Interview with Sam Wilson

By Paul McNamara 

Sam Wilson’s eyes brighten when he is asked to express his feelings upon receiving a telephone call from Richard Hill during the summer. Eastleigh’s manager was enquiring as to whether Sam would be interested in returning, after a year away, to play his football at the Silverlake Stadium.

‘Excitement’, is the emotion to which the 18 year-old routinely refers, when recalling that initial discussion with his prospective new boss.

‘Richard spoke to my Dad, and then I got a call myself and spoke to Richard. I was debating whether to go to Winchester City at the time, but Richard persuaded me to come here. He said I’d improve with full-time football, and I believed in him and trusted him so I came here’.

We are speaking early in September, immediately after one of the day-time training sessions which were a large factor in Sam’s eagerness to become a Spitfire once more. So, has the move lived up to initial expectations?

‘It’s been good so far, really good. I was very, very excited to come back – especially to be involved in full-time football again. It’s a great opportunity for somebody my age. I’m going to improve playing with the players that are here’. 

Reflecting on what he missed most during four months spent with Poole Town towards the end of last year, and then throughout a subsequent five month period on the books at Gosport Borough, Sam strikes upon a failing that exists in the English game right up to its very highest level – that of young players not being afforded the chance to flourish. Sam simply did not play enough football. 

‘I went from club to club and didn’t really settle in and get the chance to play regularly. If I’d have stayed here, this would be my third consecutive year now, so I might have improved more by staying, rather than going away and being, in essence, a bit-part player’.

Sam makes no secret of his desire to maximise all he can from the playing days and years that stretch alluringly ahead of him. The youngster’s ambition is further fuelled by the experience of spending two-weeks, early in the 2011/2012 campaign, as a trialist with Premier League club, Fulham.

‘I loved it. I went up for a week, and was asked back for another week. I played a game against Portsmouth and scored twice. I don’t think I could have done much more but, at that time, it wasn’t meant to be. It was a great experience. It is very hard to break-in, though – especially at the age I was (17)’.

It is, perhaps, that first-hand encounter with the formidable task that is making it to the very top of his preferred profession, which has provided Sam with the foresight to install a ‘back-up’ plan. He is presently studying for a Diploma in Sport at Barton Peveril College but, with an eye on learning a trade, is contemplating registering for an evening-course at City College in Southampton, which, if successfully completed, will result in his becoming a qualified electrician.

For now, all of the former Portsmouth Academy player’s footballing efforts are being channelled into his fresh opportunity with Eastleigh.

‘I’d love to be a professional footballer, to work my way up through the leagues, and see what I can do. Hopefully, Eastleigh can help me do that. If I can stay at Eastleigh and we can work our way up the leagues that would be perfect’.

Blessed with a laudable blend of confidence and humility, Sam is aware of his strengths and, correspondingly, is determined to improve with his every step.

‘I think my finishing is decent, my work-rate and my touch are good, and my pace and strength are good for my age. They’re my strengths at the moment.

‘I can learn off the likes of Macca, (Craig McAllister) especially in terms my hold-up play. Fleets (Stuart Fleetwood) gets the ball away quickly and gets his shot off. I think I can learn different bits from all of these players – the likes of Deano (Dean Beckwith), Suvs (Glen Southam), and Jai Reason’.

With his grounded attitude, and an appetite for hard-work, the teenage striker, – whose preferred method of relaxation is ‘a round of golf with the boys’ – can be relied upon to leave nothing to chance while he seeks to prosper on his ‘second-coming’ as a Spitfire.

As Sam Wilson chases his dream, with all the vigour and intensity he applies to his tireless front-running, we should join in wishing him well.