Written by James Worthington

Being struck by lightning, getting bird excrement dropped on your head twice in one day and finally winning over £10,000 on your dreaded football accumulator. All of these have a greater chance of happening than the 0.012% of young footballers making it to a professional level.

In a world of big money transfers and foreign investments, the fairy-tale of a young child rising up the ranks of his local team and being transformed into a Premier league legend is exactly that. A fairy-tale.

Nevertheless, thousands of bright-eyed young footballers continue to be plucked from Britain’s joyful youth leagues and thrust into the difficult and occasionally cruel environment of academy football. Statistically, nearly all of these players will not make it to the fame and fortune they are promised when joining the clubs, with hundreds of ambitious footballers being released each year as they are no longer considered a valuable financial asset.

Former Southampton and Premier League legend Matt Le Tissier believes that this rejection from professional clubs can not only be upsetting for young players but harmful too.

“In a world where we talk about mental health, to be messing around with those kid’s heads is a big risk”

After rising through the Southampton youth set-up and making 443 first team top-flight appearances, a lot has changed for young players since Le Tissier’s first league appearance in 1986. The world of football has been transformed from a beautiful game into a financial horror show.

Now 50 years of age, Le Tissier reflects on the drastic change and difficult challenges that young players have to face for their own unrealistic climb to the top level of fame.

“For me, I believe professional clubs sign up players a little bit too early and I think its difficult to put an exact age on it,” Le Tissier adds, with a concerned look on his face.

Developing young players at an early age is something the saints legend is very familiar with having helped set up the Matt Le Tissier Natural Coaching academy in 2012.

Le Tissier has been able to help hundreds of young footballers develop their skills in a relaxed environment, an area that he feels should be replicated by some of the country’s top clubs, “I wanted to give young players a chance to be coached in an environment that wasn’t overly oppressive and to not be criticised when they make mistakes.

“I think there’s times when players are programmed a little too early in formations, keeping the ball and to pass, pass, pass. The art of dribbling and being different has gone out the window a little bit.”

Freedom, passion and experimenting. These are words you will hear often on the frosty cold nights down at the Toynbee School, the humble base for MLTNC, where one adult sized 4G pitch is the starting point for hundreds of young footballers development. A place of understanding and kindness towards adolescent players with encouragement made at every turning point, and Director of coaching at MLTNC, Jody Rivers, believes that these are the most important words that young players should be hearing.

“When training with these young boys and girls we try to keep as positive and enthusiastic as we can because football for players at this age shouldn’t be about playing a structured style or keeping to certain formations, it should be about enjoying the sport and having the freedom to express yourself on the pitch.

“You see how many young players are released from academies after years of playing in a tough environment and dedication to the club and it’s understandable that some of them can unfortunately take a big confidence knock from it which might affect them as they continue to develop.”

Despite the arguable negative opinion towards modern day youth development, the story is not all black and white regarding the treatment of young players, a statement made even more evident at the top level of English football.

It’s late November at Motspur Park training ground, development complex for Premier League side Fulham Football Club. The academy has been home to many young players who began their journey sitting across from Fulham Academy Director Huw Jennings in his development meeting room.

The décor of the room is not eccentric and does not imply that the young players who represent this top tier club are guaranteed professional player contracts. The room is simple, with two small classroom chairs, a standard wooden table and a half open creaking window that echoes the coaches whistle from the training ground just meters away. The simplicity of the room is a representation of what makes Jennings and his academy structure so successful and his attitude towards the development of young players emphasises why he has been so influential as Academy Director.

“The best players will always get opportunities on merit, Ryan Sessegnon is a great example for us,” Having undergone an impressive few years it’s no surprise that Jennings reflects on his former academy graduate as Sessegnon has gone from a 17-year-old youth player to one of the most exciting young athletes in the country.

Despite Sessegnon managing to break into the Fulham first team, Jennings still believes that more can be done to give opportunities to the system’s aspiring players; “I think sometimes shareholders just need to take stock with their youth, more often than not they will reinforce a weakness with a short term approach of a stock-gap experience, players who may come from another country compared to encouraging your manager, your head coach or your sporting director to say ‘why don’t we look to see if there is a young player who could step up to help the first team out?

“The perception is, and there are no stats to prove this, that you can’t trust young players because they’re inexperienced and they might make mistakes and to be honest I don’t think that’s completely true.”

