Under-17 Squad

[samhaydenjr]

Michael Obafemi scored Southampton U18s' last goal in a 4-0 win over Chelsea, which is his fourth in four games and his sixth in eight: https://www.premierleague.com/match/23232/u18-premier-league/2017-18/southampton-v-chelsea

Lee O'Connor notched up a brace for Manchester United against Middlesbrough: https://www.premierleague.com/match/23230/u18-premier-league/2017-18/man-utd-v-middlesbrough

Conor Tee scored Leicester's opener against Arsenal: https://www.premierleague.com/match/23228/u18-premier-league/2017-18/leicester-v-arsenal

[liamoo11]

I see ferry played for Southampton seemingly he was in an under 18 squad for us last season while he was at bury .

[Olé Olé]

I see ferry played for Southampton seemingly he was in an under 18 squad for us last season while he was at bury .

He hasn't totally ditched us. He retweeted the following on his twitter (WillFerry10): https://twitter.com/FAIreland/status/917489846633066496

[samhaydenjr]

Two more for Obafemi today: https://www.premierleague.com/match/23249/u18-premier-league/2017-18/reading-v-southampton

[Olé Olé]

Two more for Obafemi today: https://www.premierleague.com/match/23249/u18-premier-league/2017-18/reading-v-southampton
And the other from our own Will Ferry.

[samhaydenjr]

Conor Tee got a brace for Leicester against Swansea: https://www.premierleague.com/match/23257/u18-premier-league/2017-18/leicester-v-swansea

Adam Idah on the scoresheet for Norwich U18s: https://www.premierleague.com/match/23256/u18-premier-league/2017-18/fulham-v-norwich

Ryan Cassidy hit double figures for the season for Watford U18 today: https://twitter.com/casso_9/status/934519192237346816

Michael Obafemi got the assist on Southampton's winner against Brighton: https://www.premierleague.com/match/23262/u18-premier-league/2017-18/southampton-v-brighton

[Olé Olé]

Sam or Liam, have we ever had a spate of 17 to 19 year old goalscorers like we have had now or is the coverage of the under 18 leagues and general increased coverage of everything football providing more visibility? There appears to be 5-10 that are serious hotshots across PL teams. Very hopeful for the future. We might not see the fruits of all this for 2020 qualification but 2022 could see some of these lads involved.

[liamoo11]

Sam or Liam, have we ever had a spate of 17 to 19 year old goalscorers like we have had now or is the coverage of the under 18 leagues and general increased coverage of everything football providing more visibility? There appears to be 5-10 that are serious hotshots across PL teams. Very hopeful for the future. We might not see the fruits of all this for 2020 qualification but 2022 could see some of these lads involved.

slot more coverage I suppose. If u think about it 10 years ago we had Stokes as an 18 year old top scoring loads in spl , Barrett played for arsenal as an 18 year old, Billy Clarke played for Ipswich at the same age, best played at Southampton at 18 And mcgoldick also played for Southampton at 18 . Out of all of them we didn't get much striking ability at senior level. Will many of the lads we post about here now play for their clubs senior sides by age of 18? Be nice if we capped the tee lad soon for our 19s

[CraftyToePoke]

slot more coverage I suppose. If u think about it 10 years ago we had Stokes as an 18 year old top scoring loads in spl , Barrett played for arsenal as an 18 year old, Billy Clarke played for Ipswich at the same age, best played at Southampton at 18 And mcgoldick also played for Southampton at 18 . Out of all of them we didn't get much striking ability at senior level. Will many of the lads we post about here now play for their clubs senior sides by age of 18? Be nice if we capped the tee lad soon for our 19s

Post of the year for buzz kill reality check is all yours, right there, liamoo :)

[samhaydenjr]

Sam or Liam, have we ever had a spate of 17 to 19 year old goalscorers like we have had now or is the coverage of the under 18 leagues and general increased coverage of everything football providing more visibility? There appears to be 5-10 that are serious hotshots across PL teams. Very hopeful for the future. We might not see the fruits of all this for 2020 qualification but 2022 could see some of these lads involved.


