Grown out of the game: The unfair nature of the UK football academy system on late-maturating players
- ehendry6481
- May 5
- 21 min read
Updated: May 6
The moment you walk into that room you can sense it’s not good news. Your dream goes from everything to nothing in a split second.
One conversion. All it takes is one conversation between you and a coach deciding the course of your future in football.
For thousands of young hopefuls every year this is just the way it goes. It’s the harsh reality of the football academy system. After a sudden sinking feeling of shock, disappointment and maybe even anger, there’s the quick replacement of a flood of questions such as: What went wrong? Am I just not good enough? However, what I’m focusing on is: Was it something I could have controlled? And a lot of the time the answer to this question is ‘no, not really.’ This is what went through my head as a young lad who’d just been released from Luton Town F. C’s academy.
After being at the club for over 8 years from the ages of 9-16, I felt comfortable. I felt I had a secure spot in the team, a good relationship with my coach and teammates, and so I didn’t see it coming. But after an exit interview of what felt like the longest 20 minutes of my life, I understood that it wasn’t my ability, but instead was my height and size affecting my game. So, since being released I’ve always had the view that UK academy football has an idealised image of what a player should look like, and I didn’t fit that picture.
Delving into why this is, I’ve figured it’s all about perception. Henry Pointer, the Academy Operations Co-ordinator at Brentford football club said, “In the short term, bigger more physically developed academy players have an advantage over smaller players, due to having more power, speed, and strength.” Therefore, in the modern game, player aesthetics have become a massive part of what football academies look out for, resulting in thousands of young players being left helpless due to uncontrollable genetics. This begs the question: Is the UK football academy system perhaps unfair on those who are left in my position, and to what extent is player development impacted by the way you look and express yourself?
Being released from a football academy is a challenging experience that can affect players in many ways. Some may straight away come to the realisation that the dream of making it to the professional game just wasn’t meant to be for them. With statistics from The Football Mine highlighting that only 1% of 12,000 players currently at academies will make a living playing football. Some young players will have a backup plan of course, but with mental health being such a prevalent issue in young adults nowadays, being released can affect these players significantly and has become an essential part of the academy process that a support system is put in place for those that don’t quite make the cut. For former Luton Town F.C academy player Flynn Baker-Bond, his experience of being released was brutal. After being on the club’s books for 10 years only to be released at the age of 18, he said, “My penultimate season I knew from the get-go how the season was going to go, so much so that I was thinking of quitting. Seeing everyone else develop before you causes many setbacks as you can’t do anything about it. You can be the best footballer there, but if you aren’t big and strong, you’re just going to be left as an outsider.” He went on to say, “When I got released… the club didn’t really do much to help you, they kind of leave you to it and move on very quickly.”
In arguably the most pressurised environment for young footballers which is the academy system, never has it been just about natural ability, but how you look while displaying it. With thousands of talented individuals having similar experiences to myself and Baker-Bond, it’s no mystery that players who don’t fit the idealised image often find themselves pushed aside, with their potential being overlooked in favour of others that suit a particular aesthetic.
When it comes to being released, the way in which looks, and perception can shape a player’s fate is a flaw of the system alongside the lack of support for a player’s next step. Some clubs however like Brentford are showcasing what a well-run academy looks like, by making sure all players regardless of age or potential have the help they need within the demanding academy system. Pointer said, “We (Brentford) employ roles such as ‘player support officers’ to help players through the retain/release process… supporting them with their lives throughout their academy journey.” So, with many being let go year on year due to factors beyond their control, I will explore the impact of aesthetics on player development in academy football, delving into how a club’s brand identity plays into a player’s image alongside how uncontrollable factors like physicality, height, size as well as the controllable in their style of play and mentality affects the likelihood of making it into the professional game.
