NON: Sons of pro footballers

kirsikka

kirsikka

UTC Legend
I know there have always been a few about, but is it just me or are there a lot more of late?

Miles Leaburn son of Carl broke through at Charlton last season.

Archie Gray, son of Andy has broken through at Leeds this season already.

We have our very own Justin Kluivert, son of Patrick.

Haven't Brentford signed a Beckham scion? Although I do wonder if that's a publicity stunt.

Will Jääskeläinen was knocking around the football league a couple of years back.

Brennan Johnson is the son of David and is temporarily still at Forest but hopefully about to move.

Plus loads of others I'm sure.

I wonder if this is an outcome of the football academies? Players are well connected and so have a better chance of getting their kids into an academy at a young age. Give kids the best education, this time footballing, and they have a much better chance of making it to the pro ranks.

Or maybe there were always this many and I simply didn't notice before?
 
Feels like going back 20+ years the connection was only brought up where the dad was still involved with football at a certain level and it was obvious/openly talked about. Redknapp, Lampard, Ferguson, Dalglish, Bruce, Todd, Strachan, Cruyff, Maldini, Schmeichel, Wright(Phillips), Ince maybe the latter few more recently all stick in my mind.

Seems to be a few more these days, I suspect it’s a combination of academies and social media/increased exposure of football generally meaning the audience is on top of these facts?
In addition to the ones you mentioned above, Jay Stansfield, Anthony Scully, Liam Delap, Tyler Walker, am sure there are more I’ve forgotten already!
 
Alex Spruce - potato heads son

Pulis - son of Tony

Darren Ferguson
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Both seemed to follow their dad around and not play a lot. When in their mid 20s assumed a degree of nepotism as we're on the books at higher level clubs than their age and match experience seemed to warrant

As for volume of todays players, I think it's s mixture of genetics and access to top quality coaching and playing against decent level peers from a young age. Youth academies seems to be in place from a much younger age than before now. Chances are if your dad was a professional athlete, their kids are going to have at least average/above average genetic disposition towards physical pursuits.
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Pulis grand son (know his son in law well, used to work with him, play 5 a side) has been with Southampton from around 6 lol.
He's shown me sone videos of him playing/training and he's scored some incredible goals from surprising long distance with a full size ball.

Like anything, if yku have at least average, above average genes for something and put in a lot of hours (particularly when young and able to absorb, learn stuff at accelerated rate) plus you get some doors opened so get access to best coaches (compared to years ago where you had to find your own way until teens, hoping to get spotted in your teens)all contributes to odds being stacked heavily, significantly so in some cases, tge chances of you being successful in anything vastly increase.

I listened to an audiobook about learning/successful people a while back, and tgey all had those things in common. Watered down in pop theory with tge 10000 hours thing...

Jamie Dimon, ceo at jp morgan since early 2000s, was intersted and studying numbers, finance accounting from around 4 or 5 apparently lol. You rarely emd up holding a position like that and holding it so long in the ultra aggressive capitalist behemoth that is jpmc by accident. ..

Similar applies to most things imo. Anyone at the top has put in an extreme amount of hours, coupled with decent genetics and drive, focus.. q

One of the benefits of receiving professional/best coaching available from a very young age is correction of stuff, before bad habits become engrained/muscle memory. Much harder to 'unlearn' something, particularly if you've been doing it thst way fir years.

Of course it's possible to become a pro footballer if you had no guidance, decent coaching from a young age. But the odds are higher of making it, unless you have exceptional genetics/disposition for it to make up for the lack of quality structured training compared to former players sons. Coupled with no 'favours' in terms of doors being opened compared to kids of former pros.

More science and 'data' available in football now. Top coaches will be using this with kids, whereas years ago you'd just play with your mates, watch it on TV and that was about as far as it went... hoping you'd get spotted on a Sunday afternoon in your teens. Clubs/coaches much more aware of 'benefits' and increasing odds of being successful, particularly in an industry that's hyper competitive with a lot of money involved.
 
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John and Kevin Bond of course. I always thought that Kevin Bond made the most of what relatively little natural talent he had.
 
tedisking said:
Mark and Tony Hatley....the Schmeichel's ....Terry and Mark cooper
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Also Tom Hateley, son of Mark Hateley! I think it was in 1968 that Tony Hateley scored a hat-trick against us in an FA Cup replay at Anfield after we’d held Liverpool to a 0-0 draw at home. Keith East had a goal wrongly disallowed for offside.
 
tedisking said:
Summerbee school.....John Bond went and had a word with the PE teacher to know why his son was not in the side....:grinning:
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Was the PE teacher a Mr Barry O'Neil, whose son then went on to be a successful PE teacher in the football league : )
 
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