Lions strike a winning formula
WHY are there no homegrown Jewish footballers in the Premier League? That’s a question I’m asked fairly regularly.
Nick Blackman, formerly of Blackburn Rovers, was the last one. The former King David pupil has a Jewish mum but has since dropped down the ladder to Derby County.
It would be fair to say that topflight Jewish players are few and far between, Israelis apart. However, that could be about to change, with one club determined to buck the trend.
Slowly but surely, Maccabi London Lions are producing a conveyor belt of top talent from a young age. With their resources and top-level coaching, heads are being turned.
MLL head of junior coaching Tony Gold praised under-eight players Toby Brent and Harry Emden after they were scouted by an unnamed Premier League club.
And there have been others, with U-11 starlet Zack Freedman invited to trial at Spurs, while Eli Miller signed a twoyear contract with Watford last season.
Gold said: “Toby and Harry have done really well and it’s great they get a chance to see what it’s like training with other kids from their age group at a top club.
“This is part of what happens when we raise the profile of the club, and the standard of our players, managers and coaches over the past two seasons.”
“We have recently been asked to accommodate scouts from a number of professional clubs at Rowley Lane who have heard good things about us and want to check out the talent.
“Whether they train for a single session or end up signing one day, the experience is good for them and we encourage it.”
Austin Lipman, a current member of the London Lions first team, came through the system at Arsenal. Hopefully it’s only a matter of time until the community has a top footballing talent to be proud of.
It’s been a week to forget for the FA. Prior to the departure of Sam Allardyce as England manager, Oakwood boss Jason Stein has criticised the organisation for “commandeering” his team’s home pitch for an FA coaching course for the third week in a row.
Stein was forced to say sorry after Oakwood’s scheduled match against Hendon B was postponed, with no alternative pitch available. He said: “The FA claim to support grass roots football yet everything they do suggests otherwise. I extend further apologies to Hendon and the referee.”
See Danny Caro’s weekend round-up at thejc.com/mgbsfl. Email dcaro@ thejc.com. You can also follow Danny on Twitter:@DjCaro