The importance of Player Profiling in UK football academies
In academy football, how a player looks can impact their perception to coaches and scouts just as much as how they play. From physique and height to personal style on and off the pitch, the aesthetic of a player’s image can be vital for how their development potential is perceived, and in certain academies, can be the difference between a spot in the team or being let go. Pointer said, “At other academies like Chelsea and Arsenal, player profiles are a huge factor in their recruitment of players, whereas at Brentford, we are prepared to take calculated risks on less physically developed, technically gifted players. We look for talent and hard work over just pure physical capabilities. The players in our academy vary significantly in terms of size and genetics.” With player profiling being such a big factor at top level clubs in making decisions on a player’s development, position, and future beyond the academy system, this translates right the way through the Football League.
At a club with a stature like Brentford, their approach to profiling would be based around advanced data, with the ability to scout young talent internationally as well as nationally and making sure they are ready for the top level of English football. Whereas a club like Harrogate Town in Sky Bet League Two for example, would have a lower league focus and tend on scouting players in non-league with the future potential of making it in the 4th tier, whilst making sure the player fits the club’s style of play. Due to having a smaller budget and not being able to take as many “calculated risks” as top-level teams as said by Pointer, the importance of potential at Harrogate Town, taking into consideration height, size, and technical ability is crucial because of financial restraints, making errors in academy recruitment more costly.
Player profiling allows clubs to seek out the players that they believe will thrive in pressured environments due to their unique traits and how they will fit into the club’s playstyle, which leads onto how a club’s brand identity can also heavily influence an individual’s aesthetic and development on the pitch.
How does a club’s brand identity affect player development?
While statistics on how aesthetics impact player development in UK football academies haven’t been studied to much extent, hence why I aim to shed light on the topic, the focus of player development tends to be more on technically ability and attributes. Despite it being difficult to pinpoint how much of an influence player aesthetics has in an academy environment, there are trends within the topic that can be explored, one of these being a club’s brand impacting how players present themselves. All clubs take into consideration having a unique brand and for everyone within the club to uphold these values. For instance, former Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson implemented a strict dress code that Jesse Lingard revealed on The Diary of a CEO podcast saying, “At Manchester United we’re brought up being told you’ve got to wear black boots, no gloves and no long bottoms in training… It’s just values, it’s morals, it’s the way you’ve been brought up. United put that into us at an early age.” Players are taught good habits from a young age and to go against the idealised aesthetic and brand of the football club can heavily impact a player’s future in professional football.
In the modern day, showcasing authenticity has become just another part of the game. For example, when you think of Jack Grealish, the first thing that comes to mind probably isn’t his technical dribbling and his proven ability in 1v1 situations, but instead it’s his slicked back hair, low socks, and small shinpads that makes him the household name that he is. Although merely being a fashion statement, his uniqueness he displays on the pitch has influenced his brand, Manchester City’s brand, and hundreds of academy players into making this aesthetic their own style too. His freedom to express himself in the way he looks makes him the role model he is to aspiring professionals and shows that there is a more relaxed approach to dress code in UK academies in recent years.
While some top academies still chose to uphold traditional values, individuality is encouraged and can play into a players’ game.
“I wear cut socks as low as I can without the refs (referees) saying anything, and I do that as a superstition, and that makes me an instant target. In the tunnel before the game, I always hear ‘smash the one who thinks he’s Grealish,’ or ‘He can’t even afford shin pads,’ … I enjoy that…it gets me into the game quicker.”
Flynn Baker-Bond
How a player chooses to present themselves goes beyond the superficial and influences a range of factors like mental preparation, and in Baker-Bond’s case even motivates to give him a psychological edge over his opponent.
With players choosing to express their own style on the game, this begs the question: how much freedom do players have to develop their own aesthetic on and off the pitch when they need to stick to their club’s brand identity? Well, with professionalism being taught at a very young age to players coming through the academy system, in recent years the increased number of professional role models developing their own image whether that’s by wearing a headband, ankle tape, or other accessories, there is a clash between players promoting their own individuality and having to uphold the expectations of the club. At clubs where professionalism is at the heart of their identity, players must tread carefully when wanting to express themselves with the way they look. In this day and age, it’s difficult to find a balance between professionalism and individualism as club’s recognise that football isn’t as regimented as it once was with outside influences like social media playing a big part in a player’s development off the pitch.
