I woke up to the sound of the clang of the letterbox as the postman pushed several letters through the door. I trudged down the stairs on a rainy Saturday morning and picked up the several documents on the floor, filing through them with no interest, until something caught my eye. I saw a stamp printed Birmingham Football Youth Development. I tore the letter open and read the message.

I ran straight to the phone, and rang my best mate from school, Daniel Worrall to tell him about my great news! He informed me that he had also been picked for the trial, and that we were the only two selected from our local junior side Redditch Juniors.

I had formed a great partnership down the left hand side for Redditch with Wozza, as I call him, and we had been turning in some impressive performances, with me on the left side of midfield, and him on the left side of defence, we had managed to take the team to top of the league and cruising.

We are in our last year at school, and are hoping to be inducted into the 6th Form next year. We had been coaching younger children for a few years now, and had received all our coaching badges. We thought it was an opportunity to maybe get into coaching, but we had never dreamed of something like this. I suddenly began to think of the possibilities that this trial could throw at us as I waited anxiously for the next day.

After a good night's sleep, I prepared for the trial with great anticipation, and made my way to Aggborough for the trial. I had only ever been to Kidderminster games with Wozza on a Saturday afternoon, but I had never played here, and it felt special as I walked onto the soggy turf.



The day was designed in lots of different sections, with various activities and drills for us to complete. The morning ran pretty smoothly, and I gave it my all, without anything too impressive, and nothing going wrong. We took an hour for lunch, and got back out on the pitch for the afternoon's tournament.

This was our time to shine! Wozza and I formed our usual partnership on the left wing in an 11 a side match with a couple of subs for each side. We were in control from the start, running the show, with Wozza constantly getting down the wing on the overlap for me to lay it off to him, so he could whip a ball into the box. We got a couple of goals from this, and I noticed the training scouts making notes on their clipboards.

We continued to dominate the game, with the play predominantly down our side, meaning we could work our usual magic, playing one-twos, and linking up play with the midfield and the attackers, so we could set up chances for our side. The game ended 3-0 to our team, and we switched over to play the other two matches, where we won 4-2 and drew 1-1.

At the end of the day they gathered all 50 players in one of the stands and broke the news to us. They told us that 8 players were to attend a formal evening on Wednesday at Cranmore Park Conference Centre. They went on to say that the chosen 8 are required to attend, and must dress smartly and bring their parents.

My heart started to race as they prepared to read the 8 selected names out. Ron, one of the trainers, stood up and started to read the list out. “James Leach, Dean Lane, Darren Hobden, Daniel Worrall.” I congratulated Wozza with a high 5, and you could see how much it meant to him in his eyes. It also reassured me, because I began to believe that my name was going to be read out too.

My heart pounded, and the tension around me grew. Ron continued to speak. “Lee Thacker, Stephen Ruane, Joe Friar.” This was it. One name to go. Just one name separated me between my dream and failure. My heart continued to pound. I waited anxiously for that final, crucial name to be read out. Ron started to speak. “And last but not least, Tom Hooper!”

I jumped up and celebrated with Wozza. We had made it. Destiny had arrived! The coaches dismissed us and we ran to the gates to inform our waiting parents of the great news. I was bubbling with excitement, and spent the rest of the night reliving the day, and dreaming about the prospects ahead.

Time seemed never-ending as I waited for Wednesday evening. But it eventually arrived, and we made the trip by car to Cranmore Park. My nerves were tingling, I was excited on one hand, yet incredibly nervous on the other. We parked the car, and made our way inside, to the main auditorium, where the presentation took place.



As I entered the auditorium, I noticed that the stage was split up into four sections, one for each club participating in the trial. Ron was also on stage, this time suited out in a smart clean black tuxedo, rather than his mucky training kit. He introduced the whole evening and explained the system. “Since the trial on Sunday, which was a huge success, each of the four clubs have watched your videos from the trial. They have all selected a player each, who will all sign 5 year contracts at the end of the evening.”

I waited excitedly, and spotted Wozza over the other side of the auditorium. He looked very nervous too, and I mouthed the words “good luck” to him from where I was sat. Ron continued to speak. “I will now announce the four players who will not be gaining a place at any of the clubs, and will be eliminated from the competition. “Lee Thacker, Darren Hobden, James Leach, and…” I instantly knew that at least one of us had made it. I realised the full belief of what was happening. I had an 80% chance of signing a professional contract at one of the top teams in the country.

