Off the pitch, Melbourne Victory Youth forward George Howard embodies any typical Melburnian. He’s tall, sports a hipster haircut, and enjoys golf in his downtime.
Yet the English-born 18-year-old’s footballing journey is anything but ordinary, in fact his journey to the A-League is one of circumstance.
The National League season saw Howard make a big splash with Melbourne Victory in the National Youth League, with his NPL 1 journey resuming this weekend, having previously made his name at Box Hill United in the state’s second division.
But it was an inconspicuous start in Australia for the former Sheffield United academy player, who moved Down Under with his family just a few years ago after his father took up a job offer in Melbourne.
“I’m from England, I came over here when I was 14, 15, and I’ve been here about four years now,” the softly-spoken Howard explains.
The young teen eventually found himself playing for State League 1 outfit Eastern Lions – now in the NPL 1 – before an impressive outing against the then newly NPL licenced Box Hill United earned him a spot on their roster for their debut season.
“I was playing and I just got poached really. I was playing at Sandy and then I went to Eastern Lions, where I was playing in the first team when I was 16.”
“We played a practice game against Box Hill, and during last season when I was a train-on at Melbourne Victory, I got a call from the Box Hill manager asking if I wanted to come down.
“It’s a good club down there [Box Hill]. They had a lot of good individual players.”
The 6’2 forward’s stellar form and unmistakeable potential then saw him selected by Victory youth coach Darren Davies to play in the National Youth League, where he featured as a key cog in a long-term plan at the club.
The recruitment strategy has involved signing a much younger youth side than in previous campaigns, with an aim to retain the squad for a number of seasons in the NYL and NPL 1 in order to develop first-team players in a few years’ time.
“We’ve got a fairly young team with not much experience in there. I think Dazza [Darren Davies] is trying to develop for the next few years, and this bunch of boys will be a really strong youth team within the next year and the season after,” Howard says.
“The NYL has been a good stepping stone into the NPL. It’ll be a lot more physical with all the older bodies in there, but I think we should be alright in that league.
“As we gel as a group, we’ve got a strong team for the future.”
Howard is already known to some Melbourne Victory fans, having featured in the A-League pre-season for the seniors and scoring in a friendly against Hume City.
75′ GOAAAAL! Trialist George Howard extends our lead almost straight away! 3-1 lead here #HCvMV
— Melbourne Victory (@gomvfc) July 29, 2014
He has continued to feature in first team training throughout the season, but remains philosophical about his future chances, as well as the careers of his youth team-mates.
“Football’s sort of a dog-eat-dog world and we’re not all going to be in the first team as one group, but there are lots of players in there – some will excel into the first team and others will move on,” he says.
“Past few weeks I’ve had numerous opportunities [to train] in the first team.
“It’s obviously a great experience playing with the likes of Besart Berisha and Gui Finkler. I’ve been training with them quite regularly.”
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Youth mentor Darren Davies says the Victory backroom staff, including senior coach Kevin Muscat, have been pleased by Howard’s progress, and expect him to continue his development over the coming seasons.
“Big George has been fantastic, he’s come in this year and he’s been great. Sometimes he’s had fantastic games, he’s also had tired performances, but overall George’s improvement has been very, very good,” Davies admits.
“Attitude-wise, George is fantastic, he’s a tremendous young man to have in the dressing room. Attitude, effort, commitment – absolutely great.
“Tactically, he’s learning, and he’s got something you can’t educate players, which is pace – he really does frighten players with the amount of pace he has, for a big man as well.
“He’s scored some very good goals this year, and everybody at the club has been very happy with George. He’s been training in the first team, and everybody from the first team, coach-down, has been very happy.”
This week marks the return to the league that saw him earn his Victory stripes, and Howard will be keen to get his 2015 season off to the best possible start against Dandenong City. Kick-off on Saturday is scheduled for 3:00pm at Frank Holohan Soccer Complex.
Photo: Frank Khamees (Sportsography)