Last season we were very fortunate that four of our first team regulars agreed to sit down with us for a fascinating insight into their journeys in football, from their earliest memories of playing the game right up to the present day.
These interviews appeared in four of our home programmes over the course of the 22-23 campaign, but they were so good that we felt they were deserving of a wider audience. Find out what first Geffry Ebhote, Jake Cottrell, Michael Afuye and Kane Wallwork had to say underneath…
Geffry, tell us a bit about your early years……
I was born in Verona in northern Italy. My family was not really into football, but when I started school, all my mates were playing so I ended up joining a club when I was about six years old. It was great to see when I went back there last week that a lot of them are still playing competitively twenty years later – it’s a city that loves its football, like many other cities in Italy it is definitely the number one sport there.
Have you always been a defender since you started playing competitively?
No, I started off as a forward, although to be fair when you first start playing in Italy, it is more about learning the basics than being put in any particular position. We call it ‘Primi Calci’ – it translates as First Kick. You just familiarise yourself with the ball, you are taught to believe that it can be your friend, that you should look after it. Obviously the way that I play now does not always reflect that – sometimes I just need to smash it as far away from the goal as possible! But that is not what all kids are taught growing up in Italy.
Why were you a striker at first?
I guess it was because I was fast and in my early years, I was one of the biggest as well. I was also influenced by the fact that I am a big AC Milan fan, and at that time they had George Weah up front, he was just unbelievable so I wanted to be like him. And I loved Thierry Henry as well, although I always knew that technically I was always going to be a long way off what he had to offer!
How did you end up becoming a defender?
I guess it was because I found it really hard to watch other people defending, I felt like ‘I can do that better’ so I would drop back and help the defence, and in the end when I was about 14 or 15, one of my coaches said ‘why don’t you just play as a defender? And it made sense to me because a lot of the other kids had caught up in terms of size, so I had lost that advantage and I knew that technically I was not at the same level as some of them.
A pretty amazing transformation from being a striker for eight years to playing as a defender at a pro club academy aged 16….
Yes, it was pretty cool! I was with Sambonifacese for four years – there were three professional clubs in Verona at that time, Hellas Verona and Chievo Verona although unfortunately at the moment only Hellas are still standing on the top level of football in the Italian league. Sadly my team now play in Promozione, which is the step 3level of amateur football in Italy. And suddenly I was looking to model my game on Serie A defenders rather than forwards. At that time Lillian Thuram was playing for Juventus, and although as an AC fan, I was almost programmed to hate everyone who played for them, he was just amazing. And of course at Milan we also had some incredible centre halves. Nesta and Jaap Stam.
Where next after Sambonifacese?
I played for the next few years in Serie D, and I promised myself that I would always play at that level, never lower. And eventually I settled down and played for a club called San Martino Speme for four years before I moved to England.
What prompted the move to Manchester?
I think it was just about getting a bit more of a life experience. I had spent my entire life in Verona and I had loved it there, but I felt that I needed to get out of my comfort zone and test myself in a different environment. I didn’t really have any clear plan as to what I wanted to do job wise – I had my degree in Sports Science, but my main idea was just to get familiar with a new culture and language and see what happened next.
Did you speak any English before you came here?
My parents are Nigerian so we spoke a little at home, but it was different from the English that is spoken here. And we mostly spoke Italian of course, they had lived there from before when I was born and we were living in Italy, so that was the natural thing to do. However, in my family we can speak 3 languages, it is a good mix.
How did you kick start your football career in the UK?
I sent a few messages to teams on Facebook but I didn’t get many answers, and other teams were asking for my CV and I didn’t really have one. But then I met this Italian guy called Gabriel who was playing for AFC Oldham and so I started playing for them. We had a really good run but then COVID came and the season ended early. And although I really enjoyed myself there, I knew that I had to push myself a bit harder. So I went to Springhead and had a really good pre-season there, that was where I met Andy Pheby and Edgy and although the season was again disrupted by COVID, we won a cup at the end of it which was great.
And next up was Stockport Town….
Yes, they contacted me asking if I was interested in playing for them, I didn’t really know what league they were in, so I went there and the pitch was good, it was still quite local and I enjoyed training, so I asked Springhead if it was ok to go and they were fine about it. And we had a decent season overall but I felt that on a personal level, I started really well but I wasn’t so good in the last couple of months because by then, we were safe in mid table and I relaxed a bit too much. But I got the feeling that Stockport were really going to push for promotion this year so I was happy to stay there until I got the call from Edgy about coming to Avro.
How does playing for Avro compare to your experience of playing at the top level of amateur football in Italy?
