2015-16 Academy Season Preview: Part 2

Club England

Although the England U16s triumphed at the Montaigu Tournament, 2014-15 was a largely disappointing season for the England development squads. Aside from the U21s’ well-documented tournament struggles, an excellent U19 side failed to qualify for their Euros, while the U17s had an up-and-down finals where they were knocked out at the quarter-final stage yet qualified for the upcoming U17 2015 World Cup via a play-off.

The most notable changes from last season are on the managerial side of things with both the U17 and U19 managers taking well-publicised supporting roles in the Championship and Premier League. It means that since Dan Ashworth took over as FA director of elite development in late 2012, there has been a complete renewal of the development squads’ staff as he seeks to assimilate the progress of the domestic youth system into that of the international one. His appointments so far have ranged from technically-excellent coaches proven in the senior game, such as Sean O’Driscoll, to those long held in high regard in youth circles, like Neil Dewsnip, across to the young innovators of the modern scene such as Dan Micciche. Most fans will be hoping the U17 and U19 appointments have more inspiring resumes than Aidy Boothroyd, however.

One of the quieter stories of 2014-15 was the implementation of a games programme for the U15s, who had previously only met for training camps. There are already several players with growing reputations moving up from that side into the U16s and it is perhaps at the lower end of the age spectrum, with the U15 to U17 squads, where the greatest concentration of talent is to be found.

The silver lining from last season is that the two most successful squads, the U16s and U18s, move up from non-competitive years, to the higher profile U17 and U19 year groups, where their new managers will be pleased to find a surplus of talent. For practically the first time ever, both the U17s and U19s are legitimate contenders for their respective Euros, a feat that, if accomplished, would surely send Greg Dyke into a fit of blustering self-congratulation.

It may take another season before the U21 side fully reflects the changes evident beneath it and Gareth Southgate is likely to start off with a fairly experienced team, with new additions from last season’s U19 side tasked with proving themselves in the senior game before earning an U21s call-up. The prospect of an England U21 midfield selection soon consisting of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Dele Alli, Lewis’s Cook and Baker, Charlie Colkett and Josh Onomah is not that far off though and there are a number of other names who could be in around it come the 2017 finals.

The Year Groups

U-16’s

Since the 1940s, the Victory Shield has been the centrepiece of the U16 games programme. England’s withdrawal this year is a sign both of Sky’s reluctance to sponsor and screen the Victory Shield and the reforms taking place at the FA. Since Ashworth took over, a concerted effort has been made to extract greater benefit from the younger age groups which were traditionally left to drift with little importance placed upon them.

How the leadership develop the game programmes will be one of the main themes this year as they seek to expose the players to a wide variety of quality opponents and, if possible, a televised stage.

From a personnel standpoint, coach Steve Cooper will once more rely on the three main powers at youth level for the bulk of his squad, with Chelsea, Man City and Tottenham all providing large contingents.

As always the creators are the headline names and this year group possesses an excess of technically-talented individuals. Midfielder Phil Foden (born in 2001) and winger Jadon Sancho have already traded Player of the Tournament awards in prestigious international victories for Manchester City. Neighbours Manchester United are just as excited about Angel Gomes, and Tottenham have high expectations for Nya Kirby and Tashan Oakley-Boothe. The hope is the team gels relatively quickly as they have the ability to play some very fine football.

U17s

John Peacock’s 13-year reign, which included two Euro U17 titles and over 100 UEFA games, has come to an end, leaving his replacement with the task of following England’s most successful youth coach of recent decades.

The role is complicated this season as there are initially two U17 squads in operation, with the U17 World Cup being competed in by last season’s U17s. Before that, however, the incoming U17s have the first round of qualification for their Euros in September so it’s not impossible duties could be shared between a new U17 coach and Neil Dewsnip taking what is now an U18 squad to the U17 World Cup.

Having come together as a team during the Victory Shield and developed into the side which won the Montaigu Tournament, last year’s U16s have a reputation which is heightened by a number of them having excelled in the 2014-15 U18 Premier League. It says something that one of the form strikers at the end of last season’s campaign, Niall Ennis, is not assured of a starting place in this team. The squad is saturated in talent starting with the left-back spot, where Vashon Neufville’s year of U18 experience puts him ahead of Jaden Brown, right through to the forward positions where a very talented player (it was Newcastle’s Mackenzie Heaney at the Montaigu Tournament) is going to have to be left out of the final squad.

