Have Good People Around You

I was back working for the PFA on Sunday. They held their under 9's tournament for the first tme this year. It was a great introduction to the professional clubs, the tournament was well managed (as always), the PFA had plenty of staff on hand to talk to the parents about this new world that they were suddenly in. There were fun elements to, when a few of the club mascots held a race.

The football was a great standard, you could already see that they were thnking about the game, about their next move, about their positioning. There were a couple of the lads that stood out, and played well beyond their years. All of them were amazing, It's incredible to think how good these lads are going to be in 10 years time. Our National teams in the future are looking great.

Although a fantastic achievement already to be accepted into a premiership acadamy, the road ahead is long and tiring, the commitment is your everything, and can be heartbreaking.The PFA provide support staff for both the children and the parents, to ensure that they keep it real, that the children keep up their education, and that they do have something else to fall back on. In realstic terms, becoming a top flight  footballer is a status only so many will achieve, though millions play at glass roots, and thousands are taken on by acadamies, only a few hundred actually sign that hallowed piece of paper called a contract.

Good People - Football is a relatively small world. Once your within the football bubble you do keep meeting the same people around. As with every trade anyone can be a colleague, but a true friend, someone you can trust, and someone who you are just comfortable around will always make that difference. This year at PFA has been great because someone who I absolutley trust and just have a great laugh with is Alan Keegan - the voice of Manchester United. He has been the announcer at all the PFA tournaments. I've known Alan since I was around 9 years old as I played football with his Daughter Hannah, and we are still great friends.

Below are two photos 6 years apart. the first is Alan interviewing me on the Old Trafford pitch during a premiership game, the second was this Sunday, posing with the premiership trophy;