The development of the reserves

[Riviman]

U21 Development Squad playing at the Reebok tonight against West Brom. Free for season ticket holders. Anyone going?

I'll be there!

Same here.

Me too

[thebish]

well the U18s blazed the west brom trail with an emphatic 1-0 win - keeping us

TOP OF THE LEAGUE!!!!!

Wanderers’ under-18 side continue to lead the way at the summit of the academy league table after extending their unbeaten run with a 1-0 away win over West Brom at the weekend.

Bulgarian Georg Iliev netted the all-important goal late in the piece to secure a maximum haul for David Lee and Tony Kelly’s side.

The margin of victory could have been greater, with Luke Woodland crashing an effort against the crossbar in the first half and the in-form Zach Clough coming close on a number of occasions.

Though it was left for Iliev to net the winner in the 75th minute, rising high to glance home Jordan Hendrie’s teasing centre.

Head coach Lee said: “This was our toughest test so far this season. We had to work hard from the first whistle to the last.

“I was delighted with all the players’ attitude, desire, commitment and work ethic in another excellent workmanlike performance.

“You can’t always play attractive football and I was delighted with how the players withstood the physical challenges of West Brom and adapted their game at times.

“We played the game at a high tempo and overall I felt this was a deserved win.”

Wanderers:Sievers, Matthews, Hendrie, Holding, Maher, Woodland, Youngs, Bailey, Clough, Iliev, Newby

[Leyther_Matt]

Lonergan, Riley, Petrov, Pratley and Wylde all starting. For some reason there's a kids football team from Australia in the stands and two French blokes sat in front of me.

[Salford Trotter]

0-0 HT West Brom look a threat up front with some last ditch defending at times from our back four (something strangely familiar about that). A couple of goal scoring opportunities for the Whites but pretty average stuff on the whole. The peppered steak pie was probably the highlight!

[Salford Trotter]

Riley off injured
0-1

[TKIZ!]

Riley out!

[Leyther_Matt]

A few people booed at the final whistle, I kid you not. World's gone mad. Lonergan had something of a storming game and made a good few excellent saves.

[Salford Trotter]

West Brom were comfortably the better team and if it weren't for Lonergan's saves it could have been a bigger margin of defeat. Nice to see Vela supporting his team mates but he was on crutches so it suggests he has still some way to go in his rehabilitation.

[TKIZ!]

A few people booed at the final whistle, I kid you not. World's gone mad. Lonergan had something of a storming game and made a good few excellent saves.

Bit of a joke that. No need for it

[Leyther_Matt]

A few people booed at the final whistle, I kid you not. World's gone mad. Lonergan had something of a storming game and made a good few excellent saves.

Bit of a joke that. No need for it

Pratley also got hounded by a sizeable minority for having the cheek of Petrov playing a bad ball to him.

[TKIZ!]

Just very silly. Let's all get on the players back during a reserves game

[officer_dibble]

Lol@going to the reserves and booing

unless coyle was there. Id boo that man doing his asda big shop

[Bruce Rioja]

Lol@going to the reserves and booing

unless coyle was there. Id boo that man doing his asda big shop

That'd be fecking brilliant. Just appear from behind the fruit and "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Lol@going to the reserves and booing

unless coyle was there. Id boo that man doing his asda big shop

That'd be fecking brilliant. Just appear from behind the fruit and "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

I imagine he'd be a sucker for the impulse buys

Sees a fellow Scotsman eyeing something up, outbids him for it

Hasn't got room in his trolley for everything so he pulls out the milk and bog-roll and fills it with sweets and gaudy baubles

Buys a tiara and shoots the shire horse

[Prufrock]

[norm the jedi]

You're punching a corpse now.....
Funny mind.....

Just sayin

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

You're punching a corpse now.....
Funny mind.....

Just sayin

I posted it before he went, Norm, but thanks.

[officer_dibble]

It was funny
but you must go in some posh london shops what sell tiaras

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

It was funny
but you must go in some posh london shops what sell tiaras

It's a long way down the M1, friend.

[Salford Trotter]

2-2 vrs Reading tonight Wylde/Riley

I would have been there to watch the lads play but I went to watch to watch my son run the line at Man City's U16s match vrs Tranmere tonight instead. The quality City had on show was something to behold but the reality that footballers of this age have to face was all too apparent. I was told by one of the parents that out of the 17 players in the squad only 1 or 2 possibly 3 will be chosen to enter into the Scholarship programme which takes the players through to 18 and possibly the offer of a pro contract. Such is the clinical nature of the youth programmes at all professional football clubs that the decision on the future of these players will be made in November and City had invited clubs down to scout the players that won't be staying on. I saw scouts from PNE, Barnsley, Everton, Liverpool and Bolton all running the rule over prospective recruits. It appears that City have switched their recruitment focus and have been scouring the African continent plus they're picking up the cast-offs from the Barca and Real Acadamies. This is now starting to undermine what has been held up as being the best Academy set-up in the Manchester/NW in developing young talent but I guess if you're building a dynasty then recruiting the world's finest talent is what you have to do.