Sam Osborne

A look at some of the best players I’ve seen in the past few years at either U18s or U23s level or currently playing in non-league who've either left a really positive impression or whose careers I follow with genuine interest to see how they're doing every week.

Player: Sam Osborne

Age: 23

Position: Winger

Club: AFC Fylde

Right now, Sam Osborne has one year left on his contract at AFC Fylde.

Full of energy and enthusiasm, he’s just completed his first full season at Mill Farm where he made 28 appearances and scored six goals.

Although it ended in Play-Off disappointment, it went well for him on an individual level as he returned from injury in March to be named as the division’s ‘Player Of The Month’ for April. Not for the first time either because he achieved the same accolade at Leamington in 2020.

Earning that first promotion of his career will be one of his primary targets in the next couple of years but besides what happens on the pitch, Ozzy is a totally decent lad off it.

Ozzy in his early days at Notts County and one of his mum's favourite photos.
(Photo: Dan Westwell).

He'll never become cocky, arrogant or big headed. That's because he was brought up the right way. He'll fight ferociously for those he loves; his parents and his long-term girlfriend. He also loves Oasis (good taste) and giving everything he's got in every game which he plays in.

Furthermore, he's made two massive decisions during his football journey which earns my respect.

The first of those was back in 2014/15.

Still at school and getting ready to take his GCSE's, after four and a bit years in Burton Albion's academy he's been told that he won't be offered a youth team scholarship.

With his dreams dashed, he could quite easily have dropped out of football altogether at this point (as is often the case for so many lads) and gradually let his head drift up his backside. Instead, within 24 hours, he's heading up Lenton Lane in Nottingham; not to Boots Head Office which is nearby, but to Dunkirk FC who compete at Step 5 of non-league.

Under zero illusions as to what that standard will be like, it proves to be a brilliant move!

An unused sub in the re-formed Hereford's first ever competitive fixture in August 2015 whilst still waiting to find out which subjects he got the best grades in at school, just a week later Ozzy is thrust into action infront of just 61 spectators for an FA Cup Extra Preliminary Qualifying Round game away at Bardon Hill.

He's targeted, kicked, clattered and booted up and down and Dunkirk win 1-0.

It's a winning start for the nippy lad who was decent in P.E. lessons and coming up against grizzly opponents with hairy chests who are by far physically stronger, and on filthy pitches he copes admirably with the demands of non-league football over the winter months.

He plays next in the Polymac Packaging League Cup against Long Eaton; that's a 3-2 win under the floodlights. His first start is away at Holwell Sports in the FA Vase and again it's another success, before his first goal comes in a defeat at Boldmere St Michaels on the weekend where the clock go back an hour.

Ozzy isn't looking backwards though. He's focused on the future and his talent is soon spotted by Notts County for whom he initially joins on a trial which quickly becomes permanent.

He's regained his confidence, charisma and with that cheeky and infectious smile back on his face, he's earned the right to play higher up the ladder. That year at Dunkirk, which equipped him with both the physical and mental skillset to cope with men's football, probably helped him more than any other season ever will do!

Posing (shock!) with his first ever shirt just after his debut away at Morecambe.
(Photo: SamOsborne28).

At Meadow Lane, he then excelled once more - quickly going from a youth teamer to featuring in caretaker manager Alan Smith's team shape on a freezing cold morning just days before his 18th birthday, and ahead of a weekend trip to Morecambe where he'll make his professional debut.

It doesn't quite go as hoped because having played 66 minutes before being replaced by Jono Forte, Morecambe win 4-1 which consigns County to a club record-equaling tenth consecutive league defeat. No wonder previous gaffer John Sheridan was swearing quite a lot!

However, unlike Sol Campbell (who made his only appearance in the exact same game eight years earlier), Ozzy goes on to feature again for his local team.

Over the next three-and-a-half years, supported each week by Paul, Sally and Amy, he experiences plenty. He racks up 22 appearances, spends time on loan at Shaw Lane, Grantham and Basford, signs a professional contract after playing well against Newcastle’s U21s in the EFL Trophy and bags his first senior goal in some style during a win at Boreham Wood.