“Social media has got a big thing of when a certain player plays well, they build them up, and when they have a poor performance, they’re knocking them down, and that’s what the academy lads have to learn.”
Kevin Wilson
Professionalism should encourage players to be mentally disciplined and buy into the team’s overall goals, but individualism is just as important for a player’s development as creativity is what makes a player standout and be recognised, but also, it’s what makes the game of football so exciting. Pointer said, “At Brentford, our young players constantly feel open to trying things on the pitch and do not get punished for making mistakes.”
As more and more players grow their own brand and place more focus on being different to other players to help them catch the eye of the people their future lies in the hands of, from a coach’s perspective Wilson said, “They are all looking for their only little way… how to put an imprint on anybody is most probably the process of being yourself and making yourself a role model.” For current academy players, in this modern era of football, developing a uniqueness in style of play can be advantageous for a player’s brand. But what impresses coaches the most and is most likely to propel a player’s development is developing traits that play into everyday life like leadership, being well-mannered, and having a positive attitude.
For Pointer, “Authenticity is key for players in first teams, however in academies I believe that players should be taught good habits and to follow the club/managers idealisms on how to conduct themselves.” The clash between how players now choose to present themselves aesthetically and following the rules of the club’s brand has meant that both sides have had to adapt. A Player putting their own spin on their aesthetic can alter the way they are perceived, this can be both good and bad, but ultimately, it’s the player’s responsibility to not stray away from what the club expects from them in the academy system. Player development in UK academies not only depends on how players carry themselves, but many other aesthetic factors come into play like physical attributes beyond a player’s control such as height and size. In the competitive academy environment, when looking into the aesthetic side of player development it’s important to see if stature and physical traits can impact a player’s chances of making it professional.
How does physicality, height, and size effect a players' chances of making it professional?
In football, sometimes it’s the factors you can’t control that affect an academy player’s development. Going back to player profiling, height, size, and physicality are so important in what coaches look for, to the extent where selection can simply boil down to how you look in comparison to the other players on the pitch. It’s no surprise that in academy football, coaches tend to sway towards those gifted with physical traits when deciding who makes the cut.
From the Leeds United academy to making over 300 professional appearances for Harrogate Town, Josh Falkingham said, “There’s only a small amount of clubs now that have these technical, smaller players. It’s all based on the model of the club. When I was growing up, there were certain clubs in the academies who would only go for players with certain attributes, and it didn’t matter if technically they were incredible, if you weren’t a certain size and didn’t have the right boxes ticked, you weren’t able to get that opportunity, and I do believe that is still the case unfortunately." So, when players like myself and Baker-Bond are left in the dust after being released, there often is the question of what else could I have done to standout? Well, for what some may lack in the physical department there is a heavy reliance on technical attributes like creativity and agility to make up for it, but for many, raw talent is just not enough. For some coaches like Wilson, he can understand the frustration of the players that have experienced being let go for this reason.
“I think they’re (academies) looking for big, strong, powerful players… for me, I’d be looking at the technical side of it because you can build them up to get stronger, okay you might not make them taller, but you can make them stronger.”
Kevin Wilson
However, with academies being renowned for its ruthless nature with the treatment of players, former MK Dons academy defender Louis Goodall did in fact get his chance to develop and compete but at a cost. Goodall said, “I was always at a disadvantage with my size as I was very small compared to a lot of the players around and against me… It did affect me when I was put down an age group, as at the time I did not like the way they done it. It made me feel I wasn’t good enough for my own age group and affected my confidence… I was young and didn’t understand.”
