The Shay Thrum Hall was a real old fashioned stadium: Remember getting the bus up to Pellon with Dad as a six year old, from Greetland to watch Halifax RLFC play Featherstone Rovers in something like 1991! Shame its the worlds most pointless ASDA supermarket now.
1) not sure 2)it will be in about 2 1\2 years but i may be able to come when im 17 but its only like 10-20% chance that i would be able to come over sooner 3)wage really doesnt matter to me i jus want to play professional (i mean i want make a lot of money but its not that big of a deal to me) 4)"why newport" i really dont know i like the team i thought id be better off getting a year or two (maybe three) years of exspirence at a lower league berfore going to league 1 or 2 . do you think i should start higher or is what i said good? and "scattergun" as in get trials for several clubs not jus one ? cause if i didnt make i was jus going to go any were and every were until i made it with a team thank you for your help and information
I think RichardL may help with Work Permit issues, but the system is partly designed to help young players from the UK get a start in football. The UK has stricter laws than pretty much anywhere else in Europe to my knowledge. It seems a lot of young Americans land in Germany, Norway and the Eastern European clubs, as their immigration rules are more accomodating. You could try calling or contacting the British Embassy. To my knowledge there are quite a few in the US. They would put you in touch with someone who could give further info on your immigration, as you must have a work permit to earn a living from football. If you are refused one you could still come over on a visa and play as an amateur (I think), but the money situation could present a problem. If any of your relatives are from an EU country, you may be able to apply for a passport. This means you can virtually go where you like in Europe, and work without needing any kind of permit. I think it may be limited to two or three generations though. One thing I would suggest would be to contact pro or amateur sides in the states. I was the best player in my school by miles, but it is a 'big fish in a small pond' state of mind. So confident was I, that I turned down trials at Conference North, and a League Two side to play for Burnleys youth sides. I'd go to the best team in your city, ask them to look at you. If they like what they see they can give you references. One of my schoolmates did that and is now a first teamer at Huddersfield Town. It is a way to test yourself against better players than you will find playing in local leagues. Pro-football is a very difficult career to get your foot in the door. The more recommendations you get, the better chance you will have. Its good that wage doesn't matter, because you would be lucky to get more than £200 a week, less if you go under 18. I got travel expenses and kit allowance, one of my friends signed for Halifax (Paul Laycock) and he got rather less than that. Unfortunately players at that level don't earn much at all. If you want a Bentley or a Lincoln Navigator, you need to be in League One or above (although even then only the better players are on thousands a week.) I wasn't criticising who you want to play for, but you can't just put your eggs in one basket. Ring round, (don't send emails they don't reply, from bitter experience). Get your coaches to ring round or your parents. Arrange at least four or five trials over the summer. I'll be honest, your chances are somewhat slim. The standards at lower league is really rather better than a lot of people give it credit for, especially abroad. Good players at Newports level can easily be signed for a League Club. (see Jermaine Beckford from Wealdstone to Leeds) Its all a question of luck, proving your ability etc. Remember that the clubs will get hundreds of phonecalls from agents, coaches and kids parents etc saying their son wants trials. You must stand out, so get as many qualified coaches to rate you and ask them for a reference. This can all be done in the states before you come over.
For me, it's a combination of me following American players in the Championship, me playing FIFA 2005 + FIFA 2006 + FIFA 2007, and BigSoccer.com
i am defently the best player in my school by miles as well . so you said have my parents and or my coach(s) call and set up trials and i was jus wondering what they need to say jus like my son\player is good and should have a trial or what and what do you mean by having coaches give me reverences ? thanks agin for everything
If you are the best player in school, get your coach or teacher invovled. In the UK, most employers need at least two satisfactory references for either a previous employer or your school. As I said, get your parents to call round the top clubs in your area. They can say you are a good youngster with ambitions of becoming a pro. Ask your coach at school to recommend you. If they offer you the chance to train with them, ask the coach if he would mind giving you a reference, ie a written report of how good you are, and ask if an English/Euro club could approach them to provide a reference. Not only does this help get your foot in the door over here, you get to train with better players, and get feedback from a coach that doesn't know you. Find someone not related to you that could give you a character reference. The more references and recommendation letters etc you can provide, the harder you are to ignore.