That, coupled with two 'Academy/Young Player Of The Year' accolades, sharing a dressing room and hearing stories each day from experienced pros, enduring the tumultuous 2018/19 relegation season - and even witnessing first-hand Alan Hardy’s infamous meeting (some story in its own right), are things that will ‘Live Forever’ in his mind.

It's those experiences, good and bad, which shape a player.

Still only on the periphery of the first team at the end of the pandemic hit 2019/20 season, which ends in disappointment as Notts are outplayed by Harrogate in the Play-Off Final at a desolate Wembley, Ozzy then makes another brave and bold decision.

Aged 21 at this point, instead of penning the new deal offered to him by Notts County, he opts to leave in order to get regular first team football. It's a decision which I've got huge respect for because so many other lads at the same age would be quite happy to simply stay within their comfort zone.

Big decision Number Two... signing for Leamington in August 2020.
(Photo: Leamington FC).

Very quickly, Kettering are interested in signing him. Other clubs put forward their interest. He meets managers, assesses his options and contemplates what would be the best move. He speaks to Colby Bishop (who himself dropped lower to progress in his career) and eventually joins Leamington.

It's testament to Ozzy's character that he made that decision because it carries risks and if things don't quite work out as he hopes, he could quickly drop down another level.

But it proves to be a master stroke.

Six months later, he’s established himself as a first team player, scored eight goals in 16 outings, featured on numerous occasions in the division's ‘Team of The Week’, scooped a 'Player Of The Month' accolade and carved out a reputation for being one of the hottest properties in the National League North.

By January, he has options on the table once more. EFL clubs are interested in signing him as are teams from the National League. He chooses to step back into full-time football with AFC Fylde which is the same level as Leamington but it gives him the chance to do what he loves doing every day of the week.

Since then, Ozzy has made 30 appearances and put in some quality and classy displays out wide whilst always carrying that infectious smile and always hoping he's ‘just about quick enough’ to beat those hairy chested defenders who still want to smash into him.

Having taken a year to grow that much facial hair, Ozzy also celebrates the 'Player Of The Month Award'.
(Photo: AFC Fylde).

The days of interest from ASL Fashion (who sought him as their icon) seem to be over although I've little doubt who Fylde will be turning to when they need someone to model their next kit!

There's so many layers to Ozzy's character and personality which are likable. He’ll always graft, won't toss off a training session and applies maximum effort into everything. That's why he's been so well-liked by so many people wherever he's played. That's why so many people have so many good things to say about him. That's why he's a good player to have around a football club.

Fingers crossed that he can achieve that first promotion of his career before his contract is up at Fylde next summer, make memories to last a lifetime, and even get to play in the stadium where he watched Nottingham Forest win a particular game quite recently.

I know playing at Wembley is a dream which he harbours - and it would leave Paul, Sally, Amy, and everyone else who has helped him on his journey, bursting with even more pride than they've already got for him.

Go smash it and keep being a class act with a class attitude.

The courage to make those two big decisions is something I'll always admire and you've come a long way from spreading bread and butter on sandwiches at eight o’clock in the morning like you did back in those days at Dunkirk.

Ozzy celebrating his first goal at Meadow Lane! (Photo: Unknown).

Owen Mason

A look at some of the best players I’ve seen in the past few years at either U18s or U23s level or currently playing in non-league who've either left a really positive impression or whose careers I follow with genuine interest to see how they're doing every week.

Player: Owen Mason

Age: 18

Position: Goalkeeper

Club: Mansfield Town

Cast your mind back exactly a month ago!

It's Saturday 7th May and the final day of the National League North season where Farsley Celtic, Guiseley or AFC Telford United are in danger of filling the division's one relegation place.

All three face difficult games against opponents harbouring Play-Off aspirations and for Owen Mason, he's the goalkeeper for Guiseley in what is the final game of his loan spell from Mansfield Town.

Five days earlier, his heroics in a 1-0 win over Spennymoor earned him individual recognition via a place in the National League North ‘Team Of The Week’.

Owen Mason being Owen Mason by expressing loads of emotion and loving life!
(Photo: Guiseley AFC).

