Successfully coming through the ranks at a professional football club is a childhood dream for most people who have ever kicked a ball but for Graham Stack, he had every reason to think that his career had peaked when being part of the Arsenal squad which went through an entire Premier League campaign without losing a match. Stack - not long through his teens - did not make an outing while playing a backup role to Jens Lehmann, but he will always be a part of one of the most famous achievements in world football. The Hampstead-born stopper went on to represent nine different clubs between 2004 and 2016 - including Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers - but his time between the sticks appeared to be petering out after the end of the 2015-16 season. That was until a phone call from a former manager gave the then-34-year-old another chance.
Steve Coppell asked Stack to join Kerala Blasters - a team who plied their trade in the recently-formed Indian Super League - but in association with Betway, Stack revealed that it was not a straightforward decision to sign on the dotted line. However, it proved to be a decision that Stack would not regret, despite the fact that his time at clubs up and down England and Scotland would provide few similarities to what he would experience in Asia.
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The Indian Super League was only founded in 2013 and while it is still to reach the heights of its cricket version, it is only going from strength to strength with the high-profile names who have gotten themselves involved with life in the competition. Each club is allowed to have a marquee player and that has resulted in stars such as Alessandro del Piero, Robert Pires and Roberto Carlos having previously spent a short period in India. The most famous name associated with England's Premier League to play a role in the division is Robbie Keane, who netted six goals in nine games for ATK before spending a short time as player-manager.
However, the arrival of so-called British journeymen such as Stack shows that the Indian Premier League can be the setting for many players around the world to revitalise their careers. Scottish-born Canada international Iain Hume is the prime example, with the forward now the highest goalscorer and appearance-maker in the history of the division. Before that, Hume had struggled to find the back of the net during loan spells with Doncaster Rovers and Fleetwood Town at the third and fourth tiers of English football. He took the risk and is now a part of history. Like Stack, he chased the dreams and memories and was suitably rewarded, and more players from British shores will continue to do the same as the league continues to evolve.
