Sean Doherty's Everton FC story: The man who analyses all the Blues youngstersOne-time Academy star on his return to Finch Farm, his career and the next generation of players
Everton players Wayne Rooney, Sean Doherty and Scott brown from Everton football academy who have been chosen to play for England schoolboys taken in 2000.
Sean Doherty is armed with all the information any young footballer could possibly need to succeed.
Statistics, facts, numbers and an archive of videos are all at Doherty’s fingertips as he walks along the corridors at Finch Farm in Halewood.
But in the days when Doherty was a talented, speedy winger coming through the ranks with Everton, and swiftly climbing the ladder with England, he’d be lucky if someone filmed their game the night before.
Academy football has been transformed since he was playing.
The 30-year-old left the Blues in 2001 for Fulham for £650,000 and started out on a journey that would see his hopes of playing at the top level fade, via time spent at 11 different clubs, at a variety of levels.
Doherty’s fall down the football pyramid has ultimately brought him back to where it all began at Everton - this time as the club’s Academy analyst.
Sean computes every cough and splutter of life for the Blues’ under-18s and under-21s and is a trusted ally of their coaches, who want every available detail about the players’ performance.
But something Doherty also possess, that can be found on no database or stats sheet, is the experience of having been there himself.
“Some things happened along the way - some my fault, some not – and every footballer would say that you need a bit of luck along the way as well,” Doherty told the ECHO this week.
“Though I never played in Fulham’s first-team I went and played in Holland, Belgium, Ireland and for Port Vale and Accrington, so I am still proud of what I did.
“My aim was to get to the top when I was younger but I have no regrets, everything happens for a reason.
“Unless you are a stand-out player then you need a bit of luck along the way and you’re face does need to fit and you need a little break here and there.
“But I don’t look back with any regret, I’ve had a good life and experienced different countries and it’s brought me back to where I am.
“If the lads ever want to talk about any issues they have I will always be happy to give them some advice.
“If they ask me I am more than happy to tell them my point of view and where I went wrong.”
Sean Doherty playing for ADO Den Haag
'I knew I had to get a good job after football'After a loan spell at Blackpool, Doherty left Craven Cottage in 2005 to join Dutch side ADO Den Haag.
He then played for Port Vale, Accrington, Southport, Royal Antwerp and Sligo Rovers in the following four years, but the summer of 2009 was a watershed in Doherty’s career - and life.
“As as kid, leaving Everton I just thought about playing,” he explains.
“It is only when you get older and the injuries start coming that you think ‘what am I going to do after football?’
“After leaving Sligo I knew that if I carried on playing I would be 32, 33 and wouldn’t have enough money to retire so I thought it best to do something now and give myself a chance to get a good job.”
Doherty enrolled at John Moores University and set about earning a degree in sports science – his career had officially taken an-about turn.
He admits that by this stage, his love for the game was fading as injuries and set-backs meant he could no longer dream of a life as a professional, so Doherty threw himself into his new venture.
“Injuries have had a part to play but I have made my own mistakes, I am not going to lie,” he said.
“But in the end, they took their toll. I had four operations on my knee, two cartilage ones and then I chipped a bone in my knee cap so they had to replace that.
“When I got myself fit again, another bit chipped off and was told that I would need micro-fracture surgery and that would be an 18 month recovery.
“I was 25 at the time and I know I was still young and that I could come back but took the decision to come home and go to uni. It was a hard decision. I went and had my op and went and played non-league.”
Marine footballer Sean Doherty
'I fell out of love with the game'Doherty was persuaded to lace up the boots again by Kevin Lynch at Marine, with whom he had two spells.
The winger, deep into his studies, also played for non-league sides Colwyn Bay, AFC Liverpool and Droylsden but now turns out on Sundays for The Molly in the Liverpool and District Sunday League.
“The hardest part was accepting that I was going to stop playing professionally because that is all I’d known,” the engaging Doherty said.
“I’d done quite well in school so thought I had the capability to go to uni. But it was hard adjusting to getting back in the classroom, picking up a pen and studying again.
“But I enjoyed every level I played at because I still love playing footy.”
He added: “Lynchy gave me a little boost to go and enjoy football again, so I thank him.
“I probably had fallen out of love with the game a bit.
“In the end, you do feel like ‘I don’t want to play anymore’ and I was quite hesitant when Lynch asked me to go and play.
“I didn’t know if I wanted to go through it all again.”
Seamus Coleman on the ball.
The harsh truth of Academy footballDoherty relishes the chance to play alongside his mates with The Molly when work allows but, dedicated and focused to his job with Everton, that is not as often as he would like.
The Blues fan says that doing his coaching badges appeals but he would also like to follow his dad Mick, the man who plucked Seamus Coleman from the League of Ireland, into scouting.
However, Doherty’s past remains key to and the experiences, both good and bad, that he has picked up along the way.
“Realistically, one or two young academy players might only get to the top,” Doherty said.
“That is the harsh truth about football.
“Most of the lads are interested in football and know my background and ask me questions about my career and why it didn’t work out.
“You don’t want to tell them that they could end up playing where I did but you’ve got to be truthful and football is dog eat dog.”
The Molly’s first game of the season is a week tomorrow when they face Pineapple at Jericho Lane, and Doherty hopes to be playing.
“My injuries sort of changed the way I played because I was always a quick winger but my injuries meant I lost a yard of pace,” he says.
“It made me play differently, I would try and pick up space and play more in a No10 role or as a narrow wide player.”
Roberto Martinez is after a No10, isn’t he?
“I wish,” he laughs.
By Phil Kirkbride / Liv Echo