slot more coverage I suppose. If u think about it 10 years ago we had Stokes as an 18 year old top scoring loads in spl , Barrett played for arsenal as an 18 year old, Billy Clarke played for Ipswich at the same age, best played at Southampton at 18 And mcgoldick also played for Southampton at 18 . Out of all of them we didn't get much striking ability at senior level. Will many of the lads we post about here now play for their clubs senior sides by age of 18? Be nice if we capped the tee lad soon for our 19s


Post of the year for buzz kill reality check is all yours, right there, liamoo :)

Liamoo probably does have a point about it being easier to follow the fortunes of Irish players going through English academies and, sure, some will fall by the wayside (it would be unrealistic for us to think that all of the Irish talent will make the the grade when thousands of their peers will end up in lower leagues or out of football altogether, as Irish hopefuls like Conor Clifford, Conor Henderson, Noe Baba, Sean Murray, John-Joe O'Toole and Alex O'Hanlon have previously). It can be difficult to even transfer regular scoring at U18 level even to U23 level, as Ronan Hale has recently found out. And yet... there is cause to believe that there might be at least a few future international strikers amongst this bunch.

Let's first look at two previous groups of young strikers that we had high hopes for - Liamoo's group from about a decade ago of McGoldrick, Stokes and Clarke (Barrett would have been a few a few years prior); and a group from about five years ago, which would have been made up of Maguire, O'Brien, Drennan, Burke, Mason and Hogan. OK, none of them turned out to be the next Robbie Keane, but of the first group Stokes probably had the talent to be part of the international set-up, but lacked the application, while McGoldrick was only able to confirm his eligibility in 2014 and but for that and injuries would have had more caps and a few goals for us - he's back on form this season so he should get more games in upcoming friendlies and the UEFA Nations League. So two out of three from that group went on to play for the Senior team and McGoldrick is likely to play a bigger part over the next couple of years. Of the second group, Maguire, O'Brien and Hogan took indirect routes to Championship level but they are all there now and have received call-ups to the international side, with Maguire already making his debut. So it's likely that two or three of that group of six will play a part over the coming years.

So while there was no superstars among those groups, at the end of the day four or five out of nine will likely end up with senior caps for Ireland and hopefully three of them will end up with a bunch of goals between them. So not a terrible success ratio. Right now, we are tracking about 12-15 young Irish strikers, including the top scorers in qualifying for both the last UEFA U17 Championships. If a similar proportion does make it out of that group, then five years from now we will hopefully have a half-dozen extra forwards to choose from. And while Ronan Hale has found the step-up to U23 level a little steep initially, Aaron Connolly, Jonathan Afolabi and Gerry McDonagh have already had some success at that level, with McDonagh and Connolly already after getting senior game-time. Meantime Adam Idah, whose record for our U17s can only be described as phenomenal, notched his fourth competitive goal for Norwich's U18s since his move from College Corinthians in the summer, Michael Obafemi has been on an excellent scoring spree for Southampton, Ryan Cassidy is topping the scoring chart in his league, Glen McAuley has had a couple of great seasons at Liverpool, Shola Ayoola has notched three goals in recent weeks for Stoke U23s and we've yet to see how good Parrott and Okoflex could be. Plus there's likely to be a few others who use the League of Ireland as a springboard for their careers over the next few years.

To answer Ole Ole's original question, based on the numbers we're looking at, I do actually think this is an unprecedented group of striking talent coming through. So there's definite reason for cautious optimism that we won't fall over a goalscoring cliff over the next decade, at the very least, and that we will quite possibly have a really strong forward line in five to seven years time

[Olé Olé]

Cheers Sam. That's what I'm sensing myself but it's good to have it confirmed by someone a bit more knowledgeable.

It could be argued that Stokes wasn't the only one from that group that lacked application. I don't think Leon Best is short ability either, as he has been able to demonstrate when he has felt like it.

