As regulars will know, one of the player interviews we have featured recently on givemefootball has been with Matt O'Halloran, a young forward recently released by Derby County. Matt, just 20, is one of the more fortunate players who were released in the summer in that he has got a club lined up, Grimsby Town, and will be joining them for pre-season training with the possibility of earning a contract.
Although he is leaving behind a First Division club Matt has no qualms about joining a team newly-relegated to Division Two. He says: "I am nearly 21 and I really need to be playing first team football, whatever the level. My aim for this pre-season is to get somewhere and perhaps get in the first team. Grimsby is a possibility of course. If I can play 20 or 30 league games in a season than perhaps I can push further, on into the next season."
While Matt was serving his 'apprenticeship' at Derby he was also a pupil at the world famous Repton public school, location for the film 'Goodbye Mr Chips'. Matt was able to combine the dual life of footballer and scholar but he isn't too sure if one helped the other.
"I think it did," he reflects. "Some of my close friends have said that maybe the Repton connection could help because if the football side of things didn't come off the educational background would be something to fall back on. It is a harsh reality that I may not get a club, this year but, with the work I did at Repton, there is always that as a back-up."
But combining study and soccer did have its drawbacks, as Matt now explains: "Maybe, at times, I did feel that with all the work I was doing I did sometimes miss out on some of the training. I don't know if it would have been better for me, with regards to football, not to go to Repton.
"Conversely I don't know if it would have been better for me to just go to Repton but I can't get away from the feeling that maybe missing out on important training session may have just been the difference. But I am certainly not complaining, I enjoyed my time at Repton and I did manage to earn myself a contract with Derby in the end as well as doing my 'A' levels so I am grateful that I managed to get the best of both worlds."
There is a third option for Matt and he admits that the thought of going for one of the PFA American universities football scholarships did tempt him.
He admits: "It has crossed my mind and it is a consideration for me if nothing happens here. Obviously I would really like to ply my trade in England and earn my living here but if that is not the case then America would be a great experience for myself or for anyone in circumstances similar to mine.
"It would be a great chance and as well as the PFA initiative I have got a few contacts of my own that could give me a chance to combine study and playing as well as some coaching so it is definitely a viable alternative to what I have got lined up if nothing comes of the pre-season with Grimsby Town."
Givemefootball spoke to Micky Burns, who is the Chief Executive of the FFE and VTS, arm of the PFA about the US scholarships and Micky said: "There have been one or two difficulties regarding the scholarships but they are still very much a part of our programme and any player who might be interested in getting further information can do so by contacting me or any of my department at the PFA in Manchester."
