Jayden Stockley

The Aberdeen striker recently spoke to RedMatchday:

It’s not quite Land’s End to John O’Groats but Bournemouth to Aberdeen is a pretty decent jaunt in itself. That’s the distance Jayden Stockley has travelled to join the Dons, away from his native Dorset and away from the club where he started out in the game.

“I was born in Poole and it’s a nice part of the county to live in. Obviously the weather was a bit better than here! It was nice, the place had a good feel to it. I had a fortunate childhood when I look back on it. I had a good area to live and a really supportive family behind me, so everything came quite easily.

“Dorset is not a massive football area. It certainly wasn’t back then because Bournemouth were not the biggest club when I was growing up. Poole was not a huge football town, but my family were into football big time, as were my close mates.

“I got picked up by the club very early. I was seven when I joined Bournemouth. I don’t really remember much about my footballing career before that! I have always been a striker, I can’t imagine playing another position. That does not appeal to me and never has, although in my school team I would go back into midfield to make sure I got more touches of the ball! Our team were rubbish, so that was the only way I was going to get on the ball.

“At school, rugby was more important and had precedence and also I played cricket when I was younger. I played a lot, played for the county and I’m still a big fan. I like it, especially the longer formats of the game. That appeals to me. I like relaxing and will happily sit and watch a test match all day. I think it sums up my nature, I am quite a laid back guy, though there’s a bit less time for watching cricket now because I have a one-year old daughter who keeps me on my toes! We like to go out and about as a family and Aberdeen is such a great place, there are so many nice places to take her. We like doing that.

“I never really took cricket seriously, just enjoyed playing the sport, so I don’t know how good I could have been. The other sport I did take seriously when I was younger was tennis. I represented Dorset. The fact it was an individual sport appealed to me because of the success you can have. But I remember getting absolutely spanked in some tournament and after that thought, “What am I doing?!” My opponent completed embarrassed me.  I don’t think I have picked up a racket since! I decided there and then that it was unlikely I was going to make it, so I would concentrate on football.

“Bournemouth was the only thing I knew from a very young age. I trialled a couple of years up, they tried to get me in early, but eventually when I was old enough, I was able to sign. It was a great club. They really encourage you to go out and show what you can do. I would not have swapped it for anything, the early stages I had in my career”.

For all that, those were turbulent times at Dean Court, Bournemouth going into administration in 2008, suffering a ten point deduction which almost relegated the and coming close to going out of business.

“The club went through some very difficult times. When I was in the youth team, we would normally train twice a week but half the time, we would not know if training was on or not. There was a lot of uncertainty running throughout the club. We had two neighbouring clubs – Portsmouth and Southampton. I pretty much agreed to sign for Portsmouth because of the uncertainty, the contract had been agreed when I was 14. But then it all fell through and I went back to Bournemouth which, in hindsight, was the best thing I could have done. Bournemouth turned the corner after getting some financial stability whilst Portsmouth started on a downward spiral when they too had money problems.

“It was tough though and when you see these kids who are pampered at big clubs, it was nothing like that at Bournemouth. We really just had the basics back then. I learnt a lot though and there was a great team spirit and togetherness. That helped the club to become successful in my opinion”.

Getting by on thin resources, it meant that the youngsters often got a chance early on and when he was just 15, Jayden was called up to the first team squad for a game at home to Burton, missing a GCSE Maths lesson as a result. His debut came shortly after at Northampton on October 6th 2009, making him the second youngest player ever to feature in the league for the Cherries.

“I first appeared on the bench for the first team when I was 15. It is quite a cool story to tell your mates, but then there was a lot cameras coming into the school and that was less cool! It was embarrassing. My mates just took the mickey out of me the whole time.

“I was travelling here, there and everywhere with the first team and it was great. My ambition was to break into the first team at as young an age as possible. Being that young, getting to experience what I did, getting a sniff of it, it makes me feel like I have been in the game for a long time already.

“I made my debut the day after my 16th birthday. We were away at Northampton. Danny Ings and myself made our debuts that day. Although we lost, it was still a great moment. It is something you dream of. The best way of describing it, it is a surreal experience. The hardest thing to get used to was the crowd. It was weird going from playing at youth level or in a reserve game in front of a handful of people to a crowd took a bit of getting used to. It was not the abuse or anything, it was just the surroundings were strange.