[samhaydenjr]

Little bit of trouble getting updates from today, as U18 results not showing on Premier League site but got some info on twitter and there's some good news from a few of our main striking prospects:

Biggest performance of the day: Aaron Connolly got a hat-trick for Brighton U18s against Blackburn: https://twitter.com/AaronConnolly_9/status/937053120638738432

Adam Idah scored against Man City U18s in U18 Premier League Cup: https://twitter.com/adamidah1/status/936956217917890560

Ryan Cassidy got 2 for Watford in an U18 Professional Development League clash with Crystal Palace - he's on a blistering run, top scorer in his league already: https://twitter.com/casso_9/status/937043080980717570

[Bungle]

McCauley was injured so didn't play for Liverpool today.

Very encouraging stuff from those lads. If even one could become a Robbie😂

[samhaydenjr]

McCauley was injured so didn't play for Liverpool today.

Very encouraging stuff from those lads. If even one could become a Robbie

It'd be very difficult to get another Robbie, but if two or three can develop into internationals capable of scoring 30+ over the course of their career, then we'd be well set up for the next decade or so - and right now there's at least half a dozen youngsters whose careers are certainly moving quickly in the right direction towards that goal, along with a quite a few others who have also shown some potential.

[Olé Olé]

It'd be very difficult to get another Robbie, but if two or three can develop into internationals capable of scoring 30+ over the course of their career, then we'd be well set up for the next decade or so - and right now there's at least half a dozen youngsters whose careers are certainly moving quickly in the right direction towards that goal, along with a quite a few others who have also shown some potential.

At the same time, the first one of any of these lads making their PL debut would attract so much hype, compared to the hype Robbie was offered after scoring 11 goals in the Championship at the mere age of 17.

[samhaydenjr]

At the same time, the first one of any of these lads making their PL debut would attract so much hype, compared to the hype Robbie was offered after scoring 11 goals in the Championship at the mere age of 17.

Yeah, and I think it could well surprise a lot of people how quickly this could happen, particularly the Debbie Downers who think we have no talent coming through. In fact, an optimistic, but not entirely unrealistic, timeline could see a number of players emerge so quickly it make people's head spin, possibly breaking into first teams before the next European Qualifiers in March 2019:
1. Aaron Connolly has already made his senior competitive debut for a Premier League, albeit just some garbage time in the League Cup. At 17, he's already playing regularly for the U23s and has a couple of goals to his name at that level - his hat-trick upon a return to U18 level yesterday is an indicator that he's ready to continue at a higher level.
2. Jonathan Afolabi is the same age as Connolly and has actually played more and scored more (4) than Connolly at U23 level this season. I watched a youtube video of Southampton's 4-0 win against Reading earlier this season and he's grown into a big lad - by the time he hits his twenties he could be a towering target man, like Andy Carroll size. A few more goals in the coming months and Mauricio Pellegrino might start looking at him as an option (or he might get a loan deal)
3. Adam Idah is over a year younger than the two of them, only moved from College Corinthians in the summer, but already has four goals in seven games for Norwich's U18s which has led to his U23 debut already. If he can build on that and become a regular at that level in the New Year, who knows what could happen next season?
4. Ryan Cassidy also went to England in the summer, to Premier League Watford. Since then, he's bagged 12 goals for their U18s and is top scorer in the U18 professional Development League. If he keeps this up, surely he will move up to U23 level soon.
5 It feels like we've been talking about Glen McAuley for ages and he's been scoring a bit more sporadically in recent months, but he's still only 17 and at a top-six academy. And while his pathway to Liverpool's first team might seem a bit far as yet, he will hopefully get a shot at U23 level soon and maybe a loan move within the next 18 months.
6. Michael Obafemi is now third in the scoring charts in the U18s Premier League, so he will hopefully be following Southampton team-mate Afolabi up to U23 level soon.
7. Gerry McDonagh already has nearly a full season of first-team action under his belt, albeit on loan at lower levels - when he returned to Forest's U23s he got something like six goals in seven. If his current loan deal at Tranmere is successful, a promotion to Forest's first team could follow
8. Shola Ayoola has started scoring for Stoke's U23s

Again, it's probably still overly optimistic to expect any of them to break through by the start of the qualifiers, but there's a good chance that the Long/McGoldrick/Maguire/Hogan strike force we are likely to start with will quite possibly be only a short bridge to the next generation and that bodes well the future of the National Team

[Bungle]

I think we could have a lovely youthful feel in 2-3 years.

