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Albion U-23s: Review of the Season - 2016-17



AZ Gull

@SeagullsAcademy Threads: @bhafcacademy
Oct 14, 2003
11,512
Chandler, AZ
2016-17 was the third season that Albion have competed as a Category 1 academy. There were some organisational changes to academy football prior to kick-off: the age limit was adjusted as it moved from being an U-21 competition to an U-23 competition and the name of the league became Premier League 2 (previously the U-21 Premier League). Albion remained in division two of the league.

There were also changes with the cup competitions. The Football League accepted a (one-year trial) proposal that 16 Category 1 academy sides would participate in the revamped Football League Trophy, to the dismay of many fans of league clubs. A number of Premier League clubs, however, turned down the invitation to enter the competition and so Albion were eventually invited and decided to accept. In early August the competition found a sponsor and it became the Checkatrade Trophy.

The league cup competition was also revamped such that the first phase was played as 4-team groups. It also became known as simply the Premier League Cup (as opposed to the U-21 Premier League Cup previously).

As usual, Albion also competed in a third cup competition - the Parafix Sussex Senior Cup. They ended up having decent runs in all of them such that they played a total of 19 cup matches (including the abandoned PLCup match at Leicester) in addition to their 22 league games, giving a full fixture list of 41 competitive games. This is in stark contrast to the ridiculous situation in 2011-12 when the reserve/development squad played only 14 competitive matches.

It should be noted that, by its nature, development squad football doesn't lend itself to settled sides. Albion have to try to find game time for a sizeable development squad; first-team squad players need matches at various intervals; trialists need to be incorporated and youngsters will move out on loan, sometimes numerous times during a season. Albion used a total of 57 different players during the season; 11 different players started at right-back and 8 different players started at left-back. Whilst we all look at the team's results we have to bear in mind that the fundamental objective is player development and winning games will always be supplemental to that.


Premier League 2 Division 2

Albion finished the season in eighth place out of twelve teams. It was an improvement on last season (when they finished eleventh) and matched their position from 2014-15 (albeit with a better points haul this season). The main issue remained goalscoring, with only 20 goals in 22 matches. However, the defence was sound with the team only conceding 22 goals.

The best result was probably the 1-0 home win over Champions Swansea in February; they also had home wins over West Ham (3-0) and Middlesbrough (4-2). The heaviest defeat was 4-0 at Fulham. Albion still had an unlikely shot at the play-offs up until their penultimate fixture.

Checkatrade Trophy

In the group stage Albion lost 2-0 at Southend but drew 2-2 at Stevenage (and earned a vital extra point by winning the penalty shoot-out). A home win over Leyton Orient secured their advancement. They then beat AFC Wimbledon 2-1 (despite Kazenga LuaLua getting sent-off and earning a 4-match first team ban). Their run ended with a 3-0 defeat at eventual winners Coventry City (despite an outstanding display by goalkeeper Robert Sanchez).

Premier League Cup

Albion were drawn in a group with West Ham, Leicester City and Nottingham Forest. They started by thrashing Forest 7-0 at home and never looked back. They beat West Ham twice, scoring 6 goals (to go with a win and a draw over them in the league). The original fixture at Leicester was abandoned when the Foxes' Elliott Moore collided with a teammate and was transported to hospital; thankfully there was no lasting damage.

Having topped the group Albion then beat Huddersfield 3-1 at home before succumbing to the Division 2 league champions Swansea City 1-0 in Wales. However, they scored as many goals in this competition (20) in 8 matches as they did in their entire league campaign.

Sussex Senior Cup

Albion ended their season yesterday on a high note by winning the Sussex Senior Cup for the first time in four seasons. Wins at Hailsham, Pagham and Crowborough earned them a semi-final meeting with Eastbourne Borough. In an entertaining and open match James Tilley produced a couple of late goals to secure a 4-3 win. In yesterday's final Albion always looked the better side but the tie with Crawley Town remained goalless after ninety minutes. Three goals in extra-time secured the win and a piece of silverware.

SSC.jpg
Photo credit: Paul Hazlewood


Review by position (figures relate to league AND cup, 41 matches in total)

Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez made the most appearances with 25 and really developed during only his second season of football at the club. Bailey Vose made only 3 starts but had loan spells at Dartford (3 appearances) and then Concord Rangers where he made 23 appearances at Vanarama South level. Local boy Billy Collings signed a short-term contract in January after transferring from Reading; he made 4 appearances and another couple on loan at Dartford in March. Christian Walton spent the first half of the season on loan at Luton Town where he was first choice. Unfortunately he had to be recalled to cover for Niki Maenpaa but finished the season on emergency loan at Southend where he made 7 starts.

