NATIONAL GROUP POS CLUB P W D L GF GA GD PTS 1 Fulham U21 11 7 4 0 24 15 9 25 2 West Ham U21 10 6 3 1 23 14 9 21 3 Sunderland U21 10 6 2 2 24 16 8 20 4 Liverpool U21 10 6 1 3 30 19 11 19 5 Chelsea U21 10 5 3 2 28 16 12 18 6 Southampton U21 10 5 1 4 18 20 -2 16 7 Arsenal U21 7 4 2 1 13 10 3 14 8 Everton U21 9 4 2 3 13 12 1 14 9 Man City U21 9 4 1 4 18 14 4 13 10 Wolves U21 10 4 1 5 17 17 0 13 11 Norwich U21 10 4 1 5 11 13 -2 13 12 West Brom U21 11 4 1 6 18 27 -9 13 13 Bolton U21 10 3 3 4 18 21 -3 12 14 Leicester U21 10 3 3 4 13 16 -3 12 15 Man Utd U21 7 3 2 2 14 8 6 11 16 Aston Villa U21 9 3 2 4 14 16 -2 11 17 Spurs U21 9 3 2 4 20 24 -4 11 18 Stoke U21 11 3 2 6 16 20 -4 11 19 Newcastle U21 10 2 4 4 23 28 -5 10 20 Middlesbrough U21 11 3 1 7 18 25 -7 10 21 Reading U21 9 2 1 6 14 22 -8 7 22 Blackburn U21 11 1 2 8 7 21 -14 5 Share this page SOUTH GROUP POS CLUB P W D L GF GA GD PTS 1 Fulham U18 16 11 2 3 48 25 23 35 2 Tottenham Hotspur U18 15 10 2 3 42 26 16 32 3 Aston Villa U18 15 9 4 2 35 24 11 31 4 West Ham United U18 15 8 4 3 30 17 13 28 5 Chelsea U18 14 8 3 3 35 17 18 27 6 Reading U18 14 8 1 5 31 25 6 25 7 Southampton U18 16 6 4 6 28 30 -2 22 8 Norwich City U18 16 6 3 7 25 30 -5 21 9 Leicester City U18 16 3 2 11 19 30 -11 11 10 West Bromwich Albion U18 16 2 5 9 18 36 -18 11 11 Arsenal U18 15 1 6 8 15 27 -12 9 Share this page What as fantastic sight this is, both our academy teams sitting pretty at the top of their respective leagues. Long may it continue. I read an article regarding our under21's team recently that said the team are being known as the fulham babes, good times to come. COYW
whoa! Do you know the percentage of U21 players that get to play in the Prem after their stint in the U21 team?
I am intrigued to see if mike phelan joins up with Rene . If he does then there must be something about our club that is persuading these guys to get back together. May be there is a general excitement about what these boys can achieve.
In both squads the 'goals for' column is the most impressive thing for me. Not least because it eminates from our midfield play and players. That bodes well for the future. A wee word of caution (sorry Bidley, but this is not really meant in a negative way). With many of the U18s moving into the U21 squad early, and inevitably some moving away(Wes McDonald isn't the only one) the numbers in the U18 squad is becoming quite small. So, Steve Wigley will have to play even younger players and it'll be difficult for them to sustain the current success. I'm sure as a team they'll still do well, just saying that we shouldn't read too much into it if not all the results go their way.
Frogman, it was an honest question not meant in a facetious way at all. Thanks to Bidders for highlighting a potential misunderstanding!
No, it's just a problem with formatting on this site - you need to push the 'heading' column a bit to the right.