As with last year’s team, a number of the star performers will once more be schoolboys at the time of the Championships, although Chelsea’s Dujon Sterling and Martell Taylor-Crossdale, Arsenal’s Reiss Nelson, and Man City’s Diego Lattie, Ed Francis and Tom Dele-Bashiru, should all have extensive U18 domestic experience by then. Sterling, in particular, has the potential to be one of the U18 league’s stars and an U21 appearance is not impossible this season.

Several first-year scholars have the ability to make an impact at U21 level and Southampton’s Callum Slattery and West Brom’s Jonathan Leko will both hope to end the season as U21 regulars, while a similar feat is not impossible for Ipswich’s Andre Dozzell and West Ham’s Neufville.

Throughout the year group, there is a uniform level of quality from goalkeeper to striker and this is a squad which bears comparison to the victorious ’97 generation at the same point in their development. Triumph in 2016’s U17 European Championships in Azerbaijan is a realistic target.

U-18s

As previously stated, the normally-uncompetitive U18 year group is spiced up by the carry-over of this group into the U17 World Cup.

A different head coach combined with injuries and form mean the squad that competes at the the World Cup could appear quite different from that which attended the Euros. Kaylen Hinds, if fit, will be an important boost to a strike force which failed to score at the Euros and the likes of Kaziah Sterling and Jahmal-Hector Ingram will be looking for good starts to their scholarships to put them in the selector’s sights.

In midfield, Adam Phillips missed the Euros with injury, while the likes of Charlie Wakefield, Jacob Maddox, Yan Dhanda, Callum Gribbin and Will Patching could all sneak in depending upon personal preference. In defence, Cameron Humphreys had a strong claim for inclusion in the Euros squad, while both Josh Grant and RoShaun Williams will hope to earn international involvement at some stage this season, if not in the World Cup squad.

As will be apparent to watchers of this age group, there was probably as much talent not included in the Euros squad for various reasons as there was selected. It’s quite feasible, if the more technical players are encouraged, that this year group, comprised of its key players such as Jay Dasilva, Chris Willock, Marcus Edwards and Reece Oxford, complemented by those players left out of the Euros squad, could become a strong unit by their U19 year.

U19s

No age group head coach will have a harder task than deciding who to cut from his squad this season, nor will any have a more enjoyable one. The core of the victorious 2014 U17 squad is still intact and they’ll form the foundation of England’s attempt to end their hoodoo at U19 level. Five of that group played in last season’s U19 campaign; without them, the U18s continued serenely and the squad options the coach will have to choose from would have been star names in previous England age group sides.

Tammy Abraham, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Kyle Walker-Peters and Tosin Adarabioyo are likely to supplement the already well-reputed Patrick Roberts, Joe Gomez, Taylor Moore, Lewis Cook, Dominic Solanke, Izzy Brown, Adam Armstrong, Freddie Woodman, Josh Onomah, Jonjoe Kenny and Ryan Ledson.

The strength in depth, and the relative weakness of the U18s, means that the five underage players of last season won’t be replicated, although Jay Dasilva and Chris Willock have chances of being called in to strengthen the left flank. Dan Crowley’s international future remains a much remarked-upon issue but there are no signs he’ll declare for either the Republic of Ireland or England at this stage and it’s quite possible he won’t play international football again until senior level.

As with the U17s, this is a squad which deserves to be appreciated by fans who have long wished for players of this quality. Presuming they avoid the English issues surrounding the Euros U19 qualifying (hindered by back luck and injuries the past two seasons), the squad will be looking to see how they have progressed against Portugal and the Netherlands, the two other outstanding countries in the 2014 U17 Euros.

U20s

Since the full implementation of the U20 team, its squads have consisted of those who’ve made their way through the system but are not yet ready, or good enough, for the U21s, diluted by those making their breakthroughs in the Football League. As a result of what is really an extended audition where squad members are in truth competitors for U21 places rather than team-mates aiming for collective success, the quality of football has seldom excelled (some might see other factors at play).