My head was spinning, as he read out the last name. “And Joe Friar will be leaving us, which means that Daniel Worrall, Dean Lane, Tom Hooper and Stephen Ruane will be signing contracts with one of the four clubs tonight. Congratulations to those of you who made it, and commiserations to those of you who didn’t”

I jumped into the air in delight. I was speechless. I was going to sign a professional contract for one of four fantastic clubs, and I was only 16. 2 days ago I was looking forward to going into 6th form, and now I’m all of a sudden a professional footballer!

I was taken onto the stage by a tall man in a dark suit, where four representatives stood, one for each club. We were lined up on the stage, as the Birmingham City representative stepped forwards. He introduced himself, and announced that he had chosen Stephen Ruane as his player. There was a round of applause, and Stephen was taken into a room at the back. The next man to stand up was representing Aston Villa. I was hoping to be chosen by either West Brom or Wolves, because I felt I had more chances and opportunities starting out in The Championship. The Aston Villa representative chose Dean Lane as his player, and took him into the room at the back.

This was it! It was either Wolves or West Brom. I was praying for West Brom because I knew that Wozza was a boyhood Wolves fan, and it was his dream to play for them. The Wolves representative walked forward, and announced that he had chosen Wozza for his player. I watched as his face turned into a huge grin, and I congratulated him as he was taken into the back. I walked off with a bald man into the back, ready to sign the contract.

The contract had already been written up. I was taken into a dark room with a table, and the contract was on the desk. I took 3 minutes to read it through, and was amazed at the level of detail in it. I was told to sign on the dotted line, and I shook the man’s hand. It was official! I was a professional footballer playing for West Bromwich Albion in The Championship! I was told I could leave, and I met my parents in the car park. I ran up to them and hugged them, and on the way home I began to think of the exciting times that lay ahead for me.

I arrived at the ground, to see thousands of fans laying down flowers for Tony and his family. I chained my bike up to a post and ran inside, kitted out in the training gear I received the previous night. I had been called into the club instantly, following the news of the train crash that caused the death of my new manager to be, Tony Mowbray.



I walked inside, signed in at reception with my card, which I had also received the previous night, and jogged up the stairs to the player’s lounge, taking them two at a time. All the players were sat down, and Chairman Jeremy Pearce, was sat down at the front, along with the Managing Director Jonathan Fuller, and the Director Of Football, Simon Hunt.

Mr. Pearce said some words about Tony and the tragic incident, and paid his respects to him. I could see that a lot of the other players were struck hard by the incident, as well as all of the training staff. Mr. Pearce went on to talk about the funeral, which was to be held for both Mowbray and McCarthy, and was to take place on Sunday 8th July at Glen Iris Baptist Church. A few of the players stood up and said some words for Tony too, and we held a minutes silence to think about Tony, McCarthy, and all the others that died in the horror incident. Mr. Pearce then moved on to explain the next piece of news.

“Obviously we are going to need a replacement for Tony, but unfortunately due to a clause in our contract with him, we cannot replace him with a manager from outside the club until the end of the season. Therefore, we will need one of you to take on the role of Player Manager, until the end of the season, unless you prove yourself worthy. Rather than forcing one of you to comply, I will ask for volunteers, but I need someone with a good level of coaching experience. Do I have any volunteers?”

There was a level of discussion going on around the players, and I could see that none of them were going to volunteer. I knew that it would be taking a complete risk, and it was a bold move, but since I had all my coaching badges I decided to give it a go. Mr. Pearce looked at me and said “Now isn’t the time Tom,” in a stern voice. I explained to him that I had my coaching badges and that I wouldn’t be doing this if there were other volunteers. I told him that I only want what’s best for the club. I could hear sniggers from the other players and my nerves were shaking once more. After a couple of minutes silence, he spoke. “Alright then, we’ll give it a go. It’s gonna be tough but we’ll have to give it a go.”

I was astounded. I shook his hand and he dismissed us. I made my way to the car park, still in disbelief over what had just happened. I was unsure whether this was a good thing, or a terrible thing. I was worried my position at the club was in jeopardy, should the managing career not work out. I slowly got on my bike and prepared to embark on the new chapter in my life.