‘Hardest decision of my professional career’ – Steve Avory on stepping down as Charlton academy director

EXCLUSIVE
BY RICHARD CAWLEY
richard@slpmedia.co.uk

Steve Avory has described leaving Charlton Athletic as the toughest call he has made in his career.

It was confirmed in September that Avory was stepping down from his role as academy director. Although he still holds an advisory role, it ended a full-time association with the Addicks of nearly a quarter of a century.

During that time the Charlton academy has produced a steady stream of youngsters who not only featured in the first-team but were also sold for millions of pounds – Joe Gomez, Ezri Konsa, Ademola Lookman and Jonjo Shelvey just some of the examples.

“It was the most difficult decision I’ve made in my working life,” Avory told the South London Press, asked about his call to leave his post. “It is something I built up to because although I could say I was thinking about it a season ago, discussing it with no-one other than my wife, I didn’t really get serious about it until the end of last season.

“I went away on holiday, as you do, and I knew I would come back from that feeling refreshed and energetic – batteries recharged. But I did decide, on holiday, that when I reported back in June that I would sit down and discuss it with somebody. I did that, first of all, with Jim Rodwell.

“As we got further into pre-season I sat down with both Jim (managing director) and Andy Scott (technical director).

“I was still enjoying it and I’ve been doing it so long. I’m feeling good, touch wood, physically and mentally. I thrived over the years to the commitment and responsibility working at this place, whether that is the academy director role or when I first came here as an assistant academy manager.

“It was so tough, because there are so many good players here. There are good people here. There was plenty to incentivise and carrying on to get 25 years instead of 24 years.

“It is a massive part of your life. My wife has always been very supportive of it as well. I feel if youth development is done properly it involves a huge commitment. Although I knew I was doing all the hours that god sends at times, you didn’t think about it too much because you enjoyed it.

“I knew there would be that void and I’m coming to terms with that now, really. But I’m doing alright.”

Avory had already stepped away from coaching in his final year at Charlton despite the fact his whole reason to initially join the academy was to develop elite players – trusting the coaching team he had in place at all levels, particularly U18s and U21s where he had principally been focused in the last 12 years.

“I was still involved with players, still talking to them and mentoring them – keeping my eye on the coaching programme and watching so many games – but I wasn’t doing as much with them on the grass,” he said. “So I had already started to relinquish that. The academy manager/director has so much other stuff they have to get on with and I enjoy many aspects of that, like managing a team of staff as well as players.

“I had relinquished my coaching input each day and each week. I was never going to be back. I felt my coaching career was done because it catches up with all of you, in time.

“That is the thing I miss the most now – the management of the players on matchdays, for example.

“Since I’ve stepped away people are asking me almost daily: ‘How are you adapting and managing your time?’ There is an overall responsibility with a job like this that is always there, always around you. I thrive on it – I always have done. But it is a huge responsibility, nonetheless. I’m realising that much more now.

“I’m not coming in here even three or four times a week now.

“It’s silly little things like I’m down from 40 or 50 emails a day to probably 10.”

So has the change in status allowed him to indulge another passion, like dusting off some golf clubs?

When we spoke Avory was going to visit his daughter in Italy.

“To do stuff like that in the role previously, you really had to work it in and plan a long way ahead,” he said. “I’ve got a couple of grandchildren over there, as well as a couple back home. I’m able to have that little bit more time around my family and do things a little more off the cuff.

“You mention other sports, like golf – I’ve played a bit. That is something I want to do a bit more of with my son. I always try to keep fit – it has been part of my week. I can do that without trying to fit it in.

“I can get up in the morning, go for a run and then go to work, if I’m coming in. I’m trying to do that in a structured way and let Tom Pell, the academy manager, know the week before what my plans are.

“I like to come in with a purpose to it and a structure to the day.

“I’m doing far more formal observations of coaches and feeding back to them. That has taken on quite a bit of my time. But what I never want to be too far away from is observing the players, identifying the players and helping with their journey – in particular making sure the coaching is delivered according to the Charlton syllabus.”

The club’s academy has been a constant beacon of positivity against the backdrop of the fluctuating fortunes at first-team level, especially considering the inability to return to the English top flight. The academy has stayed incredibly consistent in terms of a production line of talent.

“We have tried to keep doing that is some very challenging and difficult times,” said Avory. “There has been a lot of instability with change of ownership over the years, change of managers – which is par for the course in the game – but there has been too much of that, for sure.

“Whoever has been the owner of the club has given me enough support and incentive – and enough investment as well – for us to carry on doing our job.

“There have been some very low times when I felt it probably would go under but we got through it – sometimes with the supporters and organisations like Valley Gold. They have been tremendous in their support for the academy.

“It’s been said in the past that we worked very much in a silo but we generally didn’t have much choice because there was constant change going on. What you do is get your head down. If you enjoy the job you get on with it. Fortunately I’ve always had a good group of people believing in the right
values.”

