Touchline No. 29 / MAY 2016 www.lfe.org.uk @LFEonline /LFEonline THE DEBUTANTS P6 LIFE SKILLS P12 EURO FOCUS P14 PFA SAFETY NET P18 OSTERSUNDS FK P20 Alfie Egan AFC Wimbledon Ronan Hale Birmingham City Education Assessment Ethan Wassall Derby County Finn O’Mara Gillingham Support Fund Trials 2016 Liam Harris Lincoln City BY ELAINE BRAND LFE’s annual Assessment Trials offers players the the chance to showcase their talents in front 11 James Justin Luton Town The latest eleven talented teenagers of an army of scouts from professional clubs, to make the grade in LFE’s February Mitchell Curry Middlesbrough non-league and from Universities in the UK line-up, as voted by our team of James Hammond Northampton Town and abroad. Regional Officers, were: Adam May Portsmouth The events, which are open to those who are coming towards the end of Nominations are made four times each season by LFE’s Sheffield Wednesday regional officers and the winners all receive a certificate, George Hirst their apprenticeship or the end of a first cheque for £50 and coverage on the LFE website. Jake Phillips Wrexham professional contract (Under 19 year), aim to help players find a route back into the game at MAY DEADLINE FOR an appropriate level. 31 FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT ESF SUBMISSIONS www.lfe.org.uk/trials2016 As the deadline for making a claim from the Education Support Fund draws LFE Club Meetings nearer, LFE chief executive Alan Sykes has warned clubs ‘don’t miss out!’ LFE’s annual Club Meetings are set to take place at Oxford, Leicester Claim forms and supporting documentation and Huddersfield. must be received at LFE before 31 May for an GOAL award to be made. To date just thirty-three per The events are designed to help clubs share best cent of the fund has been distributed and Sykes THURSDAY 5 MAY 2016 OF THE MONTH practice and deliver updates on the apprenticeship is eager to ensure clubs do not hesitate over Rochdale AFC, Spotland Stadium BY ELAINE BRAND in sporting excellence programme. Clubs can send up to four delegates on the day, for registration and their applications. more information please visit LFE’s website. The votes for Goal of the Month have flooded in “I would urge clubs to make claims as soon this season (again). More clubs are submitting as possible and not leave things until the last quality goals ahead of the shortlisting process minute,” said Sykes. “Clubs run the risk of being and viewing figures remain strong. TUESDAY 3 MAY 2016 Oxford United FC unable to maximise their claim or missing out Over 11,000 votes have already been cast this altogether otherwise.” season and at the time of writing seven players had received monthly awards. Any queries should be directed to Alan Sykes TUESDAY 10 MAY 2016 WEDNESDAY 4 MAY 2016 on 01772 326 870 or email: [email protected] February’s selection featured 10 excellent strikes Leicester City FC Woking FC, The Laithwaite Community Stadium but Millwall’s Mikael Ndjoli beat his fellow apprentices attracting 45 per cent of the vote for his stunning goal against Colchester United. THURSDAY 5 MAY 2016 WATCH THE GOALS AND CAST YOUR VOTE Huddersfield Town FC Pass4Soccer lfe.org.uk/goal-of-the-month LFETV Pass4Soccer, LFE’s official partner when it comes to helping players earn soccer scholarships with Colleges and Universities in The USA is once again hosting a trial WEDNESDAY 11 MAY 2016 game for players in May. Port Vale FC, Vale Park Welcome to Touchline, brought to The event which will take place on Friday 13 May at you by League Football Education Sutton Coldfield Town FC, is open to those who have come through LFE’s apprenticeship programme and will be attended by scores of US University soccer LFE is supported by: coaches keen to recruit players for their squads for next season. For more information about the opportunity and to THURSDAY 12 MAY 2016 register please call Pass4Soccer on 0191 229 5263 Nuneaton Town FC, GV’s Liberty Way Stadium or visit www.pass4soccer.com. 2 NEWS www.lfe.org.uk @LFEonline /LFEonline NEWS 3 Academy Leagues Round-Up BY JACK WYLIE Youth Alliance North East Division South Division - Merit League 1 The North East section is still up for grabs as just Leyton Orient have sprung a surprise by securing a eight points separate the top 10 teams. Scunthorpe four-point lead at the top of the Merit League One are currently in the driving seat with a lead of two table with just two games remaining. Orient finished points after a run of three consecutive wins, while third in the South East section, but have won seven second-placed Mansfield are heading in the opposite of their opening eight games in the new format, direction with just one point from a possible six in April. conceding just one goal in that time. Lincoln were the form side in the division during Their closest rivals are