You know when footballers have unlimited potential from a young age and are tipped to be the next big thing? It happens all the time, and it’s normal. But what happens when the player doesn’t live up to expectations? It also happens all the time, and it’s also normal.
The pressures of being a professional athlete are unbelievable and the chances of making it work are slim.
That being said, what I’ve just describe- everything I’ve just described- does NOT apply to Jesse Lingard. Jesse Lingard did make it. Jesse Lingard did make it work. Jesse Lingard is not a failure by any stretch of the word.
Yet, the way people talk about him, his abilities and his careers, you’d assume he was just some Premier League flop that disappointed everybody. He’s not and we’ll talk about why.
Having said that, he hasn’t done himself many favours in how he presents himself to the public over the years.
Between April of 2023 and January of 2024, he has not played a single minute of competitive football. He’s been posting video’s on social media of his continued training in the gym and the on the pitch, which has left a lot of people wondering why he’s been unattached for so long.
He’s reportedly declined offers from several clubs, been training with West Ham, Al Ettifaq and more and is now the subject of backhanded articles claiming that he’s offering himself to the world. Which he very well might be- but it’s not a good look.
Jesse Lingard is a very curious case.
I’ll be upfront right now and say that I’m a big fan of his. Despite his seemingly carefree attitude on social media and on the pitch at times, I really appreciated the fact that he was football player willing to express himself and not be a robot like so many others are.
But, as we’ve learned more about him over the years, It does seem as though there are deep seated reasons for this.
Table of Contents
Early life
Born in 1992 in Warrington, Cheshire, Jesse Lingard grew up in a football-loving family, Lingard’s childhood was shaped by his passion for the sport.
He began his football journey with the youth teams of Fletcher Moss Rangers and Penketh United before joining Manchester United’s youth academy at the age of 7 and impressed all the way through.
Lingard’s grandfather was the one who pushed him early on, he was a strong motivational force that made sure he kept working, but was harsh at times.
His family was quite sporty as his mother was a gymnast year ago too. With his grandfather being known to be hard on her back then as well. According to Lingard his mother was not a big fan of the tough love and this was a contributing factor to her giving up gymnastics. Although, it was potentially more than that.
Over the last few years, Lingard has been very open about his families struggles with mental health. Whether it’s his own or his parents, we’ll touch on them more as we go forward in this piece but I thought this might be something to consider before we really dive into his story.
Stars in the making
By the time he was 19, Sir Alex Ferguson was singing his praise for all to hear. “Jesse Lingard is going to be some player,” he said, back in 2012. And he had good reason to believe this. An attacker that could play in multiple positions, fast on the ball and a quick thinker when decisions needed to be made.
He was a hard worker too. Not the biggest player, he’s always been on the slim side of things. But, because of that, he had to make sure he made up for it in other departments. Never shying away from running the hard yards for his team.
He’s also very good at running into open spaces off the ball and playing small one twos with a willing partner. A skill I’d say he retained for a long time.
In 2011, he was part of the Manchester United FA Youth cup team that won the trophy and played a starring role there.
This is probably the most famous picture from the day and there’s good reason for it. Ravel Morrison, the most talented youngster that Sir Alex Ferguson ever saw. Paul Pogba, possibly the most controversial Manchester United player over the last decade or so. And Jesse Lingard.
Three players that were destined for greatness, according to a lot of people that were paying attention to this team back then.
Also, three players that failed to live up to expectations, even failed in the eyes of some. Unsurprisingly, all of them present a different case study, which is why I’ve made videos on all three now at this point. (Pogba video, Ravel Morrison video)
As for Lingard, he was highly regarded, but he was still too raw to slot in by the time he was approaching his late 20s. And so began a long sequence of loan spells. A sequence so long that, at the time, you would think he was never going to make his way back to Old Trafford. 4 different loan spells between 2012 and 2015
First came Leicester City in 2012. A season long loan that was pretty uneventful, by all accounts. 5 appearances in total and not all that much to show for it. He returned to Manchester United just before the 13/14 season and did really well to impress over the preseason, socring 4 goal in just as many matches.
However, that was not enough to convince David Moyes that he was ready. Off he was again to Birmingham City. This time, the loan spell was much more eventful. Immediately, too. He didn’t just score his first goals in professional football in this match, he scored 4.
This loan was a half season loan and despite the fact that Birmingham wanted to extend the loan, he was again sent back to Manchester United, where, again, he was an unused sub for a match or two before going on yet another loan. Brighton this time.
Louis van Gaal has a track record for giving younger players their break in football, one that spans decades. Clarence Seedorf with Ajax. Xaxi, Puyol, Iniesta and Valdes with Barcelona. David Alaba with Bayern Munich. And, of course, Marcus Rashford.
Jesse Lingard was no different, with van Gaal starting him in his first Premier League game in charge. Lingard was then injured after 24 minutes. He was out for the next 5 months and followed this up with a loan to Derby.
Manchester United
2015/16 proved to be our guy’s year, though. He had to wait longer than most players these days to get his shot- 23 by the time this season came along. This is why many continue to view him as a “youngster” even when he was fast approaching 30. That and the dabs, but you get what I mean.
He enjoyed a great first full season at Old Trafford, scoring 6 goals. One of which was winner in extra time of an FA Cup final. A volley shot that secured United’s first major trophy in the post Ferguson era. And Lingard was at the heart of it.
