Yes, incredibly sad. For so many kids, even those who only play at a very casual level, the idea of being a professional footballer is everything, almost the only job they can see that they want. It must be crushing to get close to it and then feel no other prospect open to you matches up anywhere near it. There needs to be so much support to help with that mental comedown. It must be like losing your winning lottery ticket.
Former City academy player Jeremy Wisten sadly took his own life after being released
- Thread starter MyOnlySolskjaer
- Start date
Yes, incredibly sad. For so many kids, even those who only play at a very casual level, the idea of being a professional footballer is everything, almost the only job they can see that they want. It must be crushing to get close to it and then feel no other prospect open to you matches up anywhere near it. There needs to be so much support to help with that mental comedown. It must be like losing your winning lottery ticket.
Tragic news, rip lad.
Thanks for sharing mate, well dine on being there for otherwise, top man!
Tragic news, 17 years old ffs 
RIP, such a young age!
Both, City are probably telling these kids they'll make it, selling them the dream so they get them through the door. The PFA should be making sure none slip through the net, its piss easy to see who's on the released list etc of every club, they've just not done enough research into it.
Poor boy. They build these lads hopes up, promise them the earth and then some clubs just dump them with no thought of the effect it might have on them. He had all his life ahead of him and maybe needed to be told he hadn't failed and there are other things even within sport that he could look into doing. Except clubs just say we don't want you any longer, you're on your own now.
Sad news.
Does Glenn Hoddle still have his academy for kids that were released? Think it was based on Spain
Does Glenn Hoddle still have his academy for kids that were released? Think it was based on Spain
Very sad. The suggestion, however, that Premier League clubs fail to provide support and aftercare is simply wrong. Lots of work goes into providing these kids with opportunities outside of football. Some more than others, granted, but being released is part and parcel of the business.
And whether people like it or not, part of life is dealing with rejection. From job interviews to relationships, we suffer some form of rejection regularly. Picking apart this particular instance and questioning how the person who released him must be feeling is misguided and grossly unfair.
A more appropriate discussion point would be the governmental failings surrounding CAMHS and the lack of funds ploughed into mental health services.
And whether people like it or not, part of life is dealing with rejection. From job interviews to relationships, we suffer some form of rejection regularly. Picking apart this particular instance and questioning how the person who released him must be feeling is misguided and grossly unfair.
A more appropriate discussion point would be the governmental failings surrounding CAMHS and the lack of funds ploughed into mental health services.
R.I.P. Condolences to his family and friends.
The wealth and status that football brings these days is massive. It basically puts you at the top of the social strata. I know someone who was at United for a long time and ended up as a builder. It's a massive come down and probably pretty humbling. I worked with another lad years ago who was coming through at a lower league club band lost his career through injury. I think that really affected him psychologically as he stopped playing football full stop.
My grandad's brother left a lower league professional career back in the day to become a teacher because it paid better and had better long term prospects. Teaching probably held higher social status back then too. Things have changed a lot.
I think the reversal in fortunes is extremely pronounced for some of these lads. They go from the prospect of being at the top of the social order receiving praise and admiration and the wealth that comes with it to looking for entry level jobs. I think it is more pschologically jarring than the standard types of rejection most people face in the jobs market.
That said, it's likely that he had other underlying issues that compounded the situation.
When the rate of male suicide is so high, clubs should be doing more to transition young players who've been released into a 'normal' daily life. Sadly when vocational and trade training schemes are so underfunded, opportunities for retraining are diminishing
RIP, bloody hell that's really sad to hear.
Without allocating blame to any particular party, isn't there supposed to be some kind of programme in place to guide and support young footballers after being released?
Without allocating blame to any particular party, isn't there supposed to be some kind of programme in place to guide and support young footballers after being released?
Players need some career counseling tutoring from young ages, and clubs should provide them that, since 99% of youth players will never sign a professional contract.
Also, some players usually make it because they leave their comfort zone. On the other day they were showing some PT players who never make it to professional playing in Portugal, and started to send CVs to clubs in remote places util they got an offer.
