Ilkeston Town - Dream Factory!

[PTID1862]

Yup that's what they say. This is kind of a where are they now... ex Magpie Kevin Wilson has teamed up with an old tree hugger to rebuild careers and kick start players dreams again...
 
Quite a good article apart from the bit where they had to sneak in the two European cups...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/premier-league/11398808/Dream-factory-thrives-under-restoration-men-rescuing-careers-of-young-mavericks-discarded-by-League-clubs.html

[Fan of Big Tone]

These links drive me mad I clicked on it and started to read the article and it suddenly turned into an advert then I couldn't find the article so I gave up. Is it my phone or do others have trouble? Perhaps it would be a good idea to paste the article into the post @PTID1862

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[PTID1862]

@tonyhateley I have just clicked it and found no advert, not sure why it happens for you...

[Fan of Big Tone]

@tonyhateley I have just clicked it and found no advert, not sure why it happens for you...

Thanks @PTID1862 I probably clicked an advert with my fat fingers

[Fan of Big Tone]

Clicked again and it read ok, here's the full article for those interested.

Dream factory thrives under restoration men rescuing careers of young mavericks discarded by League clubs

Restoration men: Ilkeston FC's Steve Chettle (left) and Kevin Wilson are thriving by rescuing the football dreams of youngsters cast aside by League clubs.

Picture: THE TELEGRAPH

By Henry Winter, Football Correspondent

2:31PM GMT 08 Feb 2015

Exclusive: Ilkeston FC's Kevin Wilson and Steve Chettle are reaping dividends by rebuilding the confidence and careers of players released from professional Academies

Two familiar names from the higher end of English club football, Kevin Wilson and Steve Chettle, run a non-League dream factory in Derbyshire, reviving the hopes and careers of teenagers discarded by professional clubs. A flurry of proud texts and tweets flowed between fans, players and staff of Ilkeston FC at the weekend when Ashley Hunter, who benefited from the enlightened work of Wilson and Chettle after being released by Burton Albion, made his Fleetwood Town debut in League One.

Scouring exit trails, holding open trials and fielding calls from heartbroken apprentices, Wilson and Chettle take in unwanted “mavericksâ€, as Chettle calls them, rebuilding the confoidencendividuals who didn’t fit in to the professional Academy system. They rebuild their confidence, put them in the team at Ilkeston, whose average is 19 and three months, and the best then move on, back into the Football League. “We reinvent them,†said Chettle, who played 527 times for Nottingham Forest where he also worked in their Academy.

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Che Adams, who flitted between professional clubs in the Midlands before being given an opportunity by Wilson, started for Sheffield United at the weekend, and has already been in the headlines for scoring twice against Tottenham Hotspur in the Capital One Cup. “The players were absolutely delighted for Che,’’ said Wilson, the former Northern Ireland striker who played for Derby and Chelsea amongst others. “Ash (Hunter) came in for Che, scored, and then he went. They see the chance that it might be them next.’’ The list lengthens. Kieran Wallace, once of Forest, signed for Sheffield United with Adams. Joe Burgess, formerly of Peterborough United, went to Fleetwood with Hunter. “Jake Mulraney was at Forest with me,’’ said Chettle. “He was Republic of Ireland (Under-19s), another maverick who didn’t fit into what the club were trying to do. He came here and we just gave him a go.†QPR looked at Mulraney, liked him and signed him.

Tyrell Waite, who came through Ilkeston’s youth academy, moved to Notts County. Other teenagers have also enjoyed their time at the New Manor Ground before heading up the pyramid. Kane Richards, who was let go by Derby, went to Chester. Ryan Wilson, Kevin’s son, also moved to the Conference, to Gateshead.

Wilson, Ilkeston’s manager, is ably assisted by Chettle, who also oversees the Academy. Their desks at the New Manor Ground are four feet apart, reflecting the proximity of youngsters to first team. Since the painful liquidation of Ilkeston Town, the newly-formed Ilkeston have focused on youth, and 30 Academy graduates have progressed to the first team in five years.

Other former pros like Darren Caskey and Rob Kozluk helped along the way while huge impetus comes from David Mantle, Ilkeston’s chairman and the managing director of SR Education which runs the academic sports programme at the New Manor Ground. The players study for BTECs in £100,000 class-rooms close to the pitch; some head on to universities here and in the US if they don’t make the footballing grade.

“If people paint a picture in their heads of non-League football it’s Portakabins and a dirty old pitch,’’ said Chettle. “It doesn’t look like this. This is a Football League club at heart. The first-team are now full-time, train every day. We only have three who work and they come in twice a week at least.’’ Wages range from £40 to £150.

As some of the youngsters made their way into training and then classes, Chettle considered their background and future. “Some had been released by pro clubs so we are a bit of a rehabilitation centre,’’ said Chettle. “We are now getting ex-Arsenal players like Arinse Uade.

“Eddy Samba got released by Leicester City in the summer. Elliot Tomlinson got released at Sheffield Wednesday. Eli Bako was at Coventry, one of the stars coming through but lost his way. David Morgan was at Forest, captain of the [Northern] Irish Under-21s. My lad [Callum] is here. He got let go by Forest at 16. He’s played 80 games here and he’s only 18.’’ Ilkeston’s youth has made them targets for intimidation in the tunnel by certain more experienced opponents. Yet they’ve stood up to the bullying, setting the tone for games which they have dominated, currently sitting third in the Evo-Stik League Northern Premier League, even having lost Adams to Sheffield United for a decent six-figure fee with a substantial sell-on.