Portsmouth, who scraped into autumn but their challenge has dissipated with three the League One section by a point after finishing fifth consecutive defeats, including a 2-0 loss against in the South West division. Mikey Harris’ side have Burton, which keeps Albion in contention. been prolific in front of goal, producing 12 different scorers with Tommy Scutt claiming a club-high five. One team out of the running is Bradford, who were reigning champions for two successive years. The Pompey have been involved in a number of goal Bantams began the season as the early leaders, but extravaganzas, including a 5-5 draw against fourth- have managed just two victories so far in 2016. placed Wimbledon and a 4-3 win over Bournemouth, who sit third, but were convincingly beaten 4-0 by the North West Division O’s to lose ground on the leaders. It looks like a two-horse race at the top of the North Both Luton, runaway winners of the South East division, West division in a repeat of the 2014/15 season as and Plymouth, who topped the South West table, have last year’s top two Bury and Wigan are again battling struggled, languishing in fifth and ninth, respectively. for silverware. U18 Professional Development League U18 Premier League South Division – Merit League 2 Will Ryder’s Latics have remained at the summit of Oxford United have emerged as clear favourites to win North Tier One the division for the majority of the campaign, but a the lower division after gaining seven wins from eight 3-2 defeat to Preston allowed the Shakers, who are Nottingham Forest wrapped up the title with ease, Manchester City won the top of the table battle in a games. The U’s missed out on reaching the League One eight games unbeaten, to erase the deficit with five completing their season on 71 points, 15 ahead of dress rehearsal for the Youth Cup final. Braces from level by just a point, but began the new campaign with games to go. Crewe Alexandra and Sheffield United. Forest have the Lukas Nmecha and Brahim Diaz overturned a 3-1 half- a 7-0 victory over Newport to banish any negative vibes. Athletic are relying on goal difference to stay above best defensive and goalscoring record in the division, time deficit as City triumphed 4-3 against Chelsea. The leaders are joint top scorers with third-placed Ryan Kidd’s side, and the two teams face off for while striker Ben Brereton tops the individual scoring Meanwhile Blackburn face a fixture backlog after their Swindon and possess the meanest defence, having a potential title decider at the end of April in the charts alongside Birmingham’s Ronan Hale with 26. run to the FA Youth Cup semi final. conceded just seven goals. penultimate fixture of the campaign. Huddersfield, who had been the pacesetters over MK Dons were the nearest challengers, but were the previous two seasons, relinquished their control Tier Two beaten 3-2 to end their title hopes, meaning only of second place to United when the Blades inflicted Cambridge, who have a game in hand, can prevent Middlesbrough have taken command of Tier Two, Oxford from claiming glory, but they lie a distant a 5-0 drubbing after 21-goal striker Jordan Hallam creating a five-point gap to their nearest rivals. Leading eight points adrift with three games left. produced a hat-trick. scorer Mitchell Curry has bagged five times in five games since the tier system divide, taking his tally for South the season to 18. Meanwhile, Wolves are struggling at the foot of the table after suffering 7-2 and 7-3 losses Watford have ended Charlton’s domination of the to Leicester and Tottenham, respectively. division by securing the title with a game still to play. Athletic had led the way throughout the campaign, but stumbled over the past month with just one win Tier Three in five to hand the advantage to the Hornets. Brighton beat fellow Championship outfit Derby to David Horseman’s triumphant team are on an claim top spot in the bottom tier. Reece Meekums has impressive streak of 11 clean sheets in a row, as been in prolific form for Albion, notching six goals, well as being 14 games unbeaten to claim the including a hat-trick in the 5-2 win against Norwich. Development League South crown. County, who lie third, have also enjoyed success over the Premier League teams, convincingly defeating Newcastle (4-0) and Manchester United (3-0). 4 NEWS www.lfe.org.uk @LFEonline /LFEonline NEWS 5 Josh Koroma Harrison Chapman George Miller Hakeem Odoffin Leyton Orient Middlesbrough/Barnsley Bury Barnet 1 A 3-0 defeat in April at Barnet will not be a happy 2 It is no surprise that Harry can’t get into a 3 In the last Touchline we reported on three Bury 4 It has been a whirlwind season for classy centre- memory for any Orient fan, nor for player-manager Middlesbrough side going for promotion to the apprentices making their first team debuts for back Hakeem.