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2023–24 Professional U18 Development League

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U18 Premier League
Season2023–24
ChampionsManchester United U18s (1st title)
Matches played313
Goals scored1,371 (4.38 per match)
Top goalscorerChido Obi-Martin (32 goals)
Biggest home winChelsea U18s 9–1 West Bromwich Albion U18s (27 December 2023)
Everton U18s 8–0 Newcastle United U18s (18 May 2024)
Biggest away winReading U18s 0–9 Southampton U18s (20 April 2024)
Norwich City U18s 0–9 Arsenal U18s (27 April 2024)
Highest scoringArsenal U18s 8–3 Crystal Palace U18s (16 March 2024)
Longest winning runManchester United U18s (14 games) (12 August 2023 – 30 January 2024)
Longest unbeaten runManchester United U18s (17 games) (12 August 2023 – 24 February 2024)

The 2023–24 Professional U18 Development League was the 12th season of the Professional Development League system. There were 26 teams competing, divided into North and South divisions according to their region.

Reading U18s regained Category One status in the summer.[1]

North

[edit]
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Manchester United U18s (C, Q) 24 20 2 2 78 28 +50 62 Qualification for the National Final
2 Manchester City U18s 24 18 2 4 71 27 +44 56
3 Wolverhampton Wanderers U18s 24 12 5 7 43 34 +9 41
4 Derby County U18s 24 11 4 9 55 51 +4 37
5 Leeds United U18s 24 10 3 11 54 51 +3 33
6 Liverpool U18s 24 10 2 12 56 62 −6 32
7 Nottingham Forest U18s 24 8 8 8 37 47 −10 32
8 Newcastle United U18s 24 10 2 12 49 61 −12 32
9 Middlesbrough U18s 24 7 6 11 33 47 −14 27
10 Blackburn Rovers U18s 24 8 3 13 39 60 −21 27
11 Everton U18s 24 7 4 13 39 39 0 25
12 Stoke City U18s 24 7 2 15 43 61 −18 23
13 Sunderland U18s 24 5 3 16 32 61 −29 18
Source: [2]
(C) Champions; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

Results

[edit]
Home \ Away BLB DER EVE LEE LIV MNC MNU MID NEW NFO STK SUN WOL
Blackburn Rovers U18s — 4–1 0–2 2–4 2–4 2–3 0–3 1–1 2–1 0–2 2–1 3–0 1–1
Derby County U18s 5–2 — 2–0 1–6 5–1 0–3 2–2 4–1 5–3 1–1 3–1 5–1 2–3
Everton U18s 1–3 1–3 — 0–3 2–2 0–0 0–2 0–1 8–0 1–0 1–2 3–0 2–3
Leeds United U18s 4–1 5–0 1–4 — 4–1 1–4 0–6 2–4 1–1 1–2 1–0 1–0 1–2
Liverpool U18s 5–1 2–0 2–1 1–3 — 1–2 1–9 3–1 1–2 4–2 3–1 7–1 2–4
Manchester City U18s 6–0 5–1 1–1 5–2 3–0 — 4–1 2–1 4–2 3–4 3–1 1–3 3–0
Manchester United U18s 5–2 3–1 3–1 4–0 4–3 1–0 — 3–0 5–1 2–1 4–2 1–3 2–0
Middlesbrough U18s 1–2 2–2 2–0 1–1 2–2 0–6 0–4 — 3–4 1–1 0–2 0–2 2–0
Newcastle United U18s 3–0 1–2 4–2 2–1 4–3 1–2 1–3 1–3 — 3–2 2–4 3–0 3–2
Nottingham Forest U18s 2–1 0–6 3–2 2–2 2–1 1–4 2–2 1–0 1–4 — 1–1 0–0 1–1
Stoke City U18s 3–5 0–1 1–4 1–6 2–4 1–3 1–4 1–1 4–1 5–3 — 4–2 1–2
Sunderland U18s 1–2 1–1 0–2 4–3 1–2 1–3 2–3 2–4 2–2 1–2 1–2 — 3–1
Wolverhampton Wanderers U18s 1–1 3–1 1–1 3–1 4–1 2–1 1–2 1–2 1–0 1–1 3–0 3–0 —
Source: [1]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

