Popular Post skygod Posted April 21, 2018 Popular Post Report Share Posted April 21, 2018 A couple of months ago, I went to watch a National League North match at Edgeley Park. I was there as a Stockport County fan but the evening was hijacked by a midfield playmaker from Nuneaton Town. He was the only player on either side wearing gloves but that was not the reason he stood out. I found out later his name was George Green. George was way too good for Stockport that Tuesday night. He was way too good for the league, too. Even I could see within a few minutes that he was meant for a bigger stage than this. I wondered what on earth he was doing here. It was like spotting something glistening in the mud. It was like seeing a diamond in the dirt. George ran the game for Nuneaton. Technically gifted, his touch was superb. His control under pressure was flawless. The weight of his passes was always just right, even on a difficult surface. He knew when to keep hold of the ball and when to release it. When Nuneaton scored the only goal of the game just before half-time, George set it up. I got home and looked up George’s statistics. It was obvious straight away that something was wrong. George had been highly rated as a teenager and had represented England at Under-16, U17 and U18 level. He had played in the same teams as Dele Alli and Ross Barkley. When Everton signed him from Bradford City as a 15-year-old in 2011 for a fee that was projected to rise to £2million, he was inviting comparisons with Paul Gascoigne. But it didn’t work out for him at Everton. It didn’t work out for him at Tranmere Rovers, Oldham Athletic, Burnley, Kilmarnock, Salford City or Viking Stavanger, either. His career looked like a railway timetable and he never stayed in the station long. He is still only 22 but the career of the lad I’d seen dancing through the gloom looked as if it was heading south fast. I wondered if he had suffered a bad injury that had impeded his progress. I read a bit more. There were recurring hints of issues with George’s temperament. There were mentions of ‘off-the-field problems’. Contracts were either not renewed or terminated ahead of time. I met George last week. He strode into a hotel lobby not far from his home in Mirfield, near Dewsbury. He had a rough beard and a ready smile and he wanted to talk about what happened to him. He asked for a cup of coffee and began to tell his story. ‘I want people to see that George is right now,’ he said. ‘I want people to know George is the George that he can be.’ In a way, George has indeed been injured. It’s just that they’re not the kind of injuries you treat with bandages. You don’t take the weight off them with crutches. They’re the kind of problems that Stan Collymore did so much to draw attention to when he began to stimulate awareness of mental health issues within football 20 years ago but our attitudes to them still differ from the way we look at physical problems. Would we call a player with a snapped cruciate ligament ‘unreliable’ if he failed to turn up to training the day after he was hurt? No. Would we call a player with a broken leg ‘flaky’ if he said he couldn’t play on Saturday? No. And yet, for the past five years, those are the labels George has been struggling with. ‘I have had problems with mental health,’ said George. ‘I’ve suffered from depression and addiction. I was on a downward spiral. From the age of 17 or 18, I knew there was something wrong. People around me knew, but I didn’t want to admit it. ‘While I was at Salford City, I tried to take my own life. That was an overdose. I went on an outrage and decided that was the best idea. Green has a two-year-old daughter Daisy with his partner Charli ‘I took a lot of paracetamol, anti-depressants and strong pain killers. It was probably a massive cry for attention that I needed help. People knew I needed the help but I knew something serious needed to happen for me to get it. ‘Things weren’t going well at home. I wasn’t sleeping right. I was drinking too much. I’d seen crisis teams in hospital and they had turned me away. I had cut myself countless times and they turned me away, too, so I thought: “What have I got to do to get the proper help?” I was taken into hospital after the overdose. They put me on a drip and flushed it all out of me. ‘It has taken a lot of therapy sessions and going to see psychologists to get me to a better place. One said I was bipolar. In the past year, I have been diagnosed with ADHD and I have been on medication since then and it has been calm. Things have been going well. Home life’s going well, which plays a really important part. Things are on the up now. The medication I’m on keeps me to a level where I can be George Green and go and perform on the pitch and do what I do best. I’m fit again, I’m doing well at Nuneaton, I’m playing games, I have got into Jamie Vardy’s V9 Academy for the summer and I’m attracting interest from clubs in the Football League. I feel a million times better than I have done for a long while.’ George has a troubled back-story. His father died of throat cancer when he was eight. His mother often had to work away to make ends meet. ‘I never felt there was a family unit,’ he said. He has his dad’s date of birth tattooed on his arm next to a poem about cherishing his memory. He didn’t deal properly with the loss as a child and it hit him harder as he grew up. He didn’t deal well with the label of being the next Gazza, either. ‘If I didn’t make it, I was always going to be the lost boy or the one that got away,’ he said. ‘That played on my mind.’ He developed a talent for falling into bad company. And for going out at the wrong time. The Nuneaton player says the things like the smile on Daisy's face is what he gets a buzz off His partner, Charli, with whom he has a two-year old daughter, Daisy, wondered why he was throwing it all away but, through all his troubles, she stood by him. ‘I feel blessed because of her,’ he said. He is adamant that the cycle of self-destruction has run its course. He and Charli are happy and settled. He is playing a full part in Daisy’s upbringing. And he has had invaluable and ongoing support from Gary Charles, the former Nottingham Forest full-back, who battled alcoholism and now runs a help service called GCSportsCare. ‘I’m lucky to have a person like that round me,’ said George. ‘Without him, I wouldn’t be playing football now. I’d be one of the down and outs. But now I feel a million per cent better. Now I really don’t go out at all. I’ve got my family to look after. ‘It has taken me a long time to realise that those are the things that are important. It’s little things like the smile on Daisy’s face, how happy my partner is when she’s watching me with Daisy. That’s what I get a buzz off now.’ It is difficult to know what the years ahead will bring. George wants it back now, that future that slipped away from him in instalments. He will need to be nurtured carefully by anyone who signs him, but football is getting smarter at doing that. If it sends players to Colorado to get their knees looked at, it can still do more to help those affected by mental health problems, too. ‘The way back in football is going to be gradual,’ said George. ‘People aren’t going to be worried about my talent but they need to know I’m in it for the long haul. I believe now if someone were to offer me a longer deal, I’d see it out. Not like the old George Green. I’ll need support. I know that. That’s a lifelong process. But I still believe in myself. ‘I’m well. I know now I can go on to do good things in football.’ (Oliver Holt, Mail on Sunday) 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigD'sGingerLorry Posted April 21, 2018 Report Share Posted April 21, 2018 Great article, glad that he is doing well at the moment. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killieboykfc Posted April 21, 2018 Report Share Posted April 21, 2018 Fair play, he never got a chance to show what he could do here. I presume the issues he mentions played a part in that. It's sad to think that we had a player who for reasons outwith everyone's control was unhappy and I was unaware he tried to end his own life. Glad he is on the up now and goes on to be a success for himself and his family. He seems to have had a tough time of it so fair play to him for sticking it at it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraz65 Posted April 21, 2018 Report Share Posted April 21, 2018 The lack of quotation marks meant that I was under the impression that Skydog had met a bearded George Green in the pub. I was a bit disappointed when I saw that it was a "Mail on Sunday" article. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ycfc1922 Posted April 21, 2018 Report Share Posted April 21, 2018 11 minutes ago, fraz65 said: "Mail on Sunday" I wouldn’t wipe my arse with it. -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piffer Posted April 22, 2018 Report Share Posted April 22, 2018 From what I saw of the lad there was a player there. Disappointing tat he wasn’t managed right and it wasn’t the correct environment for him to flourish. Dbut against Accies I thought he looked competent despite signing the night before. 1-1 vs Sevco with ten men IMO he came on and completely killed a tie we may well have lost. Happy to see the boy finding his feet again and hopefully he goes on to make a decent career for himself 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthsideKillie Posted April 22, 2018 Report Share Posted April 22, 2018 Seems like we're seeing yet another case of a young man with bags of potential who didn't have the support network behind him to keep him on the right track. Appears another talent has been passed by. Article (regardless of source) reads like he is a good lad and I hope he does well in whatever road in life he takes. Wish the lad all the best in the future and thank him for the effort he has put in for all his time in football. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraz65 Posted April 22, 2018 Report Share Posted April 22, 2018 4 hours ago, piffer said: From what I saw of the lad there was a player there. Disappointing tat he wasn’t managed right and it wasn’t the correct environment for him to flourish. Dbut against Accies I thought he looked competent despite signing the night before. 1-1 vs Sevco with ten men IMO he came on and completely killed a tie we may well have lost. Happy to see the boy finding his feet again and hopefully he goes on to make a decent career for himself Do we know that he wasn't managed properly? A brief look at his career would suggest that the problem lies with the player and not the clubs that he played for. His contract at Viking was terminated for "incidents off the pitch" according to Wikipaedia and that was only in November 2017. It's a bit early to suggest that he has found his feet again on the basis of a Mail on Sunday article. He's only played 11 non-league games and he has given similar interviews to this one in the past only to be released and fall further down the footballing food chain. It's good that mental health issues in football are being discussed though but establishing the point where personal responsibility starts and mental illness ends is problematic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Estragon Posted April 22, 2018 Report Share Posted April 22, 2018 Was this the chap whose wife was from Galston? Seem to remember that was the case for one of the LC players. Terrible situation for anyone to find themselves in, really hope he can keep well. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skygod Posted April 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2018 (edited) On 22/04/2018 at 7:11 AM, fraz65 said: Do we know that he wasn't managed properly? A brief look at his career would suggest that the problem lies with the player and not the clubs that he played for. There’s one thing not lacking in George’s career and that’s media coverage of his issues! Previous press articles have highlighted his complaints about his time at Everton where he claimed that, at the ages of 15/16, he wasn’t given basic life skills which he hadn’t acquired before due to his lack of parental influence. For example, handling money. For all that he is rightly praised for his management, I’m not sure Sean Dyche’s loaning him out was good for him either. As we know, he came to Killie without any concept of what was happening about accommodation and ended up staying with relatives in Galston. And via his relative's posting on here, it sounded like he was confused about having to pay for his club suit. Compare with Luke Hendrie from the same club who didn't seem to have any such dramas. In other words, it didn’t sound like George was emotionally mature enough to stand on his own two feet and maybe shipping him out on loan without any support wasn’t best for his development. That’s just speculation based on what has been published and what we gleaned from the unusually