study found that just 11 per cent of top-flight footballers graduated from their club’s academy. That’s down for the sixth successive year.
Under-pressure managers, vast cash reserves, overseas players taking up 60 per cent of Premier League places. These terrific ingredients for ‘the brand’ amount to a toxic mix for young talent.
That’s why Panayiotou is now one of the hundreds of academy outcasts touting himself around lower league clubs, a wispy CV bolstered only by a brief loan at Raith Rovers and seven goals in 12 games for St Kitts and Nevis.
“If I had the brains I had now, I’d have got out at 18,” he says ruefully. “As soon as I scored that goal in the Championship, I should have gone to a club in League One or Two, but I know how football works. First Leicester were in a relegation battle. Then they were going for the Prem. Nobody would pick a young kid in those circumstances.
“What annoys me is that a few clubs came in for me on loan, but Leicester wouldn’t let me speak to them.
“Success in the Under-21s meant a lot to them and they used to give me all this nonsense talk about ‘Oh, if you play well, the first team will take notice’.
“I did everything they asked but I never got my rewards. I won Under-18s player of the year, Under-21s player of the year, fans’ player of the year. To do all that and not get recognised is obviously quite upsetting.”
Hindered
Released by the Foxes in May, Panayiotou has since had trials at Yeovil, Carlisle and Greek Super League PAS Giannina.
“They offered me a contract at Yeovil, but me and the manager [Darren Way] didn’t really see eye to eye,” he explains. “Not in a bad way – it was just that I’m a striker and he wanted to play me on the wing.
“I scored on my first game for Carlisle but the manager, Keith Curle, said he’s already got a striker like me. He was really looking for someone taller and bigger. With the Greek side, it was in the middle of nowhere. If I’m going to move somewhere on my own, I want to be in a big city like Athens where I can meet people and do things. If I’m cooped up with nothing to do, I wouldn’t enjoy it.
So the search continues, with Panayiotou increasingly convinced that the contract he signed with Leicester in 2012 has hindered his chances. “Truthfully, it’s not about how good you are or how well you do on trial,” says the forward, who came through the ranks with Jeff Schlupp. “It’s about how many games you’ve played. That’s what managers look for.
“It’s been frustrating but I know I’m good enough. All you can do is stay fit, keep waiting for that call and hope somebody looks beyond your experience.”