Although putting players down an age group may seem like a good idea from a coach’s perspective so that players can develop physically against opponents more their size, UK football academies take little consideration into the psychological impact that this may have by singling them out. When there is such a pressure to perform as it is without the added stress of meeting coaches’ physical expectations that may not be possible for some, this has created a culture where shorter, less developed players are at a severe disadvantage and is not spoken about enough, so much to the point where it is seen as a weakness instead of using it as an advantage. Being underdeveloped naturally forces a player to place more emphasis on improving their technical abilities from a young age, meaning when players like Goodall and Baker-Bond catch up to the rest, this perks the interest of coaches like Wilson who prefer a balance in their team of technical and physical players. Historically, by the time these players do catch up in size, it’s often too late and would have already been ousted out of the academy system which is where the problem lies.
Evidence of this is in a study published by The Science and Medicine in Football journal. they found that at the Manchester United academy, players between the ages of 9-16 who were late developers were 20 times less likely to be selected at 16 years old than boys who matured at a normal rate. The study went onto show that in 2010, of 62 players in the U16’s only one of them was a late developer.
Release rates by Age in UK football academies
Early academy years (Ages 9-14)
After being reviewed at the end of every season on whether to retain or release players, it's common that many players are released throughout these years due to technical and physical attributes being sub-par
Critical decision point (Ages 15-16)
Players at this ages are judged on whether or not to receive a scholarship
The threshold of what it takes to progress to the next stage is heightened. Not meeting the physical requirements commonly leads to being released
The most challenging stage of the academy system as this makes or breaks the pathway into professional football
Turning a scholarship into a professional contract (Ages 18-21)
Small percentage of players are offered a professional contract due to intense competition
Progression to professional football (Ages 21...)
The academy system is built to limit the number of players who reach this stage with each age group filtering players out as they go along
Success here goes beyond natural talent with factors like: Maturity, mentality and perception coming into play
Late-developers heavily impacted and overlooked despite potential
Now playing men’s football competitively after being released, Baker-Bond said, “I always focused on the technical part of my game, but more recently I’m starting to focus on my physical side. Playing men’s football, you get smashed into all the time, so working on my physical game was a necessity to develop my game and ensure that I can dominate in every game I play.” In Baker-Bond’s case, it got to the point where he couldn’t rely on his technical abilities to carry him through the academy because the physical side of the game was impacting his chances of making it into professional football. When it comes to being given a contract or being released, every young player is chasing a dream, and it’s a scary reality the importance of the physical aspects in the modern game of football, so much so that UK academies need to be careful in not disregarding talented individuals just because they don’t fit the coach’s image of a footballer.
In terms of what can be done to stop talented players from falling through the net because of their stature, there has to be an understanding from coaches that although physicality is important in player development, it doesn’t define what will make a top footballer. Coaches should widen their view when it comes to player selection as Pointer said, “more technically gifted smaller players have stronger long-term potential, as when they catch the bigger players up when they mature (go through puberty), they will have a stronger capability.” Just like in the case of Baker-Bond who is now flourishing in the adult game due to continuing to work on his technical skills whilst now having grown in height and size. It’s important to understand that all players develop physically at different rates, so a big flaw of the academy system is that coaches can be short-sighted when deciding a player’s future. And although some might go onto rekindle their love for the game at a high level like Baker-Bond who has laughed in the face of rejection and is now physically, and mentally stronger than ever, very few get the chance to continue their footballing journey because of the hard-hitting nature of being released. Especially in a player’s latter years in the academy. Goodall said, “I believe when getting released at a younger age it is not as harsh as you still have loads of time to develop and find different career choices. Whereas getting released at scholarship and U18 level is brutal on the players as they may be all they have in life.”
For many young players football means everything to them, so for coaches to prioritise size over skill, or physicality over potential, it doesn’t just mean that UK football is losing out on hundreds of talented individuals across the country, but also it paints the academy system in a bad light leading to questions on whether the treatment of players is perhaps unfair because of aesthetical factors being so prevalent in the selection process.
How much do aesthetical factors such as style of play, technical attributes, and mentality effect less developed academy players?
