LIGHTS, CAMERAS AND ACTION!

WHAT do you get when you mix a passion for football, a desire to help young people achieve their dreams, a highly-rated Non League footballer, a successful City businessman and a Hollywood star?

- Neil Harvey

According to Integral Sports Management (ISM)-a relatively young agency that are beginning to make their mark on the Non-League game and beyond - it adds up to the recipe for success.

The businessman in question is Gary Pettit, father of Maidenhead United midfielder Casey. He joined forces with long-time friend and film star Ray Winstone to co-found the agency, which doesn't just represent footballers but has dabbled in sports such as golf, tennis and even horse racing.

Maidenhead's iconic York Road ground has been a magnet to Hollywood stars in the last few years.

Wrexham's co-owners chose a National League game against the Magpies to make their first appearance at an away stadium back in 2021.

And, this season, film legend Winstone attended their game against Kidderminster Harriers just before Christmas.

Winstone was there to promote the club's partnership with mental health charity CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably).

The match also had a relevance to Winstone's other interests away from the silver screen.

Back in 2019, he got together with long-time friend Gary to form the agency. Gary's son, and ISM client, Casey lined up in midfield for the hosts and played a big part in the game, scoring the winner.

The spark for starting the company was noticing how players were released from academy systems at the higher end of the game and it struck a chord with the actor.

"You see these lads and they must have talent to even be in the environment at these huge clubs, yet one day someone decides the dream is over and that's it," Winstone told The NLP.

"Going up for a job and not getting a job, that's just part of the process in my game, but early on at college I performed for a drama exam where I got zero marks not even one for imagination or turning up zero!" he said.