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JET article - The Athletic


And Its Smith

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Thought that some people especially @Fordy62 would like to read the JET interview in the Athletic this week.  Guessing a lot don’t subscribe so here you go

 

Had the goal been scored with the right foot rather than the left, you’d have been forgiven for thinking the scorer had been Thierry Henry. With his back to goal, the forward flicked the ball up, turned on the spot and sent a thumping volley into the far top corner.

“I was thinking of Henry’s goal against Manchester United when I scored it,” says Jay Emmanuel-Thomas. “More in the concept than anything. If I was to turn and shoot the ball across the floor, there’s a good chance the defender could make a block. If I flick it up, he can’t see the ball’s in the air because he’s directly behind me. If you watch it back, he goes to block a shot on the floor, but I get the volume and it all just comes together.”

There are striking similarities in the technique. However, the opponents weren’t Manchester United, but Hamilton Academical — and Emmanuel-Thomas was playing not at a packed Highbury, but an eerily empty Alderstone Road, home of his current club Livingston. It was a goal fitting of the player — one that demonstrated audacious ability, from a talent that long seemed set for a grander stage.

 

Emmanuel-Thomas is 30 now — an age when he is beginning to look back as much as forward.

He was 18 when he captained Arsenalto a 6-2 aggregate win over Liverpoolin the FA Youth Cup final (main photo). In a team that included Jack Wilshere, Francis Coquelin, Kyle Bartley and Henri Lansbury, it was the boy known simply as “JET” that wore the armband. At that age, he appeared destined for stardom.

A year later, Arsene Wenger admitted Emmanuel-Thomas was on the verge of a first-team breakthrough. “Jay is knocking very hard on my door — with two hands,” the Arsenal manager said. “He has outstanding quality. He has the build you dream to have. It is down to how far he wants to go, because he has big potential. He works very hard to get his fitness right. When his fitness is right, Jay will be not only a good player, but a great player.” Few managers have demonstrated Wenger’s shrewd ability to gauge potential. His words have hung over Emmanuel-Thomas’s subsequent career, a prophecy unfulfilled.

Emmanuel-Thomas trained with Wenger’s first team every day for the best part of two years. It granted him the opportunity to learn from the likes of Henry up close. “You never know how quick somebody is until you see them close up and personal,” he marvels. “I knew Thierry was quick, obviously — you see him playing in the Premier League, flying past defenders. But when you see him in training, when you see it close, and you see how fast he’s actually moving — if you’re on the same team and he’s attacking, and you’re racing to keep up but you just can’t — that’s when you realise how fast he actually is.”

As a left-footed player, Emmanuel-Thomas was struck by the unique technique of Robin van Persie. “His left foot is very, very accurate,” he recalls. “How he strikes the ball, the whip he gets on it, it’s not common whatsoever. You don’t see that.”

You don’t see many prospects like Emmanuel-Thomas, either. Over 6ft tall, fleet of foot and broad of shoulder, he seemed able to do it all. In the youth and reserve sides, he played every outfield position apart from right-back — and one legendary Arsenal defender had him earmarked for a role in defence.

“At the time, there was still a back-and-forth regarding what position I was going to play, because Steve Bould always wanted me to play at centre-half,” says Emmanuel-Thomas. “His aim was to turn me into a centre-back — but I really didn’t want to play there. I went away with the first team for a game against Huddersfield, and I was thrown in at centre-half. It kept happening.”

In the end, it was Wenger who stepped in, deciding the youngster’s future lay among the forwards. “He told me I’d have been wasted playing at centre-half with all the attributes of an attacker,” says Emmanuel-Thomas. Speaking in 2010, Wenger was in no doubt as to the player’s attacking potential: “One thing is for sure: he can score goals. That is a massive talent you cannot give to people — his right foot, left foot, he is unbelievable in front of goal. This guy is an unbelievable finisher, inside and outside of the box.”

Of course, joining Wenger’s collection of forwards meant facing some serious competition for a first-team place.

“It was a tough period because, at the time, the attacking players at Arsenal were immense,” he explains. “We still had Van Persie, Andrey Arshavin, Theo Walcott, Carlos Vela, Nicklas Bendtner… after those guys, I was the next choice behind. I’d already bypassed all the players from my year and the two years above me in the academy, but it was difficult to get game time.

Emmanuel-Thomas, Arsenal
Emmanuel-Thomas had to compete with Carlos Vela for a place in Arsenal’s attack (Photo: Olly Greenwood/AFP via Getty Images)

“You’re travelling all over the country and just sitting on a bench and not getting a look-in. You get 10 minutes here, you get 20 minutes there, then you don’t play for four or five games… Obviously, you realise that you’re not at any club — you’re at Arsenal, so it’s difficult to actually get in there as an attacker with such elite strikers at the football club. And then it came to a point where I had a decision to make if I was going to assign a new contract or if I was going to move on… and I made the decision to move on.”

