The odds of making it as a professional footballer are extremely slim, but they are surely improved if you are named after one of the greatest players to have ever lived.
Charlton’s Karoy Anderson has two middle names: ‘Lovebourne’ after his grandfather and ‘Zidane’ because of his mother’s admiration for France legend Zinedine.
Anderson has not only made it into the professional ranks but is enjoying a breakout season for Charlton.
The 19-year-old midfielder has started their last eight games under Nathan Jones and has caught the eye as the Addicks have gone unbeaten on that run to pull clear of trouble in League One
“In pre-season, I was just working hard, but becoming a first-team player this season has been really good and something I didn’t expect”, he tells Standard Sport.
“Some of the players in the team have had him [Jones] before and were saying how good he was. I was excited to work with him. He demands a lot from each individual, but he doesn’t get you down. That’s a very good balance. What he demands from me I’m very willing to give.
“The group is in a really good place now, and the feel around the training ground is really good. Sometimes you’ll have rough patches, but he’s been able to change the dynamic around the place.”
Anderson, born in Lewisham and raised in Sydenham, made his Jamaica debut in October but barely featured under Michael Appleton and had to re-establish himself under Jones.
“We had Dean Holden at the beginning of the season and they are two different characters,” he says. “I don’t think that’s anything bad, but I didn’t get to play as much under [Appleton].
“Sometimes you get managers that don’t play you. He did explain why, and the things he asked me to work on I trained extra on.
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“I take it in my stride now, but the first time I was out the team was tough. But it helped my future and made me improve myself off the pitch. I saw it as a wake-up call to continue working hard. Things can change very quickly.”
Charlton have a long history of producing quality players in their academy, with Joe Gomez and Ezri Konsa in the England squad to face Brazil at Wembley on Saturday.
“When I was in the academy, it was really exciting to see there were so many young players coming through the pathway into the first-team”, Anderson recalls.
“Joe Gomez was from my area and went to school with my older brother, so to see him progress whilst being a student was something he [my brother] was telling me a lot about at the time.”
Anderson describes playing cage football in south London as a kid as “fuelling my love of football even now.”
“Our position is one no one wants to be in... but we’re definitely picking up”
Karoy Anderson on Charlton's relegation fight
He adds: “I enjoy skills, but as I got older I understood simplicity is most effective. I work very, very hard. I try and be all-round as best as I can.”
A turbulent season at Charlton is finally turning a corner. They have pulled 10 points clear of the bottom four and look safe from relegation.
“When you look at the times when we haven’t picked up the results, it’s been late in the game, switching off our concentration,” says Anderson. “That’s changing now.
“When these moments come late in games now, we’re finding that balance of exerting a lot of energy in the beginning of the game but also maintaining focus late to get something out of the game.
“Our position is one no one wants to be in, but when you look at it we’ve done well to change it very quickly. There will be some hurdles that we’ll have to face, and we may not get a result here or there, but the team is definitely picking up.”
The EFL’s Youth Development Week runs from March 18 to 24. EFL Academy-developed players have made over 3,000 appearances across the EFL so far this season. 12 members of the current England squad came from an EFL Academy. To find out more, visit www.efl.com/youth-development/
