Rejected footballers given second chance

By Matt Cole
Newsbeat reporter, Jerez, Spain

Find out how rejected footballers can re-train

At 16 years old Andrew Owens was playing in defence for Liverpool's youth team.

He had dreams of one day lining up alongside the likes of Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher.

He told Newsbeat: "My dad was a footballer so I've been always been brought up by him training me and that.

"It's always been in the family... as a kid, to play at Anfield for Liverpool was my number one dream."

But by 18 his dreams were all but shattered.

Liverpool decided not to keep him and a stint with Stoke ended the same way. Andrew recalled the day he was summoned in to hear his fate.

"It just hits you when you're in that room and they tell you you're not going to get a professional contract. It was horrible."

Andrew hopes the academy will help him fulfil his childhood dreams

But now the now 19-year-old's dreams have been rekindled.

He's one of 25 lads getting intensive coaching at an exclusive football academy in southern Spain, set up and run by former England boss Glenn Hoddle.

It's been up and running in Jerez since October.

Based in an exclusive hotel resort, the school has picked youth players who've all been deemed not good enough by Premier League and Championship sides.

It includes one time hopefuls from clubs like Manchester United, Chelsea, West Ham and Fulham.

Hoddle told Newsbeat: "It's something I've had in my mind for many, many years. Probably all the way back to when I was Chelsea manager in the mid-90s."

He quotes the likes of Ian Wright, Chris Waddle and Stuart Pearce as players who blossomed late before eventually representing England.

"I always scratch my head to wonder how many players I personally had to release because that's the system. How many would have gone on if we'd given them that extra chance?"

Hoddle says teams often don't give young players a proper chance

Hoddle has assembled a team including former Portsmouth boss Graham Rix, Wimbledon's FA Cup-winning goalkeeper Dave Beasant, and former Liverpool and Chelsea player Nigel Spackman.

Over a year they'll be offering intensive coaching to the players, who've all been given scholarships after excelling at a specially arranged trial last summer.

The academy is based in Spain so that their pitches won't be affected by Britain's harsh weather, meaning training can be year-round.

Andrew Owens is clearly on board with the idea: "Since I was rejected by Stoke, I've grown an extra inch or so. I've become stronger.

"I've definitely learned more about the game. I'm a different player since I came here. I think clubs definitely let kids go too soon."

Fellow academy trainee Tom Beahon agrees: "Eighteen is a bit young because people mature differently at different times physically.

"You can add a lot to your game after you're 18. It's not as if as soon as you hit 18 you're finished... I think personally 18 is bit too young to judge people."

Tom reckons 18 is too young to decide if a player has what it takes

Hoddle is clearly passionate about this project and claims to have turned down as many as "nine or 10" offers to return to frontline management in the UK.

He explained: "I've had this seed planted in me and I thought one day I'll try and do something about it.

"It hasn't replaced management for me... I've had lots offers whilst putting this thing together, but it's just a passion and it's something that really interests me and I want to make a success of it."

The scheme is funded largely through sponsorship, but Hoddle believes it should soon generate its own income.

"If clubs want to take our players back into the game, then we would ask for a development fee, similar to a transfer fee."

Hoddle said this could be spread over years and linked to the number of times a player appeared for a club.

However, he did rule out acting as his trainees' long term agent, saying: "If I wanted to be their agent I wouldn't need this!"

Foreign effect

Hoddle himself spent three years playing abroad for Monaco, but claims the rising number of foreign players is making it harder for young homegrown talent.

He said: "There's a lot of foreign players in the Premiership and there's a lot of foreign youngsters filling up academies. So it is making it more difficult for British lads to break through. So perhaps this is the right time to bring this in.

Academy players might get picked up by non-English clubs

"This extra time, the extra couple of years or bit of maturity they could get here is going to help them."

That said, the one-time midfield maestro hasn't ruled out bringing in players from other countries to give them the same coaching.

"This is not just British - if we can make a success we could open the doors to other countries," he said.

Part of the academy's plan is to not necessarily return players back into the English game.

With leagues of differing levels across the world, it's hoped some players could get contracts to make a living with football clubs elsewhere.

The academy says it's already forging links in the US, Africa, and elsewhere.

That could be good news for players like 18-year-old James Folkes who missed his chance with Queens Park Rangers.

"It was upsetting. To be honest I thought I wouldn't get another chance in football again," he said. "I was very pleased to get this opportunity here.

James originally missed out a place with QPR after breaking his ankle

"I'm just so glad the coaches here have given me an opportunity to work on my technique, my strength and all aspects of my game...

"My dream is just to get back into a professional club and just be playing in front of fans and just living the dream of a footballer really."

The fact that some of the trainees still might not make isn't lost on anyone in the set-up, least of all Hoddle.

"The one thing I said to them when they got here is that you're not all going to get back in.

"They cannot all excel, we'll only get a smallish percentage back in there. But if we get 50% that'd be fantastic."

James Folkes admits if he's one of those released once more, it'll be difficult to accept: "It'll be very hard to take in. But I just hope - touch wood - that that doesn't happen."