With the physically-developed members of last years U19 side in Loftus-Cheek and Alli likely to progress into the U21s this season, it should provide a good test of Boothroyd’s capabilities in setting up constructive sides as this group possesses fine technicians in the likes of Charlie Colkett, Harry Winks and Teddy Bishop.

U21s

Reviewing past U21s campaigns, the inevitable conclusion is that the best performances came in the 2013-14 season (particularly the start of it) when the steady promotion through the youth teams saw the likes of Raheem Sterling, Ross Barkley, Luke Shaw, Saido Berahino and John Stones in the team. Unfortunately, 10 years of logical progression disappears as soon as talented players appear for their club’s first teams and are reborn as senior players who are treated as if they never had a youth career. Apart from Sterling, no other player from that group should have been called up to the senior squad as Roy Hodgson tried to compensate for the deadwood of yesteryear which largely makes up his team.

Consequently, the development of all the U21s group was harmed, and it’s to be hoped Ashworth and Southgate place greater insistence on a consistent progression through the youth teams up to the seniors, rather than valuable stages being skipped. It’s a policy they have instituted at the younger age groups but they must fight the dogma at the higher end that the senior team’s present predicament must always be placed above its long-term benefit. To be of true service to the seniors, sometimes they have to say no to Hodgson. Presently they are being far too compliant and neither the seniors, the U21s, or the majority of the players prematurely promoted, have benefited. If they want both the fabled ‘Club England’ mentality for the U21s and a squad which will progress into senior football, the enrichment of U21 tournament football is the only way it can be accomplished. (The other thing, of course, is it renders the whole “which squad should we take” debate redundant.)

Aside from that, as mentioned earlier, this is an exciting two-year campaign and Southgate’s first squads will likely reveal a blend of the experienced ’94 generation such as Eric Dier and John Stones alongside the more talented members of the ’95 and ’96 generations. Of particular interest could be a Baker, Loftus-Cheek, Alli midfield trio (though they may have to wait behind Ward-Prowse and Chalobah), while a complete new set of striking options is required as last season’s five strikers are all ineligible. The ’94 generation is notably weak in this area (as it is in quite a number of areas) so Chuba Akpom and James Wilson could be the immediate beneficiaries, with Tyler Walker coming into the picture should he begin to score with Nottingham Forest. It’s not impossible that members of the U19s strike force will get a promotion, particularly if Izzy Brown is a success on loan at Vitesse.

With thanks to our regular contributor Samuel King for this exhaustive look at the England development sides ahead of the 2015-16 season. You can follow Samuel on Twitter @KingSRV and keep up with all the goings-on at Under-21, Under-19 and Under-18 levels this coming season by following us on Twitter @youthhawk and keeping tabs on our Wiki.

If you missed it, check out Samuel’s epic preview of the 2015-16 club campaign.

2015-16 Academy Season Preview: Part 1

You’ll be a man, my son…
With the England U21s viewed as the standard bearers of English youth development, the public consensus is once more united in its biennial chastisement of the English system following another poor tournament showing. While the finals highlighted many of the system’s unresolved issues, there were other signs of the shoots of sustainable growth around the country in the 2014-15 season – though they were treated as isolated occurrences rather than the produce of a single ecosystem.

MK Dons fans believe they’ve seen the future of English football in Tottenham-bound Dele Alli while they liberally praise Chelsea loanee Lewis Baker; Leeds fans say they possess the future in Lewis Cook; those of an Ipswich Town persuasion laud Teddy Bishop; Charlton supporters were eager for Joe Gomez to stay another year before heading to the Premier League; while both Chelsea and Man City fans claim their academies represent the future of the national team.

Some may question that final statement as there is a fundamental dissonance between those last two cases and the preceding ones: the lack of first team opportunities available to exceptional talent. In 2014-15 Football League players of Premier League potential were given their first chance in the senior game; the greatest problem now facing English football is that players of the same, perhaps greater, ability in the Premier League are not afforded anywhere near the same opportunities and are being surpassed by those who were.

Had Tim Sherwood not taken over at Aston Villa, it is very likely that nobody would have heard of Jack Grealish’s intoxicating exploits at the end of last season. It’s a shame the other player internationally divided between England and Ireland, Daniel Crowley, is no longer around at Villa to benefit from Sherwood’s patronage. As much as Sherwood may want you to know it, the progress of Kane and Grealish under his management is no coincidence.

