Alfie Dorrington: “I’ve made my debut for the team I grew up watching. It’s unbelievable, really…”

Just over five years ago, a young lad making waves in local football joined our Academy set up at Under-13 level. A Spurs fan, from a Lilywhite family, he was born in Enfield, and played for Cockfosters FC, a short drive from our training HQ at Hotspur Way.

On Sunday, that youngster fulfilled a boyhood dream by making his debut for the club he loves.

Alfie Dorrington stepped off the bench for Djed Spence after 77 minutes of our 5-0 win against Southampton at St Mary’s. In doing so, he joined an ever-growing list of Academy players to make their debuts in recent times. Indeed, that’s six - Matthew Craig, George Abbott, Jamie Donley, Mikey Moore, Will Lankshear and now Alfie - since May, 2023.

What that all meant wasn’t lost on Alfie, now 19 (20 in April), as he spoke in the tunnel afterwards at St Mary’s. For a start, he will now be indelibly linked to the club as Legacy Number 889.

“It’s an honour, a true honour,” he said. “I’ve watched so many of those players, now I’m part of it. It’s funny, when I was a young boy, I didn’t even think of being here on a day like this. I just enjoyed playing football. Now, I’ve come on and made my Premier League debut for the team I grew up watching. It’s unbelievable, really.

“My whole family are Spurs. My brother’s mates were here. They live in Dubai, they are close family friends and they’re over for Christmas. That worked out perfectly! A few friends were here as well. For them to be here when I made my debut, that was special.

“It’s amazing to think I started in the Academy with the Under-13s, straight from Sunday league, five years ago now. I’ve been around the squad, been on the bench a few times, but never actually came on. It’s about being patient. It’s about being patient, but this shows you can do it.

“Then the moment comes... it felt like I was on the touchline for ages, excited, just waiting to get on. I was thinking, ‘this is what I’ve worked for my whole life’. I just want to thank all the coaches who have been involved in my journey here and elsewhere and my parents for believing in me, taking me to all those games when I was younger.”

Alfie has certainly been knocking on the door. A regular around the first team squad for a while now, he was on the bench 11 times last season without getting on, and another three times this time around before, on the 15^th occasion in a matchday squad, he got the call.

During that time, he’s felt what it’s like for a team-mate to make that step, most memorably when he handed a shirt to Jamie Donley when he got the call for his debut against Manchester City at the Etihad this time last year.

“I was sitting next to him on the bench, and threw him his shirt before he went on,” recalled Alfie, who was also in the squad when Will Lankshear – coincidentally, the pair share the same birthday, 20 April 2005 - made his debut against Ferencvaros in October. “I was really proud for Jamie.  I remember him getting the call. I was thinking, ‘you’re now a Premier League player’. So, to then do it myself, it’s amazing, everything I’ve worked for.”

Alfie revealed that skipper Heung-Min Son was shouting words of encouragement to him as he got ready for his big moment at St Mary’s and was quick to thank the more senior players for all their support during his journey over the last couple of years.

“It’s amazing to learn from the best, every day,” he said. “Even when I’m not training, I’m still looking at the games, looking at what the players do, to try to continue developing my game. The players are so welcoming. I didn’t feel as if I was a young player, as such, with that pressure, they just treated me as normal and that really helped me settle in. Just before I went on, Sonny was behind me, shouting at me to be ready, telling me this is what I’d worked for. All the lads on the bench were so encouraging.”