Fussball » t. Ive just been rolling it beautifully."

He was the child star of a McDonalds advert and dubbed footballs next big thing who was fawned over by Ajaxs 1995 Champions League-winning team. Sonny Pike had in front of him the career that so many wished for - but he ended up at Leyton Orient before falling out of the game by the time he was old enough to pass his driving test.The Englishman fears Celtics precocious Karamoko Dembele could suffer a similar fate if he allows others to influence his future the way he did. The Parkhead schoolboy is at the centre of a tug of war between Scotland and England after it emerged he was invited by the FA to train at St Georges Park last month. We caught up with 90s wonderkid Sonny Pike to find out what happened next for the boy who had the world at his feet 20 years ago. While the SFA is determined to keep Dembele, the prospect of losing him after just a few minutes of game-time for the under-16s is real.From the moment footage of the 13-year-old appeared on YouTube earlier this year, pressure on him has been mounting and the weight of expectation is heavy.It is a situation Pike relates to with uncomfortable ease. After catching the eye at the age of 10, he was soon touted as the new Diego Maradona and had his legs insured for £1million.TV appearances, sponsorship deals and Premier League interest followed along with an on-pitch outing at the 1996 English League Cup final to do some keepy-ups for Coca-Cola.Demand for the youngster was snowballing - yet that would change just as quickly. Dembele made his Scotland U16 debut as a substitute against Wales but has also trained with England in recent weeks Ajax took him on trial and after mixing with Louis van Gaal, Patrick Kluivert and Frank Rijkaard, they desperately tried to sign him, but he rejected them to stay at home in Essex.Pike joined Orient instead and the dream soon unravelled to the point that by 17, he was out of love with football and contemplating suicide because things had gone so sour.The extreme nature of his experiences stands as a valid warning to any emerging talent of how wrong things can go - and none more so in his eyes at present than Dembele.Pike, now 33, said: People have been messaging me a lot about Karamoko over the last few weeks and comparing us, saying its a similar sort of situation. Dembeles clear talent has resulted in lots of speculation about his future. Pictures courtesy keepitonthedeck.com Ive seen a few clips of him and he looks a great little player. He has natural strength and thats important because everyone will have that when hes older.Its interesting to consider which way its going to go for him and hopefully it can be a good thing for him.I like to see young footballers coming through but now its all about how Karamoko is managed and having the right people around him.People have to understand his situation. Things can develop so quickly that the next thing you know, he could be doing so much elsewhere that it takes away from his football. Karamoko Dembeles debut for Celtics U20 side against Hearts in October attracted plenty of Twitter interest Hes very talented but as I experienced myself, it can go from being a good thing to a bad thing pretty quickly.Once you get to the money side of things and people start earning, it can go very wrong and football itself slips down the list a bit.Id imagine Karamokos parents have already had lots of new friends presenting themselves, something I wouldnt be surprised to hear.They have to realise how all the focus, attention and distractions could mix up their sons feelings and affect his game. Its a lot for a kid of that age to take on.Everythings so instant nowadays that Im sure hes feeling a bit of pressure already but hopefully people just leave him to play football.Karamoko has to stay focused on himself. We are talking about a lad of 13 and its down to his parents, those closest to him and Celtic to work together and not get too far ahead. Pike says the support of Dembeles family, including his father Lossissen (left) and sister Macolua (right) will be crucial in his development Pike speaks a lot about family support and little wonder. His relationship with his father Mickey broke down due to what happened following the decision not to move to Holland.While at Orient, there was interest from Chelsea at a time when Mickey had allowed a film crew to record his son for part of a documentary.Pike was keen on going there and said as much before joining them for training without permission, unknowingly breaking FA rules and earning a 12-month ban.Cast aside by both clubs after the footage aired, he went from everyone wanting a piece of him to being yesterdays man and he has not spoken to his dad in more than 15 years.Pike added: By the time I was 14, I had five agents and the majority of them didnt even get involved in the football side of things. Sky Sports Black Friday sale Upgrade to Sky Sports now and get 12 months half price! Some were good for me and others werent but the fact there were so many of them shows how quickly things can escalate.I was working for McDonalds and Coca-Cola, I had all my clothes made by Paul Smith and I had boot deals.People were coming up to me in the street to say they had bet on me doing this and that for England.Unless theres someone around you and guiding you in that sort of situation, it can get out of control very quickly.It was good in the beginning but I slowly fell out of love with the game. When I was 17, I didnt even want to play football any more and I was in a bad way with it.A lot of people want to become professional football players but theres a long way to go at that age. You can be as well-known as you like, it doesnt mean youre going to make it.In fact, there are so many reasons at that age why you cant be a professional footballer and you still have so much work to do. The Celtic teenager is eligible to play international football for Scotland, England and the Ivory Coast. Pictures courtesy keepitonthedeck.com You must earn it and concentrate on actually fulfilling your potential rather than listening to people saying youre going to have it all.Pike now drives a Hackney cab around Londons East End for a living but how he could have benefitted from having The Knowledge as a child. He hopes his story helps the likes of Dembele to stay grounded and make his mark in a way he was unable to.Pike said: Ive been looking back at the things I did back then much more recently. At first, I was a bit funny about it but now I dont mind it so much.Of course, I have regrets because I wanted to be a footballer and I loved it, even