Reserves and Academy 2022/23

[OCD]

U23's 3-1 up at half time against Chase Town with the team being replaced by the U18's at half time.

Louie Barry's been the stand out player, making 2 and scoring 1, playing as a wide '10'. Apparently his pass for one of the goals was class.

Raiky has been called into the first team squad for tomorrow's game against Walsall.

[Dogtanian]

Caleb Chuckwuemeka got a hattrick, fair play to him. Let’s hope he’s come back with a point to prove and determined to show his quality.

[Legion]

W 8-2.

[dcdavecollett]

Anyone know the line-up(s)?

[Dogtanian]

1st half lineup:
Wright; Ealing, Smith, Swinkels, Frith; Lindley, Wright, Teddy Rowe; Afoka, Young, Barry

2nd half:
Wright (Lane); Barber, A.O'Reilly, Sohna (Softley), Munroe; Alcock, Barnes (Moore), Pierre; Lutz, Chukwuemeka, Burchall

Match report and photos here:
https://www.pitchero.com/clubs/chasetown/teams/20991/match-centre/0-5334489/report

[cdbearsfan]

Thanks Dogtanian. Is that three different Wrights, or two? And are they related?

[ADVILLAFAN]

Assume one Wright who is is GK and one other in Midfield.

[OCD]

Aston Villa’s academy is thriving – only Big Six have more England youth players

By Gregg Evans (in the Athletic)

At Aston Villa, there is a unique judging system in place.

Rather than solely focusing on whether talented young players in the academy have achieved first-team recognition — or are getting closer  — the real barometer of success lies on the international stage.

It is why on the Monday after every international break, the owners — Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens — and chief executive Christian Purslow are updated with a set of statistics showing how many of Villa’s players were called up.

Age-group representation is identified as a key performance indicator and the average over recent years has grown significantly.

Villa had eight foreign internationals called up from the development squad last season and 14 players represented England from under-15 to under-21 level.

Those numbers are the seventh-highest in the Premier League, closing the gap on the so-called Big Six.

Manchester City and Chelsea — clubs with a high number of youngsters called up regularly — are still way out in front but Villa are knocking on the doors of Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Arsenal. That is an achievement for a club entering its fourth consecutive top-flight season.

Cameron Archer’s introduction into the England Under-21 set-up was a boost. He scored four goals in four games and is on the verge of challenging the senior forwards at Villa for Premier League game time.

Jacob Ramsey, the club’s young player of the season, experienced an uplift during 2021-22. Former manager Dean Smith gave him his chance but Steven Gerrard solidified it by retaining faith even when performance levels slightly dipped.

Gerrard has since shown that he is not afraid to give other young players a chance and unlike in previous years, Villa are not just pinning their hopes on one standout player (i.e. Jack Grealish).

Cameron Archer
Archer is pushing hard for a first-team place after impressing on loan in the Championship with Preston. There is a firm belief that two or three players from each age category have a chance of breaking into the first team and starring on the senior international stage.

Archer and Ramsey lead the way but Jaden Philogene-Bidace (20) and Kaine Kesler Hayden (19) are not far behind.

England Under-19 European Championship winners Carney Chukwuemeka (18), Tim Iroegbunam and Aaron Ramsey (both 19) are all knocking on the door.

The list does not stop there, though. Finland Under-21 goalkeeper and captain Viljami Sinisalo is highly thought of and has just been rewarded with a new deal.

Defender Josh Feeney is the England Under-17 captain and has signed a new deal alongside Lamare Bogarde, who captains the Netherlands’ under-18s. Bogarde’s room-mate and Villa’s scholar of the year, Sil Swinkels, is another player developing. Tommi O’Reilly, Louie Barry, Ben Chrisene, Jayden Barber and Oliwier Zych, the Poland Under-18 goalkeeper, are being monitored closely.

Youth-team staff, fronted by academy manager Mark Harrison and with the support of the owners and Purslow, are looking at ways to further develop the production line to become one of the best around.

Landing free-scoring 16-year-old Scottish forward Rory Wilson from Rangers is a start and a wide range of other talented teenagers are under close assessment.

They want to bring local players through from a young age — and have outlined plans for a new inner-city academy building close to Villa Park — but are prepared to invest in top performers from across the country.

