Ok admittedly Neil said semi professional...

But why is it so many people seem to have been "becoming a footballer" or "set to become a professional footballer"

Until tragically (or coincidentally!) injury struck meaning they couldn't play any more.

I just seem to have heard this similar sports type story many many times. It's almost as if everyone at some point in their life was set to become a professional sports person

I just wish one day some one would just turn round and say... "yeah, i wasn't good enough to become a professional footballer / tennis player / rugby player etc" - "so I decided to move on"

That's nothing. One chap won a place at Sandhurst - then turned them down



Me? I'm the 8th Beatle!

When I went to uni, in all honesty it felt like half the people I met in the first couple of weeks claimed they could of gone pro if it wasn't for injury/opportunity/other made up story.

I think it just people trying to show off. Fair play every now and then you met someone who was being genuine but primarily it a poor way to try and impress people

Yeah i think also it's the competitive nature of sport. You always want to be better than the other players, including your team mates.

But the way i see it is wayne Rooney was in the premiership at 16 so you've either got it or you haven't. The vast majority haven't

Rooney was the exception, most don't break through till they are older. For every one who does make it there are thousands who don't. So it's true there are many who can rightly say they nearly made it. They usually get just one chance and the selection process is utterly ruthless, makes X-Factor seem benign. Many get injured and miss their opportunity. Often the ones that don't make it are more talented than the ones that do. English scouts have a "type" of player they look for and the highly skilled ones often miss out. That's why English teams tend to be stuffed with hard working, committed, reliable but unexceptional players.

Precisely. People I know have similar stories: of being injured early in the game watched by the scout from a Premiership club; of having flu in the week he would have been selected for the televised cup game (mainly because most of the squad also had flu); and two people with knee injuries; Matt Smith (Doctor Who) is another one.

I could have been a pro footballer if it weren't for a total lack of ability

I would assume the same abilities that drive professional sports people are similar to the skills needed for an entrepreneur, focus, tunnel vision etc.

I have never made any secret that I really wanted to compete horses at the highest level of competition but simply hadn't got sufficient talent as a rider.

However... I do have a very good horse that I compete at local level and have lots of fun with so on a scale of 1 - 10 I am doing very well thank you.

I have to suppress a grin when I talk to overweight desk jockeys who tell me they were rugby players until injury took over. And your excuse for total lethargy now is......?

Just got back from a business meeting so time to muck out the stable ....

Luis Suarez could have become a professional footballer. But then he decided to change career and become a petulant, whinging thug.

Ansell Henry actually was a professional footballer for a while. He was with Millwall, but he had a serious injury that meant he had to retire from football for good, so he became a businessman instead.

He's undoubtedly a world class player, despite his daft antics.

Pretty much agree with this, and the sheer number of people who play football in the UK as kids makes it statistically pretty likely for you to meet someone who almost made it. I personally know two people who were picked up by professional clubs, but never broke into the first team. The most skilful player I played with as a kid was never picked up at all, and two or three others ended up with chronic knee problems by age 16 due to playing 2-3 matches per week, plus training and kickabouts.