Sunderland goalkeeper coach Nigel Spink fears the days of plucking talent out of the non-leagues are over.
Rejected by West Ham when he was still at school, Spink played semi-pro for Chelmsford City while learning to become a plasterer before he came to the attention of Villa scouts, but he does not see how anyone could do something similar today.
He told The Journal: "I think that route has closed. It is very rare for a player to reach the top level so late, and by late I mean 18 or 19. It is almost scorned upon if anything.
"Clubs look at the history of what you have done, and they want to know if you have ever been a scholar at Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal. It filters down from there.
"It is sad in some ways, but the game is so different.
"In my day you had time to develop, today there is so much (emphasis put) on what they do now.
"There is not a willingness to give someone a chance who might have the chance to develop.
"There are too many impulsive decisions. I try to take a step back when I make a decision on a goalkeeper and look at how they might develop rather than what they have achieved in a youth team."