It would be great to get to euro 2020 because it will be the biggest sporting event ever held in the country and we would play in front of our own fans for group and possibly a last 16 game. The financial benefit could be massive for the game.

However,i would gladly sacrifice the qualifiers for wc 2022 unless we get a group like our last one for wc2018 if it means getting a vibrant team coming through,albeit with a few beatings and plenty of learning curves.

[samhaydenjr]

Glen McAuley back scoring for Liverpool U18s in their 2-2 draw against Man utd. Lee O'Connor got an assist for United:https://www.premierleague.com/match/23268/u18-premier-league/2017-18/man-utd-v-liverpool

[samhaydenjr]

Possibly getting overshadowed a little by his Canadian team-mate Liam Millar, who netted a hat-trick today, but Glen McAuley has kept his own form going, scoring one against Hartlepool in the FA Youth Cup 3rd round: http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/academy/284186-millar-nets-a-treble-as-u18s-hit-five-at-hartlepool-united

[tetsujin1979]

‘It was a night to remember’ – Irish striker excited about his future at Norwich after Youth Cup hat-trick: http://www.pinkun.com/norwich-city/idah-excited-about-his-norwich-future-1-5319481

[Olé Olé]

At a club like Norwich, you would have to imagine a prolific youth striker like that would get opportunities earlier than he would at other clubs.

[liamoo11]

Glen McAuley back scoring for Liverpool U18s in their 2-2 draw against Man utd. Lee O'Connor got an assist for United:https://www.premierleague.com/match/23268/u18-premier-league/2017-18/man-utd-v-liverpool

https://www.hartlepoolunited.co.uk/news/2017/december/141217-hartlepool-united-1-liverpool-5-fa-youth-cup-highlights/ mccauley goal around tge 4.20

[liamoo11]

josh knight scored winning pen as derby knocked out man utd. he has 6 goals already this season for derby under 18s . he is an under 17 international this season like idah

[DeLorean]

Jason Knight (there's a Josh at Leicester, not Irish though). Derby and Norwich are actually playing each other in the next round so a bit of interest there.

[DannyInvincible]

‘It was a night to remember’ – Irish striker excited about his future at Norwich after Youth Cup hat-trick: http://www.pinkun.com/norwich-city/idah-excited-about-his-norwich-future-1-5319481

Michael Obafemi also scored a hat-trick for Southampton in the FA Youth Cup.

Videos of his goals here: http://www.punditarena.com/football/sokeefe/obafemi-southampton-hat-trick/

As far as I know, Obafemi is playing for us at under-19 level at the minute. (Is there an under-19s thread?)

Does anyone know was he born in Ireland or how does he qualify for us? He seems to have a London accent from this interview:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9Jtl_zss14

He mentions having played for a Sunday league team when he first got into football before playing for Leyton Orient, but I can't make out the name.

[nigel-harps1954]

https://southamptonfc.com/u18s/michael-obafemi

According to Southampton website, born in Ireland but raised in Hornchurch.

[DannyInvincible]

https://southamptonfc.com/u18s/michael-obafemi

According to Southampton website, born in Ireland but raised in Hornchurch.

He's possibly eligible for England too then. I see the Southampton site have an England flag next to his name actually. From his surname, I'm guessing he's of Nigerian descent, so may well be eligible for them as well.

[samhaydenjr]

‘It was a night to remember’ – Irish striker excited about his future at Norwich after Youth Cup hat-trick: http://www.pinkun.com/norwich-city/idah-excited-about-his-norwich-future-1-5319481


At a club like Norwich, you would have to imagine a prolific youth striker like that would get opportunities earlier than he would at other clubs.

