Bielsa is from a very wealthy and privileged family back in Argentina. lawyers and government ministers. Maybe that's helped him to coach Pat Bamford who is, by all accounts, incredibly posh.
Gritty old Leeds eh?
Gritty old Leeds eh?
Bearing in mind that Rugby is probably the dominant sport in most Independent schools, finding touch is a prerequisite!
30 Premier League players out of 557 have been privately educated, which is about .5% compared to 7% of the population who have had a private education. So significantly less players from a more privileged background.
Odds weren't exactly stacked in your favour, even if you, say, went to Gillingham Grammar School, where you'd only be offered the choice of rugby or hockey. And the greatest tennis player the UK never produced probably went to some comprehensive somewhere and never even got to hold a tennis racquet in their life. We don't really nurture sport in this country. Unlike say the Aussies. It's their true religion from as soon as they can toddle
In addition to the likes of Bamford and Hughes, there's not many (around 40), but certainly more than one might at first think.
Current players that made it to the top level include:
Fraser Forster (RGS Newcastle)
Victor Moses (Whitgift)
Callum Hudson-Odoi (Whitgift)
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (St John's College, Southsea)
Michael Keane (St Bede's, Manchester)
Some from the past:
Barry Horne (The King's School, Chester)
David Howells (Charterhouse)
Colin Pates (Whitgift)
Howells taught at Charterhouse after he finished playing but wasn’t educated there.
Another ex-player: Quinton Fortune (ex Man Utd) went to Forest School.
Fat Frank Lampard was a public school boy.
Will Hughes
Victor Moses
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Old Etonians won the FA Cup in 1879 and 1882.
14 old Etonians have played for England - some time ago admittedly.
I remember when Steve Foster was at St John's.
He played at centre forward for their 1st X1 against Portsmouth Southern Grammar when I was in charge of the SGS 1st X1, around 1972.
In many cases a private education does not go hand in hand with a privileged background. I had a scholarship to a very cheap private school. There are lots of associated costs and these combined with fees of my siblings meant we never went on holidays etc. All of my school friends came from similar backgrounds and indeed friends at the local state school lived in bigger houses. Many parents choose between spending the money on private schooling or buying a more expensive house close to a good state school. Having said all that if the players mentioned all come from expensive public schools and large family homes then ignore everything I just said.
Does everyone pay at St John's ? When I went to De la Salle , Hove ( a long time ago) they streamed it so there was a fee paying stream and an optional fee paying stream for kids who passed the 11 plus , I was in the latter stream and didn't pay but technically went to a private school...
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We’re you a disappointment to your parents ?
In many cases a private education does not go hand in hand with a privileged background. I had a scholarship to a very cheap private school. There are lots of associated costs and these combined with fees of my siblings meant we never went on holidays etc. All of my school friends came from similar backgrounds and indeed friends at the local state school lived in bigger houses. Many parents choose between spending the money on private schooling or buying a more expensive house close to a good state school. Having said all that if the players mentioned all come from expensive public schools and large family homes then ignore everything I just said.