Mourinho came in the next year and continued to put faith in Lingard. While old and grumpy pundits called for him to be dropped for his harmless, playful behaviour, it seems some of the best managers in the world saw him for what he really was: a player ready to put the team above themselves. Lo and behold, he scored in the league cup final and helped the team to Europa League glory that year.
He continued to build on these performances, experiencing the best year of his career numbers wise in 17/18. 13 goals and 7 assists in all competitions. In late 2017, there was a stretch of about 9 games where he was either scoring or assisting in every match. Now 25, there was a real sense that he was going to become the player Ferguson thought he would be.
To be fair, his insane form only really lasted for about a third of the season and then there would be a drop off. But it was enough to send him to the World Cup in 2018. He started in every single match, bar the 3rd/4th playoff, as England were narrowly knocked out in the Semi-finals.
Jesse Lingard’s stock was at an all time-high. Unfortunately, it was about to plummet.
Fall
After the world cup, Lingard regressed. There were likely a number of reasons for this. Many his own, such as inconsistency and injury. Many the fault of Manchester United, such as a turbulent ever changing managerial situation, owners that are extremely questionable and an overall lack of club identity.
His own declining mental health, as well as that of some close family members were far greater than many could ever know.
Whatever the reasons were Lingard was falling out of favour. Those who saw his dancing celebrations and aloof social media posts as funny were beginning to turn on him. When Solskjaer came in, his first game in charge saw Lingard have one of his best performances ever, scoring twice and assisting once in a 5-1 win over Cardiff City. But not much happened after that.
Ralph Ragnick never seemed to favour him either. By 2021, he just hadn’t been playing football at all for one reason or another. So, it was time for yet another 6 month loan. West Ham.
And this loan would prove to be the best decision of his career. He was only at West Ham for 6 months, yet he put up better numbers than he ever had in any full season of football he ever played. 9 goals and 5 assists in only 15 games.
He was electric for West Ham, and with only one season remaining on his United contract, it looked like he had potentially found his new home. Moyes wanted to keep him too.
The only problem was that Solskjaer had absolutely no intention of letting him go. I assume this was just to make up squad numbers and all, because he did not play a full 90 minutes that entire year.
And then his contract ran out.
He refused to go back to West Ham and instead signed for Nottingham Forrest, as they spent a absolute crap ton on players in their first year up in decades, but he was ultimately not very effective for them. 17 appearances the entire season- no goal, no assists.
One season was up and no contract offer thereafter. And none since.
Where to next for Jesse?
Last time Jess Lingard played a football match was the 16th of April 2023. It’s been a minute.
So, why hasn’t he signed with anyone? What’s been making it so difficult for him to find a club? The most obvious answer is that he’s too old and too expensive. At 31, having Manchester United, West Ham and Nottingham Forrest on your CV commands a pretty penny I’d imagine.
Another explanation is that his agents are not the best. A week or so ago, he fired his agents, as he’s been unhappy with the results they’ve produced.
In contrast to the first point, money apparently is not an issue at this point, which makes sense. He’s reportedly been earning in excess of £100k since about 2017 and looks to have set up a good amount of businesses outside of football- I’d say he’s likely set or doing the right things to ensure he’s set.
Now, it seems like it’s just a good old fashioned waiting game. He is a professional footballers with great experience and he’s only 31- I highly doubt he has a shortage of offers.
The clips on Instagram are surely just there to prove to anyone important that might be watching that he’s staying fit. For all the hate that he gets by his non-believers, no one has ever questioned his professionalism, this is just a reflection of that, I guess.
At the end of the day, Lingard is a very interesting case when it comes to footballers in the modern age.
He’s taken abuse left right and centre even when he hasn’t been playing at times. A childish non footballer in the eyes of some. He has been a good player and he’s achieved what most footballers never will. It seems like his treatment has just been excessively harsh at times. He’s been very open about how the abuse affects him, how his mother’s depression affects him, his little siblings and more.
And again, we’ve never heard a manager say anything bad about his work ethic. The media attacks are odd, but they’re also understandable.
He’s an ex Manchester United player after all- that’s sure to elevate any sort of minor occurrence into a major scandal. And let’s not forget, he was a United player during arguably the peak of the toxicity. I arguably, because we hit new peaks by the day these days.
In an interview he did on the Diary of the CEO Podcast, Goated podcast, by the way, he made a lot of comments about the state of Manchester United behind closed doors.
How behind the club is in so many aspects. The social media aspect, the club’s training facilities, the culture of the management. It’s well documented that Sir Alex Ferguson would know all the Manchester United staff by name, including the youth players right down to the under 10s.
This culture is very far from the current setup, according to not just Jesse Lingard.
This interview was done over a year ago and let’s not forget that Cristiano Ronaldo’s infamous interview went live only 2 months before this one.
I can only imagine that within the next 3-5 years, we’re going to be hearing a lot more ex-Man United footballers come out and talk about their experiences in United dressing room.
Day by day the words of Jose Mourinho become more and more relevant biggest achievement Day by day the words of Cristiano Ronaldo become more and more relevant Regressed since Ferguson left
In my eyes, Jesse Lingard is the kind of player that really would’ve thrived under Sir Alex- not as a main star or anything- but as a valuable member of the team.
But hey, that’s just my opinion.