[Archived] Derrick Williams

[Earlydoors]

Bit random...but i stumbled across this earlier

 

http://uk.pressfrom.com/news/sport/-119343-where-are-they-now-aston-villas-2009-10-fa-youth-cup-finalists/

 

I didn't realise Williams was a former FA Youth Cup runner up

[Hasta]

Whenevr you see articles like that, it's amazing how many players in successful youth teams Quickly vanish from football.

[yellowsubmarine]

Maceo Rigters anyone? 

European U21 winner. Golden Boot as well. Sadly things just didn't work out for him and us. 

[Madon]

5 hours ago, yellowsubmarine said:

Maceo Rigters anyone? 

European U21 winner. Golden Boot as well. Sadly things just didn't work out for him and us. 

Thought I'd do some digging on what happened to him and found this recent article... (sorry I know it's off topic)

 

Ex-NAC: Rigters: "I could play football, but I was mainly a hard worker"

 

0

 

Ex-NACer Maceo Rigters was not a super talent, earned a transfer to the Premier League thanks to a rare good youth EC and stopped at the age of 28. In conversation with VICE, he looks back on his career.

Rigters never made illusions about his talents. He played at the European Championship under 21, but realized that he was not a mega talent: "No, of course not man. Babel was one of the greatest talents in the Netherlands. Rigters certainly not, haha. Otherwise I played at Ajax, Feyenoord or PSV. I came from Dordrecht and went to NAC, where I was not always a basic player. I could play football, but was mainly a hard worker. Babel goes to Liverpool, Drenthe to Real Madrid. I did not have those talents, I was that real. "

Rigters is the textbook example of peaks at the right time. A good European Championship gave him a wonderful transfer to Blackburn Rovers: "Celtic and Blackburn Rovers became the most concrete. I also held discussions with those clubs and finally chose the Premier League. If I had not played the tournament, I would probably have made a step later to Excelsior or something like that. You know, that's how it can run in football. "

His time in Blackburn did not quite work out. Rigters had to accept big names like Robbie Fowler and was leased to Norwich, Barnsley and Willem II. When his contract expired, he opted for an adventure in Australia. That transfer still had some ground in the earth: "My agent quickly asked:" What do you think about New Zealand? "Then I flew to Wellington, but the contract was very different from what we had discussed beforehand. In terms of money and contract duration, it did not match. Then it does not matter to me that I have been in an airplane for 24 hours, then I just go home. Once back in the Netherlands there was interest from Australia from Gold Coast United. A day later I was already on the plane to the other side of the world. "

At Gold Coast United it was not easy. Rigters struggled with a stubborn ankle injury and, to make matters worse, the club eventually disappeared, because the president had a fight with the Australian federation. Rigters returned to the Netherlands and seemed to return to FC Dordrecht: "Marco Boogers offered me to train at FC Dordrecht. The fans were happy that I came back again. On the first training I immediately went through my ankle again. I saw it before me: injured again all year. I could not afford to continue. "

And so Rigters stopped at the age of 28. After having done nothing for three years, he went to play football again with the amateurs. He is now a youth coach and with a satisfied feeling he looks back on everything he has experienced. Was Oranje a curse or a blessing? Rigters "It has certainly not been a curse. Really a blessing. As a player, it was not even certain that I would be in the selection. Do you understand? I really had to fight for that place. It is also the last time that the Dutch Juniors have become European champions. The big Dutch has not qualified for a final round twice. People sometimes say: "You were better than those players now." That's easy talking, of course. Now I hope to contribute my part as a youth coach. Maybe someday I can deliver some boys for the Dutch national team. "

[frosty]

1 hour ago, Madon said:

His time in Blackburn did not quite work out. Rigters had to accept big names like Robbie Fowler

Interesting article, but they messed up their research here  

He had Santa Cruz, McCarthy, Roberts and Derbyshire in front of him when he joined, Fowler was the next season under Ince, by which point I think Rigters was out on loan anyway.