though I got sick of it.Now things have gone full circle. Talking about it and getting it off my chest has been good for me but it has taken time. Im enjoying the game more than I have in the last 10 years.A lot of the things that happened to me were out of my control. Im an adult now but when I was a kid it was down to other people how things went in many respects. Scotland U16 cap Dembele has trained with his club side Celtics first team but remains a youth player Karamokos got to take things day by day and enjoy it. Even though hes the most well-known kid at the minute, theres still every chance he might not become a football player.The last thing you want is for him to be that boy we all looked at on YouTube but we didnt actually see him do anything in the game because he got distracted.When I was his age, Wayne Rooney was roughly the same age as me but nobody had heard about him yet. All the talk was about me.I was struggling for a while, Im not going to lie, but since I had my kids and I met some good people, Im as happy now as Ive ever been.I got to a stage where I wasnt enjoying football. I just wanted to be normal like everyone else and I wanted to live normally. Im doing that now and Im happy.Upgrade to Sky Sports now and get 12 months half price. Hurry, offer ends December 4! Also See: England track Celtic youngster Who is Karamoko Dembele? Celtic will not rush Dembele Dembele makes Celtic U20 debut Bogdan Bogdanovic Kings Jersey . "Back in 2011, when they announced that the game was coming here, we knew that it was going to be pretty important that we had a good year and hopefully could get into it, let alone win it, so I felt some pressure obviously within for sure," Taman said Monday, less than 24 hours after the Riders won the championship. Buddy Hield Jersey . - A lot of scenarios ran through Terrell Suggs head when the Baltimore linebacker prepared to face the Pittsburgh Steelers. http://www.nbakingsonline.com/Authentic-Mitch-Richmond-Kings-Jersey/ . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. Vlade Divac Kings Jersey . - Kentucky freshmen Stanley Boom Williams, Dorian Baker, Drew Barker and Tymere Dubose have been charged with disorderly conduct for their involvement with air pistol shots being fired near a residence hall on the South campus Sunday night. Nemanja Bjelica Kings Jersey . You can watch all the action on TSN and TSN GO beginning at 8:30pm et/5:30pm pt. Minnesota dropped the first two tests of this best-of-seven set at Chicagos United Center and was outscored by a combined 9-3 margin in those setbacks. However, the Wild righted themselves at home by taking Game 3 by a 4-0 count before knotting the series at two games apiece with Fridays 4-2 triumph at Xcel Energy Center.FORT WORTH, Texas - PGA Tour rookie Brice Garnett grew up in a small Missouri town where his home course is a nine-hole layout. Garnett has gone from Daviess County Country Club and then Missouri Western State to leading at Hogans Alley after two rounds at Colonial. After starting with an eagle, Garnett shot a 4-under 66 on Friday and moved to 7-under 133. He had a one-stroke lead over long-putting Chris Stroud (64) and Robert Streb (68). "Im just keeping my head down and trying to make as many birdies as possible," Garnett said. "Im going to try to embrace it this weekend and have fun, and well see where we stand come Sunday." Adam Scott, playing as No. 1 in the world for the first time, had birdies on three of his last seven holes for a 68 to get to 1 under. He has made the cut in his last 34 PGA Tour events, the longest active streak. Matt Kuchar, ranked No. 4 in the world, had a chance to move to the top with a victory. But he missed the cut by a stroke at 2-over 142 after a 70. The 30-year-old Garnett is from Gallatin, Missouri, a town of about 1,800 people. He has only one top-10 finish in his 18 previous starts on the PGA Tour, and has never won on the Web.com Tour. This is the first time he has even been in the top 10 after the second or third round on the PGA Tour. "I think each and every week the rookies feel more comfortable. I know I have," Garnett said. You cant get down on yourself being a rookie. ... Its been fun, and Im learning each and every day." First-round leader Dustin Johnson (70) dropped into a seven-way tie for fourth at 5 under. That group also included Texas resident Jimmy Walker (68), a three-time winner this season and No. 1 in the FedEx Cup standings. Walker had a strange occurrence when his tee shot at the 17th hole appeared to nick a bird in flight — though the bird kept flying before Walker made another par. "We saw (the ball) fly the whole way and then it kind of disappeared over the ttrees," said Walker, the only player still without a bogey this week.dddddddddddd "I didnt see it." Stroud made five putts from over 20 feet, all coming in his last 12 holes. His made putts in the round combined for just under 221 feet, the most on the PGA Tour since Brent Geiberger covered 240 feet during the first round at Booz Allen in 2006. And Stroud did that using a new putter he picked up this week. "It has no lines on it. ... Ive been using another, but it had a bunch of lines on it," Stroud said. "I simplified my putting. Get over it, line up and try to bring the putter back square and back to the ball square at impact. Ive just been rolling it beautifully." Stroud drained a 16-footer on the 193-yard 13th hole, his third birdie of the day coming on his fourth hole. The Texas native was just getting started, with his first 20-footer coming at the par-3 16th when he made birdie from 23 1/2 feet. There was a 22-footer for birdie at the par-5 No. 1 hole, and he rolled in a 56-footer across the green at No. 4, the difficult 211-yard par 3. There was a 26-footer at No. 6 and yet another long birdie putt at his last par 3, a 34-footer at No. 8. "My driver has been bad. ... Ive hit it terrible the last two days. Really, really bad. But putted awesome," he said. "So I dont have to worry about the greens. I just need to get the ball on the greens. Usually its the opposite. I usually hit the ball really well and struggle to get the ball in the hole." On his final hole, the 406-yard dogleg-right ninth, Strouds approach was well left into a bleacher area near a concession stand. After a free drop and pitching to about 26 feet on the fringe, he two-putted from 26 feet for bogey. Tim Clark was 7 under and tied for the lead after four consecutive birdies only six holes into his round of 68. But he three-putted at the par-3 16th and didnt have another birdie until No. 9, his last hole, to get to 5 under and tied for fourth. ' ' '