No academy footballer wants to be told they are being released by their club after they’ve dedicated the best part of their teenage years to making it as a professional. But for thousands of young players across the country, the odds are stacked firmly against them.
Only a select few make it at a club in the English Football League, even less are successful at a team in the top flight. Official statistics released by the Premier League earlier this year showed, of the 4,109 players born between September 1995 and August 2000 who were registered at category one academies, which includes the top tier and several Championship clubs, 70 percent were not handed a professional contract in the Premier League or EFL. Less than half of them received a scholarship deal, typically given to players aged 16 as they leave full-time education.
Joel Bonner joined Liverpool ’s academy aged 12 after he was noticed while playing for his local grassroots side in Mossley Hill. He was brought into the development centre to train once a week for a few months before he was offered a trial and eventually accepted at under-13s level.
“That was a really proud moment for me and my family, being Reds, it was an unbelievable feeling to sign,” he said, speaking exclusively to the ECHO. “I was at Liverpool for four years, from under-13 to under-16.
“There were loads of really good moments. Any academy player’s journey is quite up and down, you have to deal with that as it’s just football and life really. But there were loads of positive moments, in terms of going on tours. I played against Paris Saint-Germain, I played against Real Madrid . I had opportunities that loads of lads that age don’t really get. I played in tournaments up and down the country, again, it was a really exciting experience to be a part of.
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“I was a centre-back when I came in and I was in Trent [Alexander-Arnold’s] age group as well. I remember we played centre-back together for a few games and eventually, well I’m not saying I pushed him out to right-back and he turned into the best in the world, but there wasn’t room for both of us to play centre-back! Someone had to move and it was him out to right back.”
Towards the end of Bonner’s under-15 year, Liverpool informed him he wouldn’t be in a position to receive a scholarship and continue at under-18s level with the club. And so, the process of searching for a new club began, with the full support of Liverpool’s academy player care manager, Phil Roscoe.
Bonner, now 23, continued: “I spent my under-16 season trialling and trying to find another club, but Liverpool were really helpful with that. I started in September and went for my first trial [with another club], each one I went to I kept getting knocked back and it wasn’t until March that I actually found a club.
“But Phil [Roscoe], he’s responsible for the after care and finding players a club, I remember in the February he drove me and this other lad to an exit trial in Hull, so teams could have a look at us playing in different games with different players. I got some trials off the back of that as well and I eventually ended up at Shrewsbury Town and got a scholarship there for my under-18s years.”
A player’s club may change, or for some, their entire career path may change. But one thing that remains a constant is their affiliation with Liverpool and what that means. While Bonner was at Shrewsbury, he remained in contact with Roscoe and the help was there when he needed to figure out his next steps.
“It’s moved on football, in terms of the amount of support you have after,” Bonner added. “There are loads of different avenues through different organisations like the LFE (League Football Education) and the PFA (Professional footballers’ association).
“I found out information regarding university through those organisations. But Phil was there, he’d always check in and monitor where you were at and was there for advice. He was certainly one who pinpointed me in that direction.
“I did quite well at school while I was at Liverpool, balancing my studies and still achieving quite high grades. I think Phil probably saw university as quite a natural progression for me.”
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When Bonner left Liverpool at 16, he may not have anticipated a return to the club so soon in his career. As he began a Sport and Exercise Psychology degree at Loughborough university, his contacts back on Merseyside were there to help him succeed in his new career path.
“I kept in contact with Phil throughout university,” he said. “Initially, I was looking for a placement year so I asked about that but he was honest and said the club didn’t really do that kind of thing with it being an unpaid internship. So I found another one in football, but kept in touch throughout that.
“He was asking what I was interested in as I was working within a football club. The role was a sports psychology one, but even though I’m doing that degree, I’d worked out I didn’t want to pursue that. I was more interested in the analysis and coaching side.
“My role now as a coach for the under-11s and analyst for the under-15s and 16s came about after I’d spoken to Phil about my ideas and avenues I wanted to pursue and he organised for me to meet the head of analysis at the academy, Tim Jenkins. So that was just for a coffee in the canteen, I didn’t think much of it. It was just a good chance for me to gain some insight about potentially getting into the analysis side of the industry.
“I also spoke to Neil Bailey about doing my UEFA B Licence. So that was also just a little chat in the canteen and apparently I made a good impression! It would’ve been about a year after that, a role was available through different people moving up within the club and I got recommended for it.”
Alongside his studies, Bonner now works with the club’s academy and last year he was presented with the Premier League's Academy Alumni Award, as recognition for his achievements away from playing professional football. But none of that would have been possible without the continued support from those at the club.
Liverpool’s ‘alumni project’, launched in early 2020, was just a formalisation of the support that was already in place for players past and present. The scheme uses an extensive database to keep in contact with those that have left and ensures there is an ‘exit strategy’ in place for individuals embarking on the next stage of their careers.
Roscoe explained to Liverpoolfc.com in 2020: "There's a common feeling around the Academy – that goes from Alex [Inglethorpe] at the very top right through all the staff – that these players come on a really great journey with us through the Academy both on and off the field.
"Hopefully they leave the Academy and then go to the first team at Liverpool, or if not that then they go to a first team at another club. But no matter how successful they are, they will at some point leave. That's when we have a duty of care from our side to continue helping – it's never been done to simply tick a box.
"They're with us for so many years and go through so many experiences and we're there to help them whenever they're at Liverpool. We feel it's right that we do that when they leave as well."
Last month, Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold outlined his desire to help academy footballers that don’t make it professionally, in a powerful message shared on social media . The 23-year-old is one of the lucky few to make it at an elite level, but he recognises his privilege and what more he can be doing.
"I'm one of the very, very fortunate ones that managed to make it but there's so many lads that I know personally, being on the same journey from age six to seven all the way through, and they get to 16 and decisions are made and they don't quite make it,” Alexander-Arnold said.
“It's difficult for them, all they've known is being a footballer, everyone's always known them as being in the academy, then all of a sudden at 16/17 they're dropped and their whole world is shook. "I've been asking myself a lot of questions recently about what I've done to help these lads, my friends and whether I've done enough.
“I think there's a lot more that I could be doing so I want to take more of a part in this and help these lads.”
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As someone who played alongside the Liverpool defender at youth level, Bonner appreciates the support from Alexander-Arnold and his desire to spread awareness, to ensure every academy player is familiar with the support available to them.
“It’s probably quite unique really, given he’s come right the way through the academy system and he is part of the minute percentage of players that make it all the way,” Bonner concluded. “So for him to have that foresight to realise that people he’s come up with or other stories he might be aware of, that there is support and help they need is definitely encouraging.
“Given the profile and role model he is, it can only be a good thing. But like I said, football has definitely changed the past few years in terms of the support and aftercare players get. There are lots of options out there for players, but I guess the most important thing, like Trent is doing, is raising awareness of it and people perhaps signposting players because it can be quite daunting.
“For me, I left Liverpool seven years ago, Shrewbury four or five years ago and I was still getting support back then. Within that time frame, there has still been a lot of support widely available. It’s about making sure everyone has access to that, which is probably where we’re moving towards at the minute.”