Owen's shot-stopping ability is something which I'm already familiar with after his display in an U18s game for Mansfield against Doncaster a year earlier where he kept out attempt after attempt to leave everyone talking about him afterwards. It was the best goalkeeping display that I've seen at Youth Alliance level for a long time with just the very odd comparable exception.

Guiseley's last game is away to Alfreton Town but with less than five minutes to go they're 1-0 up and edging towards safety with Farsley Celtic going in the opposite direction.

Then things change. An Alfreton player converts to make it 1-1 and now Guiseley need to score; instead the Reds bag again deep into injury-time and the dawning realisation very quickly becomes a reality as the final whistle goes. That’s it. The season is over. Guiseley are relegated.

Dejected, despondent and gutted, no doubt wondering what he could have done differently in the game itself, Owen will remember that experience of sitting head in hands on the North Street pitch afterwards for years to come.

But now the dust has settled, he'll also be able to reflect on a season where he excelled.

And it's a season where I've followed his progress because of that youth team game in March 2021 where he saved everything and was freakishly good.

Having featured for Mansfield last pre-season (against Matlock), signed a pro contract, plus having had speculation linking him with a possible move to Nottingham Forest at one point, the highlight of the past 12 months for Owen was probably receiving an international call-up for Republic Of Ireland's U18s. 

He made his ROI debut in Hungary last August and has been involved in many training camps and games since - even as recently as a friendly against Iceland in the Spanish sunshine only last week.

Owen Mason on his international debut for Ireland's U18s last summer (Photo: Unknown).

But it's domestically, at Guiseley, where his character has been best highlighted considering he racked up 27 appearances (keeping seven clean-sheets) in the National League North and I'd be hard pushed to think of too many ‘keepers who have done the same at his age. He only turned 18 in March and his initial scholarship contract at Mansfield still has just over three weeks to run. He could have been playing youth team football but he's already 'done it' in a first team environment.

A quick glance through his Twitter page shows plenty of photos where he's fist pumping, roaring like a lion (quite apt for Guiseley) and filled with loads of emotion. It proves that he loved every minute of that loan, and it should offer an insight into the type of character he is and the mindset, drive, desire, determination and confidence which he possesses. He's got some good character traits.

The loan obviously didn't end the way he wanted it to with relegation but I've got tons of respect for any lad who plays men's football at such a young age. It helps so much in realising what's needed to forge a career. There's no substitute for it. It's infectious. It's reality and he should be proud of how he showed ‘bottle’ (in more ways than one) and threw himself head on into that challenge in the first instance - even if it cost him the price of a green base-layer just before Christmas and a new water bottle around his birthday!

All of this is why, in my view, he's Mansfield's best academy prospect right now and irrespective of how things pan out, he deserves recognition for what he's achieved in the past year.

Since Mansfield's academy reformed in 2011, not one 'keeper has progressed from the youth set-up to play in a competitive first team fixture. Those before him have sometimes got close; Adam Bishop was named on the bench a couple of times in 2014/15 and Sam Wilson signed a professional deal a few years later, but neither of them actually pulled on the gloves on a first team matchday and walked out to the ‘On The Ball’ theme at Field Mill to defend the Stags' honour.

That ought to be Owen’s next task and I'd like to think once people watch him perform, they'll realise the ability and characteristics he possesses to carve out a reasonable career in the game.

Good luck to him!

Oliver Arblaster

A look at some of the best players I’ve seen in the past few years at either U18s or U23s level or currently playing in non-league who've either left a really positive impression or whose careers I follow with genuine interest to see how they're doing every week.

Player: Oliver Arblaster

Age: 18

Position: Midfielder

Club: Sheffield United

Every so often in development football you come across a player who makes you go 'wow' at what they can do and how mature their performance levels are.

Whenever I've watched Sheffield United over the past 12 months (often on a live stream as the club's coverage has been excellent), plus on the rare occasions that I've spoken to him, Oliver Arblaster has left a great impression.

Ollie on his England debut against Belgium last November (Photo: Unknown). 

It's been a pleasure to see him taking stuff in his stride and just buzz around with so much energy, confidence and creativity. His qualities are endless and he has a specific aura which team-mates can feed off. It's a brilliant character trait to possess.