Another undoubted positive of Sherwood’s knowledge of developments over the last 10 years is he may be the only Premier League manager prepared to loan and play the unproven youngsters of other clubs. Villa have already been linked to his former Tottenham charges Josh Onomah and Milos Veljkovic and, if such an arrangement should happen and be successful, it would be another advance in the case for trusting the talent the system is producing.

The Premier League now has five clubs managed by those who are prepared to at least consider the notion of playing youngsters of sufficient talent. For too long Southampton were a lone bright spot but they are now joined by Liverpool, Villa, Tottenham, and Everton, while there are encouraging signs at West Brom of Tony Pulis proactively engaging with his club’s excellent academy and Steve McClaren will be pleased with the talent at Newcastle. While the situation is far from ideal, things are crawling in the right direction, even if for commercial reasons the Premier League’s promotion of a healthy youth policy is never likely to equal that of the Bundesliga.

After 2014-15’s steady progress, 2015-16 should be an interesting season on a youth front as the second wave of the modern system’s produce (those born in or after September 1995) begin to make their mark in senior football. The England U21s were largely built around the 92-94 generation of players who were the first exposed to the newly-inculcated coaching methods between the ages of 10-13 and were largely scouted when 6-9. To put this into context, much of their early, crucial development took place between 1999-2005 when English football was not noted for its excellent practice in talent ID or coaching.

The generation who are on the verge of surfacing are far more representative of the modern school of development. It’s going to take a while to get used to for some, but when Jimmy Bullard talks about Dele Alli being a continental style of player, what he actually means is that he is one of the new breed of English academy produce.

Items of interest in 2015-16 – The Players:
One of the apparent success stories for the England Under-21s at this summer’s European Championship finals was Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who was heralded for displaying a modicum of talent in his brief appearances and is once more firmly established in the public’s mind as the player Jose Mourinho loved rather than lambasted. It is devoutly to be wished that he and Alli – his midfield partner in the England U19s’ 2014-15 campaign – make an impact on the Premier League in 2015-16 and hold down spots in the England U21s squad rather than being fast-tracked up to the seniors. At the other end of the scale, it’s feasible both could end the season on loan and they’ll be determined to speedily impress their manager this coming pre-season. Their fortunes at clubs which have recently shown very different attitudes to promotion of youth players will be a major theme.

Tottenham are increasingly the club to keep an eye on as the only Premier League team who combine a world-class academy set-up with the desire to offer opportunities to their top-rate produce. Joshua Onomah has aspirations of breaking into the first team this season and at the very least he should see cup football alongside midfielder Harry Winks and defenders Milos Veljkovic and Cameron Carter-Vickers, with the talented, but physically under-developed Kyle Walker-Peters an outside tip for inclusion.

Southampton remain the greatest promoters of young talent, if no longer the greatest developers, and their biggest hope this year for a breakout star is in the gentle touch and subtle skill of Jake Hesketh. Were it not for injury, he would have made a bigger impact last year and his skill-set is perfectly tailored for the careful tutelage of the Dutch school.

Arsenal’s once-dominant academy can be a source of frustration for their fans but, for all that, it does contain a surprising amount of talent. Gedion Zelalem may be the most vaunted for his joint attribute of not being English or homegrown (and therefore innately handicapped when it comes to kicking a football) but the real gems on the edge of the first team are the aforementioned Crowley and Ainsley Maitland-Niles. The former’s debut seems to have been delayed to protect him from the hype he will undoubtedly generate (caused by the British media’s bewilderment at discovering a homegrown player who isn’t handicapped). Having worked on his physical conditioning over the last few years, the highly technical Crowley cannot be far from breaking into the first team for good and it’s hard to see how continued Under-21 football will aid his development. Maitland-Niles may take longer to gain a consistent place but Wenger has already shown great faith in the youngster and clearly believes in him as a technically proficient, powerful box-to-box midfielder.

