{"id":44541,"date":"2021-12-27T09:54:22","date_gmt":"2021-12-27T17:54:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/?p=44541"},"modified":"2021-12-27T09:54:22","modified_gmt":"2021-12-27T17:54:22","slug":"ex-bolton-wanderers-striker-alexander-samizadehs-fight-to-save-football-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/2021\/12\/27\/ex-bolton-wanderers-striker-alexander-samizadehs-fight-to-save-football-career\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Bolton Wanderers striker Alexander Samizadeh’s fight to save football career"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Bolton News – BOLTON, There was a time not so long ago when Alex Samizadeh\u2019s prolific goalscoring in the youth ranks at\u00a0Wanderers\u00a0made him the name on every fan\u2019s lips.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Iran-born striker had ripped it up for Nicky Spooner\u2019s Under-18s and David Lee\u2019s development squad, creating an internet buzz the likes of which we have not seen since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Offered a professional deal by Neil Lennon before his league debut at 17, Samizadeh looked to be following quickly in the footsteps of Rob Holding, Zach Clough, Josh Vela and Co.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the contract was never signed. Samizadeh played just eight minutes more for Wanderers and five years later is seeking to rebuild his career, clear his name and reputation after a battle against depression, an arrest over falsified passports, and an ill-advised move to the Scottish Premiership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now 23 and technically still eligible to play the level at which he had impressed for\u00a0Bolton, Samizadeh is making his mark on social media again \u2013 only this time with a series of spectacular goals and celebrations for Leatherhead in the Isthmian Premier Division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born in Tehran, Samizadeh moved to the North West in 2013 and started playing for Curzon Ashton, where his goals earned a trial with Manchester City, and later, with Bolton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within 12 months he had impressed to the point that Neil Lennon had offered him the chance to turn professional \u2013 but the striker now looks back with some regret that he never put pen to paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe (Lennon) actually took me in the office to ask why I am not signing,\u201d he told\u00a0The Bolton News. \u201cI said I would, but then a day later I think he left office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wish I would have signed that contract and remained a Bolton player. I could have gone on loan to gain experience. I would probably not have stopped playing and probably would have been in the starting 11 in League One.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGod only knows the reason why this has happened and unfortunately I can\u2019t predict the future so I\u2019m happy and blessed and always grateful no matter what.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lennon\u2019s departure put Jimmy Phillips and Peter Reid in temporary charge for the end of the 2015\/16 season, which led to a fleeting appearance off the bench at Brentford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next man in the hotseat, Phil Parkinson, had his own ideas for how his attack should look and though he played briefly against Blackpool in the Checkatrade Trophy the following season, the gears were already in motion for his exit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did he get the chances he deserved? Time has changed his mind somewhat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe chance to be able to make my debut and be around the first team squad just at 17 was a huge opportunity and I\u2019m so grateful for that,\u201d he said. \u201cAt that time, I probably would have said no, but now, yes, I\u2019m realising that the manager\u2019s job and the position the club was in was crucial and probably not the right time to be able to progress young players, specially when Parkinson the manager was trying to keep the club in the Championship. But we both know It is all about opinions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Samizadeh was thankful for the support he got in the academy \u2013 especially as it quickly became clear that Parkinson and the Wanderers hierarchy was not going to offer another chance to play professionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had a good relationship with the coaches in the academy,\u201d he said. \u201cA trial at Derby County was organised by David Lee, and if I\u2019m not wrong it was one of his contacts who took me there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think they knew they were going into administration and maybe he wanted to help me and continue my development. But afterwards I got the blame for it because I was looking to move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKilmarnock and the decision of wanting to move was because I been offered a professional contact the year before, made my debut in the Championship, then during a meeting at the end of the season I had been told that \u2018I\u2019m not good enough and that I don\u2019t know how to play football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut they were still happy to offer me a third year (scholarship) contract? That was not making sense to me at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know anything about Scotland or Kilmarnock and trusted my agent and that was the worst mistake of my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Samizadeh\u2019s spell at Killie yielded just three minutes of league football \u2013 as a late sub against Hearts \u2013 alongside a few appearances in the cup competitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI probably know not to go up to the north again,\u201d he laughed. \u201cI\u2019m just joking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFootball is so strange. I learned a lot, got depression, lost my confidence I didn\u2019t know who I was anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd it\u2019s still affecting me sometimes. But, again, all those mistakes have built me up and made who I am today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Off the field, Samizadeh\u2019s life had already started to become complicated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He and three others were accused of providing Iranian nationals with false identification and travel documents, with a view to helping them enter the UK illegally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though he strenuously denied the accusations and was never charged, early reports of the trial still circulate online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt has been a very hard time, I was coping with a lot things,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cImagine all those dramas going on and me on the pitch trying to play and be normal?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was on bail signing two times a week at the police station, my passport was restrained, an investigation going on for four years from 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had to stop playing football. I\u2019m so disappointed in them (media outlets who carried reports of the trial). They just jumped into conclusion and never recorrected the news or removed it completely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would love them to get in touch and get the story right. The case got completely closed and cannot be ever again reopened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI lost a lot of opportunities, not only in the UK but also abroad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Samizadeh has not given up on football, although he has worked for the last couple of years as a director of a Manchester-based estate agency, Royale Residential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He turns out regularly for Surrey club Leatherhead, and at time of writing has scored eight goals for the Tanners, who are currently bottom of the Premier League table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His CV lists a number of non-league sides where fresh starts have been made and abandoned but the striker hopes that 2022 can be the year he can enjoy his football properly once again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith all due respect to those clubs I was just trying to get back but it never worked because of circumstances I was in – and I played maybe one or two games for each,\u201d he said of the five different non-league sides he has represented since playing in Scotland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow it\u2019s all finished, I\u2019m back enjoying the game and scoring. I am working hard and trying to go back to where I was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think my next step is to score as many goals as I can. I\u2019m sure if someone thinks I\u2019m good enough they will come for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAgain, football is just about opinions. For one manager you\u2019re the best for the next not even good enough to be in the squad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy love for Bolton as a club and the fans will always be unique. It is home, and I have always said that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad they are doing good and that the manager has a long-term plan for the club.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course I\u2019d love to come back one day – I have some good friends still there Dennis Politic, Harry Brockbank amazing memories and January it\u2019s getting close so anything can happen from now til then!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Bolton News – BOLTON, There was a time not so long ago when Alex…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26307,"featured_media":44542,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[84,89,93],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-c47-featured-news","category-c16-iranian-legionairs","category-c22-players-spotlight"],"views":1888,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26307"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44541"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44541\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44543,"href":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44541\/revisions\/44543"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.persianfootball.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}