When Jack Dovey put pen to paper on his first contract with English Premier League club Southampton around the age of 10, little did he know that 13 years later he would be playing for Altona City in the fourth tier of the Football Federation Victoria.
Once the excitement of his first contract settled down, Dovey was sat in a room with 19 other Saints “potentials” of his age group and provided the sobering prediction that of the 20 players in that room, only two or three, if they were lucky, would go on to become household names.
The strike rate was better than that in Dovey’s age group, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Calum Chambers (both Arsenal) and Luke Shaw (Manchester United) going on to play for England, while James Ward-Prowse has reached 100 games with Southampton.
To be sitting in that room, you had to be an immense talent – and Dovey was considered one of the best goalkeepers of his age group.
But soccer is a cut-throat business, particularly in that part of the world, where no favours are given to locally produced players.
Dovey simply could not crack the first team and found himself playing for Eastleigh in the national league, a conference below the Football League and effectively the fifth tier of English football.
The conference league is huge for a developing footballer, but it did Dovey few favours, as he was stuck on the bench as reserve goalkeeper.
“I was finding it hard, being the No. 2 goalkeeper at Eastleigh for a while,” he said.
From the age of 10, all Dovey knew was football. He missed out on some of his youth to devote his waking hours to football.
Last year, much to the surprise of the people who have followed his career, he announced that he needed a change of scenery.
“Some people will say I’ve done the wrong thing by moving to Australia, because if I hung around there and got my shot again, doors could’ve opened because of my age,” Dovey said. “It was a bit of a step into seeing what the real world is like.
“Back home, you wouldn’t be going out to stupid o’clock at night like your mates would, you have to have strict diets.
“I didn’t really do a day’s work back home because being a full-time footballer with Southampton and then semi-pro with Eastleigh, I rarely had a secure job.
“That’s one thing that Australia has taught me – I’ve been a builder, I’ve been a farmer and I’ve sort of found a trade painting, which I’m now studying … so I do have a fallback option now.”
Dovey moved to Australia last year and had a short stint with Brunswick City in the NPL. He then moved to the bush to play with Cobram Roar, winning a title.
The offers came thick and fast for Dovey after that success with the Roar, but he felt most comfortable in accepting a deal to play with Altona City. That is not to say that he does not want to one day return to full-time football.
Goalkeepers can play at a high level into their 40s, so Dovey has plenty of time ahead of him.
“The prime years for a goalkeeper are late 20s and early 30s,” he said.
“I’ve still got time and I’m still not going to rule out playing football full time.
“At the same time, I wanted a fallback option in place. If you get a bad injury, then you have to step back into work like everyone else.
“I’ve still got time on my hands. As long as I keep myself sharp and keep my end tight, whenever the opportunity does come to step up – if it’s right one, I’ll go. If it’s not, then I’ll stay. But I definitely want to be playing as high a level as I can.”
