As you will know if you have read any of my previous articles or blogs, 2012 for me so far has been about trying to get signed again in the UK.  I have played football in some wonderful and some terrible places around the world over the last 4 years but now I really want to get back to the birthplace of football to continue my career.  It isn’t proving to be easy, I have been out of sight, out of mind to all the scouting and back room staff in the UK for a long time but I am working hard to get back on the radar.  My old club Spurs have been really supportive and let me train with them which has been invaluable in keeping my fitness up.  I have also been on several trials which haven’t worked out.  I am on a new trial as I write and I have high hopes for it.
Over the last couple of months I have started to see a lot of similarities between my search for a football contract and the search for a partner.  From talking to my single friends, it turns out that trying to get signed is a lot like trying to get a date.  First there is the part where you have to find out if they are interested – you don’t want to look too keen incase they aren’t bothered.  You end up speaking to people who know them to gauge it before speaking directly to them – if you do at all, you might let your agent sort it for you.
Then you have your first date/trial.  The pressure is on you to show your best side and it can be pretty nerve wracking.  You just have to turn up at a place you have never been before and show how well you fit in.  And the stress doesn’t end there, you might feel it went well, they might even say that they will call you, but then you have to wait.  All the usual things go through your head – what if they lost your number?  Maybe they had their phone stolen?  How long should I wait before I call them?  And then if you do call and leave a message you have the agonising wait for them to return your call.  And of course once you have made that call, you can’t call again until you hear back from them.
Unfortunately I haven’t seen a positive conclusion to this scenario so far this year.  I’ve been on the receiving end of the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ response  – we don’t play the same style of football, we need a different kind of player, we are interested but we can’t commit just yet.  That’s the worst one, when they lead you on for a few more ‘dates’ to see if it will work out.  You have a feeling from the start that it won’t but you want it to, so you go along with it and play those extra training games in the hope it will become something more long term.  I’m still out there though, not holding onto the baggage from the failed encounters and going to each new one with an open mind.  Hopefully I will find the ‘real thing’ any day now.