by Alex Scott believed his hopes of becoming a professional footballer with Bournemouth were over. At the age of 14, the club released him just as he had, a year earlier, at Southampton. How amazing is it that the 20-year-old is now a £25million star having signed for Bournemouth last summer from Bristol City; the ‘Guernsey Grealish’ who intends to become an English international in the future.
“I never quit football. I have always played football. But there was a point when I realized that the opportunity to be a professional was probably gone, when I left Bournemouth. That was my mindset,” explains Scott.
“My head wasn’t there. I didn’t want to play football over there (mainland). Then two years later, to give me that opportunity again, I wanted to go after him and it was a great luck. I always played football without stopping but I thought the dream was over.”
It’s quite a story. And it all started when Scott was just eight years old after scouting Southampton at a summer camp in his native Channel Island, Guernsey. Soon he was leaving school early every Friday to fly to Southampton, spending the weekend in a hotel with his father Noel or his mother Steph. Scott did that for almost five years.
“At first I love it,” he says. “In Guernsey it’s always, ‘You have to get off the island to play professional football’. So that was a dream come true for me, doing what I loved to do. The downside is you’re in a hotel every single weekend.”
As he got older, the demands increased. Had a half day at school on Tuesday, Wednesday in Southampton, back on Thursday. “Things kept escalating and it was getting tougher and tougher and I wasn’t enjoying my football,” admits Scott. “I wasn’t playing well anymore and I knew it was almost coming to an end.”
When he was released it was “terrifying” but he adds: “I saw it coming early and at that point I wasn’t too impressed.”
It’s hard for him to think about the sacrifices his parents made – and the cost. His “confidence was at an all-time low” when he was picked up by Bournemouth and it was little surprise that the move didn’t last, with Scott fearing all the time away from home that he was missing out on some of his young. “You lose your whole social life at home,” he says. “I just wanted to be with my friends.”
What happened first is instructive when Scott found himself and rebuilt his career in grassroots and non-league football back in Guernsey, first with St Martin’s and then, at 16, with the island’s men’s team, Guernsey FC, where it quickly became clear that he was far too good for that level.
“That’s when I really enjoyed it again, I really liked it and I felt I was ready to return to the academy program,” he says. “When you play for Jersey you play for your island and you’re representing 65,000 people and that’s not something you can take for granted.”
A trial match with Bristol City was soon arranged – with Guernsey coach Tony Vance sending clips to academy director Brian Tinnion. “Luckily I got the chance and scored a hat-trick,” says Scott. It wasn’t just any hat trick – it was a perfect hat trick, left foot, right foot, header and all in the first 30 minutes.
“I went to tryout and I thought, not in an arrogant way, but I thought when I was training, ‘I’m the best player here’ and I had that belief to keep going,” says Scott. “I never thought the time it would take to get to the first team after that would be so short, it was only a year and a half, and half of that was locked up.”
Bournemouth continued to monitor his progress and even tried to hijack the deal to Bristol City but Scott had already agreed. “Bristol City heard Bournemouth were interested and said, ‘Get him here tomorrow’,” he says.
Scott jumped right in – and credits the lessons he learned playing men’s football early on. “That’s one of the main things that made me stand out from the rest – the way I could use my body and intelligence after playing against senior and older guys,” he says.
“The lads (at Bristol City) were brilliant. Speaking for them now they say. ‘When you first joined us we knew you were going to go on’. It was nice to hear.”
It was after Scott’s superb performance in Bristol City’s FA Cup quarter-final against Manchester City last February, when Grealish was compared and swapped shirts with the England player, that things started to “blog up”. , although there were many clubs. already thinking about making a move. Scott knew a transfer was likely in the summer.
“When I was playing it was easy for me to ignore. But when the season was finished that’s when it became much more difficult because it’s almost down to you a little. You almost have to make up your mind – do you want to stay? Do you want to leave? It got to a point where I wanted to leave,” says Scott.
He was sold on Bournemouth’s “ambition and vision” – but then the whole deal was called off. Scott suffered a knee injury just before he was due to sign and, for the third time, it looked like he was not destined to play for Bournemouth.
“It was terrible,” he says as he recalls video footage of his fellow players at Bristol City with their heads in their hands as he trained. “You can see they’re shocked and devastated for me. I went down on my knees and thought the move was off. Because of what happened, how it felt, I knew something was wrong.”
A diagnosis was received just one week after the initial scan. But, then, after treatment in London, there was bad news. “I drove down to Bournemouth, I was in the hotel and I went up to my room. I’m buzzing, about to sign the deal. I came down and saw my agent’s face and knew something had happened. He pulled me (to one side) and said, ’12 weeks’. And I was like, ’12 weeks?’ and he said, ‘Your generation, 12 weeks’.”
Scott was told the arrangement was not happening and sat in a corner of the hotel as Max Aarons, who was also staying there, finished his move. He went to bed believing it was gone and came down to breakfast the next morning to meet his agent Wayne Henderson and talk about what was next. “He said, ‘The deal is done’,” Scott recalls. “I was so happy.”
The knee damage ruled out the start of the season but gave him the opportunity to “scout” his new teammates from the stands and learn what the impressive new head coach Andoni Iraola wanted from his team: pressure triggers, movements passing, pattern of play.
It meant that even when Bournemouth got off to such a tough start, with six Premier League wins and three draws, Scott could see a change. “Watching the games, learning, was a big thing,” says Scott. “I knew when I came into training and when I played games that things would naturally break down. You are scouting your teammates and seeing what they like. It matters which foot they use, which passes they see in games, who is likely to play a trick and beat a player, who is likely to cross early.”
When he was fit, Scott was thrown straight into the team and says “that was probably the best way to do it” as he and Bournemouth enjoyed success. League leaders Liverpool are Sunday’s visitors to the Beocht Stadium and confidence is rising and Scott is likely to have a trademark look as he rolls down his socks. “I did it first because it was tight on my calves in the second half of the game and I ended up playing well so I kept it. Jack Grealish was obviously an influence on him as well,” he says.
And the ‘Guernsey Grealish’ comparison? “Of course! He’s one of the best players in the league so I’ll take him,” says Scott, laughing.