The trio who performed so well in Slovakia this summer at the Under-19 Euros highlight that. Aaron Ramsey, from nearby Great Barr, started at Villa as a six-year-old and has progressed through the ranks. Chukwuemeka came from Northampton Town’s academy at a later age, but Iroegbunam was signed from rivals West Bromwich Albion only last summer as an 18-year-old. All three have a chance of kicking on.

After last week’s triumph at the Euros, Villa’s young players have been attracting a lot of noise.

Chukwuemeka and Aaron Ramsey made their Villa debuts in 2021 and Iroegbunam followed shortly after the turn of the year.

Chukwuemeka and Ireogbunam — the rangy midfield pair — were trusted to start a game in the Premier League, too, at 18.

It is the smaller and slighter Ramsey, however, who has been identified as the player to become the real breakthrough star.

When he was a member of the Villa side that won the Under-15 Floodlit Cup, he was the talk of the team. Even his brother, Jacob, who has become a regular in the first team, was not as highly thought of. The brothers were not as physically advanced as some of their team-mates in their younger years but are now developing.

The success of Jacob Ramsey has shown there is a path to the first team at Villa (Photo: Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)
Technically, Aaron is there. His recent loan spell in League One with Cheltenham Town has worked wonders.

The big question is whether any of them will get the opportunities to play regularly for Villa this season.

Iroegbunam’s enthusiasm and energy were impressive in three appearances towards the end of last season. A 14-minute outing at Leicester City was lauded by Gerrard who said after the game that “we think the world of him”.

Iroegbunam offered some much-needed height in defensive midfield and closed down opponents quickly and efficiently. His first start against Norwich City the following week was steady if not spectacular. He still needs to work on his positioning but the early signs are promising and he is tied down to a long-term deal.

There is a stack of Championship clubs wanting to take him on loan next season, including Queens Park Rangers, with former Villa assistant Michael Beale in charge, and Stoke City, but Gerrard will take a closer look in pre-season first having signed Boubacar Kamara in the defensive midfield position.

Chukwuemeka’s situation is more nuanced. He has a year left to run on his contract and has not let discussions around his future affect his work in training or around games. Villa want to extend his stay but an agreement has yet to be reached.

He was the youngest player in 2021-22 to start a Premier League game when he was named in the starting XI for the 1-1 draw with Brentford in August and is rated highly.

All three players will be on the pre-season tour to Australia and for Aaron Ramsey, in particular, that will be a big boost.

There is a chance he could work himself into contention and earn a promotion into the first-team set-up. With the five substitute rule coming into effect, managers will be able to mix and match their team more often and that could benefit younger players.

Young goalkeeper Filip Marshall, who missed out on England’s under-19 squad despite an impressive season on loan at National League North winners Gateshead, will also travel to Australia where Villa have three games during a hectic pre-season period.

The trip to Australia will also give Gerrard another look at the developing players but many will continue their development on loan.

Villa’s head of emerging talent and loans, Adam Henshall, was at the Under-19 Euros watching the Villa trio as loan moves are considered.

Alongside Mile Jedinak, the loan player development coach, the pair continue to analyse the best options for players.

The success of Archer at Preston North End, Kesler Hayden at MK Dons, Ramsey at Cheltenham and Barry at Swindon Town in the second half of last season showed the importance of picking the right move.

Villa also felt that it was time to add a fresh spin to the youth-team coaching set-up.

It is why they signed Blackburn’s head of coaching Tony Carss as their new under-23s manager, with Gerard Nash (from the Irish FA) and Adem Atay (Ipswich Town) also arriving to work with the under-18s.

Villa won the FA Youth Cup in 2021 and there is a legacy building. The England boys who won this summer’s Euros will be hoping to build on that momentum.

[Dante Lavelli]

A good read.  Thanks for posting OCD.

[cdbearsfan]

Thanks OCD.

[JD]

That's a very good read OCD, thanks for posting it.

[dcdavecollett]

Thanks to Dogtanian and OCD.

[Risso]

"Chukwuemeka and Aaron Ramsey made their Villa debuts in 2021 and Iroegbunam followed shortly after the turn of the year."

Aaron Ramsey hasn't played for us yet has he?

[Dogtanian]

He came on as a sub at Barrow.

[Clampy]

I think he may have played in a previous cup game as well but I stand correct on that.