Even at the tender age of 19, Ben Gannon Doak knew that he was likely to arrive at a crossroads this summer. There was a decision to be made about what the next step would be in his young career.
As he completed his rehab and recovery from a thigh injury which had curtailed his loan spell at Middlesbrough last season, he was already plotting what his next move might be.
Whenever he had any spare time, he would travel from Liverpool back to Ayrshire to see his family. As much as he tried to tune out from football, his future at Anfield was an unavoidable topic of conversation.
‘Ben would have loved to stay at Liverpool and get a more consistent run of games,’ a source close to Gannon Doak told Mail Sport. ‘But he’s at an age now where he recognises the importance of playing regular first-team football if he wants to continue his development. From his point of view, that was the key.’
Having chosen to spread his wings and move to Bournemouth in a deal worth £25million this week, Gannon Doak is embarking on an exciting new chapter.
He could have chosen to stay at Liverpool. Life as a fringe player at one of the top clubs in Europe is not to be sniffed at. It can be a cosy and comfortable existence.
Ben Gannon Doak shows off his new colours after completing a £25m switch to Bournemouth
The 19-year-old winger has now added his dad’s surname to the back of his jersey
Gannon Doak makes a quick impression on Christie and Adams in training at Bournemouth
These players still earn good money, they’ll play somewhere between 10-15 games over the course of a season, and they might end up winning silverware along the way.
But they are confined to life in the shadows. They are limited to a few starts in the Carabao Cup, and maybe a few substitute appearances off the bench in the other competitions.
Gannon Doak had no interest in settling for that sort of role. Not now that he’s a fully-fledged international with Scotland, and not after such a bright and positive loan stint with Boro in the Championship.
Prior to suffering his injury at the end of January, he had already contributed three goals and seven assists in 24 appearances. He was one of the form players in the league.
He had a host of clubs chasing his signature this summer — Everton, West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth to name but a few.
Everton were very keen on him at one point, but Gannon Doak was reluctant to entertain that due to Liverpool’s insistence on having a buy-back option. Going back to Liverpool as an ex-Everton player would have been awkward.
Some people might look at Bournemouth as a step down from Liverpool. Certainly, in terms of the size of both clubs, that is unarguably true.
But what good would it do his development to continue sitting on the bench and being a bit-part figure at Anfield, as opposed to getting out and playing regular football in the Premier League?
The attitude and determination of Gannon Doak to go out and prove himself is to be applauded. His move to Bournemouth shows courage and ambition, when staying at Liverpool would have been the easy option.
For anyone wondering why he has decided to change his name, he wanted to reflect the name of both parents. Gannon is his Dad’s surname, whilst Doak is his Mum’s.
There was actually a really nice video posted on the family’s social media earlier this week, with Gannon Doak unfurling a Bournemouth shirt to reveal the change of name, with his Dad doing his best not to get teary-eyed.
After signing a five-year contract with the Cherries, it was telling that Liverpool insisted on having a buy-back clause inserted into the deal. They are not closing the door on a potential return in future.
After overcoming an injury suffered on loan at Middlesbrough, the winger is now fit and firing
Having paid Celtic a compensation fee of £600,000 to sign Gannon Doak in 2022, and then selling him for £25m, it represents outstanding business.
On paper, it’s also a good fit for the player himself. Under Andoni Iraola, Bournemouth were a revelation in the Premier League last season.
Their brand of quick, counter-attacking football was a joy to watch. They ripped teams apart on the break. Gannon Doak’s pace, trickery and direct style should complement that really well.
But perhaps the biggest bonus of all is the boost that this should give to Scotland and our chances of qualifying for the World Cup.
After bursting on to the scene last year in such brilliant fashion, Gannon Doak was a huge miss for Steve Clarke’s side after his injury, especially in the 3-0 home defeat to Greece at Hampden.
To have him back fit and firing — and playing regular first-team football in the Premier League — should be music to the ears of the Scotland head coach ahead of the World Cup qualifiers starting next month.
Doak, as he was then, had Croatia running scared during a Nations League clash last year
Gannon Doak should be sharp and confident, whereas he would have been lacking game time had he chosen to stay at Liverpool.
The reality is that Scotland really don’t have a player who can offer the same level of pace and trickery out wide. Which is why he should be the first name on the team-sheet when Clarke and his players head to Copenhagen early next month to embark on a journey they hope will take them to next year’s World Cup in America.
In Gannon Doak, they should have a player revitalised. If life at Liverpool offered a safe and cosy existence, every Scotland fan should be thankful that Gannon Doak has chosen to step out from the shadows.
Match of the Day struggling to move with the times
There are certain things which used to be synonymous with Saturday nights. So deeply ingrained in the fabric of British culture, it was difficult to imagine life without them.
Pubs and clubs would be bursting at the seams, with a thick blue haze of smoke lingering in the air. Then the smoking ban was introduced and millions of people started vaping instead.
Queuing for a taxi whilst eating whatever you had bought from the local fast-food joint was also just part and parcel of a Saturday night. Now? People prefer to order an Uber and have food delivered to their house.
Mark Chapman hosted the new-look Match of the Day as it began the post-Gary Lineker era
The Two Ronnies used to be a staple of Saturday night TV, whereas now we are served with whatever the latest guff from Michael McIntyre or Ant and Dec happens to be.
Caught up in the middle of all of this is Match of the Day, a British institution whose longevity is admirable, but one which is now surely nearing the end.
After ditching Gary Lineker at the end of last season, the return of the Premier League last weekend marked the start of a new chapter.
Mark Chapman was the new host and will split those duties with Kelly Cates and Gabby Logan. Chapman and Logan are both outstanding presenters, with Cates probably having the most to prove of the trio.
Wayne Rooney was signed over the summer and is being paid £800,000 as the star new pundit. His debut on Saturday alongside Alan Shearer was predictably uninspiring.
But the problem Match of the Day has is not the identity of its presenters or what it happens to be paying the pundits. It’s the fact that it is caught awkwardly between the past and the present.
By the time 10.30pm comes around on a Saturday night, most people have already seen all the day’s goals on social media.
Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney were hardly the most dynamic duo as MotD pundits
It used to be that Match of the Day was the only place to see the action from the day’s football. But the internet has changed the landscape beyond recognition.
People don’t watch Match of the Day purely to see goals they’ve already seen. Nor will they watch it for hard-hitting punditry, as there isn’t any.
It has become this awkward, empty vessel of a programme. So, clearly, it has a problem in terms of immediacy, or its lack thereof. The pundits are also not up to scratch in the modern environment.
Watching Shearer and Rooney offer bland platitudes and nothing especially insightful or hard-hitting, to then watching Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, it was like a different sport.
The ratings for Match of the Day were down on Saturday night. You do wonder how long it’ll be until it’s scrapped altogether.