“I was a 'Che Adams’,’’ reflected Wilson. “I came from non-League, from Banbury United [to Derby]. Che was at Leicester, Coventry and back at Leicester where I picked him up. He gave me the 'wow’ factor. The kid can do things at key moments. He showed that with that run against FC United of Manchester (dribbling from his own half to score). He’s got that power to go away from people. Newcastle looked at him when he was here but wouldn’t pay enough.

“Che has been at Sheffield United three months, played against Nathaniel Clyne of Southampton, went past him a couple of times and then played against Kyle Walker. He scored twice. He’s not fazed. Che is a really quiet, unassuming kid, so laid-back that if you didn’t hold him up he’d fall down but get him on a pitch and he’s absolutely outstanding.†Chettle agreed. “Che’s not your stereotypical Academy footballer,’’ said the former Under-18s and Under-21s coach at Forest. “I’ve been in the system for seven years and Che’s unorthodox. He will make glaring mistakes and then every now and again he’ll do something to make you go 'oh my gosh’. He’s not a robot. He’s a complete free spirit. He’s a maverick.

Maybe that spirit is knocked out of them at Academies. We gamble on kids here and have to redevelop everything that has been tossed away.’’ Arriving at Ilkeston hoping for another chance, they knuckle down and work hard. “Che’s disciplined,’’ said Wilson. “Discipline’s important. Teachers can’t discipline now. Police are now scared to do that.

We discipline them. They still do their jobs, come in and clean the boots and balls. It gives them good grounding. I think they miss that in the [pro] Academies. They get given everything there.

“We are trying to give them old-fashioned values: discipline, organisation, respect and making sure they speak to people in the right way. I was brought up on old-fashioned values. Same as 'Chetts’. I was brought up in a council house. When I bought my first house as a professional footballer, my mum said: 'It’s only bricks and mortar. You’ve still got the values’.’’ Footballing values too. “I went to FC Twente when Steve McClaren was there, watched their Academy, watched their system, and brought in three at the back, playing through the thirds,’’ continued Wilson. “The philosophy is to go and play, stay on the ball, work it out.

“I’ve spoken to Steve about the way we play. He’s interested because he’s a forward-thinking coach, probably the best English coach we have in England.

I don’t think British coaches are appreciated. I’ve got my Pro Licence. I got promotion at Northampton but not got a chance since. Ilkeston has given me the opportunity to do something I believe in, and that is young British players. We think we have something unique here.’’ Given Greg Dyke’s recent Commission it is surprising that nobody from the FA has been to examine Ilkeston’s philosophy in motion. “People look at us and think: 'Oh, it’s a non-League club’,’’ added Wilson. “We are not amateurs. We come from a professional background. Every game from Under-16s up is taped and sent to players.

“We supply the kids for the training courses at St George’s Park but we’ve never had anyone come and have a look at we are doing. I don’t think they want anyone to say: 'This is how to do it and move it forward.’ I would take this philosophy into a League club. You could build a team with 19-year-olds. It would be brave.’’ Some Derby-Forest rivalry briefly broke out between Ilkeston’s driving forces. Chettle has his Forest pennant on the wall and mentioned to Wilson about their recent win at the iPro. Wilson’s riposte was swift. “I played for Derby in 1983, beat Forest 2-0 [in the FA Cup]. Archie Gemmill and Andy Hill scored. You’d just been in the European Cup and Derby were near the bottom of the Second Division.’’ Chettle sighed. He loves Forest dearly, shaking his head in sadness at “seven managers in [just over] two yearsâ€, and recalled his days under Brian Clough. “There were mavericks in that team but it was all geared around honesty and hard work with a manager who knew how to get the best from players.†As with Ilkeston’s players, Chettle and Wilson are determined to make this work, to seize this chance. “I stepped away from Forest because this job was available and - how can I put this in a PC way? - because the way that it was going at Forest I was never going to get the opportunity to work with the seniors - even though I’d been there as a player for God knows how long [16 years] and in the Academy system for seven years,†said Chettle.

There was constant upheaval with new managers, new ideas. “I got demoted from 21s coach to 18s coach. I could see what Ilkeston would be and it is exciting. I finished my career here when it was the old Town and it was your last pay-day. It’s different now.†It’s a new dawn.

[Feral Fox]

This is where our scouting system really needs to up its game. Waite had a chance, but didn't make the grade, but so do alot of our own academy players. We ought to be there every match signing them before anyone else does. Look at Che and Hunter. Both players who should have been on our radar and our books. So what if a fee was involved. Surely paying for young talent is what we're about?

[Chris]

It's a gimmick in order for them to gain good players, which I am not knocking but I do question if they could actually 'rebuild' careers, whereas it seems they can help youngsters establish themselves and reach a level whereby they don't really settle. I think the Adams lad is the exception but I do question how far he can go, football is all about confidence and playing for the right team/manager - a lot can change to ruin that.

I wish them well, two friends made quite the reputation at Ilkeston Town and at Non League level.

Other clubs will probably be going down a similar root, however I wonder if they could rebuild my career? No, okay..

[Captain Sticky]

I know a couple of younger lads in the development team and they don't have many positive comments.

[liampie]

if they can help players get back into the pro leagues good luck to them, if i was them i would focus more on building their own youngsters but it seems just me that they want them ready made so the rep is easier to build off.

[waldorf]

Right! Hucknalll Town now make pies.