2023–24 Professional U18 Development League

U18 Premier League
Season2023–24
ChampionsManchester United (1st title)
Matches played313
Goals scored1,371 (4.38 per match)
Top goalscorerChido Obi Arsenal (32 goals)
Biggest home winChelsea 9–1 West Bromwich Albion (27 December 2023)
Everton 8–0 Newcastle United (18 May 2024)
Biggest away winReading 0–9 Southampton (20 April 2024)
Norwich City 0–9 Arsenal (27 April 2024)
Highest scoringArsenal 8–3 Crystal Palace (16 March 2024)
Longest winning run 14 Matches – Manchester United (12 August 2023 – 30 January 2024)
Longest unbeaten run17 Matches – Manchester United – (12 August 2023 – 24 February 2024)
Longest winless run 15 Matches –Aston Villa – (15 December 2023–11 May 2024)
Longest losing run9 Matches – Norwich City – (12 August 2023–11 November 2023)

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 regained Category One status in the summer.[1]

North

[edit]
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Manchester United (C, Q) 24 20 2 2 78 28 +50 62 Qualification for the National Final
2 Manchester City 24 18 2 4 71 27 +44 56
3 Wolverhampton Wanderers 24 12 5 7 43 34 +9 41
4 Derby County 24 11 4 9 55 51 +4 37
5 Leeds United 24 10 3 11 54 51 +3 33
6 Liverpool 24 10 2 12 56 62 −6 32
7 Nottingham Forest 24 8 8 8 37 47 −10 32
8 Newcastle United 24 10 2 12 49 61 −12 32
9 Middlesbrough 24 7 6 11 33 47 −14 27
10 Blackburn Rovers 24 8 3 13 39 60 −21 27
11 Everton 24 7 4 13 39 39 0 25
12 Stoke City 24 7 2 15 43 61 −18 23
13 Sunderland 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 — 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 (C, Q) 24 17 3 4 72 41 +31 54 Qualification for the National Final
2 West Ham United 24 16 1 7 72 48 +24 49
3 Arsenal 24 14 5 5 83 43 +40 47
4 Tottenham Hotspur 24 14 3 7 73 57 +16 45
5 Fulham 24 14 2 8 66 49 +17 44
6 Crystal Palace 24 12 5 7 60 48 +12 41
7 Brighton & Hove Albion 24 11 4 9 60 55 +5 37
8 Leicester City 24 7 7 10 44 55 −11 28
9 West Bromwich Albion 24 7 4 13 43 65 −22 25
10 Southampton 24 6 5 13 47 56 −9 23
11 Norwich City 24 6 1 17 41 81 −40 19
12 Aston Villa 24 5 2 17 50 70 −20 17
13 Reading 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 — 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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]
Chelsea1–2Manchester United
 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
Matches played313
(310 RS, 3 PO)
Goals scored1,307 (4.18 per match)
(1,294 RS, 13 PO)
Top goalscorerMicah Mbick Charlton Athletic (27 goals)
Biggest home winMillwall 12–0 Queens Park Rangers (9 March 2024) League Record
Biggest away winColchester United 1–10 Millwall (13 January 2024)
Highest scoringMillwall 12–0 Queens Park Rangers (9 March 2024)
Millwall 8–4 Cardiff City (1 May 2024)
Longest winning run8 matches – Birmingham City (8 February 2024 – 28 March 2024)
Cardiff City (30 September 2023 – 20 January 2024)
Longest unbeaten run13 matches – Charlton Athletic (19 March 2024–18 May 2024)
Longest winless run18 matches – Colchester United (30 September 2023–26 March 2024)
Longest losing run8 matches – Fleetwood Town (30 September 2023 – 3 February 2024)
Peterborough United (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 were the defending national champions while AFC Bournemouth and Fleetwood Town 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 30 21 4 5 73 37 +36 67 Qualification for Knock-out stage
2 Barnsley 30 18 3 9 71 43 +28 57
3 Sheffield Wednesday 30 16 4 10 56 36 +20 52
4 Burnley 30 12 10 8 56 38 +18 46
5 Sheffield United 30 11 9 10 57 48 +9 42
6 Crewe Alexandra 30 12 3 15 71 73 −2 39
7 Fleetwood Town 30 12 2 16 46 65 −19 38
8 Hull City 30 10 6 14 47 70 −23 36
9 Coventry City 30 9 5 16 51 75 −24 32
10 Wigan Athletic 30 8 4 18 49 67 −18 28
11 Peterborough United 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 29 21 5 3 94 51 +43 68 Qualification for Knock-out stage
2 Bristol City 29 20 2 7 75 35 +40 62
3 Cardiff City 29 18 3 8 76 51 +25 57
4 Watford 29 15 5 9 60 36 +24 50
5 AFC Bournemouth 29 13 0 16 65 71 −6 39
6 Millwall 29 12 2 15 86 67 +19 38
7 Ipswich Town 29 11 3 15 67 77 −10 36
8 Swansea City 29 11 1 17 49 63 −14 34
9 Queens Park Rangers 29 8 2 19 54 111 −57 26
10 Colchester United 29 5 7 17 47 93 −46 22
Source: [4]

Knock-out stage

[edit]

