Plymouth Argyle may feel regret after decision on future Birmingham City, Luton Town star
Football clubs often find it difficult to make decisions regarding academy graduates. Many are left wondering for months on end whether to take a chance on a teenager’s potential, whether he has the necessary skills to fit into the team, and whether he wants it enough. These are just a few of the many ifs, buts, and maybes that define a player’s early career. Sometimes these decisions pay off, and other times they leave feeling devastated, as was the case with Plymouth Argyle when one of their own returned after being released at Home Park. Isaac Vassell, for a brief period in the previous decade, captured the attention of football clubs.
Isaac Vassell fails to make the grade at Plymouth Argyle
Vassell made his debut for a struggling Argyle team in a 1-1 draw with Shrewsbury Town at the beginning of the 2011–12 season after rising through the ranks at Home Park. He replaced Tom Hitchcock late in the game.
Due to significant financial difficulties that had been hanging over them for the previous twelve months, the Green Army were grateful to have a team on opening day after suffering back-to-back relegations from the Championship to League Two.
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Prior to the journey to Shropshire, the remaining players in the team were thrown together haphazardly, with Carl Fletcher’s equaliser that day being heralded as a cup-winning moment. Administrators were also moving in.
The club’s heart was still beating, and the supporters were uniting like never before. Vassell, who had emerged from the academy, was given brief opportunities to shine with players like Jordan Copp, Jared Simms, and Curtis Nelson.
Overall though, the winger’s playing time was constrained, despite a
Isaac Vassell Plymouth Argyle league stats (FBRef) | |
---|---|
Appearances | 6 |
Starts | 0 |
Minutes played | 86 |
After demonstrating sufficient performance to secure a one-year extension with the team in the summer of 2013, Argyle was unable to secure any first-team appearances. The next year, he would unavoidably slip into non-league football, where he was readily plucked from the hands of Cornish outfit Truro City.
Non-league spell resurrects Isaac Vassell’s career before Luton Town move
A football player who has worked his way up through the levels of the Football League may find it difficult to give up the game, especially when his early 20s seem to be slipping away from him in terms of his ambitions and dreams of becoming a professional player.
However, in that situation, a player has to sink or swim. Vassell had a point to show after working assiduously to improve his game and causing chaos for his new employers, so he sank into the sixth tier.
A player who played with fire in his belly and did not let the dip into the semi-professional game affect his dream of reaching the top was demonstrated by his ten goals in 39 games from his wide position.
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The 2017–18 season was a curse for the Greens goalkeepers.
Just two years after leaving Argyle, Luton Town snatched up the attacker, rewarding his loyalty at a time when the Hatters were just beginning their own ascent back up the football hierarchy.
The two were a marriage made in heaven, with Vassell tearing through League Two defences upon his return to the Football League and scoring 14 goals in all competitions to make the EFL sit up and take notice. The club and player were both searching for atonement.
The forward was on a scorching run of form throughout January and February, as seen by his five goals in four games—a usually brash display.
Birmingham City move marks remarkable Isaac Vassell redemption arc
Birmingham City enticed Vassell to St Andrew’s with the promise of Championship games, even though the Greens were also making rapid progress that season and eventually securing promotion. Vassell was demonstrating his worth as a player deserving of a far higher league.
In just his fifth league match for the team, the dynamic forward scored the game-winning goal against Sheffield on Wednesday. He was immediately making an impression on matches in the second tier, his direct play causing defenders to tighten.
Despite his explosive start, the frontman’s physique was not quite prepared for the demands of Championship football. A torn cruciate knee ligament prevented him from playing from October 2017 until the end of the campaign.
Vassell went for Cardiff City the following summer, but even though he still possessed the same attacking desire, his stay in Wales was marked by just two substitute appearances in three years.
The wide man was nearly unplayable at one point when he was playing at full tilt; things may have turned out quite differently for the player and the team if he had stayed at Argyle.
However, Vassell demonstrated how to overcome obstacles in a football player’s early career and refuted the Pilgrims’ initial assessment.