James Wilson begins his second breakout season after failing to make the impact expected of him in his first. Clearly talented with the ball at his feet, his first exposure to senior football saw glimpses of that but he was too often let down by poor movement. He also appeared timid amongst superstar team-mates far likelier to respect him were he appreciably more demonstrative. At Wilson’s age, prospective United transfer target Bastian Schweinsteiger was already instructing and haranguing his senior colleagues.

Charly Musonda has a strong claim to being the Premier League’s most talented foreign youth import since Cesc Fabregas and his promise has not gone unnoticed across the continent, with Monaco trying to line him up alongside Bernado Silva and Ferreira-Carrasco in their attacking midfield options.

It’s now an annual occurrence at City and Chelsea that players who are ready for mid-table Premier League football reach a juncture in their careers around the age of 19 where openings with their home club are denied them and they have to make do with loan football at a level where the style often hinders as much as helps. While Musonda and Andreas Christensen may provide a pleasant change from that this year, there is also good news in Lewis Baker’s widely-lamented loan to Vitesse.

At the same time as Tom Carroll’s decision to reject a loan at Ajax two years ago in favour of a stint at QPR in the Championship was being cited as a sign of why England failed at the U21 Euros, Baker’s decision to forego Championship football for the Eredivisie was received as a signal of his premature obsolescence.

Only the second genuine Chelsea youth product (i.e. English and schooled at Chelsea from a young age) to go to Vitesse with the intention of playing, Baker now has the perfect platform to develop as the returning Bertrand Traore has done. For all his two-footed ability, Baker’s most important assets are his work-rate and an aptitude for harvesting the maximum possible gain from experience, which bodes well for his Dutch sojourn.

At City, the nearest in the pecking order to the first team are the returning loanees Jason Denayer, Marcos Lopes and Seko Fofana alongside homebirds Jose Pozo, Brandon Barker, and Kelechi Iheanacho. All possess outstanding characteristics counter-balanced by areas of weakness and, with the exception of Denayer, are unlikely to see much meaningful action in a revamped City side. Iheanacho’s natural talent may push him up the pecking order and it will be interesting to see what stance Manuel Pellegrini takes with his young charges in a season where he needs grand results, if only to raise his stock with potential suitors.

Following Sylvain Distin’s Everton departure, Brendan Galloway will be hoping for a pre-season much like the one John Stones enjoyed two years ago. As with Stones it’s likely he’ll be introduced gradually over the season and opportunities will largely be dependent upon injuries and cup games. Although he needs to improve his consistency, he possesses enough ability to lead Everton fans to think he and Stones will be Everton’s long-term centre-back partnership.

At Liverpool, Joe Gomez is likely to follow Jordan Ibe’s route to Premier League football over the next two years and it will be informative to see who Rodgers favours of his coterie of talented, but somewhat lightweight, youth team players.

Following their differing tastes of senior football late last season this is an important one for Jerome Sinclair and Sheyi Ojo. Both have hopes of following in Ibe’s steps which will probably include several loan stints, though some optimistic Liverpudlians have tipped Ojo for first team football this season (as they did last). Jordan Rossiter’s early entry into Under-18 and then Under-21 football and his boyish physique have left him a Peter Pan figure in many minds, consigned to be forever 17. Despite that he will be 19 at the end of the season and he needs to prove he isn’t another in the line of false pretenders to Gerrard’s crown (a very unfortunate comparison he’s been laboured with as he’s nearer in style to Lucas Leiva).

Adam Armstrong is one player who can’t complain of a lack of opportunities even if they haven’t come in the most favourable conditions and dried up once John Carver took over from Alan Pardew. A good performance at Crystal Palace in the League Cup aside, Armstrong rarely thrived as he has in the junior game and he’s set for a loan to the Football league this season – although much will depend on McClaren’s pre-season assessment. Last season was simultaneously one for Rolando Aarons to remember and forget; a promising start was cut short by injury and he begins this season still a novice, but with the blessing of a manager who should be supportive.

Although it may be a while before the Championship has an apprentice of the year shortlist that includes players of Gomez and Cook’s calibre, it will once again present a lower barrier of entry for talented teens to get accustomed to senior football.

Between Bradley Fewster, Bryn Morris, Callum Cooke, Dael Fry, and Harry Chapman, Middlesbrough should be assured of a minimum of three first team regulars, if not more, over the coming years. Just who is going to break through first, and when, may turn on injuries in their senior squad, although Bryn Morris can’t be far from having a crack at the Championship even if it’s not in his contracted club’s colours.