Semi-finals

Charlton Athletic5–3Barnsley
 Report
Sparrows Lane, London
Birmingham City0–0 (a.e.t.)Bristol City
Penalties
 6–5

Professional Development League Two Play-Off Final

Birmingham City3–2 (a.e.t.)Charlton Athletic
Birmingham County FA, Birmingham

EFL Youth Alliance

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

The Football League Youth Alliance sometimes known as League 3 is run by the English 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 returned to the league after a 3-season absence, while Wrexham returned to the league after a four-season absence because both teams clubs were promoted back to the Football League. AFC Bournemouth and Fleetwood Town 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, Scunthorpe United 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 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 (C) 20 12 3 5 48 23 +25 39 Northeast Division Championship Round
2 Burton Albion 20 11 1 8 38 34 +4 34
3 Rotherham United 20 10 3 7 51 44 +7 33
4 Lincoln City 20 10 2 8 51 33 +18 32
5 Bradford City 20 10 2 8 38 33 +5 32
6 Hartlepool United 20 10 2 8 41 39 +2 32
7 Grimsby Town 20 8 6 6 42 27 +15 30 Northeast Division Lower Round
8 Harrogate Town 20 8 4 8 30 32 −2 28
9 Doncaster Rovers 20 7 3 10 30 33 −3 24
10 Huddersfield Town 20 3 7 10 27 65 −38 16
11 Notts County 20 4 1 15 26 59 −33 13
12 Scunthorpe United 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 (C) 26 18 2 6 75 49 +26 56
2 Wrexham 26 18 1 7 78 41 +37 55
3 Bolton Wanderers 26 17 3 6 70 37 +33 54
4 Morecambe 26 17 3 6 58 39 +19 54
5 Accrington Stanley 26 17 1 8 76 60 +16 52
6 Blackpool 26 14 2 10 53 48 +5 44
7 Shrewsbury Town 26 11 2 13 44 51 −7 35
8 Salford City 26 9 4 13 50 57 −7 31
9 Stockport County 26 10 1 15 35 45 −10 31
10 Rochdale 26 9 3 14 50 56 −6 30
11 Oldham Athletic 26 9 3 14 35 46 −11 30
12 Carlisle United 26 8 3 15 42 65 −23 27
13 Port Vale 26 5 3 18 44 75 −31 18
14 Walsall 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 (C) 18 12 2 4 41 17 +24 38 Merit League One
2 AFC Wimbledon 18 11 2 5 39 28 +11 35
3 Stevenage 18 10 4 4 33 19 +14 34
4 Sutton United 18 9 4 5 31 27 +4 31
5 Leyton Orient 18 8 4 6 40 32 +8 28
6 Northampton Town 18 7 3 8 25 26 −1 24 Merit League Two
7 Cambridge United 18 7 2 9 38 40 −2 23
8 Brentford 18 4 3 11 35 48 −13 15
9 Gillingham 18 3 5 10 33 43 −10 14
10 Milton Keynes Dons 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 (C) 16 11 3 2 44 21 +23 36 Merit League One
2 Swindon Town 16 11 1 4 42 20 +22 34
3 Portsmouth 16 7 2 7 38 27 +11 23
4 Cheltenham Town 16 7 2 7 25 31 −6 23
5 Oxford United 16 6 3 7 23 26 −3 21
6 Exeter City 16 5 5 6 32 39 −7 20 Merit League Two
7 Forest Green Rovers 16 6 1 9 34 41 −7 19
8 Bristol Rovers 16 5 3 8 25 33 −8 18
9 Newport County 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 (C) 9 7 1 1 24 13 +11 22
2 Leyton Orient 9 4 4 1 26 16 +10 16
3 Stevenage 9 4 2 3 22 12 +10 14
4 Portsmouth 9 4 2 3 16 17 −1 14
5 Luton Town 8 4 0 4 17 18 −1 12
6 Swindon Town 9 3 2 4 20 23 −3 11
7 Oxford United 9 3 2 4 16 21 −5 11
8 AFC Wimbledon 9 3 1 5 16 20 −4 10
9 Cheltenham Town 8 2 3 3 17 25 −8 9
10 Sutton United 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 (C) 8 6 0 2 21 9 +12 18
2 Gillingham 8 6 0 2 21 10 +11 18
3 Cambridge United 8 5 0 3 19 18 +1 15
4 Bristol Rovers 8 4 2 2 23 19 +4 14
5 Northampton Town 8 4 0 4 24 14 +10 12
6 Forest Green Rovers 8 3 2 3 16 18 −2 11
7 Milton Keynes Dons 8 2 1 5 18 23 −5 7
8 Newport County 8 2 1 5 21 33 −12 7
9 Exeter City 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 (C) 25 17 3 5 62 27 +35 54
2 Burton Albion 25 15 1 9 56 38 +18 46
3 Rotherham United 25 11 4 10 59 57 +2 37
4 Bradford City 25 11 4 10 48 47 +1 37
5 Hartlepool United 25 11 4 10 54 56 −2 37
6 Lincoln City 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 (C) 24 11 7 6 52 29 +23 40
2 Harrogate Town 24 10 5 9 36 39 −3 35
3 Doncaster Rovers 24 8 6 10 36 38 −2 30
4 Notts County 24 5 2 17 32 65 −33 17
5 Huddersfield Town 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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