That's likely true and you can actually see that happening with our up-and-coming strikers by comparing their respective advances: We've been talking about Glen McAuley for over a year now and he's had one outstanding season in Liverpool U18s and seems to be having another good one this year. And yet there's no real sign of him moving up to the U23s anytime soon (I'm open to correction on this, but I think he's only been an unused sub a couple of times). Whereas Idah, who only arrived in England over the summer, tasted U23 action a few weeks ago. Meanwhile Aaron Connolly and Jonathan Afolabi, who are both the same age as McAuley, are semi-regulars in the Brighton and Southampton U23 teams, respectively, with Connolly making his senior debut in the EFL Cup a couple of months ago. So it does look like it's easier to progress outside the biggest teams in the Premier League, which creates a dilemma for McAuley - should he hang on at a club with more resources and try to get the most out of their Academy program with a possibly vain hope of breaking into the first team, or should he drop a level or two in order to have a better chance at progressing faster at a smaller club?

[tetsujin1979]

True, but McAuley is playing and scoring in the uefa youth league, arguably a higher level than premier league two.

[DeLorean]

What's the story with that CL youth competition anyway? Do clubs just qualify on the basis that their first team have qualified for the main version? Seems to be the same fixtures any time I notice it.

[tetsujin1979]

Yeah, if the senior team is in the champions league, then the academy side is in the youth league. Not sure what happens if the youth team wins the competition, but the senior team doesn't qualify for next season's champions league - are they allowed to defend their title?

[pineapple stu]

Yes as of this season (Red Bull Salzburg qualified this way)

They enter the domestic champions' path, which is for the title-holders of the top 32 ranked countries whose underage champions did not have their senior team reach the Champions' League proper.

[samhaydenjr]

True, but McAuley is playing and scoring in the uefa youth league, arguably a higher level than premier league two.

I'd have to disagree - I don't think 30 minutes and 1 goal over two games against Maribor U19s is playing at a higher level than coming up against players in their early 20s and the odd senior team player coming back from injury. It is a sign, at least, that he is making some progress, but if he doesn't break into the U23s or get a loan by next season, then I reckon he should look elsewhere for regular football.


‘It was a night to remember’ – Irish striker excited about his future at Norwich after Youth Cup hat-trick: http://www.pinkun.com/norwich-city/idah-excited-about-his-norwich-future-1-5319481


Michael Obafemi also scored a hat-trick for Southampton in the FA Youth Cup.

Videos of his goals here: http://www.punditarena.com/football/sokeefe/obafemi-southampton-hat-trick/

As far as I know, Obafemi is playing for us at under-19 level at the minute. (Is there an under-19s thread?)

Does anyone know was he born in Ireland or how does he qualify for us? He seems to have a London accent from this interview:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9Jtl_zss14

He mentions having played for a Sunday league team when he first got into football before playing for Leyton Orient, but I can't make out the name.

Obafemi was a sub during the recent U19 qualifiers, coming on late in two games so hopefully we can hold on to him as he's having a terrific season at club level. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say this is probably the first time that two Irish strikers have scored hat-tricks in the same round of the FA Youth Cup - along with recent hat-tricks for Idah for our U17s, Jayson Molumby for our U19s, Reece Grego-Cox for the U21s and Aaron Connolly in the U18 Premier League Cup, things are starting to look up

[liamoo11]

True, but McAuley is playing and scoring in the uefa youth league, arguably a higher level than premier league two.

in fairness didnt liverpool pay big money （million plus） for mccauley which is lifechanging money.if parents put it in a trust for him until he is 25 what a great start to life even if football doesnt work out. would it be iresponsible of a parent to knock that back and ask kid to go somewhere with very little money when the chances of a career in football are still tiny？

[tetsujin1979]

in fairness didnt liverpool pay big money （million plus） for mccauley which is lifechanging money.if parents put it in a trust for him until he is 25 what a great start to life even if football doesnt work out. would it be iresponsible of a parent to knock that back and ask kid to go somewhere with very little money when the chances of a career in football are still tiny？

I don't know if Liverpool did pay that much for him, but Masterson and O'Hanlon both went there for that kind of money

[Charlie Darwin]

No, none of them went for remotely close to that kind of money. Five figure sums at most.

[tetsujin1979]

No, none of them went for remotely close to that kind of money. Five figure sums at most.
This report in the Herald claims Masterson went for €1m: https://www.herald.ie/sport/other-sports/dublin-schoolboy-conor-13-signs-to-liverpool-for-1m-28014103.html

[Charlie Darwin]

That's how much he could hypothetically earn from his contract if he advances to the first team, etc. I admit I did misread the original post and thought Liamo was referring to the transfer fee Liverpool paid.