South

[edit]
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Chelsea U18s (C, Q) 24 17 3 4 72 41 +31 54 Qualification for the National Final
2 West Ham United U18s 24 16 1 7 72 48 +24 49
3 Arsenal U18s 24 14 5 5 83 43 +40 47
4 Tottenham Hotspur U18s 24 14 3 7 73 57 +16 45
5 Fulham U18s 24 14 2 8 66 49 +17 44
6 Crystal Palace U18s 24 12 5 7 60 48 +12 41
7 Brighton & Hove Albion U18s 24 11 4 9 60 55 +5 37
8 Leicester City U18s 24 7 7 10 44 55 −11 28
9 West Bromwich Albion U18s 24 7 4 13 43 65 −22 25
10 Southampton U18s 24 6 5 13 47 56 −9 23
11 Norwich City U18s 24 6 1 17 41 81 −40 19
12 Aston Villa U18s 24 5 2 17 50 70 −20 17
13 Reading U18s 24 5 2 17 28 71 −43 17
Source: [2]
(C) Champions; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

Results

[edit]
Home \ Away ARS AVL BHA CHE CRY FUL LEI NOR REA SOU TOT WBA WHU
Arsenal U18s — 4–2 1–3 5–2 8–3 5–2 2–1 4–3 3–0 4–0 2–2 2–2 2–0
Aston Villa U18s 2–3 — 0–6 5–0 0–1 0–2 2–4 1–4 3–1 0–4 4–0 7–1 2–4
Brighton & Hove Albion U18s 3–5 3–2 — 0–2 4–2 4–2 1–0 1–6 5–2 2–2 2–2 4–3 1–3
Chelsea U18s 3–2 2–0 3–0 — 2–1 1–3 3–2 1–2 2–0 3–2 3–4 9–1 4–3
Crystal Palace U18s 3–3 3–2 3–3 1–2 — 4–2 1–1 3–1 2–1 5–0 1–1 2–1 1–4
Fulham U18s 1–0 7–2 3–2 3–3 4–3 — 4–3 5–0 2–0 3–2 1–3 2–3 3–4
Leicester City U18s 0–4 3–3 2–2 2–2 1–1 1–5 — 1–2 2–1 2–1 1–4 4–0 0–3
Norwich City U18s 0–9 0–7 2–6 3–6 1–4 0–0 1–2 — 2–4 2–3 2–0 1–4 1–5
Reading U18s 2–2 3–2 3–2 1–4 0–3 0–3 2–2 2–1 — 0–9 1–6 0–1 1–5
Southampton U18s 2–2 0–2 0–2 1–2 0–3 1–4 1–1 4–2 2–1 — 3–6 3–1 2–2
Tottenham Hotspur U18s 3–2 3–2 4–2 1–4 2–5 3–4 3–4 7–2 3–0 2–2 — 5–3 2–4
West Bromwich Albion U18s 1–1 2–2 0–1 2–2 1–2 2–1 2–5 0–3 2–3 3–2 1–2 — 2–0
West Ham United U18s 1–8 5–2 3–1 2–3 5–4 3–0 5–0 2–0 3–0 2–1 2–3 2–5 —
Source: [2]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

National Final

[edit]
Chelsea U18s1–2Manchester United U18s
 Report
Referee: Luke Scott

Season statistics

[edit]
As of 2 September 2023

Top goalscorers

[edit]
Rank Player Club Goals[3]
1 Tom Olyott Fulham 5
Sean Neave Newcastle United
Rory Wilson Aston Villa
4 Jesse Derry Crystal Palace 4
Jayden Danns Liverpool
Lleyton Brown Leeds United

Hat-tricks

[edit]
Player For Against Result Date Ref.
Lleyton Brown Leeds United Stoke City 6–1 (A) 12 August 2023 [4]
Zach Marsh Crystal Palace Southampton 5–0 (H) 12 August 2023 [5]
Rory Wilson Aston Villa Tottenham Hotspur 4–0 (H) 12 August 2023 [6]
Tom Olyott Fulham Leicester City 4–3 (H) 26 August 2023 [7]
Ato Ampah Chelsea Aston Villa 5–1 (A) 26 August 2023 [8]
Alfie Harrison Manchester City Blackburn Rovers 6–0 (H) 26 August 2023 [9]
Note

