2014–15 Professional U21 Development League

The 2014–15 Professional U21 Development League was the third season of the Professional Development League system.

League 1

Barclays U21 Premier League

Season	2014–2015
Champions	Manchester United U21s (2nd Title) Division 2 Middlesbrough U21s (1st Title)
Promoted	Middlesbrough U21s Reading U21s
Relegated	Fulham U21s West Ham United U21s
Matches played	264
Goals scored	781 (2.96 per match)
Top goalscorer	Ryan Seager Southampton U21s (16 goals)
Biggest home win	Derby County U21s 7–1 Stoke City U21s (27 January 2015)
Biggest away win	West Ham United U21s 0–4 Liverpool U21s (12 September 2014) Aston Villa U21s 1–5 Reading U21s (1 December 2014) Brighton & Hove Albion U21s 0–4 Arsenal U21s (1 December 2014) Southampton U21s 0–4 Manchester City EDS (19 May 2015)
Highest scoring	Leicester City U21s 6–2 Manchester City EDS (27 October 2014) Derby County U21s 7–1 Stoke City U21s (27 January 2015) Chelsea U21s 5–3 Southampton U21s (2 February 2015) Liverpool U21s 4–4 Norwich City U21s (11 May 2015)
Longest winning run	7 Matches Reading U21s
Longest unbeaten run	10 Matches Manchester United U21s
Longest winless run	17 Matches Wolverhampton Wanderers U21s
Longest losing run	7 Matches Blackburn Rovers U21s
Highest attendance	16,708 Manchester United U21s 4–0 Manchester City EDS (12 May 2015)
Lowest attendance	34 Reading U21s 1–0 Brighton & Hove Albion U21s (7 April 2015)
← 2013–14 2015–16 →

League 1, referred to as the Barclays Under 21 Premier League for sponsorship reasons, was split into two divisions, with teams allocated places in Division 1 or 2 based on their performance in the 2013–14 season.

At the end of the season, the team which finished top of Division 1 was crowned as overall League 1 champions, with the previously used knock-out system being abandoned. The top 8 teams qualified for the 2015–16 edition of the Premier League International Cup and the bottom two teams in Division 1 were relegated to Division 2 for the 2015–16 season, with the top teams in Division 2 moved in the opposite direction.^[1]

Division 1

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Manchester United U21s (C)	22	11	7	4	39	23	+16	40
2	Liverpool U21s	22	11	3	8	45	35	+10	36
3	Chelsea U21s	22	10	5	7	39	27	+12	35
4	Sunderland U21s	22	10	5	7	26	24	+2	35
5	Manchester City EDS	22	10	3	9	44	40	+4	33
6	Leicester City U21s	22	9	5	8	39	37	+2	32
7	Norwich City U21s	22	8	8	6	34	32	+2	32
8	Southampton U21s	22	9	4	9	32	34	−2	31
9	Tottenham Hotspur U21s	22	8	5	9	30	30	0	29
10	Everton U21s	22	8	3	11	32	37	−5	27
11	Fulham U21s (R)	22	6	4	12	27	45	−18	22	Relegation to 2015–16 U21 Premier League Division 2
12	West Ham United U21s (R)	22	5	2	15	20	43	−23	17