At Reading, this could be the season when the talented trio of Tariqe Fosu and Aarons Tshibola and Kuhl make an impact on the first team. Despite a lack of experience, all three would offer a significant technical upgrade on Steve Clarke’s senior options and few sides have such a gifted collection of midfielders waiting to break through.

Two of the more prominent names on the verge of appearing in the Championship are Forest striker Tyler Walker and Wolves’s Connor Hunte. Both technically-skilled attackers (Walker a striker, Hunte a winger or No.10), they have the ability to make major names for themselves in the coming seasons. Walker is the more rounded of the two and nearer senior football, with Hunte the more talented, but while he may have changed his ways which saw Chelsea release one of their most highly-rated youngsters, there are still doubts about his application and defensive work, whereas Walker is noted for his dedication. Time will tell who is the more successful.

Patrick Roberts’ widely suggested move to Man City may seem one of career-ending doom, but at times last season it looked like that was what being contracted to Fulham meant for him. A player who is wholly unsuited to the Championship and Fulham’s current style of football, few sights were more depressing than watching England’s finest creative talent since Ravel Morrison visibly losing confidence, to the point it was a relief when he was on the bench rather than playing.

The ability is still there, even if the confidence isn’t, and he visibly perked up when playing the technical football that suits him in England’s development squads. A loan to a country and club that fits his playing style is just about the best thing that can be hoped for the development of a talent so special it demands to be given the optimum conditions in which to flourish. After that it’s up to him, but quite frankly if City do sign him and can’t eventually get him into the first team they may as well close down their youth programmes.

Items of interest in 2015-16 – The Coaches:
Beyond the young playing staff, some of the most significant youth football stories this season will be the fortunes of coaches who’ve been rewarded for their work in the junior game with important roles in the senior one. While some are presenting the departures of John Peacock and Sean O’Driscoll from the FA as weakening the cause of youth development, it can hardly be a bad thing for two figures so closely associated with the youth system to be in a position where they can advocate chances for those they believe in.

Rodgers’s positive influence itself comes from his career in youth development where Derby’s Paul Clement was a fellow colleague for many years. Their progression up the senior game is perhaps the most important development of the past few years and there are others such as Kieran McKenna, Michael Beale, and Joe Edwards who are making their own paths to the top. In many ways this is the biggest sign of a healthy system as it is the coaches entrusted with the player’s care who are the most vital factors in their success, and the most undervalued (many clubs happily splurge on facilities, but are reluctantly forced by EPPP to spend pittances on the coaches who determine whether the facilities have any effect.)

In conclusion…
To sum all this up in a tone that may appear rather more downbeat than the rest of the article, it’s likely that not even 20% of the players I’ve listed will enjoy the season they’re hoping for, whether that be due to injuries, stunted opportunities, poor individual or club form, managerial sackings, or personal issues. It’s equally possible Paul Clement, John Peacock and Brendan Rodgers will be out of jobs within six months.

For the players, the odds are stacked against them in a risk-averse culture which favours the comfort of small margins of success or failure against those which can swing from the extreme of a Harry Kane scenario to that of a Southampton side which was relegated from the Championship with the likes of Adam Lallana in it.

It’s a harsh environment, but one with a lot of talent in it. One thing I did wish to make clear is that there is a substantial amount of well-coached, tactically-versed talent out there which is great fun to watch at any level. Of the 38 players mentioned, all were born in the 3-year range of 1995-1997 and my subjective opinion is that roughly half possess the potential to play senior international football (two already have).

Naturally this list isn’t exhaustive and, as few predicted Teddy Edwards’s easy assimilation to the Championship last season, there will be players who will probably do far better than many touched upon here, but it is as good a place to start a watching brief from as any.

With thanks to our regular contributor Samuel King for this epic preview of the new youth season. You can follow Samuel on Twitter @KingSRV and keep up with all the goings-on at Under-21, Under-19 and Under-18 levels this coming season by following us on Twitter @youthhawk and keeping tabs on our Wiki. Part two of Samuel’s 2015-16 season preview will look at England’s developments squads.