Women/girl's Academy teams

jojojo said:
I think most are kind of borderline pro and still in education - school/college. So not full-time. In fact they can't sign pro papers until they're 18. That means basically they get signed by the first team squad at 18/19 (or don't) and some will stay a bit longer as part-timers going to college.

The U21 to WSL is too big a leap for most players.

The frustration comes when a young player or incoming player doesn't get playing time even when they do have pro experience. Grace Clinton for example had a few matches for Everton before she came to us and then did half a season from us with Bristol in the Championship - which ought to count. But she had zero first team minutes for us before going to Spurs on loan and becoming a full international for England. It doesn't make me think we're good at integrating new talent.
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Yeah the Clinton one does seem excessively cautious, though at least we can be glad her loans have gone about as well as possible (touch wood), and if Skinner gives a World Cup winner less than a half of game-time all season you'd have to say it's probably better she was away. I'm not sure if Alyssa Aherne and Keira Barry got injured this season, but Aherne got 1 appearance before returning from Everton in January, and Barry doesn't seem to have played at all at Palace, unfortunately mirroring the men's team loan success rate.

Though this seems to be happening next year, which would be good experience for them



Edit -ignore that, somehow completely misread it earlier and thought it was for the women's game :lol:
 
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jojojo said:
I think most are kind of borderline pro and still in education - school/college. So not full-time. In fact they can't sign pro papers until they're 18. That means basically they get signed by the first team squad at 18/19 (or don't) and some will stay a bit longer as part-timers going to college.

The U21 to WSL is too big a leap for most players.

The frustration comes when a young player or incoming player doesn't get playing time even when they do have pro experience. Grace Clinton for example had a few matches for Everton before she came to us and then did half a season from us with Bristol in the Championship - which ought to count. But she had zero first team minutes for us before going to Spurs on loan and becoming a full international for England. It doesn't make me think we're good at integrating new talent.
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I assume most of this U21 team are 18+ but actually there is very little info out there so I have no idea how many are old enough to be pro

Grace Clinton is a sign that Skinner is not good at assessing the potential of young players - Sarina Weigmann has very quickly promoted her above Zelem and even Toone to be a Lioness starter, yet Skinner deemed her not ready for United !

The only other youngster who I know is Evie Rabjohn as she's been on the bench for the first team - is she part of this U21 team?
 
I think we'll see a lot more of this in the future. There is no pathway to the first team currently.



Edit: Tweet not working for some reason. Fay Al-Qaimi has announced she's leaving.
 
UNDER-21s

Player of the Year: Amelia Oldroyd
The coaching staff's choice of winner is a superb player with a bright future. She never stops finding ways to challenge and develop herself and her game, by engaging with every aspect of resource available to her. Amelia demands incredibly high standards of herself and her team-mates, and has shown real personal growth and maturity this season. She is a real credit to the club after 10 years here so far.

Players' Player of the Year: Lucy Newell
An outstanding athlete, technician, team-mate and all-round footballer, Lucy has performed excellently for our Under-21s and for West Bromwhich Albion during a loan spell in Tier 3. Regularly training with the first team, her focus and drive is second to none and that is shown on the pitch week in, week out. There is much more to come from Lucy in the years ahead.

Young Player of the Year: Lucy Newell

Values Player: Jen Handy and Holly Deering
Both players have a fantastic manner about them at all times and always bring smiles to the training ground and on matchdays. They are both integral to the harmony and vibe of the group and will always ensure standards are met by themselves and by the squad. They are excellent team-mates, well liked by everybody, and are considered a pleasure to work with.


UNDER-16S

Player of the Year: Sienna Wearing
An ever present in the number 10 position, Sienna has had a fantastic season. She has performed consistently throughout the season, impacting games and racking up some big numbers in terms of goals and assists.

Players' Player of the Year: Holly Minshull
This award always means a lot - to be voted the best by your peers. Holly has been an ever present at the heart of our Under-16s' defence and has also represented her country at international level.

Young Player of the Year: Dixie Thirde
Another consistent performer, Dixie has played in all positions across the back line and has adjusted to every challenge with ease. We look forward to seeing her continue her development next season as an Under-16 player.

Values Player: Millie Crook
Our Under-16s captain epitomises the club values in everything she does both on and off the pitch. While being a standout performer, and a leading voice amongst the group, Millie always puts others before herself.
 
Good for them to get some actual recognition, there was a weird thing in the match report from the Arsenal game where they only referred to the players by their first names which I found strange
 
Rood said:
Good for them to get some actual recognition, there was a weird thing in the match report from the Arsenal game where they only referred to the players by their first names which I found strange
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Yeah I noticed that, you can even see a couple of pages ago that last season they did a full preview of the playoff with players to watch etc. My guess is still that the takeover and Bancroft being on the way out has led to everything on the women's side just running idle for a while.
 
Adedini is apparently in our academy. Born in 2009. Four goals in 46 minutes in the WU17s Euros so far.

She doesn’t look physically far away from being able to at least train with the first team. And yes I know it’s an U17s tournament.





 
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top1whoisman said:
Adedini is apparently in our academy. Born in 2009. Four goals in 46 minutes in the WU17s Euros so far.

She doesn’t look physically far away from being able to at least train with the first team. And yes I know it’s an U17s tournament.





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Third best goalscorer in the tournament. In 46 minutes of playing time. Playing three years up.
 
U16s fixtures at the SuperCupNI:

Monday 22 July
16:30 BST | United vs USSSA Select

Tuesday 23 July
16:30 BST | United vs Surf Select

Wednesday 24 July
19:00 BST | United vs Aston Villa


U16s squad for the SuperCupNI:

42. Jessica Anderson
43. Holly Minshull
64. Evie Mitchell
65. Sienna Limbert
66. Lucy Robinson
68. Niamh Donelan
70. Ellen Marsh
71. Holly Wilson
72. Pixie Bradley
73. Casey Leigh-Lamb
74. Emma Smith
76. Jessica Nwachukwu
77. Layla Grey
78. Dixie Thirde
80. Ebony Wilkinson
82. Tia Brookes
83. Poppy Lyons-Walker
85. Poppy Holt
 
top1whoisman said:
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Mixed feelings about this. It's good for us as there's certainly a lack of opportunities for our U19s and U21s to play good regular competitive football. Whether that could have been done by improving the U21 competitions I don't know.

The worry is what does it do to the FAWNL clubs. There's a risk that we might take some of the joy of football at that level if we make it sound like a training ground for the pro clubs.

If the NFL clubs have been properly consulted and they think it will add something to their competition and maybe draw extra fans or whatever - then I withdraw my be objection!

I'm just suspicious that women's football is still trying to develop a sustainable infrastructure. For me, that includes a football pyramid and creating new clubs in under supplied regions. This feels like another development focused on the needs of elite football. Maybe I'm being unfair.
 
England U17 beat the Faroe Islands 7-0 on their opening match. Jessica Anderson got a hattrick.
 
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