The 2016-17 youth football season in England gets underway this coming weekend and, as always, the next ten months promise to be a joyride of drama, exhilaration, despair, disappointment and, above all else, upwardly-mobile progress and development of the next generation of footballers in this country.
Amongst this summer’s changes have been the introduction of the ‘Premier League 2’, a new competition for Under-23s (rather than Under-21s) attempting once again to right the wrongs of its predecessor and provide a challenging and fertile environment for young professionals to refine their games before taking the leap into the adult game. Additionally, sixteen Category One clubs will take part in the Checkatrade Trophy – formerly the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy – as development squads take part alongside first-team squads for the first time.
There’ll be plenty more on that as well as the Under-21 and International Cups as the season develops but, ahead of the big kick-off, here are three things to look out for from the bread-and-butter league campaigns for Category One and Two academies:
Premier League 2
- With the abolition of the Football League’s emergency loan transfer window, we should see increasingly settled Under-23 squads with greater stability, consistency and time to work for the coaching staff. Instead of players departing throughout the autumn and winter for brief forays into the league ladder, business must be done by the end of August or not again until January. Combine that with the increase in age limits and the continuing allowance of over-age players and it should result in a more predictable and familiar feel to teams rather than the chopping and changing that saw several clubs utilise more than 40 outfield players in 22 matches last season.
- The change in age bracketing has been received by some as a return to the old reserve league structure, which had flaws and merits in equal measure. Being positive, the influence of those who have been there and done it when they do drop back down for a game or two will still prove beneficial in their roles as both team-mates and opponents. Manchester United have claimed the last two titles at this level with a healthy dose of senior influence and many more will duly follow suit.
- The Premier League are determined to ensure that all matches are played between the Friday-Monday long weekend periods rather than allow them to be scattered throughout the week. How easy that is to achieve in the long winter when suitable venues are at a premium remains to be seen but, if they pull it off, it should result in a healthy spike in attendances. Several clubs showed last season that well-marketed developmental football with favourable (and often free) ticket prices boosts attendances – Norwich exceeded 8,000 at Carrow Road more than once – and with games set to take place without affecting school and work commitments, crowds will hopefully flock to see the stars of tomorrow.
Under-18 Premier League
- They enter the season as defending Under-18 league champions and, after a summer of impressive recruitment to add to a crop of youngsters already being talked about as the club’s ‘golden generation’, the big question is whether anyone will be able to stop Manchester City? They suffered just two defeats in 29 outings in 2015-16 and now have a frightening array of attacking talent that threatens to blow away the rest of the competition. Their pre-season glut of goalscoring is ominous and the arrival of Lorenzo Gonzalez alongside the anticipated arrivals of Ian Carlo Poveda and Benjamin Garré to add to a squad that scored 74 times a year ago sets them out as the team to beat.
- Expect the league to get even younger once again. More than 200 schoolboys made the early step up to Under-18 football in each of the last two campaigns, leading to proposals from some clubs to consider restructuring things to introduce Under-17 and Under-19 leagues instead. That particular idea was a non-starter but several teams will be more than happy to challenge their best and brightest by moving them up the age groups to provide suitable challenges. Chelsea won the UEFA Youth League with schoolboy Dujon Sterling playing a key role against players three or four years his senior and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
- All twenty-four Category One outfits retained their elite status this summer after the latest round of EPPP academy audits and have been granted a licence for three more years but plenty have work to do and much to prove. Under pressure from some impressive Category Two clubs clamouring for a promotion, question marks hang over the heads of half a dozen or so sides who are getting by on the bare minimum. The standard cannot be allowed to be watered down in an effort to retain a certain number or to placate individuals; if an academy doesn’t pull its weight, it must be treated accordingly.
Under-21 League 2
- One of the broader intentions of the EPPP upon its inception was to encourage the best players to train at the best academies on the understanding that there would be a naturally resulting trickle-down effect to Category Two, Three and Four clubs. As we approach year five of the plan it’s something that’s beginning to become more prevalent with a host of Category Two clubs this summer picking up free agents released by the so-called bigger sides. That in itself should result in a stronger, more competitive Under-21 League 2 with the calibre and pedigree of arrivals steadily increasing, and on top of that…
- …the pathways that exist at this level are often greater than they are further up the pyramid. We watched as Ademola Lookman, Kaiyne Woolery, Jorge Grant, Kalvin Phillips and many more graduated from Under-21 football and took on the big boys in the adult world, and there is a lengthy queue forming behind them ready and willing to pick up where they left off. Without an emergency loan window to turn to in times of hardship, managers will instead be forced to look within, and that’s always a good thing.
- Another increasing trend at Category Two academies is the willingness to take a look at players catching the eye at lower or non-league level in a bid to steal an edge on the competition and perhaps find the next Jamie Vardy. Femi Akinwande, Ashley Nadesan, Keshi Anderson, Daniel Udoh and Sean Clare are a small representation of youngsters who parlayed a trial opportunity into a full-time gig at a Football League club in recent times and, in the light of Vardy’s exploits, club scouts are working harder than ever before to unearth the next unpolished gem hiding in the rough.
Under-18 League 2
- Were it not for the standard of facilities or the financial requirements, several Category Two clubs would be well at home amongst their Category One rivals. Certainly on the pitch they’ve proven themselves more than capable, particularly in the FA Youth Cup, where Nottingham Forest, Crewe Alexandra, Birmingham City, Huddersfield Town and Category Three side Luton Town have all reached the last eight in the last three years.
- On top of that, England representation is at an all-time high amongst Category Two teams. Thirteen of them (plus more from even lower down the ranks) had academy products represent the Three Lions at U16-U21 age groups in 2015-16 with Leeds’s four (Lewis Cook, Will Huffer, Harrison Male and Theo Hudson) topping the class. It’s another indication of the depth and breadth of young talent in England and it’s good news that Dan Ashworth and his team are looking far and wide when going about their business.
- Goals! At more than 3.5 goals per game last season, the Under-18 League 2 was the place to be for goal action. Standout humdingers included Crewe 5-3 Barnsley, Coventry 5-4 Brentford, Hull City 4-5 Birmingham City and Queens Park Rangers 6-4 Barnsley, whilst amongst the more one-sided results there were two instances of a team scoring nine in a match and one scoring eight; all rather unfortunately coming against QPR.
YouthHawk is your one-stop shop for absolutely everything you could possibly need to keep fully informed of the 2016-17 academy season. With an individual match page for every single fixture as well as regularly-updated league tables, player statistics and goalscorers for every team and the most comprehensive statistical records of each and every competition featuring Category One and Two teams, why look anywhere else?
The YouthHawk Blog 