“Eddie Howe was the boss then, in his first spell at the club. I first got to know Eddie when I returned from Portsmouth. He was my U16 manager and he put his arm around me straight away and said that he was glad I was back and had some very nice words to say to me. I missed the youth team out and pretty much he took me straight into the first team squad. That was brilliant.

“The thing that stuck out for me was his work ethic. He just wants to improve all the time. Especially those early years I was with him, he was always striving to be a better manager and to make us a better side. It is strange seeing how much better a team can become just from training. They have just got better and better and now they are a top class side. They are a massive club now and I can only see them going one way. And that is solely down to how hard Eddie and his staff work.    

“It was great for the club but harder for me as a youngster. I always felt I was playing catch up with Bournemouth’s successes. They kept going from one success to another which made it harder for me and I just could not grab my opportunity. It was frustrating. It was tough, the manager told me that he could not put me in the team because of how well they were doing and I had to sit and watch promotion after promotion.

“There was a brief change of manager when Eddie left to go to Burnley. It was Paul Groves and Sean Brooks but I did not really see eye to eye with them and that was the only period I was unhappy at the club. That halted my career for a short spell, but I guess it was all for the best. I am happy where I am now and happy with the way things have worked out. I would not change anything.

“I am really pleased to be up here now and enjoying the games. I think the quality is brilliant. I think the games so far, I have been impressed by every team we play. I think we are starting to show some real form and confidence in the league. I always knew it was coming. After a couple of days of pre-season training and seeing all the lads, the quality did take me back a bit. It took a little while to adjust to.

“I know there are some people in England who will make negative comments about Scottish football and compare it to English football. There are people who try and compare the two and judge what level in England it is equivalent to. No one actually knows and they are just guessing. As soon as you are on that field every game is tough. I would say the quality is very high, especially in this team. We have some lads who are of very high standard and could easily play at a good level in England. Straight away I realised that I needed to be on top form if I was going to start getting picked.

“It is tough when you come to a new club but we are all settling in. The new boys are getting louder and louder each day! I am someone who likes to be involved with everyone. I like being loud, probably too loud for some people! But the lads have all been great and made me so welcome. My family all feel really settled. The lads should take a lot of credit for that. They welcome players into the dressing room so easily.

“There are no egos in there. Adam Rooney is the nicest guy ever. Obviously coming up here he is the big dog who has got all the goals. I wondered what he was going to be like but he is a top man. I like to get on with everyone and that has made the transition so easy. It is nice to associate with nice people.   

“I think having the competition for places helps. Everyone pushes each other. There are no lads being spiteful or anything like that. It is all for the good of the team. It you get picked of the day then great, if you don’t then you wish the boys who are starting all the best. The manager will pick a team for that game depending upon how he wants to play. It is all about getting the job done and getting the win. We have games coming thick and fast so everyone is going to be needed. The manager cannot stick to the same XI so you know your chance is just around the corner. The important thing is to be ready to take that chance when it comes along.  

“I didn’t think I would be coming up here and starting every game. I signed a two-year contract and by the second year, I want to be playing more consistently and really putting the way I play across to the team but you have to find form and consistency and that is what I am search for at the moment. I am getting used to everything. I have big plans here to hopefully make an impact and I want to do that over time, I don’t want it to be a brief spell. I want stay as long as possible and see what can happen.

“The lads will say themselves that so far this season there have been patches when we have been brilliant. There have also been spells when we have had to just dig out results. The lads have really good heads on them. We have a lot of good experience in the squad. They are good at keeping a lid on things so no one gets too far ahead of themselves and they don’t allow the boys to get too down if we have a negative results. It is good to have that in the dressing room. We are very realistic about what we can achieve”.

Jayden’s first goal in the league came last month against Dundee – it’s already looking as if that might be a big, turning point moment in Aberdeen’s season.

“It was great feeling to get my first league goal, great hearing the crowd. It was a big moment and a big win which set us up for the league run we are on at the moment. Hopefully there are plenty more to come. I am still learning things and picking things up off Adam, and off all the strikers we have got here, and building up an understanding with the wide players. I am getting to know what their best attributes are.

“I am pleased that I am contributing but I want to do more. I always strive for more and hopefully I can show the fans how much better I can get because I am still young but at the same time, I am really happy with the way things are going so far.

“I am in a good place at the moment. I am feeling good. Hopefully I can gain a bit of rhythm with the more games that pass. I am desperate to start games but I am happy to be contributing towards a success team.”