While physical factors seem to be the key aesthetic factor in football that shapes player development, there’s a conversation to be had on the importance of style of play, technical attributes and especially mentality with setbacks being a norm in academy football. Throughout this article, what I’ve meant by the phrase ‘aesthetic development’ is by how players are perceived by others on the pitch in the way they look, referring to their height and size. But what I haven’t yet mentioned is how a players’ attributes play into their brand and overall development. Looking at some of the most technically gifted footballers to ever play the game like the Barcelona trio of Lionel Messi, Xavi, and Andreas Iniesta, for what they lack in strength, what got them to the top was their footballing intelligence and creativity. However, if they grew up in a different environment in the UK academy setting, their development perhaps would have been halted because they didn’t fit the mould of the English game. That’s not to say that all UK academies are like this, for example, Pointer at Brentford’s academy said, “The overall philosophy is ‘learning through development’ and we try to provide players the opportunity to learn through appropriate challenge, putting them out of their comfort zone and doing things differently.” Having already been implemented at Brentford, a sense of individuality when it comes to development should be encouraged as no two players are the same. Granted, some academy sides may have a style of play which suits the players that tick the physical boxes, but in Wilson’s opinion, having a good mix of the physical and technical side of the game is what makes the best academy teams.
TABLE: Factors Influencing Player Selection
Attribute | Weight in Decision-making | Impact on Late-Developers |
|---|---|---|
Physical maturity | HIGH | NEGATIVE - Released before reaching full physical potential |
Mental strength | MEDIUM | POSITIVE - Overcome adversity and rejection |
Technical skills | MEDIUM | POSITIVE - Place more emphasis on these attributes from a young age |
Branding/Image | MEDIUM/LOW | NEGATIVE - Less visibility because of not fitting the mould |
Going back to the aesthetic side of development, players are met with the dilemma of if they are less physically developed, should they place more emphasis on bettering themselves on the ball or off the pitch and in the gym?
Myself at 16, I didn’t know the answer to this question.
However, asking the same question to a professional footballer who has scored a cup final winner at Wembley Stadium, Falkingham said: “Always in my career, I’ve used being 5 feet 6 inches to my advantage having a low centre of gravity… when I was younger I worked on training the brain to find a solution quicker so that I could see the game one or two steps ahead. It then doesn’t matter how big or strong somebody might be, and that’s down to the education of Leeds United with me being around elite players who have helped me further on in my career.”
Looking back now, I’d better what I was already good at because being 10/10 in one attribute will get you further than being a 7/10 across the board.
“Academy football is more person driven than team driven, and if you are not that person then you are unfortunately just a number.”
Flynn Baker-Bond
This is where the mentality side of football is a massive part of development in academies. A big part of me wishes that I could rediscover my footballing journey just like Baker-Bond, but I guess I just didn’t have the strength within me to get back out there once being knocked down.
Being told you’re not good enough as a teenager is heart-breaking.
Coaches understand that it is a big ask for players to take criticism and rejection well from a young age. Pointer said, “Players have access to regular workshops with external speakers and companies that assist in contributing to helping player mentality. For example, Brentford recently had former Reading manager Brian McDermott speak with the U21 squad on mentality and what it takes to be a first team player.” With support officers and guest speakers being there for players to go to, this has helped hundreds of aspiring professionals to develop a strong mindset and skills outside of football from an early age as they grow into young adults. Goodall speaking on his experience in his early years said, “being in an academy grew my social and communication skills massively as I was having a laugh with my teammates all the time. It built my personality, and the mental side has helped me with life away from football too.” While the academy system is great for teaching young individuals life skills that can translate wider than merely on the pitch, on the flip side of Goodall’s experience there’s people like Baker-Bond who struggled to get to grips with how to mentally cope with the pressure. Baker-Bond said, “I always felt the pressure in academy football. You know all eyes are on you and they’re just collecting evidence for the next player review or just comparing you to your teammate in the same position, so I would say I never performed to the best of my ability when in an academy due to not wanting to make a mistake and getting singled out because of it.” Having two completely opposing views of the mental impact the academy system had on Goodall and Baker-Bond’s development highlights the inconsistency of the treatment of players, and that the aesthetic side of player development may not be what you can see without sitting down and having a chat with the player.
