Player Development: When do I next go to work?

So I just received a call from one of my young clients who I believe could go all the way to the top. He has the mentality and physicality to go become a premier league footballer one day.

He tells me he doesn't actually know when his next game is. The club hasn't told him or it hasn't been organised yet. 

This is a player that is a regular so it's not that they have games but he doesn't know if he's involved all the time. 

This is a professional club, a club that has significant financial investment behind it and a very good fan base. A fan base that would love nothing more than to see a local lad progress through and become their captain one day. However, their possible future captain doesn't know when he may next have a game. 

Players are majorly judged in games rather than training. It's like not knowing when you are truly going to work next. Games are where you can truly show your talents - but if a player doesn't know when they will next - how does this not lack of challenge or disrupt their motivations? How can you develop if you have nothing to play for, and this is the correct usage of this often abused term.

I understand as a fan you may think you'd never lose motivation if you were being paid in any way even if it's just £100 a week to be a footballer but the reality is if you don't know when you're next going to play there is an element of a desire to move to a club or country where you know you will be playing or ultimately just pure confusion. 

Being an agent to top youth talents exposes many of the problems the English youth system has. If you would like to share your experiences on a confidential basis and/or would like to bring them up in future blogs please do email me on max @ ssm.uk.com