Avory has talked previously about recruitment being king and that previously there had been times he had doubts about that.

“That is where it starts, in terms of the talent ID,” he said. “You identify the gaps you’ve got in the various age groups and try to fill those with the recruitment department that has got the right personnel in it and a process that works.

“I have to mention Bert Dawkins because he is our current academy recruitment manager and he has done the job in two different spells – they total about 10 years.

“I did notice when he left in the middle of his two five-years spells (Dawkins went for four years to work at Crystal Palace) that was a struggle. We lost a good person and weren’t able to do anything about it at the time. But it was important I got him back. Going back to when Katrien Meire was here, she backed my in that respect and I was able to get Bert back.

“With a very small team of scouts that Bert operates with – but well-trusted – on a relatively low budget over the years, he has been able to do his job. You have got to get them in, which is what him and his team do, and then it is down to us that we nurture and challenge the players in the right way as well.”

Avory and his coaches get so much more access to the back stories of the youngsters they work with – the struggles and obstacles they may endure, both on and off the pitch, as they strive to succeed.

So is there one player who debuted for Charlton that has brought him special satisfaction?

“I’m very conscious of not mentioning one individual above the others – it’s a bit like saying Gomez above Konsa or Lookman above Gomez,” said Avory. “People tend to talk about them three more than anybody, because of the level they play at.

“I get huge satisfaction not just from the player who gets into our first team and plays 40 or 50 games and gets transferred to a higher level, like those three, but from the player who might go and play 100-plus games at Charlton and stay at Charlton for a number of years.

“In that respect, I would mention someone like Chris Solly, who has now come back to us as an assistant coach with our U21s – we managed to recruit him in the summer.

“Chris played more than 300 games for Charlton’s first team – a one-club man who unfortunately had to retire early.

“I recruited him from Arsenal when he was released at U12 and he went all the way through with us.

“He typifies everything I like to see in a Charlton player, someone who carries themselves well – with humility – is conscientious around the responsibility of their own development and loves the game.

“That’s an example of someone I got so much satisfaction from.”

Avory was head of PE at Hazelwick School in Crawley for 14 years before he linked up with Charlton. He had previously taught at a school in Sidcup.

Avory managed England U16s between 1991 and 1994, while he was a schoolteacher.

He juggled teaching with a part-time role directing the Centre of Excellence at Brighton under Liam Brady from 1994 until 1997.

“Academies started in 1998 and the very first academy manager here, Mick Browne, he asked me to come on board in an assistant academy manager role – and I turned him down because I didn’t want to leave teaching,” said Avory.

“I became a part-time coach here first of all, with the U15s and U16s. I did that for almost three years before I accepted a full-time role in January 2001.

“At that point I decided if I wanted to go full-time in football it was now or never, because I was approaching my mid-40s then.”

The rest is history – successful history.

Avory has three categories when it comes to the moments that have provided most pleasure.

“I take huge pride when I see a player stepping out at The Valley to make his debut,” he said. “Because I know the fans appreciate, so much, a homegrown player.

“I have seen so many now do that.

“There is one moment that stands out for me, I suppose, in an away game when I was watching Ademola Lookman play down at Brighton in the Championship. It was the season we got relegated but he scored a fantastic goal on the counter attack – he had only made a handful of appearances at that stage.

“Not all of the goals stick in your mind but some of them do. That one did – because it was typical Ademola Lookman, like I’ve seen him do recently for Atalanta.

“I get a lot of satisfaction from the team’s success because we do value here development, above all else, but we value development alongside a winning culture – particularly towards the top end of the academy age groups.

“Our U18s have been hugely successful over these last 12 years, in particular, winning league championships and winning national play-off finals.

“That is something I’ll remember, three finals where we beat Brentford, Sheffield United and Crystal Palace.

“The other area of pride is when you look at the productivity rankings that come out each year – the formulas that exist for coming up with these charts.

“A recent one done by Training Ground Guru ranks us 12th based on 2023-24 productivity. Twelth out of 92 clubs – that’s what we’re about. It’s what we have to do.

“If I and others here hadn’t done that, working with young players, then I wouldn’t be talking to you now. I’m really appreciative of still being involved because I didn’t want to just step away completely. I knew clearly that wasn’t in my mind.

“I feel I’ve left it in good hands now with Tom Pell. Tom has already been in the building two years, so he knows what we’re about – he knows the model and I know he wants to continue it.

“He has very similar values to myself with the work ethic and commitment he will give to the role.

“There is a really strong team of coaching staff here, right through the academy. I never want to forget the younger age groups, right to U9s where it all starts.

“There are other people here like Joe Francis, head of education. Rhys Williams, head of coaching. They have been here 10 years or more. That longevity that still exists, with some staff here, will be important in maintaining the standards.”

PICTURES: ALAMY