Skipper of the U23s and a totally level-headed lad, he's got loads of technical ability. Both his range and quality of passing is decent, whilst his positioning and reading of situations (both in and out of possession) improved as the season progressed. He contributed goals and some great assists (just ask QPR’s defence from the game in April), he can float around and find pockets of space to dictate, dominate and ‘kill teams’ as he did recently in the second half against Colchester, and he has a galvanising effect on his peers.

Players I've spoken to at other clubs who've played against him testify that he's a good player for that standard and it speaks volumes in football when opponents respect you in such a manner and can recognise quality when they see it.

Anyone who knows me will be aware that those players I respect, I'll research to the nth degree to find out everything about them. What they're capable of on the pitch is one thing; what they're like as a lad is just as important and Ollie passes both those key aspects with flying colours.

The past 18 months or so will have undoubtedly felt somewhat surreal at times.

In what I believe to be the correct order, he signed his first professional contract in February 2021, had the braces removed from his teeth quickly after lockdown, played at U23s level early last season and then went out on loan to Bradford Park Avenue. After making his first senior appearance away at Kidderminster in October, he received international recognition with England's U18s at a tournament in Murcia the following month, before he was recalled from his loan at BPA with Nicksoen Gomis just in time to celebrate Christmas properly.

Then, in this calendar year, he was named on the substitutes bench for the first team away fixtures at Coventry and Blackpool in March (cue an 'Arblaster 42' shirt which he'll keep forever), played cricket alongside Joe Root in a promotional video for Sky Sports, skippered the U23s to the PDL North title, celebrated his 18th birthday, before zipping the ball about for fun with Sydie Peck (who he beat in that 'bat and ball' game) to ensure the U18s stayed unbeaten and ended the year as PDL National Champions. 

If that's not enough then he also soaked Will Lankshear with a full water bottle in the celebrations whilst he was being interviewed after beating Charlton in the National Final.

He still has some areas for improvement; namely his dress sense given he committed a fashiion 'faux pas' by wearing brown shoes with a black belt to the Awards Dinner where he was named Premier League Scholar Of The Year recently, but just getting that award should sum up the impact he's making!

Ollie receiving his Premier League Scholar Of The Year Award (with the black belt hidden).
(Photo: Unknown).

If everything I've already written doesn't already highlight his undoubted talent then he's currently on international duty with England’s U18s again - this time for a tournament in Croatia where I'm not entirely sure just how much the Central European summer temperatures will affect his rosy red cheeks.

Paul Heckingbottom (now first team manager) previously managed 'Blaster' in the U23s and has already stated that he's got the 'brains of a man'. And I know myself, beyond what he does on a football pitch, he's completely down to earth without an ago and he'll conduct himself admirably for his age. He's way too mature, composed and level-headed to get carried away with anything.

No manager or coach can teach that quality of being a 'good lad' and possessing a specific desire and work-rate in the way which Ollie does is infectious because it can rub off on so many others in a positive way. It's easy to tell a player with a good attitude and I already know Ollie is the sort of person that managers would dream about having around a football environment on a daily basis.

With Sheffield United having so many bright players at U23s/U18s level from Zak Brunt (a really genuine lad with so much love for his brothers), Sydie Peck (a quality player who always seems to be smiling), Harrison Neal (solid on loan at Kettering and Southend last year), Will Lankshear (a regular goalscorer and leader in his own right) to Femi Seriki (a star on loan at Boston who forced his way into the Team Of The Week at one point) plus quite a few others, they're obviously not all going to become first team regulars in the immediate future.

Some will; some won't but every one of those names is capable of carving out a decent path in football and enjoying themselves for the next decade or two.

It's testament to Ollie's attitude, determination and quality (probably in that order) that he's already forced his way into being strongly recognised within such a good youth set-up and I'd like to believe he's close to breaking through into the first team. But wherever he gets an opportunity; whether it's at the Blades or on loan somewhere in the next few months, I hope he thoroughly enjoys it and I'll always support and follow his career with interest because of the qualities I've mentioned in this piece.

