Jamie Vardy, Joe Hart and Chris Smalling – three English players who’ve lived the dream – from non-league to the Premier League and the English national team
The term ‘non-league football’ applies to any club that plays in a division below League Two. The top tier of English football is, of course, the Premier League followed by what is known as the English Football League which consists of the Championship, League One and League Two.
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Not all players are lucky to start their career at a top ranking youth academy and progress on to the first-team in the Premier League or Chanmpionship. There are some who have clawed their way up from the bottom to play in some of England’s top-ranked clubs.
Here’s a look at a starting XI who have made their way from non-league to Premier League football:
Goalkeeper
#1 Joe Hart
Joe Hart was born in Shrewsbury, England and started his football career with the local team, Shrewsbury Town at the age of 15.
While Hart was a youth player at Shrewsbury Town, the club was playing non-league football in the Third Division and Football Conference in 2002-03 and 2003-04 respectively. It wasn’t until his senior team debut that Shrewsbury moved back in the Football League and into League Two.
He was named League Two’s Best Goalkeeper for the 2005-06 season which brought his talent to the notice of Manchester City’s goalkeeping coach Tim Flowers. From his humble beginnings at Shrewsbury, Hart was signed by City in 2006 right. Flowers had seen the potential in him, even though he had emerged out of the ignominy of non-league football.
Since his move to the top flight of English football, he has won the Golden Glove four times in five years, one of which was awarded during City’s title-winning season in 2012.
Defence
#2 Chris Smalling
Before he made the move to Old Trafford, Chris Smalling spent two seasons at Fulham while they were still in the Premier League from 2008 to 2010.
Before Fulham, Smalling played for Maidstone United and played 16 times for the club. While he was working his way to the first team there, he also played for the U-17 and U-18 Kent Schools team.
Smalling started his football career at the Millwall Academy but moved on to Maidstone’s youth team in 2005. Once he broke into their first team, he played in tournaments such as the Kent Senior Cup, the FA Trophy, and the Isthmian League Cup.
Smalling progressed swiftly and his quality has grown by leaps and bounds. After two seasons with Fulham, he was signed by one of the best clubs in the world, Manchester United. After his signing for United, he was touted to be England’s and Manchester United’s centre back for years to come.
Smalling was one of Louis van Gaal’s best players during his tenure there and has bags of potential to become a world-class defender.
#3 Ashley Williams
Ashley Williams came into prominence after Swansea City was promoted to the Premier League in 2011, even though he had signed for the club in 2007, when they were still in League One.
Before Williams began his climb to the highest echelons of English football, he started his career as a central defender for the non-league team Hednesford Town and played for them between 2001 to 2003.
He joined the club after he was released by the West Bromwich Albion youth set up.
At Hednesford Town, he supported his football career with a number of part-time jobs. He worked as a waiter at Beefeater, managed a sideshow at Drayton Manor and even worked at a petrol filling station.
He has come a long way since appearing for Hednesford at the Southern League. He played for the league team of Stockport County and helped them gain promotion from League Two to League One. He played for Swansea and was a key figure in their rise from League One to the Premier League.
#4 Craig Dawson
Craig Dawson’s football career started out with him play with his friends for a small team called Rochdale St. Clements. While he was playing amateur football, he worked at a pub as a glass collector, where his football journey would get the much needed impetus.
The owner of the pub, Bernard Manning Jr., convinced him to take a further step and join the non-league club Radcliffe Borough, where he was a majority shareholder.
He made his debut for Radcliffe in the Northern Premier League in 2007 and in his two seasons there, made 95 appearances and scored 15 goals. He was even named their Player of the Season in his last year there.
Since then he has moved up to the Premier League and plays as a defender for West Bromwich Albion.
#5 Neil Taylor
After leaving Manchester City’s youth team at the age of 15, Neil Taylor moved on to Wrexham. After two years in their youth set up, he made his senior team debut in 2007 when Wrexham was still part of the Football League in League Two.
His very first season there was followed by their relegation from the Football League and into non-league football.
He played for the club for two more seasons after their relegation to the Conference Premier. He scored two goals for the clubs in the three years he was there. As soon as his contract expired at the end of the 2009-10 season, he moved to Swansea City, who were in the Championship then, as a free agent.
He was part of Great Britain football team at the 2012 London Olympics and has also represented Wales.
Midfield
#6 Lee Tomlin
Lee Tomlin started at Leicester City’s youth academy but moved to Rushden and Diamonds’ youth set up in 2005 while they were still in League Two. However, the club was relegated to the Conference Premier after Tomlin’s first season there.
Thereafter, he developed a knack for scoring goals quite regularly for the non-league club. In his 5 years with the club, he earned quite a few trials with the big dogs of English football.
At Rushden, he switched positions and played as a striker and also as an attacking midfielder. His ability to score helped him move up the ladder of English football. He progressed from League One, through the Championship to play for newly promoted club Bournemouth in 2015.
