With the football season cut short KSN football writer Colin Head caught up with Luke Medley, the 30 year old Lordswood striker, who had been enjoying a successful campaign in the SCEFL Premier Division to talk football and his career.
First off Luke thank you for doing this interview, this seemed like a good time to catch up with you and talk about football and you path through the game.
By my count you have played for 21 clubs over you career including loan spells, I guess it would be fair to add the tag ‘well travelled’ to you football biography. Where did your career start and how did you get to where you are today?
Hi Colin, thank you for having me. Yes, Well travelled would be a fair tag to add and that came with many experiences (good and bad).
My first kind of taste in senior football was while I was still at school (year 11) playing for Chatham Town FC reserves and a sub appearance for the first team. After finishing school, I attended Protec Football Academy (Barnet FC u19/u18) and also signed for Welwyn Garden City FC.
After my first year at Protec I had unsuccessful trials with Watford and Reading after eventually signing for Tottenham Hotspur FC u18 as a second-year scholar. Following being released from Spurs I had few clubs showing interest such as Motherwell, Gretna, Cheltenham and Bradford City. After playing a reserve game for Bradford they offered me a 1-year contract which I signed.
Scoring on my debut for Bradford was a great experience and probably the only highlight of my fulltime career. I had a brief loan spell at Cambridge City which didn’t go very well, however an experience and lessons learned. At the end of the season Bradford Released 13 players but offered me another 1-year contract, which I turned down and signed a 2-year deal with Barnet FC.
In the two years with Barnet I had two loan spells with Havant and Waterlooville and a 6-month loan with Woking FC. There were probably more bad than good experiences in those 2 years and at the end I was released.
With no club it was time to go on trial. I trialled with Histon, Dover, and Braintree. Histon and Dover both offered me contracts, but I turned them down. With 2 weeks to go until the start of the season I had no club and no interest from any clubs. I got on the phone to my friend Nixy (teammate at Bradford) who was at Mansfield Town FC and asked him if he could speak with his manager.
On that same day my dad drove me up to Hucknall Town FC as they had their second to last friendly of pre-season and the manager said he would have a look. When I arrived, I saw a big squad and plenty of trialists and in my head I thought this was a waste of time this manager will have his squad picked already. I came on with about half an hour to go scored a goal and ran the whole length of the pitch lobbing the keeper and hitting the crossbar. Mansfield offered me a 6-month deal within a week.
That deal got extended to a year and I had an okay start to the season scoring some goals and good performances. I had a one-month loan spell at Aldershot Town FC and at the end of the season I was released by Mansfield.
I then signed for Kidderminster Harriers on a 1-year deal. In this time, I had a three month loan spell with Lincoln City FC and a one month loan spell with Woking FC. In January my contract with Kidderminster was cancelled by mutual consent. Shortly after that I signed non contract terms with Bromley FC.
You signed for Bromley in February 2012, I remember watching you on your debut away at Thurrock, The Ravens were deep in a relegation battle at that point. How did you find you time at Hayes Lane?
My time at Bromley was very short, I think I was only involved about three games, Mark Goldberg and Neil Smith were in charge at the time. It was another experience gained.
I then sustained a knee injury which turned out to be an anterior cruciate ligament rupture. Thankfully the PFA were very helpful with this time in my life and after the operation I was given the chance to take the level 2 football coaching course. This was something I never even thought of doing and when I arrived I was in the same room with the likes of Mark Viduka, Luis Boa Morte and Jamie Lawrence players I had watched growing up it was very inspiring.
While my coaching career had started I was on a rehab programme to regain full fitness and get back to playing. Once fully fit I went on trial with Hayes and Yeading and Dover Athletic. Both offered me year deals and I chose Hayes & Yeading who were under the management of Phil Babb.
It didn’t last long and my contract was cancelled by mutual consent three games into the season. I then signed for AFC Goole Town, Crawley Down Gatwick and finished season at Margate FC.
The following season I signed with Chatham Town FC and early in the season broke my toe. A few months later I signed for Walton Casuals. I spent a year and a half with Walton Casuals and then took an opportunity to re-sign with Chatham Town and manage their under 21 team.
