Former Wolves youngster and lifelong Crystal Palace fan Jake Kempton will have a watching brief on this weekend’s titanic tussle at Molineux – all the way from Bali. It’s quite a story, as Paul Berry discovers.
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Imagine heading into your first season as a professional footballer, having expended all the blood, sweat and tears which built up to that moment, and picking up an injury after which you barely kick a ball for two years.
Imagine then rebuilding your career at a lower-league club, being promised a deal when a squad place becomes available in January, only for the manager to step down days before the transfer window opens and his replacement decide to move in a different direction.
Imagine too, building up a hugely successful company involved in property development, taking the trip of a lifetime to Bali, and then discovering that, actually, you might not need to come home.
This is the story of former young Wolves striker and lifelong Crystal Palace fan Jake Kempton. For whom the comeback has certainly been greater than the setback.
The award-winning Kempton Homes has built up an excellent reputation in the world of residential property development in the Southeast of England. Of the five-strong staff, Kempton is owner, CEO and majority shareholder, his brother Sam is part owner and site manager, and mum Christine is Sales & Marketing Manager.
And now, much of his work can be carried out remotely, as one of many ‘digital nomads’, putting in just as much hard graft and dedication as anyone else. Just from a very different location.
“I am talking to you now from outside an internet café, and, if I look through the window, I can see loads of people sitting at their laptops, working,” says Kempton.
“Because of the way the business works, and what I do, while there are some things I have to come back for, I can do so much of it virtually by having meetings and working online.
“We started the business eight years ago in February, and it was about a year-and-a-half ago when I first came out here.
“I’d worked super hard for so long to get it all going and I wasn’t happy with my social life and how the work/life balance was working out.
“So, I decided to explore!
“I came out to Bali with a couple of mates from back home, I have been here ever since, and have a good core group of friends and met my girlfriend out here.
“It’s such a healthy lifestyle as well, and we’re all into keeping fit and the gyms are like high-level spas.
“I’m a bit addicted to the game of padel, which I play most days, and there’s just a great outdoor lifestyle.
“I love the beach walks, heading out there on a morning with a coffee, it’s a really infectious environment out here and a really positive and interesting one.
“There is also still a very lively party scene in Bali – but I think I am past that now!”
There was an added element to the decision to spread his wings as Kempton is happy to admit he underwent therapy a couple of years ago to finally shrug off the legacy of an identity crisis which followed the end of his time as an aspiring footballer.
And that is perfectly understandable, given his efforts to become a professional suffered the hardest of hard luck stories for several different reasons.
It was a story which began, like so many, with an ambition to pursue a career in the game from an early age.
He went on to join Fulham at the age of 15, having also trialled at Chelsea, but, when released a year later having played at Under-15 and Under-16 levels, had plenty of clubs queuing up to offer him a scholarship.
“One of those was Crystal Palace, my club, which under normal circumstances would have been a dream come true,” Kempton admits.
“But they were in administration and it didn’t feel like the right thing to do.
“I remember going down to Southampton who were really keen to sign me, but Alan Travis (Head of Academy Recruitment) asked me to come up to Wolves, and that was it.
“I was doing the rounds of all these clubs with my Dad, and Wolves just blew us away with the culture and the atmosphere when we visited – I can still remember the stadium tour – and I was immediately made to feel part of the team.”
And that was how it continued to feel for Kempton after choosing Wolves, as he embarked on his full-time Academy scholarship.
Living away from home held no fears for the South London native.
Dad Steve was a motor racing driver who had spent plenty of time on the road, and so for Kempton junior, the idea of moving on in pursuit of a sporting dream was a natural way to follow in his footsteps.
He was, at different times at Wolves, in digs with Jordan Keane, Kristian Kostrna and Robbie Parry, at one time living opposite Michael Ihiekwe and Aljaz Cotman.
He can whistle through so many of the others in his age group at the time, including fellow strikers Liam McAlinden and Andre Landell, and midfielders Zeli Ismail and Sam Whittall.
Kempton regards the two years playing at Under-18 level as the highlight of his career, not just because of those team-mates and the chance to enjoy regular football, but also the influence of the coach, Mick Halsall.
“We had such a great group of lads in that age group, and I enjoyed those two years so much,” he recalls.
“Even as a first year scholar, I was getting so much game time with the Under-18s, making an impact, and I remember in the second year being top scorer across the whole country going into Christmas.
“I was also getting some minutes in the reserves, mainly from the bench, but coming on at Stamford Bridge, and also scoring against Chelsea at Telford.
“It was such a good group, with Mick as coach, and what an impact he had on me as a young player – if I bumped into him now, I’d probably be waiting for him to tell me off!
“He was such an authoritarian figure for me but one who was super caring, and while I’m not sure scared is the right word to use, we certainly listened to him and had a massive respect for him.
“When he spoke, we listened, and he was amazing for me, he really got the best out of me as a player.”
Kempton was flying during those two years as a scholar. Regularly finding the net, impressing both against future England internationals such as Eric Dier, Harry Maguire and keeper Jordan Pickford, and also in his reserve team opportunities, as well as showing his ability as a natural goalscorer.
But the injuries which were to blight his long-term hopes were not also hugely unfortunate but also hugely untimely.
Especially when he found himself on the fringes of the England Under-18 set-up.
“I remember even now that I’d been in red hot form but had injured my ankle in scoring against Everton and was going to be out for a few weeks,” Kempton explains.
“Terry Connor (Wolves assistant manager) came up to me to say I’d been called up for England Under-18s, but that he had spoken to the physios and that I wouldn’t be able to go because of the injury.
