From, Bloomfield Road, Selhurst Park, Upton Park, the City Ground, Deepdale, the Priesfield and Meadow Lane - to Tampa Bay, Florida.
A long list of far from glamorous venues in English football to one of the most beautiful and popular holiday destinations in the world. This is the journey of Adam Nowland, once a highly promising and talked about young player, but a horrific leg break and a series of niggling injuries hampered the sort of progress he was threatening to make during his time in England, as he saw his career slowly fizzle out as he moved from club to club.
Nowland is now plying his trade for American side Tampa Bay Rowdies, who play in the USSF Division 2 Professional League, and is one of only a handful of ex-Football League players who have made the trip across the pond to play 'soccer' in the states. But the question is, why?
"I've wanted to play abroad for many years and the States was always my first choice. I had the opportunity at the age of 19 to sign for a team in Virginia but I decided it was too soon in my career." Said Nowland.
"The last few years in English football had been tough for me due to injuries and bad luck with managers so I was eager for not only a change of direction in my career but also a positive change in my life. I had become disillusioned with the way I'd been treated at certain clubs and more specifically certain managers towards the end of my time in England, and I felt a fresh challenge in another country could give me the motivation and love for the game that I'd had in my earlier days.
"I've always wanted to live in the States and I was definitely fed up with life in the UK so this opportunity came at the right time."
Nowland was unable to make a real impact at any of the clubs he joined after a promising spell at Wimbledon early in his career but spent time on both sides of the River Trent in Nottingham, with spells at both Forest and County. The two clubs have seen a dramatic turnaround in their fortunes since Nowland has moved on, but he looks back on his time in the city fondly and has seen first hand what the Billy Davies factor can do for teams with Championship promotion ambitions.
"I have mixed emotions when I look back at my time at both Nottingham clubs. I joined Forest under Joe Kinnear in the Championship mainly because I grew frustrated at my lack of first team action at West Ham. Unfortunately, the transfer turned sour when, after just 5 weeks, Joe left Forest by mutual consent with me at the beginning of a 3 year contract, and Gary Megson was appointed as his successor. Gary was and still is well known for his direct style of football which meant I was never going to be in his plans.
"I spent the next 12 months in the reserves or on the treatment table and it was one of the most depressing periods of my career. I felt like I wasted a year and I regret not leaving sooner but it's not easy to walk away from such a big club even if the manager refuses to give you a chance.
"My time at Notts County came about as a result of my relationship with the Forest reserve team manager, Charlie McParland, who was now first team manager at County. I enjoyed the season that I spent at Meadow Lane and was disappointed that we didn't push for a play-off spot with the squad that we had.
"I'm very happy to see how well both teams are doing in their respective leagues this season and would love to see them both achieve promotion. Especially Forest with my old Preston manager Billy Davies at the helm because he is without doubt the best manager I had the privilege to work under. Billy and his staff have a real chemistry that creates a professional and enjoyable environment which leads to success.
"Despite my career suffering as a result of my time at Forest, my first spell living in Nottingham was one of the most fun periods of my young life. I loved the city and had several close friends in the squad that I socialised with throughout the year which took my mind off the terrible time I was experiencing professionally."
The first club Adam ever played for in England was Blackpool, but it was also his last. He was offered a short term deal by Ian Holloway and despite scoring on his debut against Crewe Alexandra in the Carling Cup, there was no long term offer by Holloway put on the table. The Seasiders have had a sensational season in the Championship under the ex-Plymouth and Leicester boss and 'Ollie' is doing much better at Blackpool than he did in the East Midlands.
Adam remembers: "Blackpool and Nigel Worthington gave me my break in professional football and for that I will always be grateful. I am also still the club's youngest ever scorer which I am very proud of with some great names going before me. Prior to me signing pro with the club I did a year as a YTS living in digs with the other players and learning my trade. It was a great learning curve at a then lower league club that stood me in good stead for the rest of my career.
"More recently I trained with Blackpool at the start of the 2009-10 season under Ian Holloway and earned a short-term contract which, after scoring on my second debut for the club against Crewe Alexandra in a 2-1 win, I expected to be extended. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be but it was an amazing night for me and my family who had come to watch and I will never regret going back to the club where it all began.
"I am not surprised how well the team has done this season under Holloway because I could see he was putting together a good team that plays good football."
With the Football League being one of the most demanding leagues in the world - 46 games to be completed in a 9 month time period - it would be tough to think America would be anywhere near as competitive as the English game. With a differing climate altogether to England as well, Nowland believes there are differences and similarities to the culture of football he grew up with.
"It poses similar challenges to the football league in terms of the standard of players and the fitness levels. The main differences are the number of teams that the league consists of and how the league works. There are only 12 teams in the NASL and subsequently only 30 league games compared to the 24 teams and 46 league games that a football league season consists of. There is also no promotion or relegation in the US system and the season culminates with the top 8 teams being involved in the play-offs which is effectively a knock-out cup competition to determine the championship winners.
"The travelling for away games is going to take its toll over the course of the season with most away trips involving flights several of which are 5 or 6 hours long."
Having made such an incredible life transition to move to a completely different continent, Adam still dreams of making the return to England one day to bury the ghosts of his footballing past. Having represented so many prestigious clubs during his time so far and now becoming the forgotten man, he feels that he still has plenty to give.
"I hope to return to England in the future in a playing capacity but I guess that depends on how successful my time in America is. I will definitely return to England in a coaching capacity in the future as I have done several coaching badges and would like to help young players fulfil their potential at whatever level this may be."
Having been a genuinely talented player - so many clubs wouldn't have wanted his signature if he wasn't - it is easy to have regrets about what could have been. Everyone has life regrets and football is ultimately one of the cruellest businesses, but the Lancashire boy has one major regret from his time in the English game.
"I have many regrets about my career in England but some of them led to the best periods of my career so it's difficult to fully regret those decisions or incidents. The one that will always bother me is the double break to my right leg I sustained soon after I made my dream move to my hometown club Preston. This is because I was playing the best football of my career and was confident that I'd make it to the Premier League one way or another if I maintained my form until the end of the season. That's football though!"
No doubt we will see Adam back in our game at some point during the future, but despite having not set the world on fire with his footballing ability, he has had quite an adventure for a 28 year old player.
By Sam Kirk
