Free Journeyman by Ben Smith

me correct, also included a small signing-on fee of about £1,500. The problem was all this money got taxed so, in effect, I was worse off than my current £250 a week after tax. There may have been a few little add-ons thrown in, such as appearance money and goal bonus, but nothing significant.
    John was not impressed with my claims and was not really budging on the offer. A few of the players who travelled a long distance also had carspaid for by the club so I decided I wanted a club car in my deal too. I did not feel this was unfair as I was now commuting from Essex, although it may have been a little cheeky as I was still only nineteen and had done nothing in the game.
    We did not come to an agreement that night and decided to talk again on Monday. I didn’t mind – I had a big night out planned and did not want to waste time discussing matters that could wait until the following week.
    The club seemed keen to get the contract sorted out as soon as possible, however. I was flattered by their attentions but what happened during that week may have been the reason for their haste.
    Right on cue I got a phone call from the club on Monday enquiring about my thoughts regarding the contract. I had spoken to a few people about my situation and decided that Yeovil was the best place for me to continue my football education, but I wanted to squeeze a little more money out of any deal. I told them I would sign if they raised my basic wage to £300 a week and included a pay rise in the second year of the contract if certain performance-related conditions were met. Yeovil agreed.
    So the final deal was £300 per week, rising to £325 in the second year on the condition we finished in the top six of the League in the 1998/99 season. I also received a signing-on fee of £1,500 paid in instalments, a sponsored car and a goal bonus. This new deal would kick in straight away but meant I would, after this summer, no longer get paid through the close season.
    The day after the agreement was made we were due to play Rushden & Diamonds away. When I arrived at the ground I was ushered onto the coach to sign my contract before the game, which I did.
    The game itself was an exciting 2–2 draw. I scored one and set up the other to follow on from the two goals I had scored against Hereford the previous Saturday. That made it five goals in my first ten games.
    It was by far my best game thus far for Yeovil and I tormented the Rushden defence throughout. They were a big-spending team at the time, backedby Max Griggs (founder of Dr Martens), who was willing to do whatever it took to get the club into the League. They had a wonderful stadium with top-class training facilities and, for the standard we were playing at, a team to match.
    I was really happy with my performance and had that brilliant adrenalin buzz you get after an exhilarating game. I got home at around 11.30 p.m. and almost straight away my phone started going off. An agent, whose name escapes me but who I do remember was northern, rang me and asked if I had signed my contract with Yeovil. I told him yes, I had, thank you very much. He went silent on the other end of the line. I asked him what the problem was.
    He went on to tell me that he had just spoken to Brian Talbot, the manager of Rushden & Diamonds, who wanted to sign me immediately.
    He said the deal would be two years with a basic salary of £500 per week and a £25,000 signing-on fee. Back then, £25,000 seemed like a lottery win and would have surpassed any individual signing-on fee I would receive in my entire career. Suddenly the buzz I had felt after the game had gone.
    I felt sick.
    The deal was worth a guaranteed minimum of £75,000 over the two years without contemplating any add-ons for success, which, considering the team they had, seemed a given. It was also a 52-week contract, meaning I would get fully paid over the summer break. Aside from the finances of the deal, Rushden were also full time, which meant I would