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IS THERE REALLY A POSSIBILITY?

If you haven’t seen the video of Iliman Ndiaye performing a backwards bouncing trick at Everton’s training ground, you should check it out. In executing a move so nasty that it would have fit right in at a Harlem Globetrotters show game, the skill quickly concluded what was meant to be a casual practice to finish what had been – up to that point – an informative discussion about how non-professionals can get another opportunity after being released by professional academies.

Ndiaye, who featured in non-league games directly before being picked up by Sheffield United at 19, is ideally suited to address this topic. “Avoid dwelling on the rejection and one day your luck is going to arrive,” he told a young player immediately prior to deploying said spectacular skill on his teammate, in doing so perfectly illustrating the difference between Premier League and amateur footballers he had been working to minimize.

Ndiaye isn’t the first professional footballer to take things that little bit too far. A younger Michael Owen happily embarrassing a young shot-stopper in front of a fuming Neville Southall is obviously the gold standard in this unique area – but the one-time Reds forward is just one of many culprits. Both Christian Eriksen and Shinji Kagawa have caused kids to weep with a series of harsh skills, although it’s considered that the latter was at least driven by the Japanese player’s social media regretful message – “difficulty breeds resilience” – and the associated label of #friendship.

Kagawa’s former Dortmund teammates Lukasz Piszczek, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Nuri Sahin at least had the good grace to be defeated against 100 children when the three played during the interval of their farewell game for BVB. A Real Madrid XI that contained Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso were more competitive when they took on 109 Chinese kids in a similar experiment. But back to the start, it’s estimated that only 180 of the 1.5 million boys currently playing structured junior soccer in England will ever feature in the Premier League, a sobering statistic for aspiring footballers across the country.

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FEATURED STATEMENT

“Football took me but it never abandoned me because I never abandoned my dream. I went from place to place. The love of football drives you. I couldn’t always see where it was directing me. But today I have the answer” – head coach Veljko Paunovic pauses briefly from his preparations to reflect on his path.

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“As a frequent consumer and Florida resident, can I proactively complain about the upcoming week-plus of published letters about which route one uses to get to various locations in your homeland? I mean, I was caught in a traffic jam on I-4 at 2am on a Tuesday night driving through Orlando once, but that’s the complete account. There’s no meaningful conclusion to the tale. (I-4 links Tampa on the Gulf Coast to Daytona on the Atlantic via Orlando/Walt Disney World, and can have traffic issues at any time)” – Rasteen Nowroozi.

“Concerning Wythenshawe FC, I remember many years ago playing for a Sunday, very recreational club, Turnpike Lane Hibs, on Clapham Common. One morning a bloke introduced as ‘Danny’ turned up to play. I have no idea who brought him along. Apparently he was an actor; he had a good left side. (Yes, Daniel Day-Lewis)” – Jason Steger.

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