[liamoo11]

idah gets first start for their 21 s tonight against brighton who have hutchinson and connolly playing

[samhaydenjr]

idah gets first start for their 21 s tonight against brighton who have hutchinson and connolly playing

Great news for both Idah and Connolly in particular. On top of that, Michael Obafemi has been rewarded for his recent excellent form with a promotion to the Southampton U23s for their draw against Reading. Jonathan Afolabi came on as a second-half and Josh Barrett played for Reading: https://www.premierleague.com/match/24139/premier-league-2/2017-18/reading-v-southampton

Pretty soon we'll have to take discussions about Idah, Connolly, Obafemi and Afolabi to the U23 thread. Any chance of one of them showing up in the matchday squad for the FA Cup third round in January?

[tetsujin1979]

Connolly had a chance, Brighton played a team of youngsters in the league cup. Norwich are playing Chelsea in the cup, so I doubt they'll put out a weakened side.

[samhaydenjr]

Two Irish goalscorers in Tuesday's U18 clash between Wolves and Liverpool: Daniel McKenna for Wolves and Glen McAuley for Liverpool: https://www.premierleague.com/match/23213/u18-premier-league/2017-18/wolves-v-liverpool It was McAuley's fourth in four games and his eighth in all competitions this season. And yet he's been a sub on a number of occasions recently. Hopefully, Steven Gerrard will take note of his recent form and give him more game time, as well as recommending him for a move to the next level

[tetsujin1979]

McKenna's goal is supposed to be a cracking finish.

[Kingdom]

Liamoo you probably know the answer to this, but is the Idah boy playing for Cork 15s (and College Corinthians) related to the Idah at Norwich? Because the younger lad is banging the goals in for the Cork 15s.

[cobhlad]

Liamoo you probably know the answer to this, but is the Idah boy playing for Cork 15s (and College Corinthians) related to the Idah at Norwich? Because the younger lad is banging the goals in for the Cork 15s.
Yeah they're brothers. He's expected to go League of Ireland U15 with either Cork or Cobh in 2018. He's come on hugely in the last few months.

[Kingdom]

Thanks Cobhlad, I assumed they were related. I've had reason to be watching a lot of the SFAI social media in the past while (it is very comprehensive - has it always been the case?) and he is featuring heavily, so I fully expected him to be featuring in the National League with one of your crew down there.

[cobhlad]

SFAI have really upped their game on social media of late which is great to see. I watched him at the trials for Cobh's u15 team last season and he didn't impress but he seems to have put a lot of work in since then. Definitely one to keep an eye on

[samhaydenjr]

Jonathan Afolabi and Michael Obafemi returned to Southampton's U18s and were both on the scoresheet. Afolabi and Will Smallbone also provided assists: https://www.premierleague.com/match/23283/u18-premier-league/2017-18/southampton-v-west-ham

Conor Tee on the scoresheet for Leicester against Spurs: https://www.premierleague.com/match/23284/u18-premier-league/2017-18/tbc-v-tbc

Armstrong Okoflex on the bench for Arsenal: https://www.premierleague.com/match/23277/u18-premier-league/2017-18/tbc-v-tbc

[liamoo11]

brennan was involved for first time for southampton one of our 17s midfielders this year still no sign of ledwidge been involved with them.

mcguinness the centre half made his first appearence of season after injury for arsenal he will be good addition for our 17s . mceneff has been injured all season so far for arsenal unfortunately

jennings got 2 for stoke 18s yesterday.

[samhaydenjr]

brennan was involved for first time for southampton one of our 17s midfielders this year still no sign of ledwidge been involved with them.

mcguinness the centre half made his first appearence of season after injury for arsenal he will be good addition for our 17s . mceneff has been injured all season so far for arsenal unfortunately

jennings got 2 for stoke 18s yesterday.

Nice one... so that brings the list of young strikers to watch to what... 50? Seriously, surely some of them will survive the Academy culls, won't they?