Football wonderkids who went off the rails

THEY were once the bright-eyed youngsters tipped for greatness - but even with all the talent and potential in the world, the football industry can be a fickle place.

With so much fame and fortune so young comes a dangerous downside, and whether it's a result of injury or by going off the rails, football careers can easily come to an abrupt end.

Which means sadly not all top league 'wonderkids' are going to be able to carve out the illustrious careers they'd once hoped for, and some encounter a spectacular fall from grace.

Here are the teen football prodigy whose lives went off the rails to varying degrees after being tipped for big things, and how it impacted their career.

Jamie Cassidy, 46, was once a hugely popular youth player who starred in Liverpool's star-studded youth side in his heyday, alongside the likes of Jamie Carragher and Michael Owen.

During his teenage years he became one of the top goal scorers in youth football country, and he  won the FA Youth Cup in 1996.

However, sadly it all went downhill after his career was hampered by injury, and without his football career, Cassidy spiralled into a life of crime.

Last month he was jailed for 13 years for his role in a huge drug conspiracy alongside his brother, which involved using encrypted phones to import cocaine into the UK from South America.

Cassidy pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and conspiracy to conceal, disguise, convert or transfer criminal property.

Former Celtic and Rangers starlet Ciaran Dickson, 22, was once tipped for first team football and scored two goals in his first two appearances for Celtic's B team.

However, Dickson consistently flouted the law over the years and this ultimately led to tragedy as he went on to kill a