Brandy, now 30, spent 13 years in Manchester United's academy and was coached by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Thursday 28 March 2019 06:18, UK
Febian Brandy was a rising star in Manchester United's academy. Now, having dropped down the leagues himself, he wants to help aspiring players with a new app called Skouted. He tells Sky Sports about rejecting Barcelona, getting coached by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his new venture.
Febian Brandy spent more than a decade in Manchester United's academy but there is one morning which sticks in his memory more than most. The striker, 14 years old at the time, was walking down the corridor at Carrington when he noticed Sir Alex Ferguson striding purposefully towards him.
"In my mind, I'm just thinking, 'What have I done wrong? What's he about to bring up? Have I been late for school?'" Brandy tells Sky Sports with a chuckle. "But he ended up saying, 'Have you heard? Barcelona have enquired about signing you.' Then he asked me what I thought about it."
A few weeks earlier, Brandy had won the best player award at a prestigious youth tournament in Spain. A representative from Barcelona had called his family's house phone afterwards, sounding out his parents about a possible move to Catalonia, but when face-to-face with Fergie, Brandy wisely opted to keep that particular detail to himself.
"I said, 'No boss, I haven't heard.' I just told him I was a Manchester lad, born in Manchester and playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world, so I was more than happy to stay put. He tapped me on the back of the head, said 'good lad', and walked off. My heart was pounding."
Much has changed in the 15 years since that morning at Carrington.
Ferguson is an observer these days, watching on from the Old Trafford directors' box as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer takes the wheel, and the focus has shifted for Brandy, too. Having left United in 2010 to carve out a career in the Football League, he is taking a break from playing to launch a mobile app intended to help aspiring players.
Skouted - which launches next week - aims to bridge the gap between players searching for an opportunity and clubs who might usually miss them. Using the app, players from Premier League academies right down to amateur level will be able to build a profile and upload video highlights which can then be viewed by scouts and potential recruiters.
"My own experience is probably a little different to most because I was at United and had some buzz around me when I was younger," says Brandy. "But a lot of other kids have not been that fortunate. I had agents and clubs contacting me, but without that support or those connections, a player can really struggle to get another club. That's hopefully where Skouted comes in."
Brandy was certainly more fortunate than most, but he is still well-versed in just how brutal the world of professional football can be. He shone in the same academy side as Tom Cleverley, Danny Welbeck and Jonny Evans, representing England at various youth levels, but while his team-mates went on to crack United's first-team, his chance never quite came.
"The closest I came to making a first-team appearance was in a Champions League game away to Roma in 2007," he says. "I was on the bench and Wayne Rooney went down injured in the second half. Sir Alex went, 'Brandy, go and warm up!' I was thinking, 'This is my moment!' But when I looked back to the bench, I saw Dong Fangzhuo getting ready to go on instead.
"It was a great experience though. People ask me whether my career would have been different if I had gone to Barcelona. Maybe. It might have been. But I wouldn't change it. United made me the person that I am today."
Brandy treasures the memories, but that night in Rome was not the only example of misfortune.
His stock was high in the summer of 2007 after he scored the winner for United's U19s in the final of the Champions Youth Cup against Juventus in Malaysia, only for him to break his fibula in an England game immediately afterwards, ruling him out for seven months. Then, in April 2009, he had just opted to go out on loan when a sudden striker shortage prompted Ferguson to promote his academy team-mate Federico Macheda instead.
"Maybe I was next in line at that time but at the same time I wanted to go and play," says Brandy. "You watch that goal against Aston Villa and you wonder what might have been, but Kiko worked just as hard as anyone else. He got his opportunity and he took it. It's just part of the game. Sometimes it's about being in the right place at the right time."
Brandy had loan spells at Swansea, Hereford United and Gillingham before his eventual departure, and there was also the opportunity to work closely with Solskjaer in United's reserves.
"I had Ole as reserve-team manager for around two years and you could always see that he had that coaching and managerial ability to do it at a top level," he says. "That comes down to his experience in the game but it's also about his personality. He had time for everyone, whether you were a first-team player or whether you were the receptionist."
One hundred per cent he should be the permanent manager. He has brought that smile back to Old Trafford and he's brought the fear factor back too.
As a fellow striker, Solskjaer took a particular interest in Brandy's development.
"I'm the type of player who likes to get the ball, dribble, get into the box, dribble again and try to make a perfect shooting chance," he says. "Ole used to come and watch us even while he was still playing. I remember him pulling me aside one day and saying, 'Sometimes, you don't need to create the perfect chance; sometimes you just need to control it and shoot.'
"I took that advice on board and started getting my shots off quicker. I started noticing that the ball would go through players' legs and catch the 'keeper off-guard. That's obviously how most of Ole's goals were, one or two touches in the box, but it showed that he had the ability to see things in players that they couldn't see in themselves."
Unfortunately, misfortune struck again when Brandy broke a bone in his foot in his final appearance for Solskjaer's reserves before becoming a free agent in 2010. It stalled his career at the worst possible moment, but he is forever indebted to United for paying for his surgery and helping him through his rehab despite his contract having expired.
"It was a family-orientated club and that showed it," he says. "They basically looked after me until I got fit. I was obviously disappointed not to get a contract renewal, but it also made me realise the road didn't stop there."
Brandy went on to have spells with Notts County, Sheffield United and Rotherham, among others, but now, together with co-founders Keita Orelaja - a rugby player and student at Loughborough University - and Raj Sharma - an entrepreneur - his sole focus is to make sure Skouted is as successful as possible.
"Getting boys and girls into clubs from grassroots level is initially very hard," explains Orelaja. "Clubs are recruiting from a really young age now, and it's often a case of being in the know to get yourself seen. We want to tackle it from that angle, and also for the kids who get released who are in danger of falling out of the game. We want to be a net to redistribute those players."
Skouted have already had sign-ups from clubs from the Premier League right down to non-league, as well as university teams in Britain and the United States, and the intention is that the app will also serve as a social platform, allowing five-a-side teams to find players locally and also including the best goals and skills videos.
There have been endorsements from current and former players such as Rio Ferdinand, Jay Rodriguez and Andy Cole, and the buzz is growing. So much so, in fact, that Brandy is putting his own career plans on hold.
"My original idea was to get back playing in January because I had offers from clubs down south and abroad," he says. "But because Skouted has got a lot of traction now, I wouldn't be able to juggle the two. When the app is ready to download and it becomes more self-sufficient, that's when I'll reassess my options. I'm not hanging up my boots just yet."
His Manchester United days are behind him now, but if his vision for Skouted comes together as planned, Brandy won't be the only player soon finding a way back into the game.
You can follow Skouted on Twitter and Instagram and visit their official website here
If you're reading on skysports.com comment below to get involved in the debate, but please adhere to our House Rules. If you wish to report any comment, simply click on the down arrow next to the offending comment and click 'Report'.