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Results

Home \ Away	CHE	EVE	FUL	LEI	LIV	MNC	MNU	NOR	SOT	SUN	TOT	WHU
Chelsea U21s		3–0	2–2	0–1	4–3	2–1	1–1	3–1	5–3	3–0	0–0	0–1
Everton U21s	0–2		3–3	3–2	1–3	1–2	1–2	3–0	3–1	3–2	3–1	2–0
Fulham U21s	1–3	2–1		1–3	3–2	0–2	1–4	2–1	1–2	0–2	0–2	1–1
Leicester City U21s	1–1	1–0	0–2		3–1	6–2	1–1	2–2	3–3	4–2	3–1	3–1
Liverpool U21s	2–0	2–1	1–2	2–1		3–4	1–1	4–4	1–3	1–0	2–1	5–0
Manchester City EDS	3–2	3–1	3–1	4–2	1–2		3–1	4–1	0–2	1–1	3–3	1–1
Manchester United U21s	2–1	0–0	1–2	2–3	2–1	4–0		3–0	1–0	4–0	1–1	3–2
Norwich City U21s	2–2	1–1	3–1	5–0	1–1	2–1	1–1		2–0	0–0	3–1	1–0
Southampton U21s	0–2	1–3	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–4	1–0	2–0		1–1	0–0	2–0
Sunderland U21s	1–0	1–0	4–0	1–0	0–1	1–0	1–1	0–0	3–2		2–1	3–0
Tottenham Hotspur U21s	2–1	4–0	2–0	0–0	1–3	2–1	1–2	0–2	3–2	0–1		2–1
West Ham United U21s	1–3	1–2	2–1	1–0	0–4	2–1	1–2	1–2	1–2	2–0	1–3

Updated to match(es) played on 23 May 2015. Source: U21 Premier League results
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Division 2

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion
1	Middlesbrough U21s (P)	22	16	2	4	39	23	+16	50	Promotion to 2015–16 U21 Premier League Division 1
2	Reading U21s (P)	22	13	2	7	38	30	+8	41
3	Derby County U21s	22	12	4	6	39	20	+19	40
4	Arsenal U21s	22	11	4	7	38	25	+13	37
5	West Bromwich Albion U21s	22	10	7	5	37	27	+10	37
6	Newcastle United U21s	22	9	5	8	43	39	+4	32
7	Aston Villa U21s	22	8	3	11	25	36	−11	27
8	Brighton & Hove Albion U21s	22	6	5	11	19	23	−4	23
9	Bolton Wanderers U21s	22	5	8	9	26	33	−7	23
10	Blackburn Rovers U21s	22	5	6	11	23	31	−8	21
11	Stoke City U21s	22	4	6	12	23	50	−27	18
12	Wolverhampton Wanderers U21s	22	3	8	11	24	37	−13	17

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
(P) Promoted

Results

Home \ Away	ARS	AST	BLB	BOL	B&HA	DER	MID	NEW	REA	STO	WBA	WOL
Arsenal U21s		1–3	0–0	1–3	1–0	1–1	2–1	1–2	0–1	4–1	4–2	4–0
Aston Villa U21s	0–2		1–0	3–0	1–0	0–3	0–0	1–2	1–5	1–1	3–0	2–1
Blackburn Rovers U21s	0–0	1–1		0–1	0–0	3–4	0–1	1–3	0–1	5–2	2–2	1–0
Bolton Wanderers U21s	1–3	0–2	3–0		0–0	1–0	1–2	3–3	1–1	2–2	1–3	1–1
Brighton & Hove Albion U21s	0–4	2–0	0–2	1–0		1–0	3–0	3–0	0–2	3–0	0–0	1–1
Derby County U21s	1–0	3–2	0–1	1–1	2–1		2–1	4–0	0–1	7–1	1–1	2–0
Middlesbrough U21s	3–2	3–2	3–1	3–0	2–1	1–0		2–1	0–3	2–0	2–0	1–0
Newcastle United U21s	1–2	5–0	4–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	0–1		5–2	1–1	1–1	2–1
Reading U21s	0–1	1–0	2–1	1–3	1–0	1–2	3–3	4–3		3–0	0–1	3–1
Stoke City U21s	0–3	2–0	1–0	1–1	1–0	2–1	0–3	1–2	1–2		1–1	2–4
West Bromwich Albion U21s	3–0	4–1	0–1	3–2	2–1	0–0	1–3	3–2	5–0	3–1		2–1
Wolverhampton Wanderers U21s	2–2	0–1	2–2	1–0	1–1	1–3	1–2	2–2	2–1	4–2	0–0

Updated to match(es) played on 19 May 2015. Source: U21 Premier League results
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Awards