Full-back Will Collar made most starts at right-back with 14. Tyler Hornby-Forbes (who joined from Fleetwood Town in July) made 8 starts there with his other 15 appearances further forward. Liam Rosenior was the only other player to make 5 starts in the position. Rob Hunt made 3 of his 8 appearances at right-back before joining Oldham on loan in January and making 10 League One appearances before a hamstring injury ended his season.

At left-back 1st-year professional George Cox made 24 appearances and showed he is capable of delivering a mean ball into the box. Sam Adekugbe (on a season-long loan from Vancouver) made 6 appearances but unfortunately has hamstrings made of the same material as Will Buckley's. Rob Hunt made 3 appearances at left-back. Dylan Barnett spent most of the season on loan at Bognor where he made 29 appearances in league and cup (scoring 3 goals) and was a regular starter when injury permitted (he suffered a broken metatarsal in March). He helped the Rocks achieve promotion to Vanarama South through the play-offs. He also made 7 appearances for Albion's U-23s (although only a couple were at left-back).

Center-back Albion, of course, have enough center-backs to field an entire team of them (and sometimes came close). Ben Hall, acquired from Motherwell in June, made the most appearances with 31. Ben White made 18 appearances in the center and Tom Dallison (after a somewhat disappointing half-season loan at Cambridge United where he made only 9 appearances) made 12 of his 13 starts in the center. Ben Barclay reached double-figures with 10 center-back appearances.

1st-year professional Tom Cadman didn't get much of a look-in and only made 6 appearances for the U-23s. He joined Bognor on loan in October but made only 4 appearances. In January he joined East Grinstead on loan (where both his father and grandfather had played). He made 9 appearances (most of them at left-back) and scored 1 goal. He finished the season with a loan spell at Worthing where he made 7 appearances. In April he announced that he was leaving Albion.

Central midfield Irishman Des Hutchinson made 32 appearances in central midfield and often captained the side; he also scored 3 goals. His countryman Jayson Molumby made 30 appearances and added 1 goal (he missed a number of games in January and February when he returned to the U-18s for their FA Youth Cup run). Another Irishman, Danny Mandroiu, made 10 appearances during the second half of the season as he moved up from the U-18s.

Wide midfield Norwegian Henrik Bjordal missed most of the opening couple of months of the season with injury but returned to make 24 appearances for the U-23s. In the absence of an out-and-out striker he was moved to the centre and scored four goals in five matches from mid-February onwards. On March 6 he joined IFK Goteborg on loan until July and has started the first six matches of their season. Joe Ward scored 4 goals in 21 appearances and earned a 3-month loan spell at Vanarama National Champions Lincoln City. He made 8 appearances, mostly in the cup competitions, scoring 3 goals in the FA Trophy, but struggled to break into their league side.

Jordan Davies was bought from Wrexham in January. He scored 2 goals in 15 appearances, appearing mostly in a left midfield/winger role. Jesse Starkey scored 4 goals in 21 appearances but was sold to Swindon Town in January; he made his league debut against Charlton at the Valley on the last day of the season. Connor Tighe scored a couple of goals in 19 appearances; in December he joined Bognor on loan but didn't make an appearance. The following month he joined Whitehawk on loan but made only one appearance, in the FA Trophy. He announced in April that he was leaving the Albion.

Attacking midfield James Tilley made more appearances for the U-23s this season than anyone; 34 in total. He was also top scorer with 14 goals. Only 4 of those goals came before Christmas, including a hat-trick against Forest in the PL Cup in October; he has scored 10 goals in his last 14 appearances. Jack Harper, on the other hand, failed to find the net in 13 appearances this season and in January the club cut their losses and sold him to Malaga. First-team squad member Richie Towell made 9 appearances through the season and contributed 4 goals.

Jordan Maguire-Drew didn't appear for the U-23s this campaign as he spent what turned out to be a season-long loan spell with Vanarama National Dagenham & Redbridge. So far he has scored 15 goals in 46 league and cup appearances. His season continues today as the Daggers take on Forest Green Rovers in the first leg of the play-off semi-final. JMD has so far shown the ability to score goals at whatever level he has played at throughout his career. It will be interesting to see what next season brings.