frank insight we had on this board. I don't think football has a great record of pastoral care for young players, especially those - the vast majority - who are rejected at an early age. George admits that he had a talent for falling in with the wrong crowd when he was young, a story we’ve heard recently from both Jordan Jones and Alan Power. If I’m not mistaken, both were sent by their clubs (Middlesbrough and Forest respectively) on loan to Hartlepool where they fell in with bad crowds - must be a hell of a place! It took Power a lot longer than Jones to reach the level that his early career suggested he should attain. Footballers are like anyone else in that they are responsible for managing their own careers. Some of them don’t seem well equipped to do so but I suppose that is typical in many walks of life. Edited April 23, 2018 by skygod 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie1 Posted April 22, 2018 Report Share Posted April 22, 2018 The Boy obviously had issues and hopefully now in his past, just think what might have been for him had he persevered or been allowed to stay here under the guiding hand that SSC would have provided. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S SMITH Posted April 22, 2018 Report Share Posted April 22, 2018 brave to talk about it , not enough people do 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirrelhumper Posted April 22, 2018 Report Share Posted April 22, 2018 Good luck to the lad 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red_dug Posted April 22, 2018 Report Share Posted April 22, 2018 Hope the boys career and life work out well. No doubt he has footballing talent. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All the Wine Posted April 22, 2018 Report Share Posted April 22, 2018 11 hours ago, Ycfc1922 said: I wouldn’t wipe my arse with it. Bully for you -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuncanEwart Posted April 22, 2018 Report Share Posted April 22, 2018 I find George Green a fascinating character and some aspects of his story to be quite heart breaking. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorro Posted April 22, 2018 Report Share Posted April 22, 2018 I hope the lad finds the inner peace he needs. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All the Wine Posted April 22, 2018 Report Share Posted April 22, 2018 1 hour ago, Brianstorm said: The most tedious of all patter is boasting about what newpaser you chose to or chose not to read. Zzzzzzzz Especially relating to the daily mail. -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraz65 Posted April 23, 2018 Report Share Posted April 23, 2018 16 hours ago, skygod said: There’s one thing not lacking in George’s career and that’s media coverage of his issues! Previous press articles have highlighted his complaints about his time at Everton where he claimed that, at the ages of 15/16, he wasn’t given basic life skills which he hadn’t acquired before due to his lack of parental influence. For example, handling money. For all that he is rightly praised for his management, I’m not sure Sean Dyche’s loaning him out was good for him either. As we know, he came to Killie without any concept of what was happening about accommodation and ended up staying with relatives in Galston. And via his partner’s father posting on here, it sounded like he was confused about having to pay for his club suit. Compare with Luke Hendrie from the same club who didn't seem to have any such dramas. In other words, it didn’t sound like George was emotionally mature enough to stand on his own two feet and maybe shipping him out on loan without any support wasn’t best for his development. That’s just speculation based on what has been published and what we gleaned from the unusually frank insight we had on this board. I don't think football has a great record of pastoral care for young players, especially those - the vast majority - who are rejected at an early age. George admits that he had a talent for falling in with the wrong crowd when he was young, a story we’ve heard recently from both Jordan Jones and Alan Power. If I’m not mistaken, both were sent by their clubs (Middlesbrough and Forest respectively) on loan to Hartlepool where they fell in with bad crowds - must be a hell of a place! It took Power a lot longer than Jones to reach the level that his early career suggested he should attain. Footballers are like anyone else in that they are responsible for managing their own careers. Some of them don’t seem well equipped to do so but I suppose that is typical in many walks of life. The other possibility of course is that he wasn't good enough at football to make it at the top level and the quality of management that he received would have made absolutely no difference. The reality is that the majority of players who represent their country at youth level don't go on to have decent football careers. George has probably already achieved more in the game than many of his England youth team-mates. -1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyhigh Posted April 23, 2018 Report Share Posted April 23, 2018 Thought this boy was class when i watched him. Was looking forward to seeing more of him. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skygod Posted April 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2018 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James K Polk Posted April 23, 2018 Report Share Posted April 23, 2018 It’s well worth reading ‘No hunger in paradise’ by Michael Calvin. It explores how the youth system in England works and in particular the devastating affect it can have on young kids/ adults. When you read articles such as this and the recent Jordan Jones one it helps provide good perspective on why some of the people involved end up messed up. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuncanEwart Posted April 23, 2018 Report Share Posted April 23, 2018 He's a great writer, Michael Calvin. I could listen to him all day when he is on the radio. "No Hunger In Paradise" is going on my reading list. Thanks @James K Polk. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRonFaeTheQueenVic Posted April 23, 2018 Report Share Posted April 23, 2018 I was quite disappointed that it never worked out for him at Killie, there's definitely a player there. I do sometimes wonder how his uncle is getting on as well. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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