Manchester United’s Chris Smalling is proving the inspiration for one Northwood youngster who has already had his share of bad luck from football’s school of hard knocks.
Oliver Sprague once graced the same Chelsea youth side as Josh McEachran, but a combination of a cruciate knee ligament injury, being turned down for a YTS and a club on the continent hitting the financial buffers, left him thinking his dream of a professional contract was over.
However, the 19-year-old took solace in the fact Smalling had to take the journey from not making it at Millwall’s Academy to life at Old Trafford via non-league Maidstone.
And under the watchful eye of Woods boss Mark Burgess the full-back feels as if he is slowly daring to dream again.
He said: “Chris Smalling came out of non-league football at my age and he’s now at Manchester United.
“Obviously, I’m not saying that will happen to me but I could get a breakthrough into somewhere.”
Sprague it seems has found a new mental strength after a journey in the game for one so young few would relish.
Given a trial by his boyhood heroes QPR at the age of nine he admits his ‘eyes lit up’ when Chelsea spotted him playing for his school three years later and came knocking.
Around 12 months on, disaster struck when he suffered cruciate ligament damage in another school game and after three months out the Blues released him thinking he would not get back to his best following the injury.
Links with Watford through Harefield Academy saw him bounce back with the Hornets, but those dreams were dashed at 16 when no YTS was offered.
Sprague admits these were dark moments.
He said: “I’ve been down and that, when I was released by Watford I went on a few trials with clubs like Cambridge United, Swindon Town and my head just wasn’t there really. I just did not turn up mentally on the pitch because of my disappointments because I thought it was the end of the road really, but you can’t look at it like that.”
A door opened for a brief spell in the fourth flight of the Cypriot professional game, but when the club’s money ran dry he was home again.
Out of football for four months he hooked up with Burgess and co at Woods part way through pre-season and now not just his fitness but also his self-belief is on the up again.
He added: “I’m only 19 so who knows what can happen. If I work hard it could still be a route back to bigger things – it just takes time and you have to stick at it.”