A good example is João Moreira, who was a promising young player (He even got hired by Valencia due to that, back in the days), but after jumping between 10 clubs in less than 6 season, offers stopped showing up.
Then he started to send self promoting offers to Asian clubs and went to Singapore after being one year without contract. Then he played in New Zealand, went to Malta, South Africa and got back to New Zealand, where he's playing now. Not a glamorous career, but I'm sure is putting food on the plate.
Also, some players usually make it because they leave their comfort zone. On the other day they were showing some PT players who never make it to professional playing in Portugal, and started to send CVs to clubs in remote places util they got an offer.
A good example is João Moreira, who was a promising young player (He even got hired by Valencia due to that, back in the days), but after jumping between 10 clubs in less than 6 season, offers stopped showing up.
Then he started to send self promoting offers to Asian clubs and went to Singapore after being one year without contract. Then he played in New Zealand, went to Malta, South Africa and got back to New Zealand, where he's playing now. Not a glamorous career, but I'm sure is putting food on the plate.
My friend knew him, shes devasted. Its so sad
So sad. My nephew is a promising goalkeeper for a team in South Yorkshire and I do worry for him if he doesn’t make it, he is being watched by England and Man Utd currently and his club recently turned down an approach from Everton.
It’s hard not to get excited for him but I’m super aware of the impact it could have on him should he be released some day. You would have thought Jeremy would have had options after Man City but COVID is seriously affecting smaller clubs and the young lads will be the first to feel that pain.
It’s hard not to get excited for him but I’m super aware of the impact it could have on him should he be released some day. You would have thought Jeremy would have had options after Man City but COVID is seriously affecting smaller clubs and the young lads will be the first to feel that pain.
It’s not right that some kids are in the system from the age of 5 and are sold the dream of being a footballer. That’s 10+ years of your life taken away from you in one swift moment and some lads can’t deal with it. It’s not just then that get sold the dream but the parents too and the pressure for the kids to not let down themselves, their parents and the club is enormous.
Really sad. RIP Jeremy.
Surely there is still a chance of making it in one of the lower leagues? Same for the guy now working on a building site. Very few are good enough for united or city but if you were good enough to play for prem youth teams and have received a first class football education then you have a decent chance of making it elsewhere?
There's a lot of luck and personal feelings involved in 'making it', I have known a few people at lower league clubs on the verge of first team football who had a manager change and then suddenly they were on the periphery - so instead they stopped working as hard, started partying and basically got other jobs, but to get so close at a place like City or United then miss out must be REALLY hard. Getting to that 0.012% takes everything.
Hope this is a reminder to clubs of their duties to players mental healths and hopefully his family gets looked after.
Hope this is a reminder to clubs of their duties to players mental healths and hopefully his family gets looked after.
fecking terrible. Poor boy and his poor family. The intensity of years of training, practice and discipline etc, then suddenly the plug is pulled. Takes a strong character, stable personality and family support to cope with the disappointment of rejection. Nothing new here but rewards and expectations are higher these days and the trapdoor suddenly opens and the dreams are shattered.
Very sad.
Very sad.
Very, very sad. I echo the sentiments of everyone calling for an improved support network for released players. Academy football sounds ruthless in terms of who is cut and who is kept and the manner in which it is done. I would expect the bigger clubs to do better by people. I predict that depression is rife amongst players who stepped in to a top academy and then didn't make it, and when mental health and wellbeing is at stake, clubs should be doing more to guide young players.
From a purely football aspect, you would think that if you've spent 14 years at a club like City, getting released wouldn't be the end of the road for that career (Unless he was absolutely dead-set on playing for City and only City). You don't spend that long on the books of a big club by being a bad footballer. Not making it at a Premier League club is nothing to be ashamed of, and I predict many could still forge a lucrative career outside of the top 6 or outside of the Premier League. But there probably needs to be a system in place that supports released academy players into making that next step, as it must be so difficult to bounce back from.