(H) – Home; (A) – Away

Professional Development League 2

[edit]
U18 Professional Development League 2
Season2023–24
ChampionsBirmingham City U18s
Matches played313
(310 RS, 3 PO)
Goals scored1,307 (4.18 per match)
(1,294 RS, 13 PO)
Top goalscorerMicah Mbick (27 goals)
Biggest home winMillwall U18s 12–0 Queens Park Rangers U18s (9 March 2024) League Record
Biggest away winColchester United U18s 1–10 Millwall U18s (13 January 2024)
Highest scoringMillwall U18s 12–0 Queens Park Rangers U18s (9 March 2024)
Millwall U18s 8–4 Cardiff City U18s (1 May 2024)
Longest winning run8 matches – Birmingham City U18s (8 February 2024 – 28 March 2024)
Cardiff City U18s (30 September 2023 – 20 January 2024)
Longest unbeaten run13 matches – Charlton Athletic U18s (19 March 2024–18 May 2024)
Longest winless run18 matches – Colchester United U18s (30 September 2023–26 March 2024)
Longest losing run8 matches – Fleetwood Town U18s (30 September 2023 – 3 February 2024)
Peterborough United U18s (20 February 2024 – 13 April 2024)

The 2023–24 season was the 12th edition of the Professional Development League 2, an under-18 football's second tier, designed for those academies with Category 2 status. The league was split regionally into North and South divisions, with each team facing opponents in their own region twice both home and away, and opponents in the other region once, resulting in 30 games played for the North Division, while the South Division played 29 games. The sides finishing in the top two positions in both regions at the end of the season progressed to a knockout stage to determine the overall league champion. Barnsley U18s were the defending national champions while AFC Bournemouth U18s and Fleetwood Town U18s joined the division for the 2023–24 season.[10]

Tables

[edit]

North Division

[edit]
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Birmingham City U18s 30 21 4 5 73 37 +36 67 Qualification for Knock-out stage
2 Barnsley U18s 30 18 3 9 71 43 +28 57
3 Sheffield Wednesday U18s 30 16 4 10 56 36 +20 52
4 Burnley U18s 30 12 10 8 56 38 +18 46
5 Sheffield United U18s 30 11 9 10 57 48 +9 42
6 Crewe Alexandra U18s 30 12 3 15 71 73 −2 39
7 Fleetwood Town U18s 30 12 2 16 46 65 −19 38
8 Hull City U18s 30 10 6 14 47 70 −23 36
9 Coventry City U18s 30 9 5 16 51 75 −24 32
10 Wigan Athletic U18s 30 8 4 18 49 67 −18 28
11 Peterborough United U18s 30 6 2 22 44 87 −43 20
Source: [3]

South Division

[edit]
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Charlton Athletic U18s 29 21 5 3 94 51 +43 68 Qualification for Knock-out stage
2 Bristol City U18s 29 20 2 7 75 35 +40 62
3 Cardiff City U18s 29 18 3 8 76 51 +25 57
4 Watford U18s 29 15 5 9 60 36 +24 50
5 AFC Bournemouth U18s 29 13 0 16 65 71 −6 39
6 Millwall U18s 29 12 2 15 86 67 +19 38
7 Ipswich Town U18s 29 11 3 15 67 77 −10 36
8 Swansea City U18s 29 11 1 17 49 63 −14 34
9 Queens Park Rangers U18s 29 8 2 19 54 111 −57 26
10 Colchester United U18s 29 5 7 17 47 93 −46 22
Source: [4]

Knock-out stage

[edit]

Semi-finals

Charlton Athletic U18s5–3Barnsley U18s
 Report
Sparrows Lane, London
Birmingham City U18s0–0 (a.e.t.)Bristol City U18s
Penalties
 6–5

Professional Development League Two Play-Off Final

Birmingham City U18s3–2 (a.e.t.)Charlton Athletic U18s
Birmingham County FA, Birmingham

EFL Youth Alliance

[edit]
Football League Youth Alliance
Season2023-24
ChampionsNorth-East Division
Mansfield Town U18s
North-West Division
Preston North End U18s
South-East Division
Luton Town U18s
South-West Division
Plymouth Argyle U18s
Merit League One
Plymouth Argyle U18s
Merit League Two
Brentford U18s
North-East Division Championship Group Round
Mansfield Town U18s
North-East Division Lower Table Round
Grimsby Town U18s
Matches played581
Goals scored2,247 (3.87 per match)

