Retired

Alan Gernon

Description

Almost half of professional footballers face the threat of bankruptcy within five years of their retirement. A third will be divorced less than a year after hanging up their boots. With little or no support from the game to which they gave their lives, many end up addicted, depressed, living with debilitating illnesses, behind bars or even worse. While an elite few may be financially secure, or others may land plum managerial jobs or punditry roles, it transpires that for the majority retirement is something they're not prepared for and lives can spiral into a rapid and depressing decline. Retired is the ultimate 'where are they now?' and asks what actually happens to most footballers once they hang up their boots? How do players cope with going from heroes to zeroes in such a short space of time? And what can be done to help with their transition to normal life?

Sujets

• USA
• États-Unis

Informations

• Publié par: Pitch Publishing Ltd
• Date de parution: 30 mai 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781785312267
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

First published by Pitch Publishing, 2016
Pitch Publishing
A2 Yeoman Gate
Yeoman Way
Durrington
BN13 3QZ
www.pitchpublishing.co.uk
Alan Gernon, 2016
Grateful acknowledgement is made for permission to reproduce extract from Boys of Summer , by Roger Kahn Aurum Press, 1972
Every effort has been made to trace the copyright, any oversight will be rectified in future editions at the earliest opportunity by the publisher.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the Publisher.
A CIP catalogue record is available for this book from the British Library
Print ISBN 978-1-78531-138-3
eBook ISBN: 978-1-78531-226-7
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Contents
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction
2. A Crippling Career
3. How Do Retired Footballers Go Bankrupt?
4. How Do Retired Footballers End Up In Prison?
5. D.I.V.O.R.C.E.
6. Mental Health
7. A Fresh Start
8. Staying In The Game
9. The End
Photographs
Acknowledgements
F IRSTLY, I d like to sincerely thank Paul Camillin and Jane Camillin from Pitch Publishing for their belief in the book and for all their assistance throughout the process. I ve always wanted to write a football book that I d be interested in reading myself and I ll be forever grateful to them both for giving me that chance.
There are numerous people from the football world to thank, without whom this book wouldn t exist. Many thanks to the likes of David Bentley, Pat Nevin, Lee Bowyer, David Busst, Geoff Thomas, Jody Craddock, Mark Ward, Shane Supple, Espen Baardsen, Matt Holland, Steven Caldwell, Mikele Leigertwood, Richie Sadlier, Gordon Watson, Gary Stevens, Paul McGregor, Steve Walsh, Jon Newsome, Richard Leadbeater, Paul McVeigh and several others, who did not wish to be named, for their insights into life as a retired professional footballer. Their honesty and experiences were crucial in piecing together the life of a retired footballer.
Others to thank include Geoff Scott of XPRO, Mark Sands of Baker Tilly, Professor Chris Brady, Sam Sloma of First Wealth LLP, Robert Segal at Impact Sports Management, Dan Clay of Clay Associates, Dr Philip Hopley of Cognacity, Dr Vincent Gouttebarge of FIFPro, Dr David Blakelock, John Duncan of Coach 24/7, Michael Bennett of the PFA, Mark Hands of Irwin Mitchell, Dr Steven Ortiz of Oregon State University, Simon Green of BT Sport, Dr Eric Nauman of Purdue University, Simon Taylor of the Professional Players Federation, Dr Andy Turner of Coventry University, Michael Kinsella of Onside Academy, James Hall at Anthony Collins Solicitors, Gregor Robertson, the amazing Lorraine Astle, Dawn Astle, Claire Astle and The Jeff Astle Foundation, Jim Hicks of the PFA, RT s Ryle Nugent, ITV s Mark Demuth, Brian Barwick, Dr Gwen Fernandes of the University of Nottingham, Dr Michael Grey of University of Birmingham, Dr Dorian Dugmore, Kevin Harris-James at Harrison Clark Rickerbys who was an enormous help, and many, many more.
Again, I d also like to thank those that contributed but didn t wish to be named. I was overwhelmed by the willingness of everyone to assist me with their expertise and experience in diverse subjects. I sincerely apologise if I ve forgotten anyone.
I d also like to offer my thanks to the likes of Gavin Hoey, Rory Callan, Aidan Homer, Colin Howard, Jim Burke, Paddy Faul, David Moran, Paddy McDonnell, James Wogan, Nigel Seeley, Eamonn Murphy, Michael Wogan, Duncan Olner and Martin McGahon for their various assistance. Also, a special thanks to Will Reilly for his diligence and great help in the final few weeks of the writing process.
I d like to thank my parents, Tom and Eileen, for developing my love of books and football. Saturdays as a kid meant a visit to Dundalk Library with my mother, Sundays meant a trip to Dundalk FC with my dad. Those weekends, along with my parents love of course, were the best parts of my childhood. I simply couldn t have wished for better parents. I had also better mention my brothers, David and Thomas, who don t really like football so might only read this bit.