In Serie D you train four times a week, and sometimes one of those is a double session. So there is a lot of work on organisation and shape because there is lots of time to work on that in training. But we do that here too of course so it’s not all that different. The biggest contrast is the intensity of the game here – you don’t have time to breathe, you have to do what you do quickly! And it’s tough, but I enjoy it and I am also able to concentrate on doing my job because others also have their roles and so I don’t have to fulfil lots of different ones. I think that is expected more in Italy – someone like Bonucci is typical of the centre halves over there, there will be times when they need to step into midfield and do a bit more, whereas I can leave that to Jake (Cottrell), Kyle (Jacobs), Morrow or Max (Davidson) here.
What are your ambitions in football going forward?
I am 28 years old and at the stage of my career where I do not want to be driving two hours each way to play football. But at the same time, every time I step onto the pitch, I am no less determined to be the very best that I can be than I was earlier in my career. I want us to win games, to work on the aspects of my game that I need to improve because that can only help the team.
And what do you feel that you need to work on the most?
I think that I can still be better on the ball, but playing with this team is great for the mental side of my game too, because it is not just the opposition that won’t let you relax! I have got Shents behind me barking away all the time and being a pain in the arse – same as Sam (Rathbone), Jake in front of me, Kyle and Kane (Wallwork) – I see them giving everything and I am like, I can’t let these lads down because they will kill me! And I love that about this team, we are all so driven to win every game. Of course it doesn’t always work out how we would want because you don’t always get what you deserve in football, but we never lose out because of lack of effort and determination.
What does Geffry Ebhote do to unwind when he is not working or playing football?
I really like going to the gym, playing tennis and spending time with the people who are most dear to me. I work for the mental health service of the NHS, which is a hugely rewarding but very tough job, so I make sure that I relax properly when I step away from it. I have no children at the moment, but maybe someday…..
Jake Cottrell was the last of the four interviews which we did, just before the end of the regular season…..
What are your earliest memories of playing football, Jake?
I think I really only started to take notice of it around Euro 96, so it wasn’t something that I got involved in as soon as I started primary school like some kids. I remember playing for the year 5 and 6 teams, and when we were having kickabouts in Middleton where I grew up, my brother was always irritated that I got picked before him even though he was three years older. He was like ’you’ve never even played before, what’s going on?’
What was your first club side?
I joined Middleton Colts when I was about ten, I think, and I played for them all the way until I left school. I was at Rochdale for a few years when I was in secondary school, I remember my first game when I was about 13, I scored two and then I literally just ran off to play for Middleton Colts.
How did things pan out with Rochdale?
It was a bit disappointing, to be honest – they kept a few of us on until right at the end of year 11, when they told us that they wouldn’t be offering us a YT contract. I remember thinking ‘What am I going to do now?’ But one of the coaches at Rochdale also worked at the football academy at Hopwood Hall so he took a few of us down there – it was two minutes from my house, so I just went and did that for a couple of years. That was when I started to play centre of midfield as well – I had always been out on the left before then.
Did you ever harbour any ambition to get back into the professional game?
I never really thought much about going pro, to be honest – I was just happy playing for the college team and I also started playing Sunday league for a team called Langley Celtic. That was how I ended up getting invited down to FC United – there was a guy called Darren Lyons who was a coach at United and also played with me at Celtic, so after a few years I ended up going down there.
Why did it take a few years for that to happen?
I guess I was happy just playing Sundays, going out with my mates and watching United. I played a few Saturday games with Oldham Town when they were at the Vestacare, Pheby was there too! But I was working away a lot as well so I didn’t really have time for all the training. I guess overall I missed a few years when I could have been playing at a higher level – but I wouldn’t change it.
How was your time at FC United?
I really enjoyed most of it. We didn’t do that well in my first season, but on a personal level I got a few awards. It was quite easy to dive straight into it – I already knew a few lads and coaches down there. They were in the Northern Premier and playing at Gigg Lane at that time – it was unbelievable playing in front of crowds of two or three thousand people, a great place to start your semi pro career.
How did the move to Chorley come about?
I think I always knew towards the end of that third season that it was going to be my last with my club. I played quite a bit at first, but then towards the end when we were trying to get in the play offs, I was in and out of the team. I remember when we were travelling down to the play off final, there was this lad that the manager had brought in on loan who was just sat there eating a McDonalds and then he started him instead of me. I think that pretty much made up my mind for me, if I had any doubts left at that point.
How would you sum up your seven years at Chorley?
