"You told me in the car, I was still training" - Exploring the professional dream and what it is like to be released

As he entered the room, Nathan was handed a letter and told that Josh would be released in the summer "as he hadn't been himself" for the previous six to eight weeks. "It was literally like a doctor's appointment. You went in, had a really brief conversation and that was it - you're on your way," Nathan said.

"I actually asked if they knew what was happening in Josh's life. Their response was, 'That's football. That's not our problem, we've made a decision. But if he wants to join our Development Centre, then he is welcome to. They train in Manchester twice a week and it costs £65 per month'."

He recalls having to break the news to an inconsolable Josh on the car ride home. Nathan added: "The words he muttered to me still haunt me - 'I've lost Granddad, I've lost Grandma and now they've taken my football away'. I was nearly in tears myself but I had to hold strong for him."

A spokesperson for Oldham Athletic said: "The club is unable to comment on individual cases but takes its responsibilities in supporting young players off the pitch and their aftercare very seriously. The club recognises that not all players within its Academy will succeed in achieving a professional contract or having a prolonged professional career, so provisions are in place which help to prepare each individual for a life outside of professional sport. Oldham Athletic is committed to ensuring that involvement within its Academy is a safe and positive experience for all and measures are in place to help ensure this is the case."

Josh left Oldham Athletic in the summer of 2021. "Following his release, he wanted to quit football, but I advised him to take some time out," Nathan, a former police officer who specialised in Child Protection and Safeguarding and whose wife has a background in child well-being and mental health, said. He did his due diligence in their pursuit of a new club and planning the next chapter in Josh's journey. He sent a Facebook callout for grassroots clubs he could realistically take Josh to and had over 50 clubs reach out for his son to trial with them. As a result, Josh has been playing for Darwen FC in the East Lancashire U-13's League since the beginning of the 2021/22 season.

Future prospects will likely not be few and far between for Josh, who was invited to train at Manchester City's academy for a period of 2-3 weeks to help him kick on after Oldham let him go. Nathan is highly appreciative of City's gesture and the exposure it gave his son, who featured for their shadow sides in his brief time donning sky blue. It was made crystal clear to Nathan that there was nothing in it for Josh in terms of a potential route into City's academy ranks during talks. Josh has recently been invited to trial for National League side Halifax Town, whose first-team is currently managed by Chris Millington, the man who scouted him for Oldham Athletic in May 2018.

There has been growing discourse around mental health in football in recent years after Jeremy Wisten took his own life in 2020 - less than two years after being released from Manchester City. Several clubs have since introduced in-house care programmes to support released players to build a career within football or away from the game. There have for long been calls for English football's governing bodies to institute a mandatory aftercare programme across the pyramid.

In January 2022, Crystal Palace became the first club in England to introduce a formal three-year aftercare package for players aged 18-23 who leave the club. A well-placed source within Palace's academy setup has provided the following brief about the London club's support plan for released Professional Development Phase (U-17 to U-23) players:

• A long-term commitment to support PDP players based across a three-year cycle that could be extended if required to help provide with stability, self worth and planning
• Tailored support options for each individual to help them achieve placements in whatever path they choose, should they want and need it
• Work with individuals across four main support pillars: careers, football support, mental well-being and education/life-skills

Manchester City have three full-time staff members and six support staff in place to aid academy players across their age groups. Their aftercare programme has come up organically and was in the works prior to Jeremy Wisten's passing. Once a player is informed of the club's decision to release them, a member of the Performance Lifestyle and Player Support Team gets in touch to offer support. An aftercare strategy is set up with the player and their family, which includes discussions over education and potential counselling sessions with the sport psychology department. On a player's last day at the academy, the club discuss an exit plan, wherein players are contacted by the club on a monthly basis in the six months that follow their release - at the end of which - they are invited to complete an exit survey. Beyond the six months following their release, players are welcome to contact the club for support whether or not they have been signed by another club. In addition, the club generally reach out if they are made aware of potential concerns around the player's well-being following a release. A source within the club exclusively revealed that earlier this season, Manchester City further introduced a 10-year alumni programme wherein players can seek support from the club for a decade following their release. This covers academy players who left the club before this season.