Player of the season: Duncan Watmore (Sunderland)^[2]

Player of the month

Month	Player	Club	Ref
February	Ryan Seager	Southampton U21s	[3]
March	Harrison Panayiotou	Leicester City U21s	[4]
April	Duncan Watmore	Sunderland U21s	[5]

League 2

Professional Development U21 League

Season	2014–15
Champions	Swansea City U21s (1st Title)
Matches played	255 (252 RS, 3 PO)
Goals scored	819 (3.21 per match) (800 RS, 19 PO)
Top goalscorer	Kenji Gorre Swansea City U21s (17 Goals)
Biggest home win	Sheffield United U21s 7–0 Coventry City U21s (12 January 2015)
Biggest away win	Colchester United U21s 0–5 Sheffield Wednesday U21s (13 October 2014) Huddersfield Town U21s 0–5 Leeds United U21s (9 March 2015)
Highest scoring	Millwall U21s 7–3 Bristol City U21s (16 February 2015)
Longest winning run	6 Matches Nottingham Forest U21s
Longest unbeaten run	14 Matches Nottingham Forest U21s Swansea City U21s
Longest winless run	11 Matches Barnsley U21s
Longest losing run	8 Matches Barnsley U21s
← 2013–14 2015–16 →

League 2, referred to as the Professional Development U21 League, is split into two regional divisions.

Teams will play each team in their own division twice, and each team in the other division once, for a total of 26 games for North division teams, and 27 games each for South division teams.

At the end of the season, the teams finishing in the top two positions of both divisions will meet in the knockout stage to determine the overall league champion.

19 Teams competed this season, 1 fewer than last season. Brighton & Hove Albion U21s^[6] joined the Premier League 2 as a Category One Academy alongside Derby County U21s on July 25 after 2 seasons apiece.^[7] Meanwhile, Colchester United U21s returned after a one season absence when they resecured their Category Two Academy status.^[8]

League stage

North Division table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Nottingham Forest U21s	26	17	4	5	56	30	+26	55	Qualification for Knock-out stage
2	Huddersfield Town U21s	26	15	3	8	47	40	+7	48
3	Sheffield United U21s	26	13	5	8	43	28	+15	44
4	Leeds United U21s	26	12	7	7	48	36	+12	43
5	Sheffield Wednesday U21s	26	10	8	8	38	30	+8	38
6	Birmingham City U21s	26	11	5	10	36	34	+2	38
7	Crewe Alexandra U21s	26	7	5	14	41	55	−14	26
8	Coventry City U21s	26	5	7	14	28	42	−14	22
9	Barnsley U21s	26	3	5	18	29	62	−33	14

Source:

South Division table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Crystal Palace U21s	27	17	2	8	58	34	+24	53	Qualification for Knock-out stage
2	Swansea City U21s	27	13	8	6	50	38	+12	47
3	Cardiff City U21s	27	12	5	10	35	34	+1	41
4	Queens Park Rangers U21s	27	11	7	9	44	49	−5	40
5	Ipswich Town U21s	27	10	7	10	38	38	0	37
6	Millwall U21s	27	9	9	9	43	40	+3	36
7	Charlton Athletic U21s	27	10	6	11	42	42	0	36
8	Brentford U21s	27	9	6	12	54	55	−1	33
9	Colchester United U21s	27	8	6	13	38	47	−9	30
10	Bristol City U21s	27	7	1	19	32	66	−34	22

Source:

Results

Home \ Away	BAR	BIR	BRE	BRI	CAR	CHA	COL	COV	CRE	CPA	HUD	IPS	LEE	MIL	NOT	QPR	SHE	SHW	SWA
Barnsley U21s		0–2		0–2		0–3		0–2	2–2	0–2	0–1		2–2	0–2	2–3		1–2	2–2	1–1
Birmingham City U21s	2–1		1–1		1–2		3–1	2–1	4–3		2–3	2–0	1–1		0–1	1–1	0–2	0–3
Brentford U21s	7–2			5–1	4–1	2–3	2–2	2–1		3–0	1–2	1–0		1–1	0–3	2–1		1–1	2–4
Bristol City U21s		4–1	5–2		0–1	2–3	2–1		2–0	0–2		0–3	1–2	1–3		1–3	2–0		0–2
Cardiff City U21s	3–2		0–1	3–0		0–1	0–2	4–2		1–0	1–3	0–0		0–0	5–1	0–0		0–1	0–1
Charlton Athletic U21s		1–1	1–1	0–2	2–3		0–0		5–1	2–2		0–1	0–1	1–2		2–0	2–0		0–2
Colchester United U21s	2–0		3–2	0–1	0–1	0–3		2–2		4–2	1–2	2–3		2–0	1–3	0–2		0–5	5–2
Coventry City U21s	1–2	0–1		2–0		2–2			1–2	0–2	2–2		0–1	1–2	0–2		2–2	0–0	0–0
Crewe Alexandra U21s	3–3	3–1	4–2		3–1		1–3	0–3			3–1	2–2	1–2		0–0	2–3	1–2	1–1
Crystal Palace U21s		0–1	3–1	4–2	4–0	5–2	1–0		1–2			1–0	4–2	3–0		7–2	1–0		2–3
Huddersfield Town U21s	0–3	0–0		4–1		0–1		1–0	2–1	2–3			0–5	2–0	2–1		1–2	0–2	3–1
Ipswich Town U21s	6–3		3–2	2–3	1–1	5–1	2–0	0–1		0–1	1–4			2–1	0–3	0–3		1–1	1–0
Leeds United U21s	3–1	0–3	2–1		2–2		1–2	1–1	2–0		4–1	2–3			1–1	1–2	4–1	0–0
Millwall U21s		3–0	2–2	7–3	1–2	2–1	2–2		2–1	0–1		1–1	1–2			3–3	0–0		3–3
Nottingham Forest U21s	4–0	2–0		3–0		1–2		2–1	3–1	2–0	1–1		3–3	4–3			2–0	2–1	2–5
Queens Park Rangers U21s	2–0		1–4	3–1	0–2	3–3	3–3	0–2		0–3	1–4	1–1		2–1	2–1			2–1	2–2
Sheffield United U21s	3–0	1–0	4–1		1–0		0–0	7–0	0–3		2–3	2–0	2–1		0–2	0–1		1–1
Sheffield Wednesday U21s	0–2	0–2		3–1		2–0		3–1	5–0	2–1	1–3		1–2	0–0	0–4		0–3		2–1
Swansea City U21s		3–2	4–1	0–0	1–2	2–1	2–0		2–1	3–3		0–0	2–1	0–1		2–1	2–2

Updated to match(es) played on 30 April 2015. Source: Futbol24 U21 PDL results
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Knock-out stage

Semifinals

Crystal Palace U21s	3–5 (a.e.t.)	Huddersfield Town U21s
De Silva 39', 70' Kaikai 90'	Report	Boyle 7' Tronstad 55' Holmes 85' Charles 104' 120'

5 May 2015

14:00

Selhurst Park, Selhurst

Referee: Ben Cooke

---

Nottingham Forest U21s	3–3 (a.e.t.)	Swansea City U21s
Grant 9' Thorne 23' Iacovitti 116'		Jones 85' Samuel 90' 105'
Penalties
	4–5

6 May 2015

19:00

City Ground, West Bridgford

Attendance: 572

Referee: Paul Yates

Final

Swansea City U21s	3–2	Huddersfield Town U21s
Samuel 39' Gorre 64' 84'		Bojaj 32' 87'

13 May 2015

19:30

Liberty Stadium, Swansea

Attendance: 2,156

See also

• 2014–15 Professional U18 Development League
• 2014–15 FA Cup
• 2014–15 FA Youth Cup
• 2014–15 Premier League International Cup
• 2014–15 Under-21 Premier League Cup
• 2014–15 in English football