Vardy’s feat was amplified by a back story which involved coming up through non-league and not hitting the top-flight heights until he was 27. But – surely – there couldn’t be just one, Chadwick wondered.
He is convincing Premier League clubs – and sides throughout the professional pyramid – that there is an untapped reserve of talent in non-league, and that he has found the formula to discover the next Vardy.
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We will get to that in a moment, but how 31-year-old Chadwick reached this point is a story of resilience, perseverance and sacrificing everything to chase a dream that is worth hearing.
He wanted to tell people about the talent he saw and, not sure what else to do, started posting on Twitter. And people started following. People with club names and words such as “scout” in their bios.
Mickel Miller was flying in the eighth tier, at Carshalton Athletic, when Chadwick met Keith Glendinning, Hamilton’s technical analyst, who said he needed a scoring winger. On Chadwick’s recommendation, Glendinning flew to England, watched Miller score twice in the first half, then signed him.
Mickel Miller was unearthed by Peter Chadwick and now plays for Huddersfield (Photo: Getty)The problem? He wasn’t earning a penny. He’d help players get moves, watch clubs sign players he’d suggested, but not get a cut of any deal.
Chadwick would go to conferences, desperate to meet people, for a foot in the door, and be ignored. He felt like an outsider.
Martial Godo, now an ambassador for the company, used to message him asking to share his highlights while he played at Dartford and Margate. The winger went on to move to Fulham in 2022, has since played in the Premier League and has now been called up to the Ivory Coast Under-23s.
Champion of The Non-League Pathway
Delighted to announce @GodoMartial as a NLG Ambassador to champion the non-league pathway & inspire the next generation of non-league talent@margate_fc to @england u20 in less than 2 years… Why can’t you be next?
Welcome to the team Martial pic.twitter.com/1qioNGAnWt
“From Jarrod Bowen, Dan Burn, Tyrone Mings, Jamie Vardy, going back to Ian Wright and Les Ferdinand, and beyond. People never connected the dots. Snobbery in football turned people away.”
He earned a little money from representing a few players, but didn’t want to be an agent.
“I’d gone from a top law firm to chasing this dream. But I knew the industry would carry on whether I returned or not.”
Jarrod Bowen and Dan Burn have both gone from non-league to the Premier League (Photo: Getty)What made one move a multi-million-pound asset and another a failed investment?
So, he opened a spreadsheet and started the most painstaking of tasks – compiling 126 data points on almost a thousand transfers from non-league to professional clubs in the previous 15 years.
It took a year. When he’d finally finished, he sat back and surveyed his work. And found no trends. It was devastating. But he left it for a while, came back and realised he’d struck gold.
Even then, he still needed a vast database of current non-league players to spot those trends in them. And one didn’t exist. Information was out there, but scant and fragmented.
From the Essex Senior League to the Sky Bet League One Player of the Season in 18 months.@richardkone17 is an inspiration. pic.twitter.com/iZxVHvgyX2
He believed that a tech expert might be able to solve the problem, put out adverts, interviewed data scientists from Oxford and Cambridge Universities and the London Business School (LBS).
Medlej came back a few days later and had done it. The system was crude and ugly, but it was a working system. He became co-founder.
They are now placing players everywhere. Wycombe have signed eight players through them. In one game last season, five of them were on the pitch together.
At one stage, Chadwick was introduced to Adie Mings, a Manchester City scout who spent a decade at Chelsea and is the father of Tyrone.
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A while ago, before it all progressed, Adie secured him meetings at Chelsea and Manchester City, but they kept saying that clubs that size were not interested.
“A lot of clubs get caught in churn of buying players on a downward trajectory,” Chadwick says. “Mentally they aren’t in the right space.”
“Where can you find inexpensive emerging talent that fit the trend of previously successful transfers, who will be over moon to sign on low wages, to train with you, who fly into tackles?
Chadwick is trying to open eyes to the fact that non-league isn’t – and, in fact, never has been – about beer bellies and past-its.
Stop THAT Raees Bangura-Williams
Casper De Norre is there to finish it off but just look at this assist pic.twitter.com/yqOTorkReQ
There are, Chadwick says, more players in England’s Under-20s and-21s who came through non-league than Premier League academies now. “The most precious commodity for players is first-team minutes nowadays.”
Chadwick’s six non-league gems to watch
Phil Croker, 18, centre-back – Oxford City – National League North – Step 2
“Playing 14 times in the National League North this season at 18 makes him an outlier and a very exciting prospect.
Riley Carr, 16, winger – Hertford Town – Southern League Division One Central – Step 4
“A big player in Hertford Town’s FA Youth Cup run as they beat Bristol Rovers and Cambridge United Under-18s. They also gave Arsenal Under-18s a good game, losing 4-3.”
“Ralph finished a great loan at Walton & Hersham, scoring seven goals in 20 appearances and now returns to Dagenham, who have gone down a division, meaning he should be trusted as a key first-team player.”
“He’s played 81 senior non-league games at the age of 18. He is a left-footed modern wing-back who combines pace and power.
Louie Carr, 18, central midfielder – Hertford Town – Southern League Division One Central – Step 4
“He was man of the match in the NLG showcase event in May 2025, winning a year-long boot deal with Skechers.” No relation to Riley Carr.
“Morgan was a standout player at the NLG showcase game. He the youngest and least experienced, but was one of the best physically, technically and tactically.”
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