The Football League Youth Alliance sometimes known as League 3 is run by the Football League under the auspices of the EFL Youth Alliance. 45 teams were scheduled to competed this season, however one team was expelled before the season began. Notts County U18s returned to the league after a 3-season absence, while Wrexham U18s returned to the lague after a 4-season absence because both teams clubs were promoted back to the Football League. AFC Bournemouth U18s and Fleetwood Town U18s both left because their academies were promoted to Category 2 and as a result both teams joined the U18 Professional Development League 2.[10] Because their parent club was relegated from the National League in their first season, Scunthrope United U18s were expelled from the league because there was no way their parent club could not promote back to the football league in time. Meanwhile Southend United U18s did not participate because their parent club lost their EPPP license. For clubs that get relegated to the National League, they have two years to gain promotion back to the EFL. Otherwise, they lose their license with the League.

League stage

[edit]
As of match played 4 May 2024[11]

North-East Division

[edit]
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Mansfield Town U18s (C) 20 12 3 5 48 23 +25 39 Northeast Division Championship Round
2 Burton Albion U18s 20 11 1 8 38 34 +4 34
3 Rotherham United U18s 20 10 3 7 51 44 +7 33
4 Lincoln City U18s 20 10 2 8 51 33 +18 32
5 Bradford City U18s 20 10 2 8 38 33 +5 32
6 Hartlepool United U18s 20 10 2 8 41 39 +2 32
7 Grimsby Town U18s 20 8 6 6 42 27 +15 30 Northeast Division Lower Round
8 Harrogate Town U18s 20 8 4 8 30 32 −2 28
9 Doncaster Rovers U18s 20 7 3 10 30 33 −3 24
10 Huddersfield Town U18s 20 3 7 10 27 65 −38 16
11 Notts County U18s 20 4 1 15 26 59 −33 13
12 Scunthorpe United U18s 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Source: soccerway.com
(C) Champions

North-West Division

[edit]
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Preston North End U18s (C) 26 18 2 6 75 49 +26 56
2 Wrexham U18s 26 18 1 7 78 41 +37 55
3 Bolton Wanderers U18s 26 17 3 6 70 37 +33 54
4 Morecambe U18s 26 17 3 6 58 39 +19 54
5 Accrington Stanley U18s 26 17 1 8 76 60 +16 52
6 Blackpool U18s 26 14 2 10 53 48 +5 44
7 Shrewsbury Town U18s 26 11 2 13 44 51 −7 35
8 Salford City U18s 26 9 4 13 50 57 −7 31
9 Stockport County U18s 26 10 1 15 35 45 −10 31
10 Rochdale U18s 26 9 3 14 50 56 −6 30
11 Oldham Athletic U18s 26 9 3 14 35 46 −11 30
12 Carlisle United U18s 26 8 3 15 42 65 −23 27
13 Port Vale U18s 26 5 3 18 44 75 −31 18
14 Walsall U18s 26 3 3 20 27 68 −41 12
Source: soccerway.com
(C) Champions


South-East Division

[edit]
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Luton Town U18s (C) 18 12 2 4 41 17 +24 38 Merit League One
2 AFC Wimbledon U18s 18 11 2 5 39 28 +11 35
3 Stevenage U18s 18 10 4 4 33 19 +14 34
4 Sutton United U18s 18 9 4 5 31 27 +4 31
5 Leyton Orient U18s 18 8 4 6 40 32 +8 28
6 Northampton Town U18s 18 7 3 8 25 26 −1 24 Merit League Two
7 Cambridge United U18s 18 7 2 9 38 40 −2 23
8 Brentford U18s 18 4 3 11 35 48 −13 15
9 Gillingham U18s 18 3 5 10 33 43 −10 14
10 Milton Keynes Dons U18s 18 3 3 12 21 56 −35 12
Source: soccerway.com
(C) Champions

South-West Division

[edit]
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Plymouth Argyle U18s (C) 16 11 3 2 44 21 +23 36 Merit League One
2 Swindon Town U18s 16 11 1 4 42 20 +22 34
3 Portsmouth U18s 16 7 2 7 38 27 +11 23
4 Cheltenham Town U18s 16 7 2 7 25 31 −6 23
5 Oxford United U18s 16 6 3 7 23 26 −3 21
6 Exeter City U18s 16 5 5 6 32 39 −7 20 Merit League Two
7 Forest Green Rovers U18s 16 6 1 9 34 41 −7 19
8 Bristol Rovers U18s 16 5 3 8 25 33 −8 18
9 Newport County U18s 16 3 2 11 28 53 −25 11
Source: soccerway.com
(C) Champions

Merit League Stage

[edit]

The teams in the Southeast and Southwest Divisions played another ten games to determine the champions of Merit League One and Merit League Two.