A class act. A class player and, more than anything, a class attitude.

Keep it going… take a moment this summer to reflect and absorb everything that's happened this season, then go again next year and enjoy yourself even more by creating memories you can tell your kids about in years to come!

And hopefully THAT photo (below) will happen one day soon where you're high-fiving Billy Sharp after a goal  just like you did at Bramall Lane all those years ago.

Billy Sharp celebrates with a high-five for 'Little Blaster' in the League One promotion season.
(Photo: Unknown).

Jimmy Knowles

A look at some of the best players I’ve seen in the past few years at either U18s or U23s level or currently playing in non-league who've either left a really positive impression or whose careers I follow with genuine interest to see how they're doing every week.

Player: Jimmy Knowles

Age: 20

Position: Striker

Club: Mansfield Town

There are some lads whose names will appear in these articles on certain players in the next few weeks who have a phenomenal attitude. 

Jimmy 'Goals' Knowles is amongst the best of them!

Jimmy Knowles celebrates his hat-trick against Woking (Photo: Dan Westwell).

Whereas some lads can be happy to play U23s football for a prolonged period without ever truthfully getting anywhere close to a first team place, Jimmy is the total opposite. He has a specific inner-desire and dedication for the game which is noticeable in my eyes and he recognised himself a long time ago that the best way of having a sustained career in professional football was to go out on loan into a first team environment and compete for a place in the starting line-up.

Having scored goals for fun in Mansfield Town’s U18s, he spent the 2020/21 season on loan at Notts County in the National League and whilst that loan had the standard trials and tribulations that you'd come to expect (i.e. being in and out of the team), he made 34 appearances and scored 10 times. His hat-trick away at Woking in April 2021 actually meant his goals to minutes ratio at that point was 1 per about 160 - making it amongst the best in the division.

On top of that, there's no ego whatsoever with Jimmy. He's just a genuine lad with a genuine drive and passion to succeed. He knows what he needs to do and embraces the challenge of doing it.

If he has to move 300 miles away to play football then no problem because last year he had a loan spell at Greenock Morton in the Scottish Championship although it didn't quite go to plan as he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in November in a game against Kilmarnock which ruled him out from then until now. Nevertheless, such is his positive attitude and mindset, he knows that awful experience will strengthen his mental resilience and he'll have gained even more character in adversity. Even in the darkest moments of worry and anxiety, he'll still focus on the end goal of playing football again and it's testament to the positive person and good lad that he is.

Besides all that, it also speaks volumes in the first place when a player is willing to ‘get out of his comfort zone’ and sacrifice living with his family in favour of moving hundreds of miles away in the first place. It carries risks; ultimately he still has to compete for a first team place and even experienced lads can get homesick in a new environment, but he embraced every aspect of the challenge with courage and conviction. It’s a phenomenal attribute which makes him stand out against a lot of other young players.

Now back on the road to recovery and with a six-month contract at Mansfield Town agreed for next season, when he’s back on the pitch again at some point soon (and it might mean another loan spell to do just that), he’ll just be buzzing to do what he loves doing once again. It'll also be a very special feeling when he bags his next goal and I'll be delighted for him whenever it does happen.

Ultimately, if he reaches the point where he's looking for a new club in the next few seasons, the fact he's gone out and got ‘X’ appearances under his belt at such a young age, and experienced different managers and situations at a decent standard in men’s football will potentially stand him in better stead than someone else of a similar age in his position who might be technically better but lacks any first team experience. Plenty of managers take notice of those things and he’s put the odds of getting recognised elsewhere hugely in his favour by just going out and playing men's football. All credit to him.

Annoyingly, Soccerway, TransferMarkt and Soccerbase; stats-based websites which multiple clubs, managers, and scouts all use have his age WRONG and he’s a year younger than is stated. For clarity, he's aged 20 now and won't turn 21 until February 2023.

Nevertheless, he’s a good player, a good lad and a good goalscorer.

He’ll never change and that’s what makes him a star who is a credit to himself, his family and everyone who has nurtured him along the way up to this point. Keep going Jimmy, keep being yourself and good luck during the final stages of your rehab leading into getting back out onto the pitch next season.