After scoring some goals for Chatham I signed for Cray Wanderers. This was my last club before my first stint as manager at Greenwich Borough FC. After getting the sack from Greenwich I returned to playing and signed for Sheppey United FC and then Croydon FC.
Was it tough to make the move from full time football to semi-professional and to combine working with the demands of playing?
It wasn’t too tough. I was just grateful to be able to play again. When I first came out of hospital after my operation the pain was excruciating and I didnt know if i would recover. The first three months I wasn’t allowed to run and the second 3 months only in straight line running. It was only after six months that I could start twisting and turning.
I went to Lilleshall sports centre several times to help with my rehab and the staff there were fantastic. My work was football coaching in the day so this helped.
In 2017 you joined Tony Russell’s Cray Wanderers side and that seemed to be going really well, 11 goals in 23 games, right up until the time you picked up an injury that kept you out for a long time. How did you find you time at The Wands?
My time at Cray Wanderers was great. They are known for a certain style of football and when I heard they were interested I was happy.
I had a really good start there which saw me sign a contract for the following season despite interest from other clubs. The injury was devastating as I was quite unsure what it was and I still suffer from it to this day. Ally (the physio) was great with me and Tony , Vinesy, and Whitey the environment they create at that level is good.
I was aware I was on a contract but I was no use to them as I was unfit. I had to make sure I conducted myself properly in and around the club and support the team. It was hard as I just wanted to get fit and be out there. By the end of the season I was still unfit and was released by Cray, but they did offer me the chance to come back in pre-season if I was fit.
Following your time at Cray Wands you went into management at Greenwich Borough who were going through a difficult time. How did you find that and is it something you would like to go back into later on?
I found my time at Greenwich Borough very exciting and very challenging. A lot of self-reflection was needed once it was over and I still do up to this day. I think of things that I could have done differently and what I would do different next time if I were to manage again.
I’m not sure if managing is one of my strengths but coaching definitely is. In my time at Greenwich I was under assessment for my UEFA A license which I completed at the beginning of this year. However for now I just want to continue to play for as long as I can.
Away from football I know you are now working in a school and also coaching, what made you go into the education sector?
Nigel James is who I would call my coaching father figure. I first met Nigel back in 2008 when his son and my brother were both playing for Chelsea. He gave me my first coaching job back in 2012 at his centre (Nigel James Elite coaching) where we also went into schools to coach football.
At the centre we train players to get them to elite level and create opportunities at professional clubs in the UK and overseas. I have worked on several football and education programmes and then found myself working as a behaviour manager in a SEMH setting for the last 2 years while working 3 evenings with Nigel James Elite coaching. Also having worked in academies such as Crystal Palace and Chelsea unless you are full-time (and even then) things can be difficult financially.
Being a behaviour manager is challenging but allows me to be an inspiration to children with challenging behaviours and this year we set up their first school football team which was amazing.
The season at Lordswood was going really well for you before it was cut short, I believe you had scored 16 goals to date, it must be really frustrating when you were in such good form?
Yes. 16 league goals and 4 in the cup. It’s a shame the season got cut short but with what is currently going on in the world safety must comes first. I think the thing I liked about it most for me is that I was scoring goals and it would have been the first time ever I would have spent a whole season at one club. There was an offer from another club but I stayed at Lordswood as I didn’t want to change.
What are your hopes for next season once we can get back playing?
My hopes are to find a team, score lots of goals and maybe get some silverware something I have never achieved.
What advice would you give to a young kid starting out in football now?
Love the game not the image. Don’t worry about what the state of the pitch is in or any other things that are out of your control that sometimes bothers players.
Put a lot of hard work in and I mean practicing with the ball and make sure you can do everything with both feet. Master the ball and aim to be a perfectionist at technique. Value yourself and what you do. Be humble and respectful but also be confident.
The only thing that matters is what you do when you cross that white line and play a match. In order for that to go well what I said above is key. Also when things are going well don’t get ahead of yourself and when things aren’t going so well don’t be too down.
Most of all you must enjoy playing football. Also adding to that a good goal when playing a match is to make sure the opposition think that you’re the player that was hard to play against.
A couple of ‘Shoot! Magazine’ style questions to finish with.
Team you support: Arsenal FC
Best moment in career so far: My Debut goal for Bradford City