As for work permits, unless you qualify for a EU country's passport you have to have played in a large number of your nation's international matches - in other words you have to be an established international player. Without a work permit you can't play in any match where admission is charged, which is why clubs often play "behind closed doors" friendly matches so they can give a trial to an international player who doesn't have a WP.
Being without degree doesnt condemn you to minimum wage jobs, it just closes off certain career paths. You can still make a crapton of money in certain areas without an advanced degree. It's almost better in some ways to have a trade certificate of some kind, employment is more consistent than it is for, say, advertising executives or editors.
There is still more of a stigma attached to someone who didn't go to college in the US than someone who went straight into employment at 16 in the UK. Agreed, jobs are possible without degrees, but you still feel like there's a hole on your CV.
You are absolutely correct Richard L. We found out yesterday from the head coach of Macc that my son could not play as the FA said no. Oldham allowed him to play like you stated as it was a U18 friendly where admission was not charged. The Macc game would have been with the first team and admission was being charged so no go unfortunately for him. He did get an offer from them, and now we need to go back home and use the resources we can (my Irish background) to get the documents necessary. So, for that other boy interested, I would advise getting that first before he goes over. Also, I'm told that the larger academies, i.e. ManU/Liverpool/Arsenal, etc. who have the financial backing can sometimes push through the documentation necessary, and Macc doesn't have that kind of money. One good thing though as the experience has taught my son is now he knows he has what it takes from unbiased pro coaches. Whereas, as we all know here in the states, there is quite a bit of politics when it comes to being scouted or even making the USMNT. Thankfully, there are other EU countries where their work permit issue is not as difficult, Holland, Belgium, Germany, and a US player can try that route also. Overall, this has been a great experience for him and he's learned alot and is coming back a better player from the outstanding training he's been given here in the UK. His cherry on the cake was getting to watch ManU live last night at Old Trafford and our seats were so close to the pitch, he felt like he could touch Rooney and others. He was in football heaven! The game even had a streaker that the cops tackled on the field into the second half. Hopefully, rules can change and maybe more American players with Euro backgrounds can get the chance to play here more. Time will tell.
With regard to the point about the larger clubs, the youngsters they sign can arguably be considered as future internationals, and they can usually, as in the case of Anderson, point to future international careers. I'm glad that the UK was a positive experience for your son. It can often be a dispiriting sport. I know quite a few players, who struggle, with the money available, who literally move around the country every year or so, as clubs can no longer afford to offer long term contracts. I don't think, unfortunately that the rules will change in the near future. England is unique in having seven pro or semi-pro divisions and the rules must be the same for all those clubs. A club like Macclesfield could go out and sign 20 young African or South Americans on far less money than they would have to play English players who are not as good. If you take Beveren in Belgium as an example, they have more Senegalese and Ivory Coast players, nearly twice as many in fact as all other nationalities in their squad. Its fantastic that your boy has done so well. Sometimes kids think they are good and fail miserably to impress academy and coaching staff, but if he was offered terms, I would seriously consider getting him an agent and sorting out trials at larger clubs. Obviously you have stuck around the North West, but there are several clubs in the conference larger than Macclesfield, eg Oxford United. Macclesfield's finances leave them perennial relegation candidates, whereas Oxford fell out of the league but under new owners they are set to win promotion this time around.
Mama, you have plenty to be proud about, congratulations to you and your son. I remember speaking to Jimmy Ryan at Man Utd nearly 4 years ago and, regarding American players, he told me that the club had two criteria: 1) can he play? 2) can we get him a work permit?....in that order.
Brighton to back-to-back Champions League WINS in Football Manager... although I still cannot win the Prem. Ridiculous. I did get 25mil pounds from Chelski for a transfer (when I reached Premiership), but I contest that 1. We had a 9,000 seater stadium and Falmer needed to be built to get to 22k just to survive in the Championship (1st season). No Premiership team can have a stadia under 10k, much less an MLS one. 2. Thats 1/2 the transfer budget of Man City (w/ Sven) and I had much tighter salary budgets. (under 12k pounds a week). 3. Brighton 'till I die!