Throwing away prized players.
Suzanne Beishon talks to
Manchester United junior goalkeeper EMILY RAMSEY about having to move from her
home club.
FOOTBALL clubs are extremely
proud when their local homegrown academy products make it to the top. And who
can blame them? These increasingly rare players often become the beating heart
of their teams. They understand the club ethos and badge they play for in a way
that no import from abroad or another academy can. They aren’t just players,
they are supporters. Nurtured from childhood to adulthood not just as players
but as people too.
And when a player does make that
rare breakthrough they are idolised by fans that have seen one of their own
grow up in front of their eyes.
Few clubs have as rich a history
of successfully transitioning players from the academy to the first team than
Manchester United. The “class of ’92” golden generation is the highlight of a
rich vein of Mancunian talent that has come through the club. The ability for
players to make the grade has undoubtedly got harder as clubs rely on big-money
signings in order to maintain their league standing. Any dip that may come from
a period of development cannot be afforded in the modern football era.
Yet occasionally a talented
player, usually with a heavy helping of luck thrown in, makes the grade. Marcus
Rashford is just the latest to make the breakthrough. Rashford began playing
football for a local boys’ team aged five, before joining the academy system at
Manchester United aged seven. The 18-year-old’s meteoric rise to the Manchester
United and England first teams has been a breath of fresh air — and this from
an Arsenal fan who had to endure the teen’s league debut.
Except it’s not the same story
for all of Manchester United’s talented academy prospects. Not everyone has the
chance to live the fairy tale. If you’re a girl carefully guided through the
youth set-up at United it’s a very different story. Because Manchester United
don’t have a women’s team. In fact United and Southampton are the only Premier
League sides not to have women’s teams.
And for one 15-year-old, the lack
of a senior side means that she will have to ply her trade in different
colours.
Emily Ramsey has trodden a
similar path to Rashford. Playing for the local boys’ side aged six — with boys
a year older than her — before joining Manchester United aged eight and working
her way up through their girls’ system. Except rather than knocking on the door
of the senior side at her childhood club, ahead of turning 16 she is faced with
the prospect of having to upheave her development and find a team elsewhere to
continue playing.
Before flying to Lithuania to
join the England under-17 side following her call-up for their European
Championship qualifiers, Emily told of the excellent start she has been given
at United, explained the position she finds herself in at club level and expressed
hope of a change further down the line.
The young goalkeeper was
surrounded by football from an early age and benefited from the change in
attitudes that has taken place over the years towards girls playing.
“I was always used to playing
with boys, I never used to play with girls that much when I was younger so from
my point of view I was used to it. And they were a year older but you never
really thought of it like that and a lot of teams when they first came to play
us would think: ‘Aw, there’s a girl in there, we’re going to win this easily.’
But obviously then we’d start and they soon realised that I could actually play
football. Then they weren’t thinking about that!”
Emily didn’t always see playing
football professionally as an option available, let alone in England. In fact
she thought her future would lie in the US if she was good enough to pursue it.
But, like many, she saw the progress made by Team GB at the Olympics and
England at the Women’s World Cup in Canada as a turning point for women’s
football.
“When I was around 12 we went to
watch the women’s football at the London Olympics, we saw GB and the players
there played really well, like Steph Houghton.
“I realised then that, actually,
there were a lot of people watching that game and I could actually make
something out of it. Ever since then football in England has been growing and
becoming more popular and it’s definitely become something I want to do.
“I’m hoping, after this season at
United, I’ll be moving on to probably a development squad for a Women’s Super
League team and then hopefully progress through to the first team in time.”
Except rather than being able to
continue her rise, like Rashford, alongside talented players and dedicated
coaches who have helped shape her development, she will be playing for England
and embark on her last season at United knowing she’ll have to find a new home,
and it is not because she’s not good enough.
“It’s definitely not the best
thing. I always loved playing for United and watching United and stuff like
that but having to move on due to the fact that there’s nowhere else to go
within the club, it’s tough, but they have also given me loads of support.
They’ve moved my career on massively and they’ve helped me play for England.”
Emily is full of praise for the
coaches and players in the MU Foundation that work with the girls day-to-day
and invest so much to then see their fledgling players fly the nest with their
best years ahead of them.
“If it weren’t for United I
wouldn’t be playing for England. The quality of coaching and support I’ve had
has been fantastic. If I move onto a new club and make a career out of
football, United will have been a crucial part of my past and of who I am as a
person and a player.”
The sad thing is that not only do
Manchester United lose the best years of their talented young women, they also
risk tarnishing the reputation of the club in the eyes of these passionate
lifelong supporters.
But there is hope. Local rivals
Manchester City have poured resources (relatively) into their women’s side and
have built one of the most professional and serious set-ups in the game. This
focus had started to reap rewards with their first Super League title coming
this year.
And while Emily will have missed
out, she’s hopeful that the quick success of City will help heap the pressure
on United to catch up.
“City are United’s biggest
rivals. They’re doing better than the men in the league at the moment — for
now! — and they are fields ahead when it comes to a women’s team. City are
winning everything. Hopefully the long-standing rivalry will help encourage
United to establish a women’s team to compete with them in every area.
“I remember when City started
putting a lot of work into their team in 2012. They had a couple of seasons
where they didn’t win much and now they are one of the best teams in the
country and challenging in Europe. That shows how quickly it could be done if
United did set up a team.”
And the promising goalkeeper is
pleased her story is a part of the conversation. “It’s important to get your
story out there, your point of view, because the club does care. They care
about their image, their players and the community. More and more brilliant
players coming out of the Girls’ Regional Talent Club who head over to rival
teams highlights how good a senior women’s team could be.
“It can be disappointing for
girls that are growing up with United, United fans, living in the area, having
to leave and go somewhere else but we are also very lucky to have had the start
the MU Foundation has given us.
“I think we just need to continue
to get more awareness of women’s football as a whole and help the club to see
the benefits that expanding their women’s football would bring to the club.”
Emily’s England call-up and
ongoing success as a player is certainly helping to draw attention to the
question of a United women’s team. “When the foundation posted that I got the
call-up to England and it got retweeted by David De Gea and Jacqui Oatley I was
really pleased. I’ve got to the end of a memorable seventh year for United and
played the last couple of years for England, and now I’m unfortunately going to
move to one of their rivals.
“It must make the club think, and
hopefully young women in future will have the opportunity to play for United.
Who knows, maybe I’ll be able to come back.”
JBG? comment:
Thanks to the Morning Star's Suzanne Beishon for letting us use this for our blog.