He joined Ipswich Town, then a Championship club, in the summer of 2011 and his gamble was rewarded by 42 league appearances in his first season. He was delighted to be playing regular football, but even then, there was that sense of what might have been.

“During that season, I obviously always checked up on Arsenal scores and who had who played and whatnot. And they ended up having a lot of injuries that season in attacking areas. It was one of those things where if you stayed there, then players probably don’t get injured! And then, now you’ve left…” He hesitates. “It’s just one of those things. You can’t… I made a decision based on what I thought was right for my career at that time.”

After two years with Ipswich, he moved to Bristol City, the club where he feels he played his best football, and where he was reunited with Arsenal academy talents including Luke Ayling, Kieran Agard and Luke Freeman.

Following two seasons in Bristol he spent three years back in London at Queens Park Rangers, encompassing loan spells with MK Dons and Gillingham, before moving to PTT Rayong in Thailand. Emmanuel-Thomas relished the change in lifestyle, a clean slate, and the warmer weather. He also found the passing style of play more suited to his talents than some of what he’d encountered in England. The only drawback was the long trips to away games. “You don’t realise how big a country Thailand is until you have to sit on a coach for 12 hours to get to your next game!”

His paradise was not to last. Rayong began to suffer financial problems and so began a difficult wilderness period in his career. “Things started to happen that were making me iffy,” he explains. “Local players were asking if they could borrow money, not small sums — five, six, seven grand. I think they knew the club was folding.” The season was still ongoing, and Emmanuel-Thomas still had time remaining on his contract, but the club were prepared to offer him a settlement. “So I left, sorted out a contract termination, and came home. Literally, about three months later, the club folded. There were about 27 players left without a deal.”

Emmanuel-Thomas returned to the UK in July 2019 but was due to return to the Far East to sign for a Chinese club in early 2020. “I was actually going back to Asia, February 12, 2020. And COVID broke out on January 25 in China. So they had sorted out all my flights, and got I got a phone call from them saying, ‘We’re gonna push your flight back two weeks due to the outbreak of a little virus’. This was the beginning, before we even heard about it really in the UK. I was thinking, ‘Cancelling a flight for “a little virus”? It can’t be that little, surely!’ And then week by week, it got bigger and bigger to the point where I then woke up to an email from Emirates saying my flights had been cancelled. One year on, we’re still here.”

The cancelled move meant Emmanuel-Thomas spent 15 months out of the game, following his own fitness programme to try to stay in shape. “You can’t let it play on your mind heavily, you have to try and stay as focused and strong as you possibly can,” he says. “I always believe in my ability and I knew that if I could get into somewhere on trial, I would be able to show enough, even if I haven’t trained.”

The chance eventually came last September, in the Scottish Premiership with Livingston.

Within a few days of training, manager David Martindale offered him a deal. Martindale describes Emmanuel-Thomas’ talent as “frightening”. “In sheer technical ability, I think we could have one of the best players in the league,” he says.

It has been a positive first season. Livingston contested the Scottish League Cup final, and have secured a top-six place. Having steadily built his fitness levels, Emmanuel-Thomas has appeared in 19 league games. He wears the No 9 shirt. Although he still sees himself as an attacking midfielder, ideally from the right-hand side, he has been asked to lead the line in Scotland. The versatility of his youth has, it seems, paid dividends. “It gave me an idea of what it’s like being in the opposite position,” he explains. “If I’m now facing up against a defender, I know what’s running through his mind.”

Emmanuel-Thomas is eligible to play international football for both St Lucia and Dominica, but has grown weary of their fleeting interest. For now, he is focused on resurrecting his club career in Britain. Livingston have an option for a second year. He is happy in the town, almost equidistant between Edinburgh and Glasgow, and would be content to stay.

Livingston are a good club, surpassing expectations — but might there have been more? “If I look back, there have maybe been times in my career I could have managed things differently,” he admits. “You think, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have done that’, or, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have gone there knowing that I had a game’, or, ‘Maybe I should have bought into that manager’s philosophy a bit more than I did. Just because I didn’t agree with how he wanted to play doesn’t mean that I was right, and he was wrong’. As you get older, things start to change. You see it happening to others and you think, ‘That was once me’.”

It is now just shy of a decade since Emmanuel-Thomas left Arsenal. At times, he has seemed a talent that fell through football’s cracks — too good for Arsenal’s reserves, yet not quite good enough for their first team. Too skilful to be a centre-half, too burly to be a winger. He is a player that managers haven’t always known what to do with — a gifted individual that hasn’t always fitted easily into a team.