From a purely football aspect, you would think that if you've spent 14 years at a club like City, getting released wouldn't be the end of the road for that career (Unless he was absolutely dead-set on playing for City and only City). You don't spend that long on the books of a big club by being a bad footballer. Not making it at a Premier League club is nothing to be ashamed of, and I predict many could still forge a lucrative career outside of the top 6 or outside of the Premier League. But there probably needs to be a system in place that supports released academy players into making that next step, as it must be so difficult to bounce back from.
Think there's also the issues of shame and the loss of the support network, friends and the camaraderie that comes from being part of a team that travels the world doing pretty amazing things - all of it, gone.
I think we can look at the obvious, which is the money and fame, but not getting to do what you love on a full-time basis, within a framework which is essentially all you know can understandably be life-shattering. The other side is altruism and aims of giving your family a better life. It's easy to imagine that being an anchor in itself, one perhaps even more devastating than things not working out for the individual.
If you put all these factors together, it's a wonder more stories like these aren't heard of.
The notion of aftercare and what the clubs can do to help only goes so far, imo. The amount of youngsters who back themselves to not need education or to dilute their focus to other pursuits is always going to be tremendous. They can be told of the pitfalls and handled in a manner that considers things won't work out, but how many are going to take that on board? How many even have the emotional maturity to think, genuinely, that they need contingency plans and consideration for what happens if football doesn't work out?
Those that can move on without it affecting them for many years are going to be exceptionally rare, I would think. Either that, or raised in an environment where football isn't their everything. You'll also have the rare few who were brought up in exceptional circumstances ala Oliver Gill, who don't need football to have, what they deem, an outstanding life.
What I would have thought happens a lot is that these kids who were at top clubs manage to get gigs at clubs lower down the chain or even go abroad and play for more than they're likely to earn as [assumed] working class kids with few opportunities. Even that is major adjustment and accepting that circumstances have changed emphatically and I can imagine that can also come with an element of shame for some.
I don't believe there's a way to 'fix' the issue that comes with cutting kids - like someone else said, going from holding a lottery ticket with all the numbers plus bonus ball, to getting a couple of numbers correct for a fraction of the pot (not just in financial terms) is always going to be a devastating thing to go through.
Horrible news and a very sad story. I can only imagine the pressure these kids are under, also how much most of them want to make it. The disappointment of being told you're not going to make it at that age after so much work must be devastating. Of course there's no shame in making it that far at the likes of City or any other big club. Hopefully a better support system is put in place in order to help those who inevitably go through that disappointment.
in some areas, children having to wait 40 weeks to access CAMHS, and over 70% of young kids experiencing a deterioration in their mental health before seeing a mental health specialist after being referred. Fifth richest country in the world. These stats are pre covid, reports are suggesting there has been a significant increase in mental health issues in kids since....
Dont do that in such a thread, because if you wanna go there, we be as guilty as feck as well for the way we discard them. Anyway condolences to his family.
it must be tough to get so close to your dreams and then be told you aren't good enough and are discarded.
It's worse being good enough to get there but not good enough to take the big step - you'd probably rather never being that close.
He could have dropped into the football league and built his way back up, but at that point he probably felt like it was over.
The PFA really should offer free conselling to every player that is released, must be a tough time indeed.
It's worse being good enough to get there but not good enough to take the big step - you'd probably rather never being that close.
He could have dropped into the football league and built his way back up, but at that point he probably felt like it was over.
The PFA really should offer free conselling to every player that is released, must be a tough time indeed.
I said it in relation to the comment I quoted, I think all clubs are guilty of it, we're no saints.
Bloody hell so sad.
Rest in peace.
Rest in peace.
Very sad news, just shows how much pressure is on these kids at that age and what can happen if they don't make it. Needs to be a lot of support in place.
I know a guy that committed suicide because of this. He was one of the most popular guys in the year. Then he left school and the dream of playing football professionally did not work out.
It's very sad. There's still huge potential possibilities for kids who get released. Imagine you could still go to the MLS or Portugal or Australia or India or Thailand and join a club. Maybe not make great money but live like a king by the beach. It's so tragic that he couldn't see the potential to have an unbelievable life elsewhere as a semi-pro at least.