There’s a correlation between the mental side of the game having a huge effect on performance on the pitch regardless of height, size, and physicality. Going back to my final couple of years in the academy at Luton Town, with every training session, every match, almost being a test to see if you could withstand the pressure of playing at that level, from under 14 to 16’s I quickly lost the enjoyment factor in academy football which unsurprisingly hindered my performances on the pitch. Despite coaches stressing the fact to play with freedom, it’s not an easy ask being in the players’ shoes. Constantly having that thought in the back of your mind that if you don’t play well, you’ll come under scrutiny. It does take its toll on a teenager. In my case mentality was one of the key factors that held back my progression as well as my size and can be a big hurdle for players to navigate.
Going forward, development should be determined by how a player grows through their technical ability and how they respond to criticism and setbacks along the way in order to better themselves, otherwise academy football will be stuck in this continuous cycle of choosing the most physically developed players at a young age, not taking a chance on the late bloomers because they don’t fit the mould at that stage in their journey. Falkingham is a prime example of one of the lucky ones who managed to break away from the cycle and prove to all aspiring footballers that regardless of who you are and what you look like, having a strong foundation of technical ability, and the mental strength that is required in academy football, this can lead to an outstanding career.
The Final Whistle
From being a football crazy teenager who just played for the love of the game, to now, that same football crazy lad who’s swapped the pitch for the press box, it still remains that academy football is brutal on these young footballers who can have everything they’ve ever worked for taken away in an instant.
The aesthetic side of academy football is what determines the extent of a player’s development in the UK football academy system and there are discussions to be had on if selection is based on branding, physical and technical factors, or the mental side of the game. But what’s most important is perception. Ultimately, you can be the strongest, quickest or most technically gifted player on the team but if you don’t fit the club or coach’s style you can still be released. And that’s the flaw of the system. Making judgements on how a player looks at the time instead of thinking into the future has led to many talented individuals like Goodall and Baker-Bond not making the cut. As I said before, after being released I did think that maybe I just wasn’t good enough and that if I were perhaps a bit taller and stronger then I could’ve made it. But throughout this project, reaching out to people with similar experiences to me, as well as those who have made it into the professional game despite being at a disadvantage physically like Falkingham, it made me realise that there is so much talent out there that isn’t being nurtured in the right way, resulting in them being rejected. It’s not due to lack of ability but instead the way they are perceived.
On a positive note, after speaking to Pointer, clubs like Brentford are dedicated to changing this conception of UK academies by giving all players equal chance and equal support. If more top-level academies implemented this way of thinking it would lead to less young players falling out of love with the game and feeling lost with what direction to take if released like I was. However, academies must keep the competitiveness and intensity of the system to highlight the best players with the highest ceiling. Baker Bond said, “Add competitiveness, add leagues, add promotions, relegations… as that’s where you’ll see the real players compared to the shadows.” By academies promoting a competitive nature this has a positive effect on players building their own brand on and off the pitch. Without competition this hinders development, so expressing individuality and creativity stems from players having a point to prove, which wouldn’t be possible without the want to standout.
As I write this article five years on from getting released from Luton Town, what I know now that I didn’t consider back then is that it was never just about the football. It’s about character and identity.
Researching into how aesthetics in football affects player development has made me realise that it depends on how players like me at young age are shaped by coaches and the support network around them in how they are perceived. Every player who gets released has their own unique story of why it happened to them, one common narrative - not being able to live up to physical expectations. And this is why the aesthetical side of football is crucial in decision-making.
In a world where talent should be at the forefront, if academies carry on placing too much emphasis on physicality, height, and size, then there’s a risk that we will lose the true measure of what it takes to be a professional footballer in this country.
What factor do you think matters the most in player development?
Physicality, height, size
Technical skill
Mentality
Self-presentation/Branding
Best of luck Tim
Great work Ellis, that's an excellent read, I'm glad you used your experience as the 'hook' for the story.