HOBSON’S CHOICE IS A RIGHT ONE
Reds’ starlet has a fast-track route to success
IT ISN’T even 12 months since Bailey Hobson was playing in the Rotherham Sunday League for High Noon FC.
Like many Non-League players, the former Sheffield United youngster was plugging the gap with the Covidhit 2020-21 season already shutdown, ending a campaign that started at Northern Counties East League Handsworth Parramore and finished after just two appearances for Maltby Main.
But it was in the handful of games for High Noon – now AFC Three Feathers – that striker Shaun Tuton saw enough in the talented young midfielder to make a recommendation.
Tuton, then at Alfreton and now at Guiseley, persuaded Reds boss Billy Heath to cast his eye over Hobson.
Fast-forward to the present day and the 19-year-old is being watched by a host of EFL clubs – including from the Championship and League One – with his stand-out performances in the National League North bringing 12 goals in all competitions.
For Hobson, it’s all been a bit of a whirlwind.
“When I got a phone call one Wednesday and offered to sign for Alfreton, I thought, ‘Wow’. I didn’t expect it at all,” Hobson tells The NLP.
Intensity
“I didn’t do bad in training, but you always have that thought, ‘Why would the manager go for a lad who has come up three leagues when he could get somebody already in the league?’
“I’m a young lad, I’m not known. I just thought I’d go down, show what I’ve got and see if it pays off.
“The intensity of training itself, at first it was a big shock. But Shaun said that the manager likes a fit lad who can run and get about the pitch. And I’ve always been able to run. He said, ‘He will love you’. I said, ‘Shaun, I don’t think he will’. He went, ‘Trust me. He likes lads who come from nowhere’.
“I had a chat with my dad and said that the most important thing is to play football. I didn’t want to be sat on the bench. Anyway, we took the bite and I was happy to sign.”
Hobson left Sheffield United as a 14-year-old and joined local side Handsworth when he made his first team debut aged 16. Working on a building site by day, his work boss persuaded him to sign for Maltby Main before lockdown brought everything to a halt.
In Alfreton’s No.10 role, is flourishing and earning rave reviews, with his hard-working performances and his eye for goal. But he admits it’s all happened faster than he thought, having initially expected to spend the first part of the season on the bench. Just a few games in he was handed a start at Chester.
“The gaffer pulled me aside and said, ‘Bails, I’m starting you’,” he says. “I said, ‘Really?’ He said, ‘Yeah! Smile!’ I was shocked. He told me he knows I can play and that’s why he picked me to start. From that day it’s kicked on from there.
“At first you think it’s a big jump – is it my level? When I played my first game, the speed was twice as quick as I was used to. But I knew if I worked on my allround game, it will eventually come.
“Game after game, training session after training session, it does build up and now I’m up to speed.”
The performances prove that. He also scored a hatHobson trick in the FA Trophy against Leamington and is loving every minute of it.
Deep end
“The gaffer has been so good,” Hobson says. “I didn’t realise it was a done thing to give a chance in the National League to lads who have come from nowhere. For the gaffer to chuck me in at the deep end and see how I cope was so good.
“The lads have helped me so much too. People like Matty Rhead up front. He’s helped me a lot. He only says bits but they have a big input in the game. I bounce off him all the time, on and off the pitch.
“When I came out of Sheffield United, lads go one of two ways – some think ‘my time is done’. I just decided to enjoy my football. I’ve had my ups and downs in football but I’ve kept going, kept going.
“I’ve always loved it. I’ve not missed a training session or a game for any club. I just love football.”