2017–18 Professional U18 Development League

The 2017-18 Under-18 Premier League is the fifth campaign of the top tier of the Under-18 Development League. A total of 24 teams are split regionally into north and south leagues.The format was changed completely this season. Instead of playing in the merit group stage format, teams face their regional opponents both home and away before the top two face each other to determine the national champion. No teams were added this season. As a result, 22 games were played in both the North and South Divisions. Chelsea U18s are the defending champions.

U18 Premier League

Season	2017–18
Champions	Chelsea U18s (2nd Title)
Matches played	265
Goals scored	1,009 (3.81 per match)
Top goalscorer	Reo Griffiths Tottenham Hotspur U18s (26 goals)
Biggest home win	Tottenham Hotspur U18s 9–0 Arsenal U18s (24 April 2018)
Biggest away win	West Bromwich Albion U18s 1–7 Everton U18s (26 August 2017)
Highest scoring	Derby County U18s 5–5 Wolverhampton Wanderers U18s (18 November 2017)
Longest winning run	7 Matches – Chelsea U18s
Longest unbeaten run	12 Matches – Chelsea U18s
Longest winless run	11 Matches – Blackburn Rovers U18s
Longest losing run	11 Matches – Blackburn Rovers U18s
← 2016–17 2018–19 →

North

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Manchester United U18s (C, Q)	22	15	3	4	65	33	+32	48	Qualification for the National Final
2	Manchester City U18s	22	13	3	6	58	34	+24	42
3	Liverpool U18s	22	11	5	6	50	35	+15	38
4	Stoke City U18s	22	11	4	7	49	34	+15	37
5	Everton U18s	22	11	4	7	51	41	+10	37
6	Derby County U18s	22	9	6	7	45	38	+7	33
7	Sunderland U18s	22	10	2	10	39	44	−5	32
8	West Bromwich Albion U18s	22	7	5	10	49	57	−8	26
9	Middlesbrough U18s	22	6	7	9	37	52	−15	25
10	Newcastle United U18s	22	6	6	10	37	48	−11	24
11	Wolverhampton Wanderers U18s	22	5	4	13	31	53	−22	19
12	Blackburn Rovers U18s	22	3	1	18	28	70	−42	10

Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Premier League Under 18 Table
(C) Champions; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

South

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Chelsea U18s (C, Q)	22	17	3	2	64	21	+43	54	Qualification for the National Final
2	Arsenal U18s	22	14	3	5	61	33	+28	45
3	Southampton U18s	22	13	3	6	38	25	+13	42
4	Tottenham Hotspur U18s	22	10	4	8	58	39	+19	34
5	Leicester City U18s	22	9	6	7	38	33	+5	33
6	Swansea City U18s	22	9	4	9	32	44	−12	31
7	Fulham U18s	22	8	6	8	40	33	+7	30
8	Brighton & Hove Albion U18s	22	6	6	10	36	43	−7	24
9	Aston Villa U18s	22	6	5	11	27	36	−9	23
10	West Ham United U18s	22	6	3	13	27	51	−24	21
11	Reading U18s	22	6	3	13	24	50	−26	21
12	Norwich City U18s	22	3	4	15	22	59	−37	13

Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Premier League Under 18 Table
(C) Champions; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

National Final

Manchester United U18s	0–3	Chelsea U18s
	Report	Sterling 4' Gilmour 58' Lamptey 64'

5 May 2018

7:00

Leigh Sports Village, Leigh

Attendance: 1,303

Referee: Conor Brown

Professional Development League 2

U18 Professional Development League 2

Season	2017–18
Champions	Charlton Athletic U18s (3rd Title)
Matches played	313 (310 RS, 3 PO)
Goals scored	1,277 (4.08 per match) (1,269 RS, 8 PO)
Top goalscorer	Sion Spence Cardiff City U18s (21 goals)
Biggest home win	Sheffield Wednesday U18s 8–0 Hull City U18s (6 January 2019) Cardiff City U18s 8–0 Sheffield United U18s (28 March 2018)
Biggest away win	Huddersfield Town U18s 1–10 Sheffield Wednesday U18s (24 April 2018)
Highest scoring	Huddersfield Town U18s 1–10 Sheffield Wednesday U18s (24 April 2018)
Longest winning run	8 Matches – Leeds United U18s (17 March 2018 – 21 April 2018)
Longest unbeaten run	11 Matches – Crystal Palace U18s (10 February 2018 – 28 April 2018)
Longest winless run	16 Matches – Coventry City U18s (20 December 2017 – 21 April 2018)
Longest losing run	10 Matches – Coventry City U18s (19 August 2017 – 4 November 2017)
← 2016–17 2018–19 →

The Professional Development League is the sixth campaign of post-EPPP Under-23 football's second tier, designed for those academies with Category 2 status. A total of 21 teams are split regionally into north and south divisions, with each team facing opponents in their own region twice both home and away and opponents in the other region once for a total of 30 games each in the North Division, and 29 games in the South division.