Most of all, thanks to my amazing wife Tracey. She s been a rock for me for many years and her patience and support during this project has been immense. I d need another 80,000 words to adequately convey my love and respect for her. Finally, thanks to my three kids Daisy, Noah and Joel, who have seen a lot less of me for the past few months. I love them all dearly and am so grateful for my life with them.
1
Introduction
O N 16 April 1977 the population of a small Swedish town called Vittsj increased by one. The new arrival s proud parents - Roy Alve Erling, a civil engineer and owner of a construction business, and Elisabeth, a Swedish Labour Department worker - decided to name their firstborn Karl. Karl Fredrik Ljungberg.
The same week, over 2,000km away in Drogheda, Ireland, I also entered the world. Both of us would harbour fierce ambitions to become a professional footballer but, alas, only one had the talent and perseverance to succeed. As a kid, I may have possessed rudimentary technical ability but my tactical awareness was non-existent. Put it this way, if you ever met me at an airport or train station, there s a fair chance I would have been returning from an offside position. I still play indoor football but often the matches are imbalanced, with five against six or six against seven. Although they do say in football that sometimes the extra man makes no difference at all . Like in The Corrs.
Due to the proximity of our birth dates, I ve always kept a close eye on Freddie Ljungberg s career. I rather unwisely benchmarked his life against mine as he was the highest-profile professional footballer closest in age to my own. This proved to be a foolish decision for my self-esteem. While the highlight of my football career was hitting the bar for Glenmuir Under-12s, Ljungberg went on to amass three league titles and three FA Cups at Arsenal and was a key component in their famous Invincibles season. While the Swede was the face, and body, of Calvin Klein, the only six-pack I was modelling in my underwear came in the form of cans of Harp Lager.
However, Ljungberg provided hope. Every football fan retains a dream of playing the sport they love for a living, and while a player the same age as me was still performing, a deluded part of me maintained some belief that I could still make it as a footballer.
And then he retired. He d originally hung up his boots in 2012 but dusted them down for a cameo in the newly-formed Indian Super League in 2014. However, after just four appearances for Mumbai City FC, his comeback was brought to an end through injury and, with it, any faint, irrational hopes I had of ever playing professional football. He announced, It s still fun to play the big games, but when you no longer have the motivation for training then it s time to call it quits.
And yet still I envied him. Retired at 37? Lucky sod, I thought to myself. I daydreamed about retiring, with millions accumulated from a successful football career. He probably had the beautiful wife, the fleet of luxury cars and the penthouse apartments in the world s nicest cities. What a time to be alive for Freddie, I thought. Until I discovered there was possibly an alternative fate awaiting him.
His retirement sparked a curiosity in me as to what exactly happens to professional footballers when they hang up their boots. Yes, I d fantasised about retiring at the same age, but what would I do to fill my remaining days? It seemed like a simple question, with a simple answer. Ask many people and they ll presume that retired footballers live off their vast millions while managing a club or sitting comfortably on the Match of the Day panel pretending to laugh at Mark Lawrenson s jokes.
It transpires that it s not all champagne lifestyles and glamour.
The American author Roger Kahn wrote in The Boys of Summer , his acclaimed 1972 book on baseball, Unlike most, a ball player must confront two deaths. First, between the ages of 30 and 40 he perishes as an athlete. Although he looks trim and feels vigorous and retains unusual coordination, the superlative reflexes, the major league reflexes, pass on.
At a point when many of his class-mates are newly confident and rising in other fields, he finds that he can no longer hit a very good fast ball or reach a grounder four strides to his right. At 35 he is experiencing the truth of finality. As his major league career is ending, all things will end. However he sprang, he was always earthbound. Mortality embraces him. The golden age has passed in a moment. So will all things. So will all moments.
This quote may as well have been written about the experience of a newly-retired footballer. Ljungberg s old boss at Arsenal, Ars ne Wenger, echoed Kahn s sentiments when he stated that retired players experience difficulties because they lose passion, fame and income at a very young age. To replace that is nearly impossible.
Wenger has always maintained that he is keen to look after players upon retirement but his compassion seems uncommon in the modern-day, affluent game. According to Geoff Scott, chief executive of XPRO, a charity established to help, support and advise former professional footballers, Wenger s concern is all too rare.
The clubs don t care about what happens to players when they retire. Once the footballer has got his 30 grand a week and his Range Rover, the clubs wash their hands of