In a tough environment where young players are often criticised more than praised, the passion for football may be heading parallel with rejected players as they are thrown towards the exit doors. Drop-out rates within youth football are increasing with suggestions that players between ages 13-16 are 76% likely to stop playing football due to academy rejection. A concerning fact, but one that Jennings believes is determined by the strength of each individual player and not just an age bracket.

“The rejection from academies shouldn’t be harmful mentally for youth players”, Jennings sighs, a sign that he has dealt with this worrying topic before, “Because the experience should, in itself, be able to provide a basis for self-development. What I mean by that is if you go into the academy journey with realistic expectations that at the end of it you’re going to be a better player and better person, then you can benefit from that. “

Although most professional clubs agree that the rejection is unfortunate for these ambitious youths, many fail to realise the seriousness of the danger that is at risk for the young players.

It is an important area to take into consideration when debating the impact academy football can have on a young person mentally. With players being purchased from other clubs at ages as young as seven, it’s easy to see why BBC Sport’s Chief Football Writer, Phil McNulty, believes that academies could be a disastrous reason why children are falling out of love with the game.

“I think it’s just too early when you hear that players are being scouted at ages such as seven or eight because I think they’re just in the first stages of enjoying and playing the game.

“I do understand that the academies will try to treat them carefully and try to look after them the best they can but I think its just the result of competition for players and what clubs want to achieve now as they’re trying to find the best talent as early as possible.”

With millions of pounds being invested into the modern game, the thought of high profit margins over a child’s welfare is proving to be a dangerous element. This business-orientated focus is also something that McNulty believes is further damaging the future of English football.

“I would prefer them to have more time to just enjoy playing football and loving the game but that’s the way modern football is now it’s a competition to find the best players.”

“In the end it goes back to business because academies are there so people can grow their business as a football club and if that means releasing these kids further down the line or when it’s quickly decided that they’re not good enough then that is very disappointing for the player.

“I do think the pressure for success that professional clubs face is the main reason why young players are being scouted at such a young age.”

Although many professional opinions from different areas of the sport have highlighted the negative affects that academies have on young players, the development of youth football in these academies is still an important factor for the future of English football.

Despite the questionable methods used by academies, Football Association Officer Flo Lunn believes that youth development is more important now than ever before.

“I think it’s really important now that the focus needs to be shifted to the younger age groups in football and really build from the bottom up.”

Lunn has worked as both a coach and development officer in youth football, this is emphasised through her understandable view in regards to this focus on the youth game, “This will obviously take a lot of time for clubs but the focus on improving youth players needs to keep growing.

“Young players, both girls and boys, see their role models on television and social media at the top level and that can be the driving factor for these kids, it really depends on the individual.”

Flo’s attitude towards the development of young players is certainly something that is shared amongst the highest levels of English football. This was made evident back in 2012 when the Premier League and Football League supporting the Elite Player Performance Plan, a structured system that aimed to help players aged from 16-18 in terms of welfare and education.

However, six years later and over one hundred million pounds spent on youth programmes and development strategies, the heavy investment from some of the sports highest levels has disastrously left England’s youth football short changed.

This short change isn’t reflected in the clubs profit margins as the Elite Player Performance Plan uses legal requirements and high fixed fees to demean a child in the youth set-up to the status of a basic product.

If a young player, even as young as eight, were to sign on to a professional clubs academy they could instantly have a fixed compensation price placed on their heads. This compensation fee can be in the range of thousands and can even prevent other academies from registering the child in the future unless they pay this outrageous fee.

With many different aspects being considered from a journalists view to the coach training the future generations, the overall thought is that the country’s youth development structure is desperate for a change regarding the safety and care for the sports youngest.

Academies from the Premier League to the non-league set-up have been transformed from promising wonderland spectacles, to money-orientated businesses that statistically cause more harm than good.

These business outlets generate profit through the sweat and tears of their local children, but they will soon face the cruel reality once players would rather sit on their X-Box than play at a top level. In an attempt to promote future English football, the sports highest organisations are killing the love for the game quicker than parents and coaches can nurture it.

Consequently, as the dropout rate of young footballers follows the equally devastating figure of players released, it won’t be long before children would sooner take the odds of having bird discharge run down their shoulder rather than risk the harsh world of academy football.

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