They were great times. It’s a fantastic club, they don’t have the biggest budget but they do everything properly and they always have a great dressing room. We had some really good years – the first year I was there, we won the league and we finished one point ahead of FC United which was a great feeling, I remember singing ‘are you watching, Manchester?’ when we won it. Then we got to the play off finals a couple of times in the Conference North, we got beaten 3-2 by Guiseley, and we lost in the last minute of extra time against Halifax, so it wasn’t all good. But then we won on penalties to get into the Conference National which was an amazing feeling.
Was it that lack of financial clout which made it almost impossible for Chorley to establish themselves in the National?
I think it is always going to be tough when nearly every other side in the division is full time. We would train Tuesday and Thursday night and then we would be travelling down on a Friday night pretty much every other weekend to the London area..it was difficult. But it was still a great experience – we played at some amazing grounds, like Chesterfield and Notts County, and I am sure that if they got the chance to have another crack at it, they would have learned from the experience and maybe do things a little differently.
Talk us through the summer of 2021…..who did you know at Avro before joining us?
I spent most of the pre-season with Curzon Ashton, and I had a few clubs ringing me and asking me to come down. I remembered playing against OB and Thongy years before on a Sunday, and Army played with me at Celtic – well, he was mostly sub, actually, but he was there at the same time. I felt like they really wanted me to come and join them, and that I was under no pressure to stay if after a few months, I felt like it wasn’t working out. So I came down and had one training session, and then it was the start of the season!
You were nicknamed ‘Three Lungs’ during your time at Chorley, and you certainly haven’t shown any sign of easing up in your two seasons with us. Do you do any extra work on your fitness?
To be honest, I don’t really do anything – I can’t stand the running in pre-season, and if I were asked to run 10k in an hour, I probably wouldn’t be able to! But as soon as a game starts, something just changes. I guess I should have done it at some point in my career, and it would have been interesting to see how things turned out if I had.
How does the Avro experience compare to your time at FC United and Chorley?
I love it here! We’ve got a great dressing room, and you get the feeling that everyone who is involved with the club really loves it, don’t they – you can see how much it means to them and how much they want us to do well.
We are very much hoping to be involved in a play off game of our own this time next week – will you be nervous if we do make it?
Of course. I think it would be strange if you didn’t get nervous, no matter what level you are playing at. I have been lucky enough to be involved in a lot of play off games, and we have a massive game today as well just to get there. So yes, I will be a little bit nervous but I don’t think that’s a bad thing.
What do you see the next few years of your footballing career taking you?
I would really love to have a crack at the next level with Avro – but even if we don’t get promoted this year, I think we will definitely be up there again next year. Overall whatever happens today, we need to look back at this as a really successful season. There will probably be a few games in which we will feel that we might have done a bit better, but that does not take away from what we have achieved.
And the best thing about it is that so many people have contributed to our success – it has been a real team effort. Frosty and the coaching staff have been brilliant, and even when there have been some lads who have not been getting in, they have still wanted to be around – there has been no sulking, and every player has made a big contribution when called upon over the last nine months.
Michael Afuye was our first Big Interview way back in July of last year…..
Tell us a little more about the early years, Michael…..
Yeah they were good. We were a stable family, I have a brother and a sister and I am the oldest, I was fine with that. I didn’t play competitive sport until I was about eight, and when I did, it was Gaelic football that I started with. I actually wanted to go all the way to the top at first in that sport, I wanted to play for Dublin, but someone then told me that you don’t get paid playing GAA, so I started to wonder whether maybe I should be looking in another direction.
And was that the only reason why you switched your focus to football?
Yeah, I guess so. It wasn’t that big a leap, to be honest. I hadn’t been playing for a team, but I used to play sport all the time with my mates, sometimes football, sometimes basketball. And even when I was playing GAA, you’re mostly meant to play it with the ball in your hands, but I used to deliberately drop it and dribble up the field. I used to get in trouble all the time for doing that! So the skills you need for football were all there – I have always been fast as well – but it was just that at first, I was taking Gaelic football more seriously and football was just for fun in my spare time. And then I decided to join a team and commit to playing football instead.
And who was your first football team?
They were called Verona, and then when I went to secondary school in 2012, I joined a team called Castleknock. I had a mate who was already with them, and he took me down to training and it went well so I played for them for a couple of months. The game over there is quite a bit slower, so I was playing centre mid and really enjoying it. Then we moved to England and that was a bit of a shock to the system from a footballing point of view.
In what way was it a shock?