Mental health problems that accompany and often follow the retain/release process is a key reason why Oliver Saunders, 40, left academy football in 2018. Following coaching spells at Exeter City, Leyton Orient, Bournemouth and Southampton, he has moved into the senior game at non-league level since. "I could see it coming down the line. I didn’t feel comfortable being part of it anymore. Having done a few reviews, I just wanted to get away from it. It’s not running away from responsibility, it’s that all of it wasn’t right. It’s got to be something else that’s better than this," Oliver said.

Having observed and conducted release meetings during his time in academies, Oliver questions the lack of support and training provided to those with the unenviable task of breaking the horrible news to players and their parents. He added: "It is bizarre that there is no senior person there to be part of that process at all, no training or anything, you don’t get any support for this. I was not going to stick myself in the fire and be another person who tramples over kids’ dreams in a way that I believe is not fair. The psychological core of a young academy footballer is the most neglected by a mile, there is no support for it."

Oliver, a UEFA B Licence coach and UEFA A Licence student, has witnessed a few releases that were "not good" and others that were "great in how they were handled". He said: "But at the same time, I never really see parents and players set up quite right coming in. At a pre-academy, we are talking about children as young as six years old. Coaches are mainly talking to parents because kids that young don’t really understand what it means. All they know is at the end of this process, they either get picked up and put in the academy - or they don’t."

He recalls one particular case that will stick with him forever from his time managing Bournemouth U-13's from 2009-10. Oliver said: "I did not believe this goalkeeper should have been released. Him and the other goalkeeper were pushing each other, elevating each other’s performance levels; what an environment to be in, I thought, wow brilliant!" Such was the quality amongst the U-13's at the time that there were next to no releases. At least five of those boys went through to get a professional contract, with some still playing in the Championship and National League.

Accompanied by the goalkeeping coach, whom he says was as unprepared at the time for what was going to follow, Oliver describes the atmosphere in the room as "thick" and "horrible". He added: "The heat of the room was all around you. His father was in there and neither of them could believe it. He looked at his dad asking if this was real. He just started crying because he didn’t understand why. I think they actually thought he was just going to stay because he was doing very well."

Doing all the heavy lifting himself and landing the blow to the distraught kid and his father, Oliver, who was made aware that he would be releasing the player two days prior to the meeting, was lent a hand when the goalkeeping coach joined in and offered some feedback himself. He said: "I had to give them the bad news. I had to watch the child cry and his father be angry at me." On questioning the release, Oliver was told that Bournemouth, who were asked to comment, could only retain one keeper per age group in the academy at the time and that this would help progress the other goalkeeper's development.

Oliver goes on to recall another release at one of his previous clubs where he let the parents of the player in question know it was unlikely he would be kept on eight weeks prior to retain / release day - a notice period likely to be appreciated by a parent, who could prepare themselves for facing the impossible task of relaying the club's decision to their child. "That's not good enough, how is that good enough? But there was no support for me to do that, I was having to pull on my degree knowledge and my other scientific reading on how to best deal with the situation that I don’t understand from the other side of the table. I could only sit there and think about what would I want in that situation as a parent, what I’d want to know, so I can help my child and prepare them early," Oliver said.

"Aftercare is minimal from what I’ve seen in the EPPP era (2010 onwards), I feel that in terms of aftercare, there was next to none - essentially, clubs didn’t focus on the person, they focused more on the football side. Care packages were literally non-existent. Mental health is massive and ever since the pandemic, it has taken a new life. You can no longer ignore it, it has to be full on and given attention, we can’t have a player taking their life again. But it always takes somebody to die for something to get done about it."

Oliver would like the FA to do more and provide funding to clubs directly for aftercare programmes. An FA spokesperson said: “The professional leagues and their clubs are primarily responsible for the development and wellbeing of players who are active in the elite academy system, and bespoke regulations are employed throughout. They also provide a wide variety of support services to both scholars and former youth players who are no longer involved in the game alongside the Professional Footballers’ Association. We work closely with all of these stakeholders as the governing body of English football to ensure that the highest possible standards are upheld, and the welfare of both current and former players is prioritised.”