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MICHAEL JOHN CARROLL

I have been asked to write to give you knowledge of my background in football and how I got into the professional side.
  
My career as a professional started back in 1983.  At that time I was running a junior side in the Bexley League called Sky Blue Kestrels.  My son Sean was part of the team, and the team did well with no fewer than 6 of the boys playing going on to pro clubs.  Sean went to Queens Park Rangers.  It was whilst he was at QPR that they offered me a part time job with the which I accepted. It was not long after starting that I was asked to set up a Centre of Excellence in the Stroud.  I remember many happy times with QPR.
 
 In 1984 I was contacted by John Freatt, who was the scout that had initially taken Sean to QPR, to offer me a job at Wimbledon FC.  At first I said I wasnt interested but John asked me to just go along to Wimbledon and have a look, which I did.  I went along to their training ground at Richard & Evens Playing Fields by the A3.  To my amazement the training ground was just a field with a car park and a transport cafe.  It was then whilst I stood and watch the first team players with the kids that I made my mind up to join them.  Dennis Wise joined the Club on the same day.
 
I spent many a season at my beloved Wimbledon and never has any other Club come close to be as great as they were, from the Chairman to the cleaning lady the Club was unique and unfortunately never to be repeated in the future. I worked under Harry Bassett and Bobby Gould who I have a lot of respect for but life at Wimbledon changed and for me no longer had the same feel about it.  I was extremely sad by the time I made my move from Wimbledon but by this time most of the "old guard" had gone.
 
It was not long after that John Philips invited me to work for Chelsea.  I stayed with Chelsea for one season after which I left to join Charlton where I managed their U15s boys which produced stars like Lee Bowyer, Jamie Stuart, Marvin Rufuss, Jason Tindall and last but not least, the best midfield player since Johnny Giles of Leeds United, little Lee Hodges, but because of Lee's size he was never given the chance to develop which was a great waste so he never played for England like Lee Bowyer and Jamie Stuart.
 
From Charlton I went to West Ham where I ran the Beckenham Centre.  Kieran Richardson, Anton Ferdinand, Bradley Wright Phillips, Liam Ridgewell and others came through the ranks here.
 
I retired for a long time from football due to ill heath and it was only that David Pinto called me to have a look at his son that I went back and watched my first game in years.  Not long after that I was back with Millwall, spending 16 months there.  Before long I was Head of Development of U7s and U8s at which time I signed 26 boys, most of whom are still with Millwall.
 
I was not happy at Millwall so decided it to leave and create Aim Higher Football Academy with one of the best young coaches in the game, David Webb.  It's such a shame that Webby is not given the chance as he would be so good for the game and the young players. 
 
I think that we at Aim Higher have already proved that we care about the development of young players.  We have 6 players at Chelsea's Development Centre; 3 players at Cobham, 2 players at Brentford, 1 player at Charlton, 1 at Millwall which shows that grassroots boys can develop when they are given the chance to do so.  I dont promise boys or advertise that we will get them trials if they join any of our courses but if players come and show talent and skill to go on then I put them forward but only if they are ready for it.
 
Below is a list of the boys who have made it when come through Centres or Teams which I have run.
 
Wimbledon Slade Green Centre
Peter Hawkins and Jason Euell
Chelsea Canterbury
John Harley
Charlton U15s
Lee Bowyer, Jason Tindall, Marvin Rufuss, Lee Hodges and Jamie Stuart
West Ham United
Kieran Richardson, Liam Ridgewell, Bradley Wright Phillips, Anton Ferdinand and Glen Johnson
 
Well that's just a small insight to me, thanks for reading!
 
JOHN CARROLL