Mainly because the game is so much faster and more physical over here. I soon realised that if I stayed in the middle of the park, I was going to get nowhere – I was getting knocked off the ball, suddenly there was no time at all to get my head and influence the game like I had been able to do in Ireland. So I quickly decided that if I wanted to progress as a footballer, I needed to go and play on the wing, use the pace that I have always had and make my mark from a different area of the pitch. And that is where I have been ever since, even when I moved back to Ireland and went back to playing for Castleknock between 2017 and 2019.
What brought you back to England for a second time?
I got offered a place on a sports rehabilitation degree course at the University of Bolton, and I had really enjoyed my two years in the north west before. So it was not a difficult decision to make, even though Dublin is home and my parents still live there. It was great for me from a footballing point of view because when I had been here between 2013 and 2017, I had played for a junior team called Roach Dynamos in Rochdale, and I just came back and carried on playing with most of the same lads, but this time for the men’s first team! So that was pretty cool.
So how did you end up joining Avro?
It’s all down to Liam Ellis, to be honest. He’s from Heywood as you know and he was playing for Roach as well just to get his fitness up. He saw what I was about and he said ‘why don’t you come down Avro?’ So yeah, I think it is fair to say that I wouldn’t have ended up here if it hadn’t been for Liam, I am very grateful to him for that.
Who were your footballing heroes growing up, and have they had any influence on how you play football?
I would say that one hasn’t but the other one most certainly has. Didier Drogba was my main man for so many years, I really wanted to be him but it soon became clear that I wasn’t built to play like him! But my favourite player ever has to be Thierry Henry, and I really feel like I base a lot of what I do on a football pitch on what he saw as his strengths. If I can be even one per cent as successful in my football career as he was, I will be a happy man.
Talking of strengths, yours are pretty obvious to anyone who has seen you play for Avro – but what would you say that you need to work on the most to become a better player?
I feel like if I really want to achieve my ambitions in football, I have to add more goals to my game. I think that in this day and age, wingers are almost expected to score as many goals as strikers – look at Ronaldo, Messi, they have spent most of their careers out wide, they have changed everything. It’s not enough just to beat your defender one on one any more and put in a good cross.
And for you personally, is that just about more shooting drills in training? Or is there more to it than that?
A bit of that, maybe, but I think for me it is also about bravery. Last season I would get into good positions, but then I would be in two minds as to do next. Mainly because I am a grower, I think, I grow into teams and I guess I was still just finding my way a bit, maybe a bit shy. I think this year will be very different.
What else does Michael Afuye have to work on to progress as a footballer this season?
Fitness is definitely a big part of me fulfilling my potential. Last season I was getting into great positions, making good runs but after an hour I was knackered. So straight after the Bacup game, I spoke to Jess our physio and she sorted me out with a fitness programme. And I spent the whole of the close season working on it, while everyone else was chilling, I was working hard. So I haven’t had a break, and I am not going to get one now! But I already know that it has been worth it – it’s only preseason and so not many of us have been playing the full ninety minutes of any game, but I feel so much fitter and stronger.
You have played on the left a couple of times in preseason. It’s the first time I can remember you playing out there for Avro – how have you found it?
It’s been fine, actually. I only like playing on the right because I can be much less predictable – if I am on the left, given that I am left footed, it’s a pretty good bet I’m going on the outside. But I think I’ve done ok out there in preseason. I honestly believe that if I go one on one, I have the beating of any full back in this division – apart from maybe Kane (Wallwork), he is horrible to go up against in training, so I am glad he plays for us!
Where does Michael Afuye see himself five years from now in footballing terms?
I still believe that I can make it to professional football. Let’s see what God has in store for me, but right now I am more determined than ever to make the most of the gifts that He has given me. I know that I still have a long way to go, but there’s no way I am giving up on this ambition any time soon. I am 21 years old and I am playing better than ever – who knows where that may take me? But in the meantime, I am just going to keep working hard and taking on board what the coaches are telling me that I need to do to take my game to the next level. It’s been a great twelve months for me, and I am hungry for more.
Last but by no means least, we spoke to Kane Wallwork late last year…
Kane, tell us a bit about your first memories of playing football…
Believe it or not, some of my earliest memories are kicking a ball around in the hospitality suite at Old Trafford with Brooklyn Beckham! But apart from that, my Mum always used to say that I never went anywhere without a football. That’s all me and my mates ever wanted to do, to be honest – although we didn’t have the distraction of mobile phones and iPads back then.
Is it true that you actually trained with both City and United as a young lad?
