AZ Gull
@SeagullsAcademy Threads: @bhafcacademy
Goalkeeper Will Britt spent a couple of seasons in the Albion youth system at U-15 and U-16 schoolboy level. He was an unused substitute for the Albion U-18s in the opening match of the 2010-11 season; he was apparently offered a scholarship by the club but chose to move to Southampton instead.
Anyway, in his second year at Saints he was dropped by (former Albion player) Jason Dodd, who was the U-18s coach, just before an FA Youth Cup tie against Everton. Saints lost, and two weeks later Britt got the chance to go to Norwich City on work experience. City would go on to win the FA Youth Cup that season, beating Everton along the way, and Britt played in both the two-legged semi-finals against Forest and the two final legs against Chelsea.
That was about as good as it got for him - he had a brief loan at Bognor Regis Town; he was called up by Gibraltar but had to pull out through injury; and he missed his entire last season as a professional at Saints having ruptured his ACL and MCL. He is now a boxer. I don't think he comes across as the most sympathetic of characters but it's an interesting insight into the less glamorous side of trying to establish yourself as a successful pro.
For anyone interested (the article doesn't even mention his time at Albion) - ‘I got pushed around. Told lies. Forgotten about. I saw football’s bad side’
The same author also recently wrote about that Canaries' FA Youth Cup campaign - How Norwich stunned English football to win the FA Youth Cup
So: a link to an article that the vast majority of NSC users won't be able to read, about a former Albion schoolboy who 99.9% of NSC users will never have heard of, who never even played for the Albion youth team. You're welcome.
However, this isn't the first time that Mr Britt has had his own thread on NSC - William Britt
Anyway, in his second year at Saints he was dropped by (former Albion player) Jason Dodd, who was the U-18s coach, just before an FA Youth Cup tie against Everton. Saints lost, and two weeks later Britt got the chance to go to Norwich City on work experience. City would go on to win the FA Youth Cup that season, beating Everton along the way, and Britt played in both the two-legged semi-finals against Forest and the two final legs against Chelsea.
That was about as good as it got for him - he had a brief loan at Bognor Regis Town; he was called up by Gibraltar but had to pull out through injury; and he missed his entire last season as a professional at Saints having ruptured his ACL and MCL. He is now a boxer. I don't think he comes across as the most sympathetic of characters but it's an interesting insight into the less glamorous side of trying to establish yourself as a successful pro.
For anyone interested (the article doesn't even mention his time at Albion) - ‘I got pushed around. Told lies. Forgotten about. I saw football’s bad side’
The same author also recently wrote about that Canaries' FA Youth Cup campaign - How Norwich stunned English football to win the FA Youth Cup
So: a link to an article that the vast majority of NSC users won't be able to read, about a former Albion schoolboy who 99.9% of NSC users will never have heard of, who never even played for the Albion youth team. You're welcome.
However, this isn't the first time that Mr Britt has had his own thread on NSC - William Britt
