The ultimate story in in football is starting out at your local non-league club and impressing to not just secure your move to the topflight of English football, but actually being a success there and making a proper career for yourself. Although the likelihood of this happening is very low due to the competitiveness of the football industry, there have been some stories that have really caught the eye of the press due to just how impressive they are and below we look at them in a bit further detail.
Of course, the number one story that comes to mind when discussing this topic is the five-year rise shown from Jamie Vardy which saw him leave Fleetwood Town to become a Premier League Champion at Leicester City where he has become a cult-hero at the midlands club and has become one of the greatest Premier League strikers of all time. Vardy burst onto the scene where he won the golden boot in the conference with Fleetwood and straight away grabbed the attention of at the time Championship side Leicester and went on to get promoted, then win the Premier League and play in the Champions League, this is something that all non-league players dream of.
Michael Antonio is the next player we are going to mention from this list as the English powerhouse played for Tooting and Mitcham in the Isthmian First Division when he was 17-years old and was quickly picked up by Nottingham Forrest where he took the gamble in the championship. Others have also been taking the gamble like Antonio on online casinos with many here offering one of the best gambling experiences on the internet. After impressing at Forrest, West Ham United picked up Antonio for a reported £7 million and has gone on to be the spearhead of the West Ham attack who are looking very dangerous in the Premier League this season and much of that can be down to the services of Antonio.
And finally, Chris Smalling also made the leap out of non-league football to make it not only in the Premier League, but now also in the Seria A with Roma. Smalling started out at Maidstone United and impressed Fulham who took the risk on the English centre-half and then Manchester United picked up Smalling and he went on to make over 200 Premier League appearances for the Manchester club, winning two Premier League titles explaining why Smalling is certainly a non-league success story.
