Camden and Regent’s Park Youth League organisers Will Cave, Abul Koyar and Ash Rahman, and Camden Elite FC coach Sebastian Eurico meet up with Swindon Town goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux and Southend United midfielder Anthony Wordsworth

Published: 27 August, 2015
by STEVE BARNETT

NOT so long ago scores of furious fans – including supporters from Arsenal and Tottenham – marched on the headquarters of the Premier League in London to demand lower ticket prices. 

The protests followed hot on the heels of a mega-bucks payday that saw the Premier League pocket a record £5.14billion courtesy of a TV deal with Sky and BT Sport. 

Almost a month into the new season, however, and sadly not much has changed. A family of four can still expect to pay close to £400 on match days at a top club, and that’s not including food, travel, a programme and maybe a nice new scarf. I won’t even mention what happens to the price if you add one of the three new kits that seem to come out every season. 

Well on Saturday a last-minute road trip with a group of friends from the Camden and Regent’s Park Youth League gave me an idea. 

We joined almost 6,000 fans for the League One clash between Southend United and Swindon. 

For us, it was about more than points and pies. 

We were there to cheer on Southend midfielder Anthony Wordsworth and Swindon Town goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux, who is currently on loan at the Robbins from Liverpool. Two boys Camden should be very proud of. 

In the early days they sharpened their skills playing for Christ Church Primary in Redhill Street, Regent’s Park. 

Or walked five minutes from their houses to play in the Camden and Regent’s Park Youth League. 

The best thing is, Anthony and Lawrence aren’t alone. There’s a string of footballers from Camden and Islington turning out for professional clubs on a weekly basis. 

Millwall’s Aiden O’Brien hands out a man-of-the-match award to The Heath goalkeeper Joe Ryan

Like Islington’s Aiden O’Brien, who went from playing for Isledon Wolves at Market Road to leading the attack for League One side Millwall. Or Camden’s Danny Hylton, who is charged with the responsibility of grabbing the goals for League Two side Oxford United. 

Jermaine Anderson is also flying the flag for Camden playing in the heart of midfield for League One side Peterborough United while, Marc Weatherstone, who grew up in Islington, is captaining Wingate and Finchley in the Ryman Premier League. 

So, back to my idea. Maybe instead of spending hundreds of pounds on clubs who seem to have forgotten that the fans are the nucleus of the sport, we should start supporting the players who have grown up on our doorsteps. 

They are giving us a lot more to be proud of than the clubs who only seem to be interested in our money.