Former Sunderland academy star wants more support and guidance for young players

Former Sunderland academy player Connor Oliver knows all too well of the pitfalls of a career in football.

Once a Black Cats team-mate of Jordan Pickford, Lyndon Gooch and George Honeyman, the midfielder never made a first-team appearance at the Stadium of Light, despite being a regular in academy sides.

Oliver racked up senior appearances during a loan spell at Hartlepool United before a Championship debut came in the colours of Blackpool following his departure from Sunderland in January 2015.

With injuries hampering his progression, the Newcastle-born midfielder moved into non league football with North Ferriby United and has remained outside of the Football League after enjoying spells with North East trio Blyth Spartans, Morpeth Town and Gateshead.

Now with Northern Premier League newcomers North Shields, Oliver is combining his on-field efforts to help the Robins in their first-ever season in step four of the non-league system with his off-field career provided financial advice for players at all levels of the game.

‘It was a conscious decision, knowing my career wasn’t going to last forever’

Reflecting on his playing career so far and his career away from the game, he told The Echo: “I didn’t think I’d be retired from the professional game by the age of 24, that’s just never in your mind. 

“I’ve had bad injuries, but it had nothing to do with where my career went, it was out of my control and it was decisions made by others, which is the way football is and you have to respect that.

“I’m from a supportive family, I have good friends, I had contacts and I had an opportunity to go into this line of work.  It was a conscious decision, knowing my career wasn’t going to last forever, so I knew it was a case of starting to do something that could help both myself and other lads at other levels.”

“It’s a trust aspect of coming out of the professional game”

Oliver’s work with Northumberland-based financial planners Emerald Associates had brought him into contact with a whole host of players going through the same process he followed just under a decade ago.

The 28-year-old has visited former club Sunderland to speak to academy players about what lies ahead and how they can support themselves in an increasingly unpredictable environment where an average professional playing career lasts just eight years.

The advice handed out to players at all levels is invaluable given the uncertainty of life within football and Oliver believes his previous experience means he can help youngsters avoid the pitfalls that can lie in wait.

He said: “It’s the trust aspect of coming out of the professional game, having that experience and being able to speak to players at all levels having been through what they have.

“As a player, sometimes there aren’t many people you can trust.  You wonder if they are really that close to you or are they just acquaintances.

“I’ve been there and done it, so I’m not just advising them without that experience.  I know the pitfalls and I know where you career can take you.  That might mean advising on contract situations, investment opportunities or just a general aspect of planning their finances and planning for whenever their career does finish.

“We get called financial advisors but essentially, we are financial planners.  It’s about having that chat with a player, asking their plans for their money over their contracts and constantly reviewing how they are progressing.

“We put in place a life plan, but that advice can vary depending on their personal life, their age, what their plans are on and off the pitch.

“Having been there, it’s a case of making sure we can help make their life easier and taking away some worries they may have over money throughout their career. That plan won’t change when your weekly wage goes up, the percentages may change, but the plan does not and there is logic behind them. It’s about doing the right things now to ensure for every possible outcome.”

“That support needs to be there from youth team to senior level and beyond”

Player welfare has become a hot topic in football in recent years.

Conversations over workload, the handling of young players at the end of their contracts and mental health issues has become commonplace.  Financial stability and planning for a life after football - when one bad injury or a managerial decision can end a career in a split-second -  is rarely discussed.

Although the riches at the top end of the game are at an all-time high, a playing career further down football’s food chain can be unpredictable and players remain vulnerable to a life-changing moment.

Having been through that process after witnessing his professional career come to an end by his mid-20s, Oliver believes clubs and the players’ union can do more and buy into the level of support he insisted is missing at all levels of the game.

“I think the PFA do try and support players but from what I have seen, you would never go to them because of that trust aspect.  There are a lot of statistics showing how players are concerned about money and they don’t feel comfortable talking about it.

“Whether the support is there or not, I don’t know if players can be open and honest, so everything we talk about with players is strictly confidential. There wasn’t enough support within clubs, they may differ, but I don’t feel I had the support when it came to finances and I still don’t feel there is that support within clubs. A lad can go from £120-a-week to £5,000-a-week within a year, but then two years later he is out of the game and without a club or a career.

“That support needs to be there from youth team to senior level and beyond.”