Merit League One

[edit]
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Plymouth Argyle U18s (C) 9 7 1 1 24 13 +11 22
2 Leyton Orient U18s 9 4 4 1 26 16 +10 16
3 Stevenage U18s 9 4 2 3 22 12 +10 14
4 Portsmouth U18s 9 4 2 3 16 17 −1 14
5 Luton Town U18s 8 4 0 4 17 18 −1 12
6 Swindon Town U18s 9 3 2 4 20 23 −3 11
7 Oxford United U18s 9 3 2 4 16 21 −5 11
8 AFC Wimbledon U18s 9 3 1 5 16 20 −4 10
9 Cheltenham Town U18s 8 2 3 3 17 25 −8 9
10 Sutton United U18s 9 1 1 7 8 17 −9 4
Source: soccerway.com
(C) Champions

Merit League Two

[edit]
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Brentford U18s (C) 8 6 0 2 21 9 +12 18
2 Gillingham U18s 8 6 0 2 21 10 +11 18
3 Cambridge United U18s 8 5 0 3 19 18 +1 15
4 Bristol Rovers U18s 8 4 2 2 23 19 +4 14
5 Northampton Town U18s 8 4 0 4 24 14 +10 12
6 Forest Green Rovers U18s 8 3 2 3 16 18 −2 11
7 Milton Keynes Dons U18s 8 2 1 5 18 23 −5 7
8 Newport County U18s 8 2 1 5 21 33 −12 7
9 Exeter City U18s 8 1 0 7 14 33 −19 3
Source: soccerway.com
(C) Champions

Northeast Division 2nd Phase

[edit]

Only 4 or 5 games were played but they were added in the regular season averages.

North-East Merit Championship Group

[edit]

These games include the regular season matches.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Mansfield Town U18s (C) 25 17 3 5 62 27 +35 54
2 Burton Albion U18s 25 15 1 9 56 38 +18 46
3 Rotherham United U18s 25 11 4 10 59 57 +2 37
4 Bradford City U18s 25 11 4 10 48 47 +1 37
5 Hartlepool United U18s 25 11 4 10 54 56 −2 37
6 Lincoln City U18s 25 10 3 12 61 54 +7 33
Source: soccerway.com
(C) Champions

North-East Merit Lower Table Round

[edit]
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Grimsby Town U18s (C) 24 11 7 6 52 29 +23 40
2 Harrogate Town U18s 24 10 5 9 36 39 −3 35
3 Doncaster Rovers U18s 24 8 6 10 36 38 −2 30
4 Notts County U18s 24 5 2 17 32 65 −33 17
5 Huddersfield Town U18s 24 3 7 14 28 74 −46 16
Source: soccerway.com
(C) Champions

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "We're back! Our Academy regains Category One status". Reading F.C. 11 July 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Premier League U18 table". Premier League. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  3. ^ "Players – U18 Premier League – England – Results, fixtures, tables and news". Soccerway. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  4. ^ "U18s Report: Stoke City 1–6 Leeds United". Leeds United F.C. 13 August 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  5. ^ "Report & Highlights: Young Eagles fire five past Saints in season opener". Crystal Palace F.C. 12 August 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  6. ^ "U18s: Aston Villa 4–0 Tottenham Hotspur". Aston Villa F.C. 14 August 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  7. ^ "Fulham U18s 4–3 Leicester U18s". Fulham F.C. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  8. ^ "Under-18s PL report: Aston Villa 1 Chelsea 5". Chelsea F.C. 26 August 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  9. ^ "City U18s kickstart campaign with six-hit win over Blackburn Rovers". Manchester City F.C. 26 August 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  10. ^ a b "AFC Bournemouth awarded category 2 status". vitalfootball.co.uk. 18 July 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  11. ^ "Football League Youth Alliance". Soccerway. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
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