How football's youth academy culture is failing youngsters who don't make the grade

Abstract

First paragraph: It’s a lamentable list of scarred young men whose lives ended following their release by clubs they hoped would turn them into professional footballers. Josh Lyons; Joel Darlington; Alex Stephens; Reece Staples; and, more recently, Jeremy Wisten all had their dreams dashed when they didn’t make the grade. Their tragedy was that they did not “just move on” to the next stage of their lives. For each of these youngsters, being let go led to a period of mental turmoil which culminated in their premature deaths.