“Obviously, you always think what could you have done, what could have been if I did x, y or z,” he says. “But you pass that stage. If you keep thinking about it, it ain’t going to do you no good.”

Maybe not. But watch a goal like that stupendous strike against Hamilton, and it’s difficult not to wonder

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3 minutes ago, Fordy62 said:

Thanks @And Its Smith... I ❤️JET. I’m both incredibly pleased we saw the best of JET and saddened that he didn’t fulfil his potential. 

He’s definitely written into my Bristol City History alongside Ade Akinbiyi, Greg Goodridge and Shaun Taylor. 

Echo that... also my favourite players too, Akinbiyi was something else

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Pity when we seemed to be looking for players 30+ , we didn’t offer him a trial. Probably would have been a shrewd move compared to the ones we did sign. I still think he would have put entertainment into the game, something that has been sadly missing this season.

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Football is a job to him, he just didn’t have the application to that job which was needed to get the most out of his talent. Wenger clearly saw that early. Maybe if he was as talented at basketball or DJing as he was at football he would’ve been a success, as those were seemingly his passions.

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13 minutes ago, Wolf Island said:

Football is a job to him, he just didn’t have the application to that job which was needed to get the most out of his talent. Wenger clearly saw that early. Maybe if he was as talented at basketball or DJing as he was at football he would’ve been a success, as those were seemingly his passions.

I`ve said it before that football gave him the time and money to do the things he really wanted to. How many of us could say we wouldn`t do the same if we could?

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Sometimes the enjoyment and memories you get from certain footballers doesn’t really reflect the actual achievements of those players. I’m thinking Jacki and Jet as particular examples for City. But by God what memories - the sort that make you keep watching in the hope you’ll see somebody else do something similar.

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He never was able to maintain the fitness of someone who could be a regular in the top two divisions... but equally, if he didn't play, he wouldn't get close to the level of fitness.

On his day, one of the most natural talents I'd seen play for the City, on others, it was like starting with 10 men.

I wish him well with the rest of his career.

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12 minutes ago, Bristol Rob said:

He never was able to maintain the fitness of someone who could be a regular in the top two divisions... but equally, if he didn't play, he wouldn't get close to the level of fitness.

On his day, one of the most natural talents I'd seen play for the City, on others, it was like starting with 10 men.

I wish him well with the rest of his career.

Reading his article, I think belatedly he has realised what could have been.  Whilst he won’t reach the heights his natural talent & a bit of application should have taken him to , he seems happy in himself and that’s important. You never know perhaps a pre season friendly could be arranged between our two teams.

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31 minutes ago, Lanterne Rouge said:

I`ve said it before that football gave him the time and money to do the things he really wanted to. How many of us could say we wouldn`t do the same if we could?

Exactly. For many footballers it’s just a job, sometimes fans find that hard to understand cos they’d do anything for that job. A well paid job but one that comes with physical danger, lots of time away from home and family, long hours, restrictions on what you eat and do, lack of anonymity, and lots of moving around. 

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8 minutes ago, E.G.Red said:

Reading his article, I think belatedly he has realised what could have been.  Whilst he won’t reach the heights his natural talent & a bit of application should have taken him to , he seems happy in himself and that’s important. You never know perhaps a pre season friendly could be arranged between our two teams.

I think part of the problem with/for a lot of professional athletes is that there is a limit to just how far they can go.

You (well, not you specifically!), could cycle 100 miles a day and never come close to have the lung capacity or build of a professional cyclist. 

Tomlin compensated for his lack of metabolism by being a reader of the game and utilising his other ability with the ball, similar with Trundle. Exceptionally gifted player who with the ability to offer 120 minutes a Saturday (or Tuesday) - allowing for stoppages, would never have graced the turf in BS3, they would have been on a world stage.

And likely been a pain in the arse of the managers of far bigger clubs!

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Mad to think his best football at City was under SOD too. Can hardly criticise SC for his team selections in 2014/15 but part of me does wish he'd given JET more minutes. Plenty of examples of us being at least two goals to the good and he still wouldn't bring JET on till the 88th minute or whatever. 

Ultimately though a player with Premier League ability that has never performed consistently above League One level. And there's a reason for that... 

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2 hours ago, Kid in the Riot said:

Mad to think his best football at City was under SOD too. Can hardly criticise SC for his team selections in 2014/15 but part of me does wish he'd given JET more minutes. Plenty of examples of us being at least two goals to the good and he still wouldn't bring JET on till the 88th minute or whatever. 

Ultimately though a player with Premier League ability that has never performed consistently above League One level. And there's a reason for that... 

Lee Trundle is another example, body wasn’t designed to play at the highest level. Both superb talents. 

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