Who is the next Vardy?
Any football fan across the globe, let alone the UK, will know the story of Jamie Vardy.
His rise from non-league football to winning the Premier League and going on to play for his country is one that every player in the lower leagues dreams of.
But can and will it happen again?
So let’s first put some miles on the story for those who might be reading this and are unaware.
Jamie Vardy was a young football player who was released by Sheffield Wednesday at the age of 16 and moved into the world of non-league football with Stocksbridge Park Steels - a non-league club based in South Yorkshire.
Jamie Vardy playing for Stockbridge Park Steels
As a sixteen-year-old player, to drop into a non-league club’s youth set up is not as uncommon as you might think. When most players get released from pro clubs at the ages of sixteen and seventeen they tend to look at clubs in their local area who are in divisions typically lower than the football league.
However, some also decide to leave the game completely at this point which is always a shame, as some very talented players can be lost this way - only for them to reappear onto the scene four to five years later.
Jamie spent 3 seasons at Stocksbridge PS before earning a move up to a higher division with FC Halifax Town.
During his time at Stocksbridge, and now into his late teens, he was known as a prolific goalscoring machine and had trials at various league clubs who never took the gamble on him.
Whilst at FC Halifax Town, Jamie continued his goalscoring exploits which earned him a move to Fleetwood Town, who were at this time in the National Conference Premier - so another step up the league pyramid system.
Another season of excellent stats in front of goal with the Trawlermen earned Jamie the move to then Championship side Leicester City, for a reported £1 million - the rest is then history.
A championship winners medal, Premier League winners medal, Premier League Player of the Season awards and international call ups for the England side for the 2018 World Cup are some of his most notable achievements in the professional game.
Vardy at Fleetwood Town (left) before transferring to Leicester City (right)
When players now get released at the age of Sixteen from professional clubs, they will look at Jamie’s story and find inspiration.
But with his rise to stardom coming in small steps, it begs the question of; would a pro club at the top of the game take a non-league player straight away? or would they wait and watch them take the same, if not similar steps?
Could we see the likes of Liverpool going to Prescott Cables and giving a chance to one of their aspiring midfield playmakers?
Could a current Championship side like Stoke City, who still aspires to be back in the premier league, take a gamble on a player from a local Step 4 club who is making headlines at that current level?
Would they see where the player has been playing before, which club might have released him at a young age and ask why he was let go if they are now getting accolades every week at Steps 3 and 4?
The simple answer is that the player might have now found his level, but could also be that the player is now operating without the restrictions of being at a professional club and without the pressure that is there to succeed.
When players drop down to the levels of semi-pro Saturday football, they can go from playing on pitches, that resemble carpets, to playing on a battlefield with more divets on it than the 1st tee of a municipal golf course.
This is not what they are used to when they have been with their pro clubs on the synthetic pitches, which are most likely made of just 4% grass.
Scouts across the Country are looking for the next big talent at younger levels - but are they dripping down into the non-league and watching a game on a cold Tuesday night between Ilkeston Town and Frickley AFC?
In short, yes.
Clubs from the Championship and Leagues One and Two still take in non-league players for trials which are two or three weeks long. They will train with the current first team and play in behind closed door games during their trial.
I have seen some great non-league talents come to play for Crewe Alexandra in my time following football, who they picked up for around £10,000 - who have then gone on to play at higher levels and also at an international standard.
It goes without saying - the bigger clubs always seem reluctant to take these gambles.
Would fans not relate more to a player who joins their club from a non-league club, rather than a big money signing from abroad?
Of course they would.
Which is why Vardy’s story as well as his efforts to replicate his success through his V9 Academy, define an iconic time in which non-league is now looked at with higher notoriety.
Will we see another story in football as impactful as Jamie Vardy’s Rise to Success?
Have your say in the comments below.
Article by: Shaun Rogers
Formatted by: Samuel Slaney
Thumbnail by: Samuel Slaney
Images interpreted from: Getty Images, FC Halifax Town, Prescott Cables FC & Stocksbridge Park Steels FC