However, he made just six appearances for them before being sent on loan to Championship club Bristol City. In August this year, he signed a permanent contract with City.
#7 Yannick Bolasie
Yannick Bolasie, a Premier League regular now, was Lee Tomlin’s team-mate when they were at Rushden and Diamonds in 2005. His high-profile move worth £25 million to Everton this summer, climbing his way up from the depths of non-league football, is a story in itself.
He started as a youth player in Rushden before moving on to yet another non-league team, Hillingdon Borough. After one season there, he spent another year playing in the Maltese Premier League before moving back to England.
Back home, even though Plymouth Argyle, a Football League club, signed him, he was sent back to Rushden to play in the Conference Premier in 2008-09. His loan spell with Barnet that same year changed the direction of his career.
He was out of non-league and was signed by Crystal Palace in August 2012 and by the end of that season, the Eagles had been promoted to the Premier League.
In his four seasons, he’s proved to be a valuable player for Palace and holds the honour of scoring the club’s first hat-trick in the Premier League – and it took him all of just 11 minutes.
#8 Michail Antonio
Michail Antonio was called up for England’s 2018 World Qualification by manager Sam Allardyce and is nothing short of a dream for the player who started in non-league club Tooting and Mitcham United.
After spending five seasons with Tooting’s youth side, he spent an entire senior season with the club in 2007.
He had the chance to join Tottenham Hotspur as a young boy but chose to stay with the local club upon his mother’s insistence on concentrating on his education. His rise to the top may have been long and circuitous but his hard work paid off. After becoming a regular in Slaven Bilic’s West Ham United last season, Antonio was asked to join the English national team by Big Sam ahead of the likes of Jack Wilshere.
Not forgetting his roots, Antonio continues to help out the youth team players at Tooting and train with them.
Forward
#9 Charlie Austin
Before Charlie Austin’s magical season with Queens Park Rangers in the Premier League in 2014-15, he had done the rounds of many football clubs. His career actually started with three different non-league football clubs from 2006 onwards.
After spending a season each at Kintbury Rangers and Hungerford Town, he moved to Poole Town in 2008. In his very first year with the non-league outfit, he scored 46 goals in all competitions. His scoring rate attracted the interest of FC Bournemouth but they were unable to offer him a contract because of a transfer embargo.
He continued playing for Poole Town and working as a bricklayer till he caught the eye of Swindon Town and played in League One. He moved on from there pretty quickly progressing from the Championship to the Premier League.
He scored 18 goals in his very first season in the top division and 10 in the following. Despite his team’s relegation, he was even called to play for the England senior team.
Austin plays with Premier League club Southampton.
#10 Callum Wilson
Callum Wilson amazed players and fans alike in the first half of last year’s Premier League season. In just 7 appearances, he scored five goals for AFC Bournemouth before he was ruled out for the rest of the season with an injury.
Born in Coventry, he joined Coventry City in 2009, a Championship club, then before he was transferred on loan to two non-league clubs in quick succession for short spells. In 2010, he went on loan to Kettering Town where he scored a single goal in 17 appearances.
The following season, he went on another loan spell to Tamworth where he scored in his second game.
His loan spell at Tamworth was cut short after a fractured foot in just his third game. After coming up through the ranks with Bournemouth, he finally made it to the Premier League with his team in 2015.
After a premature end to his previous season, Wilson will be one to watch out for this current season.
#11 Jamie Vardy
Jamie Vardy is currently the most famous and well-liked non-league to Premier League player. His story of coming through from the ranks of non-league, through every stage of the Football League, followed by success with Leicester City last season is a tale worth retelling.
Vardy was released by Sheffield Wednesday when he was just a teenager and played for the Stockbridge Park Steels for four years. He moved on to the senior team where he made just £50 a week but left after a year. Next, he moved on to yet another non-league club, Halifax Town. In his first season there, he was their highest scorer with 26 goals.
In 2011-12, Vardy moved to Fleetwood Town where he was the Conference Premier’s top scorer that season with 31 goals. Soon after his exploits at Fleetwood, the striker was signed by Championship club Leicester City.
In spite of a disappointing first season after which he wanted to quit football, his fortune took a turn for the better in 2013-14. He ended the season with 16 goals and a promotion to the Premier League.
It was the 2015-16 season of the Premier League that brought Vardy’s talent to the fore. After scoring in 11 consecutive matches, a Premier League record, he helped his team win the title that year.
He was the second highest scorer of the league with 24 goals and was awarded the 2016 Premier League Player of the Season. Since then, Vardy’s career has become a testament that success can be achieved not just by sheer talent but by hard work and perseverance.
Formation
The team line up in a 4-3-3 formation with pace and power up front, and guile in midfield. The defence in strong and powerful and the full-backs can also contribute well going forward!
