The story of players going from non-league football to the Premier League, major European competitions and representing their country is now a relatively common one.
One player who made his way from non-league football to the top of the English game is former Watford striker Troy Deeney. This is how his journey progressed.
Thrown out of school and working as a bricklayer
Deeney didn’t have the best of starts to life, as at 14, he was expelled from school. He returned when he was 15 but left school without any qualifications.
At 15, he was invited to train with the Aston Villa academy for four days. However, he missed the first three days and only wanted to turn up for the game, which was on the fourth day.
On his exit from school in 2004, Deeney went to train as a bricklayer. He also joined a local non-league club called Chelmsley Town.
He made three appearances for the club’s reserve team before making his first-team debut on October 9th 2004, in a 2-1 win over Mill Oak Rovers. Reportedly, he only got his chance as several of the first-team players made themselves unavailable for the game due to an England game.
It proved to be to Deeney’s advantage, as he managed to maintain a regular place in the team after his debut. He played 56 games for Chelmsley, scoring 23 goals.
During one of his matches, Walsall Head of Youth Mick Halsall attended to watch his son play. By his own admission, Deeney was drunk during the game. It didn’t seem to stop him from impressing, though, as he scored seven goals in an 11-4 victory, which caught Halsall’s eye.
Walsall offered him a trial, but he nearly missed it and only ended up going after his Chelmsley boss got him out of bed and paid for a taxi for him to head to the League Two club.
Turning professional and impressing with Walsall
Deeney joined Walsall on 18th December 2006. However, the Midlands club decided to loan him straight back to another non-league club, Halesowen Town, for the end of the 2006/07 campaign.
The forward was relatively prolific for Halesowen, scoring eight goals in just ten appearances.
Deeney didn’t open his scoring account in professional football until September 2007, when he scored in a 2-1 victory over Millwall. Unfortunately for Deeney, it was his only goal of the 2007/08 season.
The forward also enjoyed a slow start in front of goal in season 2008/09, finding the net just twice in the first half of the campaign.
The appointment of Chris Hutchings as Walsall boss helped Deeney rediscover his scoring touch. The fact that he was moved from the wing to his more favoured role as a central striker also played a part in the improved goal output, as he plundered nine goals in 12 games after the arrival of Hutchings.
At the start of the next season, Deeney was handed a two-year contract that tied him to the Midlands team until 2011. The 2009/10 campaign was fruitful for Deeney, as he finished as the team’s top goal scorer with 14 goals, which helped earn him the Walsall Player of the Year award.
Big move to Watford
After impressing for Walsall, the forward handed in a transfer request in August 2010. Reportedly, the club had informed Deeney that he would be allowed to leave earlier in the summer.
However, annoyed at the club’s perceived attitude, he resorted to training poorly in pre-season. This persuaded Walsall to accept an initial bid of around £250,000, potentially rising to £500,000 with add-ons from Watford.
The consequences of his actions in pre-season were there to see in his early days at Watford, as he was behind his new teammates in terms of fitness and being ready for the season to start.
However, his fitness improved, and he played 40 games in his debut campaign with the Hornets, although only 20 of those appearances were starts. He scored just three goals in his first season with Watford in the Championship, mainly playing on the right wing.
Deeney switched to his favoured striker position under Sean Dyche during the 2011/12 campaign, making 46 appearances and scoring 11 goals.
Unfortunately, his progress with Watford was curtailed in the summer of 2012, as he was sentenced to ten months in prison after an incident involving some students outside a nightclub.
Deeney served close to three months of his sentence. He has since stated that his prison sentence was almost a blessing in disguise, as it helped him put things into perspective.
The season he returned to action after his prison spell, he scored 20 goals for the Hornets. The following campaign, he experienced the most prolific campaign of his career, scoring 25 goals in all competitions.
His 21 goals in season 2014/15 helped the Hornets to win promotion to the Premier League. Deeney played for five seasons in the Premier League, scoring double figures in three of the five campaigns.
Watford were relegated from the top flight in season 2019/20, but Deeney’s seven goals in 19 games helped the Hornets to return to the top flight the following season.
However, the forward played just two top-flight games for the club before switching to his boyhood club, Birmingham City. He scored 11 goals in 56 appearances for the Blues in all competitions.
In the summer of 2023, Deeney made the move to League Two Forest Green as a player-coach. He scored four goals in appearances for the club.
Life after playing career
In December 2023, Deeney was handed the job of Forest Green boss after the exit of David Horseman. After his second game in charge of the team, the forward openly criticised his team, which caused controversy.
Deeney didn’t last long as Forest Green boss. On 18 January 2024, the club sacked him after he failed to win any of his six games in charge, having picked up three draws and suffered three defeats.
Whether Deeney will return to coaching or management in the future remains to be seen. He has worked as a columnist for a variety of publications, including the BBC.
Whatever the future holds for Troy Deeney, it is admirable that he has come so far since his Chelmsley Town days. Whether you love him or hate him, it’s hard to disagree that his story is an interesting one.