Born 8th September 1986 in the
Derbyshire village of Littleover, Eric attended Repton School - an
Independent School founded in 1557 which is justly proud of it's history and
reputation for producing high academic results whilst fostering high
personal standards and good manners.
Clearly a bright student
academically, Eric achieved 12 A's in his GCSE's...2 of which he took two
years early whilst the remaining 10 he took a year earlier than is usual.
All this whilst at the same time nurturing and developing his footballing
skills and career, in a sport that he loves.
Eric joined Derby County in
1995 at the age of just 9 and stayed with the East Midlands club until at
the age of 14 he joined Stoke City's Academy in 2001.
5' 8",Eric's favourite all
time player and footballing influence is Mark Hughes. Hughes ,famous for his
volleying ability and never say die attitude and currently the Welsh
National Manager seems an excellent choice - indeed the Graves family dog '
Sparky ' is named after the former Manchester United star.
Eric plays mainly a strikers
role, but also sometimes appears in a wider role on the right-wing and has
appeared for both Stoke's U19 and reserve teams this season.
Currently learning to drive
and due to take his practical test in January ,Eric's dream is to become a
professional footballer has a busy schedule ,training each weekday including
gym work whilst also attending College in Stoke to further his education,
before returning to the family home in Derbyshire or Burbage near Leicester
with his fiancée.
In a glamorous but difficult
profession to break into, we wish Eric the very best of luck for the future
and in achieving his ambition in the coming months and years.
Denny Preparing For US
Matches in Tampa
Stoke City US under-17 international midfielder Jay Denny has arrived in
Tampa ahead of the US' three match tournament in Korea.
The high calibre American team-which features 13 years old superstar Freddy
Adu and soon to be Manchester united player Jonathon Spector will head to
Busan for matches against Korea, Argentina and Poland starting May 27
“I was made so welcome last time by everybody from the players to all the
staff,” said Denny, who links up with some friendly faces in the squad, as
he added: “A lot of the squad will be different and new faces to me, Rodrigo
and Freddy Adu are both centre forwards with great sense of humour.”
Denny has been moving up the ranks at Stoke, who secured their First
Division status this season, as he looks to work on becoming a first team
player at the Britannia Stadium.
“First of all just to keep doing what I’m doing for (Stoke’s) Under-19s and
the rest will hopefully come,” he noted. “I played every Under-19 game and I
was involved in nearly every reserve game, which is good for my age, but I
would love to get more starts for the reserves and solidify a place in the
starting 11.”
The Los Angeles-born midfielder’s preparations with Stoke has helped his
progress on both the domestic and international scene, as he looks to build
on his successful year at Stoke.
”I think I’m a far better player just because of full time training,” he
added. “I’m sharper and fitter than I was but just the experience in playing
against older players and being around senior players, either in the
reserves or training with the first team is a lot in itself.
“I’ve had a good season and just need to build on it and hopefully I’ll
progress further as a player because of the international stage.
Source of information: Kirkby Potter
26th May 2003
Q & A with Jay Denny
From an interview first published on
www.90soccer.com - Please visit their site
By: Chris Bergin
Stoke City's 17-year-old American midfielder Jay Denny has already
progressed into the U-19 and reserve teams at the Britannia Stadium, and has
already played within the US national team structure alongside Freddie Adu.
We sat down with the Californian to talk about his career so far.
Q) How are you finding life in England? Are you enjoying your time with
Stoke City?
A) Fine, I moved here when I was 8 years of age and always wanted to move to
England for as long as I can remember. Yes, Stoke is a great club with great
tradition and I hope to be here for years to come.
Q) What happened to make you decide on developing in England, and with
Stoke?
A) My family are all English apart from me and my two younger sisters so
football is in my blood, My family decided on moving back to England so it
started from there. I just played and progressed, a handful of clubs were
interested in me when I got to about 13 to 14 years of age but Stoke was the
first and I really didn't want to play for anyone else. I enjoyed the
training and all the people connected to the club are great people.
Q) Did you consider staying in America, and trying out the route to MLS?
A) Not really, I've always wanted to play in England first and try and make
it here (touch wood I will be able to do that) but the MLS is a league that
is improving and one day I would like to play in it.
Q) You mentioned you have played with Freddie Adu. Is he as good as people
say he is. What is so special about him?
A) Freddie is a very good player and it was good to play alongside him. He
is a great talent for his age and I'm sure he will progress on to bigger
things.
Q) The US national team is obviously impressing on the World Stage now, and
you are in the U-17s. How are you finding you international carrier coming
along?
A) I'm new to it so I am very excited about it. I was asked to travel with
the squad to Finland in the summer but stayed with my club for pre season
training which was important, I needed to try to win a place in the under
19's at Stoke as I was starting my first year full time, but now that I've
had a taste of international football I want more and would love to be
called into the US squad in the future, the coaches & players made me very
welcome.
Q) Are you targeting building on your status with Stoke, with the aim of
reaching the first team? What are your hopes for this to happen?
A) Yes, that is the main target for me in the long run, for now I just have
to train hard and try to perform week in week out for the Stoke U-19's team,
also for the reserves whenever I'm called upon, try to take my chances as
they come along.
Q) You are from California, but how are you eligible to play in the UK - do
you have a European mother/father?
A) Yes, I was born in Los Angeles but my parents are English, my Mother is
from Liverpool and my Father is from Birmingham. So I had to choose between
Liverpool and Aston Villa.......naturally I chose Villa!
Q) What do you hope you will be doing in say two to four years time?
A) In two years time I would love to be playing for Stoke City. In four
years time I hope to be playing on a regular basis for a Pro club whether it
be in Europe or in the MLS and by then ill be 21, with a lot of luck I'll
have just been to the World Cup finals with the U.S. National team!
Shaun
Cartwright 17, Graduates
Academy player defender Shaun Cartwright made the important step up this
week from the Academy to the first team, when on his 17th birthday he signed
a 3 year professional contract.
Also offered professional terms by the club are Ryan Hutchinson and Laurence
Hall.
Clearly with the current state of football at Nationwide level it's
important that young players continue to do well and progress through he
Academy system - it' also no doubt a very worrying time for youngsters who
are reaching the first major decision stage in their career.
I wish everyone well at this important time of the year, no matter what
decisions are made.
March April 2004 - Shaun has jioned Leek town until the end of the season m0