In a chat with the local rag, Rene has outlined his policy towards the youngsters: " Rene Meulensteen plans to 'drip feed' youngsters into Fulham's first-team squad as he tries to create a clear pathway from the club's academy. Buomesca Tue Na Bangna and Moussa Dembele have both made their professional debuts this season, but former boss Martin Jol was still criticised for failing to give youth a chance. eulensteen included 19-year-old midfielder Lasse Vigen Christensen in the squad for the win against Aston Villa earlier this month, and the Dutchman is prepared to give more of Fulham's talented crop of a youngsters an opportunity in the senior set-up. He said: "Everybody involved in the academy at Fulham deserves enormous credit because they do things right. The key now is making sure you create a pathway for those players to come through. I have been in that scenario for many years and the future looks bright in that respect." "It is great to see the Under-18s and the Under-21s performing well and we need to start drip feeding these players into the squad." Source: http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/spor...ulensteen-reveals-plans-fulhams-young-6417321
Craving, no offence was taken mate. It is an interesting question, but one I do not know the answer to. I guess we would all hope that the players are rewarded for their progression and that if the coaching staff feel they are good enough then they get their chance. Meulensteen's comments regarding drip feeding them into the first makes sense. Making an appearance in the game is just a small part of the overall experience for these young guys. Being around the team when they travel up to games and being in the dressing room would be pretty nerve racking for a 17 year old kid. I am genuinely excited by what may in store for fulham in the next 5 years.
Sorry Craving mate, it was meant light-heartedly, as we all know full well at least half of these players won't be playing PL football in the future! I very much hope I'm wrong though, it would be brilliant if these young sides can make the step up.
Just thinking about conversion ratios for youth teams to first and started wondering if there is one position, or part of the pitch where an academy player is most likely to break through and where the least likely positions are. I guess a lot depends on talent, but say hypothetically you had 11 players of equal ability I'd say the wingers and full backs are the ones who will get their chance first (a lot based on academy players we've seen in the first team over the last 5 years). I reckon anywhere in the centre is harder for an academy player to break into- if they make a mistake or loose the ball the team is more exposed
Agree with there silky. I guess a full back could be covered by a centre back and a winger covered by the full back. I think this is why kaka is looking better at the moment with the experience of riise backing him up. I do feel though that a talented striker should get the chance to shine, goal scoring is habitual whether you are 17 or 35. If you know where the back of the net is and where to position yourself then a youthful lack of inhibitions is an effective combination. An interesting figure that I noticed recently may explain why young players find it harder to break into first teams. There are 92 teams in the football league and of these 92 teams an astonishing 84 teams have had their current managers in place for less than 3 years, leaving only 8, yes 8, who have been in the job longer. Only 3 have been in their role for longer than 4 years. Surely if a team is to truly nurture their youth they need a manager in charge who will know and watch their youngsters develop to be able to fully integrate them into a team. In fact they would work a future team around the young starlets at their disposal. I have to say that I was amazed at these figures, it might go some way to explaining the world of football, make your money fast at the cost of loyalty and future stability. May we break the mould. COYW
A lot of central defenders get their first chance playing out of position at full back (Matthew Briggs used to be a centre back, for example) which supports the full back/wingers theory.
Goalkeeper's got to be the toughest. There are only room for, what, 3 per squad? Any mistake you make could set you back weeks, maybe months. You can't play anywhere else either.
Rene, in a post on the Club site today, reiterated his vow that the Club’s younger players will be given a chance to shine. "Moussa Dembélé made his Whites debut as a late substitute in the 3-0 loss at West Ham United last month only to suffer a hamstring strain shortly after entering the fray. “I was devastated at West Ham when he came on but got injured straight away,” said Meulensteen. “Sometimes when you throw those youngsters on they’re an unknown quantity and the opposition don’t know how to react to it." “He’s a goalscorer first and foremost and he knows where the net is. He’s clinical in and around the box, he has a variety of finishes and he’s a strong athlete. On top of that, he’s got a great personality. He’s close to coming back and I’m looking forward to integrating more youngsters into First Team training." “There are many more young players coming into the group. That’s what I always did in my time at Manchester United and I’m going to do exactly the same here.”