Striker Albion being Albion, this section of the review usually makes for depressing reading. Sure enough, Jonah Ayunga failed to make much impact with one goal in 10 appearances for the U-23s. He also failed to impress in a 3-month loan spell at Burgess Hill where he scored 1 goal in 15 appearances. In January he was shipped off to Ireland where he joined Sligo Rovers on loan until January 2018. He has so far scored - you guessed it - one goal in 10 appearances (plus a sending-off).

Then there is Vahid Hambo - remember him? He made no competitive appearances this season due to injury. That means he has made 5 appearances in his two years at the club. In January Albion brought in Harry Cardwell on loan from Reading (with a view to making an impression and securing a longer-term deal) and he scored 3 goals in 7 appearances.

However, there IS hope for the future in the form of Aaron Connolly. The 1st-year scholar signed from Mervue United made his U-23 debut against West Ham in January - and promptly scored two goals. On his fourth appearance (against Middlesbrough) he did this - U23 goal v Boro tonight. In 4 appearances he had scored 4 goals and earned 2 penalties. He scored again in his last appearance against Eastbourne Borough in the SSC. Not satisfied with that, he topped the goalscoring charts at international level with 7 goals in 6 qualifying matches for the Republic of Ireland U-17s and is currently in Croatia for the European Championship Finals tournament.


Of course, with Albion now a Premier League club, the development of players who can make an impact at first team level doesn't get any easier. Most of the players who pass through the academy will, unfortunately, fail to reach the required grade and will move on. Hopefully there are at least a handful of players mentioned in this review who have the necessary technical skills and mental fortitude to force their way into Chris Hughton's first team plans over the next few seasons.
 

hans kraay fan club

The voice of reason.
Helpful Moderator
Mar 16, 2005
60,991
Chandlers Ford
Very thorough. Many thanks for this.

* As noted elsewhere, Aaron Connolly's Ireland U17s are live on Eurosport 1 this afternoon in the first match of their European Championship finals.
 

British Bulldog

The great escape
Feb 6, 2006
10,886
That was a cracking read, many thanks for posting a great review.
 
Dec 29, 2011
8,008
I've always thought you were English, but apparently you may b American. Can you confirm?

Also good write up, thanks
 


GT49er

Well-known member
Feb 1, 2009
46,380
Gloucester
It's weird - I live 150 miles away from the Albion - you live, what, 3000(?) miles away, yet I get all my information about the Albion's youth teams via you! Thanks for all your hard work.
 

casbom

Well-known member
Jul 24, 2007
2,581
Excellent knowledge as always AZ! I do wonder why we never seem to capture or produce decent attacking players! I hope that changes with us in the PL.
 


Don Tmatter

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2003
4,993
dont matter
With Hambo out of contract next month, do you expect him to be offered another one or allowed to return to Scandinavia like all the other development lads we've taken from there?
 

TSB

Captain Hindsight
Jul 7, 2003
17,666
Lansdowne Place, Hove
With Hambo out of contract next month, do you expect him to be offered another one or allowed to return to Scandinavia like all the other development lads we've taken from there?

Hahahahahahahaha.
The man with a worse injury record than Vicente.
 


edna krabappel

Well-known member
NSC Licker Extraordinaire
Jul 7, 2003
47,215
Hahahahahahahaha.
The man with a worse injury record than Vicente.

He'd have to have the ability of Vicente to be offered a new deal after five appearances in two seasons.
 


Kosh

'The' Yaztromo
But what about Luis Garcia?

I'm sure he played for the U23s this season.

Shame on you AZ re this utterly shocking omission - as one of our brightest prospects akin to Connelly, I'd expect a footnote at the very least!

I could be wrong though :/
 
Last edited:

One Teddy Maybank

Well-known member
NSC Licker Extraordinaire
Aug 4, 2006
21,441
Worthing
Great stuff. Casper rolled back the years a couple of times when I went.

Interesting to see Dallinson switch to LB a couple of times, but there are some real promising youngsters, Molumby looks very good.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 


AZ Gull

@SeagullsAcademy Threads: @bhafcacademy
Oct 14, 2003
11,512
Chandler, AZ
With Hambo out of contract next month, do you expect him to be offered another one or allowed to return to Scandinavia like all the other development lads we've taken from there?

I cannot conceive that Hambo would be offered a new contract but I guess anything is possible.
 

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