Yeah, it is, although obviously that didn’t happen for very long before I had to choose between the two. And that was really tough because I had grown up a United fan so like any kid in my position, I dreamed of playing for them. But when I had to make the decision, I chose City. Why was that? To be honest I just enjoyed the training more. My brother was already there playing for the youth team, so that probably influenced my decision as well. But it was a really tough call to make, because I knew that once I had made it, there was no way I was ever going to be able to play for United in the future, and they were my team.
Who did you look up to most in that United team of the early to mid 2000s?
I think Ronaldo was most United fans’ hero at that time. It’s a shame how things have turned out recently with him, but he was amazing throughout those first eight years with us, and no one can ever take that away from him. I remember when I heard he was leaving, I was on holiday in Turkey I think, and I was just crying my eyes out – I thought he would never leave. I guess I was still just a kid then, I didn’t know how things worked, but even now I will still be gutted when he leaves again and especially as it looks like it will be under a cloud.
How long were you at City before moving on to Oldham?
I think it was about three or four years. I remember my Mum driving me home the day I got released like it was yesterday – I just couldn’t believe it, I was devastated. And then I went to Oldham, and I think that had a massive impact on how things went there. I was still really young; I had barely even started secondary school and I was having to deal with my dreams being crushed. I just lost my way for a bit – I didn’t have the maturity to realise that there was still a chance of being a professional footballer, that I had plenty of time to get back to where I wanted to be. It was no surprise when Oldham let me go – I didn’t deserve to be kept on, my attitude was really poor and so that was that.
Did you stop playing completely for a bit after that?
Yes, I did, but that was basically because I had to! I have no idea how it happened, but one day I put my hand over my eye, and I couldn’t see out of the other one at all. I went to see lots of experts and eventually it turned out that I had a detached retina. I have no idea how it happened – I can only think that it was when I was messing about with my brother on the sofa and I got a bang on the head, but I don’t know how long that was before I realised that I had no vision in one eye.
So what happened next?
I had three operations in about a year to get it sorted out. I was actually treated by Frank Bruno’s surgeon because it is a really common injury amongst boxers, although they told me that it was very unusual for someone as young as me to have suffered it. But they also said to me at that stage that I would never be able to head a ball again, so I thought that might be it for me and football. And although I had fallen out of love a bit with a game around then, the thought of never being able to play again properly when you are only twelve or thirteen, that was horrible.
How did you manage to overcome that particular hurdle?
When I first started playing again, I just didn’t head the ball for quite a while! But eventually I decided that I had to go for it, that was around the time when I first started playing for one of Avro’s junior teams. Fingers crossed it’s still going ok ten years on – Frosty says I can’t head the ball straight, but maybe that’s why!
As someone who hasn’t been around to witness all of your Avro career, how has it developed?
Once I felt confident about heading the ball again, it went really well. I was playing for the first team at the age of sixteen in the Manchester Premier League, and one season I scored over 20 goals from left wing. It was around about the time that the Neville brothers were taking over Salford City, and they invited me down there for pre-season. I was pretty excited, to be honest, I felt like finally I might be back in with a real chance of being a professional footballer.
So how did that go?
Sadly, I never made it to pre-season. That summer I was playing five a side against a Premier League player who probably shouldn’t have been there even though it was obviously the close season for him too. I was desperate to do my best against him, and I just overdid it. I rolled my ankle, and I knew straight away that I was in a lot of trouble – it swelled up like a balloon. But even then, I never thought that I wouldn’t kick a ball properly again for several years. There were so many complications – apparently, I had two tendons where most people only have one, they took one out but that didn’t sort anything. When I eventually got back to playing again, I was just glad to be out there, but I knew that having been out for that long at that stage of my career, that was pretty much it for me and pro football.
What do you make of United at the moment? Have you seen much of them this season?
Yeah, the way it has turned out with them being in the Europa League, they are playing on Thursdays and Sundays which means that I have been able to see them quite a lot this season. I mean, of course I would rather that we were in the Champions League and playing Tuesdays or Wednesdays and Saturdays, but I will take it for the moment. I think we are certainly moving in the right direction, so let’s hope we can get in a couple of really good players in January.
And from a playing perspective, what are Kane Wallwork’s ambitions going forward?
I don’t think too much about individual ambitions any more. When we play games against teams from a higher level, it makes me think that I could probably play a level or two higher if I were really determined to do so. But right now, I would love to make that happen with Avro – we have a great set of lads here, and I do not think that it is at all unrealistic to be aiming high this season. My footballing journey has taught me to keep my feet on the ground and enjoy what you have, rather than getting too carried away with may be – but I am as determined as ever to contribute as much as I physically can to enhance this team’s chances of success, and if we do not make it up this year, it certainly won’t be for want of trying from any of us.
