Ryan Baldi - The Next Big Thing: How Footballs Wonderkids Lose Their Way

First published by Pitch Publishing, 2019

Pitch Publishing

A2 Yeoman Gate

Yeoman Way

Durrington

BN13 3QZ

www.pitchpublishing.co.uk

Ryan Baldi, 2019

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A CIP catalogue record is available for this book from the British Library

Print ISBN 978-1-78531-386-8

eBook ISBN 978-1-78531-558-9

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For Sophie and Dylan, my world

NOTHING captures the imagination of the football fan in quite the same way as the emergence of a prodigious young player. Whether its a home-grown prospect moulded within the clubs academy, a rough diamond plucked from obscurity overseas, or a fearless teen talent making fools of experienced pros, it has the power to get bums out of seats, hairs stood on end and spines tingling in anticipation of what this intrepid new hero might do next.

No matter how young or old the supporter, we live vicariously through these nascent superstars as they act out every fans fantasy. We forgive their shortcomings and plot their career paths, forecasting at which point they will be ready for landmarks such as regular first-team involvement, international caps and big-money transfers.

The success stories are well known, subsequently making these early steps real I-was-there moments. Who could forget, for example, Wayne Rooneys stunning strike for Everton against Arsenal as a 16-year-old in 2002, or his debut hat-trick for Manchester United two years later? Those inside the Camp Nou on 1 May 2005 will forever remember the day they saw Lionel Messi lob his first-ever senior goal for Barcelona over the head of the helpless Espanyol goalkeeper. Likewise, the story of a 17-year-old Brazilian forward named Pel lighting up the 1958 World Cup in Sweden has been passed down the generations by those old enough, and fortunate enough, to have witnessed it first-hand.

The young players who burn brightly and fade quickly, though, are remembered less vividly. Every football fan will be able to list a handful of names of players who burst on to the scene and promised great things with their initial performances before falling from view. The eyes glint at the memory of those exciting early outings, but a shrug often accompanies any remembrance of what came next, with little known of how or why these players were unable to fulfil their potential; more often than not, it is simply assumed that they were never quite as good as first believed, or that for all their talent they were held back by a lack of professionalism or a bad attitude.

But the connection these players made at the very beginning, the intrigue they sparked when they appeared to have the world at their feet, often endures. For many, there remains a certain curiosity about the meandering, out-of-view paths these young players careers ended up following. And it is the same curiosity around which the idea for this book was formed.

I set out with the intention of tracking down and interviewing players who were all tipped for the top as youngsters, but whose careers never reached the heights expected. By speaking to them, hearing their stories in their own words, with further context provided by former team-mates, coaches and journalists who covered their careers, I learned not only how best-laid plans fell apart for these individuals, but also the strain it placed on them, emotionally and physically. Through these honest accounts of their setbacks, struggles and disappointments, I came to understand how these young men were forced to grow up quickly and reconcile with a faded dream.

The 15 players kind enough to share their time and experiences for this book have many things in common. All, at some stage of their careers, were developmentally ahead of the curve, supremely talented outliers in the ultra-competitive and demanding world of professional football. They played for major clubs such as Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Internazionale and were youth or senior internationals. And all suffered setbacks some of their own making, many beyond their control which ultimately left their potential unfulfilled.

But each players experience differs greatly. Some reached the highest level before their fall, playing Champions League football, featuring in major international tournaments and commanding large transfer fees, while others were tripped by hurdles much sooner. And the 15 players featured are not presented as a definitive list of footballs great unfulfilled talents, they are simply the players I approached who were willing to share their journeys, most of whom enjoyed enough success to look back on their time in the game with pride, while some are still playing and working towards realising their vast potential.

The reasons for their struggles differ, too. Exploring the myriad of factors that can affect a young footballers development became my primary aim as the process of putting this book together went on. As I travelled from city to city, country to country, to speak to these players and those theyve worked closely with, I grew to appreciate just how tenuous a grasp any sportsperson has on their career.

Injuries, of course, are a recurring theme here, but in reading this book you will learn how injuries can affect players in different ways. For example, Ally Dick, the precocious Scottish winger who is the subject of Chapter 1, was a high achiever at an early age but reconciled with the fact that, by 23, knee and ankle problems meant he would never play at the highest level again. Dicks experience was different to Matt Murrays (Chapter 8), with the Wolverhampton Wanderers and England under-21 goalkeeper spending more than a decade battling back from injury after injury, each time recovering peak form before agonisingly being cut down. And then there is the case of Lionel Morgan (Chapter 9), the highly coveted Wimbledon winger who admitted that by 19 he knew his body was not going to allow him a prolonged career in the game.

Injuries are just one potential stumbling block aspiring young players have to contend with, though. Some of the other factors that can derail a budding career youll find detailed in this book include off-field substance problems, the snowball effect of seemingly innocuous decisions, strained relationships with managers such as the one Giuliano Maiorana (Chapter 2) had with Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson and how regime change at a club can see even the brightest talents forgotten about.

With each chapter dedicated to one players career and personal journey, The Next Big Thing is, in effect, a collection of case studies into some of the different ways a promising young footballer can be derailed.