Sopcast 71091

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Mums and dads, looking ever so slightly lost, line up with their sons in a queue that snakes all the way out of the door. There is more casual wear on display than a high-street sports shop, while the odd diamond stud catches the light and sets of headphones sit on heads gently nodding to the music.
But none of this can mask the over-riding emotion. You can feel it; you can see it on people's faces. There are so many tense and nervous expressions that it resembles a hastily convened crisis meeting at the Bank of England.
It is the sort of atmosphere that makes me think of lining up to receive exam results, an unwanted trip to the doctors or possibly a visit from the law - but it none of these.
No, this is something akin to the last-chance saloon for more than 100 boys who are determined to realise their dreams of playing professional football.

The young footballers lining up to reach the registration desk are all different shapes and sizes, some are still waiting for a growth spurt, others have clearly been through that stage. The range of sculpted hairstyles amazes me and the youngsters certainly look the part. But these players are all united by at least one unwanted reality - they are being released by their clubs at the end of the season.
Not for them the two-year scholarship that would take them through to the age of 18 and, potentially at least, to the cusp of the professional ranks. Instead they are at Bisham Abbey on an early spring morning looking to resurrect their dream. The exit trials offer them the opportunity to show what they can do in a series of games watched by more scouts than attend a jamboree.
The trials are held every year in the February half-term and according to the Football League's head of youth development, former Wolves manager Graham Hawkins, they are becoming bigger and bigger every year.