Marc Tierney wrote to every league club but Manchester United hoping for a professional career and has stayed in the game after early retirement
Marc Tierney desperately wanted to make it as a professional football, it just didn't look like it was going to happen for him. While his brother Paul was making his way through the Manchester United academy, Marc's trial had not been successful and nobody else came in for him.
As he prepared for Holy Cross sixth-form college in Bury, working at Tesco three days a week, he did what not many youngsters would have done. Accepting United wouldn't be interested, Tierney found the addresses for the training ground of the 91 other league clubs and wrote to them all asking if they'd take a look at him.
"You could tell the football dream was slipping away," he told the Manchester Evening News. "I did psychology A Level and English Language.
"I was heading that way and it was one last parting shot where I didn't want to look at myself later and say I didn't do absolutely everything to be a Premier League footballer. So I wrote the letters and could look myself in the mirror and thankfully it came off.
"I was at my mum's house and letters were coming daily and weekly of rejection and I do remember my mum pulling me and saying she was just worried they were all going to be rejections. But I'd already prepared myself for that because I'd never been to the club."
Tierney still has a pile of 40 letters that came through from different teams, each politely thanking him for his time but saying that they weren't interested. Two more rang to say that they were, and after trials at both he signed on a weekly basis with Oldham Athletic.
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Weeks turned into months and years, with a debut in August 2003 against Scunthorpe followed by a loan move to Paul Simpson's Carlisle the following season where he helped them earn promotion from the Conference before returning to Latics. A move to Shrewsbury followed in 2007, and then 18 months later it was Colchester before Norwich came in for him in 2011.
It was at Carrow Road where Tierney's dream came true as he helped the Canaries to win promotion to the Premier League and then saw them finish a respectable 12th. Less than a decade after writing off 91 letters, it had all been worth it - and helped him to be more okay when injuries forced an early end to his career just three years later at Bolton.
"It was particularly difficult for me. I knew I was able to play in the Premier League and fulfil my dream and become a regular with Norwich so I had touched the top of the mountain that I knew I could have done.
"Had it come before then you'd have been that person who said I could have done that. I proved a lot of people wrong and proved myself and my supporters right because it was a lifetime's work of dedication to get there.
"As one door closes, another one opens. It definitely changes your perspective on football. I deal with people now that are injured and that is football - it's cruel, you're unfortunate that there's nothing you can do if you can't get out on the pitch."
Tierney initially took time out of the game, and is grateful that he did. After more than a decade living and pursuing a professional football career, he had to adapt to a serious injury that became less about getting match-fit and more about being able to walk better so that he was able to play out with his kids again.
When he was ready to return, he had no appetite to be a manager and so looked at where else his skills would lie. Taking a masters in sports directorship, Tierney opted to specialise in a recruitment role that has become increasingly important for all clubs in the modern game and was delighted to take up the position last year at National League outfit Altrincham - his local side.
"Having worked in every league I do find my view on football is rounded. It's not just in the Premier League or the top leagues, it is the width and breadth of the country having seen different forms of recruitment, how different clubs use data, thankful that a lot of my network has people who are coaches or head coaches or heads of recruitment," he said.
"There's no one way to do it, different people of their model differently but the sporting director is here to stay and I just think it fits my character and expertise to be able to work down to the head coach and also up. I researched different recruitments and formation and styles of play, I think the role has evolved to suit my needs as time has gone on because it's become a bigger part of football.
"There's been nothing better than studying it at the coalface at Altrincham, who I'd gone and watched as a fan anyway."
Tierney has also drawn on the connections he has built up through his career, from Michael Edwards at Liverpool and Dougie Freedman at Crystal Palace to Brian Marwood at City and Steve Higham at United closer to home. Their advice helped the former footballer to return to another old haunt when an opportunity came up that he felt he couldn't turn down.
Instead of spearheading Altrincham's attempts to get into the league, the former Oldham player will instead be aiming to follow Latics up at Carlisle as the new head of football operations for the Cumbrian club that have just dropped out of the football league. There he will work with a United legend in head coach Mark Hughes.
"It's a big move for me to come here as head of football operations. It was geat to help Altrincham as my local club, I'd helped out Salford City as well and played on loan at Carlisle from Oldham so it feels really good to come back," he said.
"The Piatek family, Tom and Patty, have made fantastic infrastructure off the pitch with new training facilities getting made and the stadium infrastructure has been lifted up for the fan experience. Everything else is great about the football club, it's just about a head of football operations diving into recruitment and viewing everything from the first team to the academy - making sure the academy is one of the best in the north-west.
"I'll be working in collaboration with the coaches and heads of departments and work on the recruiting. I'm really looking forward to it.
"I had a great time at Altrincham, it was just an offer I couldn't refuse but I've a lot of time for the club. It's great to move on and leave it in good hands to push on in their own quest to to get out of the league.
"That's what i will be doing at Carlisle, advising and driving the culture to get out of the league. It's brilliant to get going."