“I went immediately from such a high and probably the biggest elation I could ever have felt, to a complete ‘oh no’, because I’d been picked but couldn’t go.”
Sadly, there was to be much more injury woe to follow.
Having done enough to land a professional contract, a real ‘pinch me’ moment which he insists can never be taken away, he suffered a knee injury during his first pre-season with the seniors which required surgery to repair a damaged meniscus.
Sidelined for nine months, there were further complications due to a cyst inside the knee forcing him to go under the knife again and meaning he barely kicked a ball during two years as a professional at Molineux.
It was, needless to say, a very difficult time.
“I was joined in long-term rehab by both George Elokobi and Kristian – people were saying our flat was cursed! – both of whom had broken their legs,” he recalls.
“They came in after me, and had got back playing even before I had to undergo the second operation.
“It was the worst time of my life to be honest, and yet that was absolutely nothing against Wolves because, even with the injury, I still look back on my time there with a lot of fond memories.
“They helped me too, by letting me go back in for treatment even after my contract came to an end, but even though I tried to get back and forge a career somewhere else, I was never the same player again, nor the same person.
“I would never use this word lightly, but it’s fair to say it was a very depressing time.”
Kempton didn’t immediately give up on his dream and strained every sinew to try and get back. He had spells in non-league with Kingstonian, Staines and Aldershot, and got close to landing a deal at Crawley after impressing boss John Gregory on trial, but Gregory had to stand down shortly before the opening of the January transfer window where he had indicated he was ready to shuffle his pack and offer Kempton a contract.
Another injury, this time in the other knee, finally convinced Kempton it was time to hang up his boots, although he had already started with the planning long before the day finally arrived.
Brought up with something of a business acumen having often worked alongside his brother to assist their Dad with different companies, he had already started with surveying qualifications whilst playing in non-league, as well as working for another local developer.
“It maybe sounds superficial, but when I realised I was going to have to do something outside of football, I wanted something which would be challenging, from which I could make a success and make some money!” he admits.
“I didn’t have any particular love for housebuilding at the start, but I could see it was going to be a challenge, and that’s what I needed.
“After working for the developer for a couple of years, I found a site for three houses which the owner didn’t want to get involved in, so I managed to get some funding from family and my Dad’s friends and it all started off from there.
“My brother and my mum are both involved, and there are only five of us in the company in total, but we have all worked really hard to make it a success.
“I would like to think I’m a tenacious character, with big aspirations for myself and the company, and that’s what drives me on.
“If there is one thing which I took away from football and particularly my time at Wolves, it was that competitive element, along with a work ethic and dedication, and that is what I quickly transferred from sport into business.”
That competitive instinct lives on. Not only have Kempton Homes picked up awards, most recently as a regional winner with LABC (Local Authority Building Control), but Kempton himself was among the finalists for the South East’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards a couple of years ago.
The path to success however, just like football, has not been without its obstacles and bumps in the road.
It has taken plenty of work, mentally as well as practically, to reach what is now such a seemingly perfect balance between business and pleasure.
Because what Kempton wrestled with, even up until the decision to up sticks and head for Bali, was the loss of identity from football, which had so dominated his early and teenage years.
“Even though it all happened such a long time ago, it was so tough that I’d say it’s only been a couple of years ago that I finally managed to address the feelings that I had,” he explains.
“I always saw myself as a professional football and athlete, and that was taken away from me.
“That’s not to say I would definitely have gone on to be a success, and certainly not at Premier League or Championship level, but maybe lower down I could have forged a career.
“In a way, it’s the not knowing which is probably just as bad.
“I have always loved football, and still do, and that was me as a person.
“You make so many sacrifices growing up, missing out on social events and so on, and it pretty much becomes your identity.
“I always wanted to be a footballer, I fully expected to be a footballer, and then go on to be a coach and a manager, but that was taken away from me in my early twenties.
“Losing that identity caused me some big issues, and coming out into the world was tough, really tough.
“I’m happy to admit that I had some therapy a couple of years ago, just to try and go through it all, and I definitely feel in a much better place now.
“It has probably helped me make this decision, a decision where I am still hugely aspirational for the business but also very much aware of the need for that work/life balance.
“Life is good at the moment, and I feel both proud of where I have got to and very fortunate as well.”
Kempton certainly hasn’t ruled out a return to football in some capacity in the future if at all possible.
There was once the ambition to become a club owner, one he admits might sound fanciful, but, ‘there’s never any harm in having big aspirations’.
His skills and experiences would certainly prove valuable in a mentoring environment, and, beyond that, he will always have Crystal Palace.
A lifelong ‘Eagle’ who grew up idolising the likes of Wayne Routledge and Andy Johnson, Kempton still has his season ticket for use when back home, and hasn’t forgotten ‘getting into trouble’ with Wolves’ top brass when acquiring Wilfried Zaha’s shirt whilst on tunnel duties when Palace won at Molineux back in October of 2012.
“That wasn’t my most sensible move,” he laughs.
Footballing fortunes came pretty much full circle when Kempton Homes sponsored Palace’s match against Brighton in February of last year, and Kempton admits that whilst he’d support Wolves against everyone else, there will be no split loyalties when it comes to events at Molineux on Saturday evening.
In the meantime, work focus is on a major development deal which has occupied so much of his time and portfolio for over three years, one which could come to fruition in the next few months, to become, in his words, ‘a potential life changer’.
For now, though, it feels like he has already changed his life very much for the better.