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. Burnley U18s^[1] were officially granted Category 2 status in the summer of 2017 and became the league's 21st team. At the end of the season, Huddersfield Town U18s would leave as they would drop from category 2 to category 4 so they could restructure their academy.^[2]

Tables

North Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Leeds United U18s	30	19	3	8	72	39	+33	60	Qualification for Knock-out stage
2	Bolton Wanderers U18s	30	17	7	6	84	53	+31	58
3	Sheffield Wednesday U18s	30	16	6	8	81	42	+39	54
4	Nottingham Forest U18s	30	15	6	9	75	54	+21	51
5	Burnley U18s	30	14	7	9	66	60	+6	49
6	Birmingham City U18s	30	13	7	10	72	63	+9	46
7	Sheffield United U18s	30	11	5	14	42	62	−20	38
8	Hull City U18s	30	11	5	14	57	78	−21	38
9	Crewe Alexandra U18s	30	10	7	13	62	58	+4	37
10	Huddersfield Town U18s	30	9	5	16	49	86	−37	32
11	Barnsley U18s	30	9	4	17	46	63	−17	31

Source:

South Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Crystal Palace U18s	29	17	8	4	63	29	+34	59	Qualification for Knock-out stage
2	Charlton Athletic U18s	29	17	4	8	77	55	+22	55
3	Cardiff City U18s	29	15	3	11	65	48	+17	48
4	Watford U18s	29	15	2	12	65	48	+17	47
5	Millwall U18s	29	14	5	10	66	57	+9	47
6	Queens Park Rangers U18s	29	13	2	14	65	73	−8	41
7	Bristol City U18s	29	9	4	16	44	54	−10	31
8	Ipswich Town U18s	29	7	6	16	42	72	−30	27
9	Colchester United U18s	29	7	1	21	47	92	−45	22
10	Coventry City U18s	29	3	1	25	29	82	−53	10

Source:

Knock-out stage

Semi-finals

Crystal Palace U18s	3–1	Bolton Wanderers U18s
Robertson 47' Hungbo 84' Boateng 90'		Fearnley 72'

27 April 2018

Coper's Cope Road, Beckenham

Leeds United U18s	0–1	Charlton Athletic U18s
		Willis 39'

28 April 2018

Thorp Arch, Thorp Arch

Professional Development League Two Play-Off Final

Charlton Athletic U18s	2–1	Crystal Palace U18s
Morgan 45+3' Sarpong-Wiredu 70'	Report	Hungbo 72' (pen.)

4 May 2018

19:00

The Valley, London

League 3

Football League Youth Alliance

Season	2017–18
Champions	North-East Division Mansfield Town U18s North-West Division Rochdale U18s South-East Division Milton Keynes Dons U18s South-West Division Exeter City U18s Merit League One Gillingham U18s Merit League Two Leyton Orient U18s
Matches played	701
Goals scored	2,444 (3.49 per match)
← 2016–17 2018–19 →

League 3 is run by the Football League under the auspices of the Football League Youth Alliance. 50 teams once again competed this season, however the makeup was different. Burnley U18s would be promoted to Category 2 Academy status before this season to join the U18 Professional Development League 2. Forest Green Rovers U18s would join this season as a category 4 academy in the South-East Division, before promoting to a Category 3 Academy the next season.

League stage

North-East Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Mansfield Town U18s (C)	24	16	7	1	55	16	+39	55
2	Chesterfield U18s	24	13	2	9	52	42	+10	41
3	Rotherham United U18s	24	11	8	5	35	27	+8	41
4	Notts County U18s	24	12	4	8	53	34	+19	40
5	Grimsby Town U18s	24	13	1	10	46	29	+17	40
6	Doncaster Rovers U18s	24	11	6	7	41	31	+10	39
7	Oldham Athletic U18s	24	12	3	9	32	40	−8	39
8	Burton Albion U18s	24	9	3	12	27	33	−6	30
9	Lincoln City U18s	24	9	2	13	37	50	−13	29
10	Bradford City U18s	24	8	3	13	29	41	−12	27
11	Scunthorpe United U18s	24	6	7	11	26	43	−17	25
12	York City U18s	24	6	4	14	25	49	−24	22
13	Hartlepool United U18s	24	2	6	16	28	51	−23	12

Source: soccerway.com
(C) Champions

North-West Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Rochdale U18s (C)	26	21	3	2	64	19	+45	66
2	Wigan Athletic U18s	26	21	2	3	70	21	+49	65
3	Bury U18s	26	13	2	11	49	45	+4	41
4	Tranmere Rovers U18s	26	10	10	6	32	37	−5	40
5	Blackpool U18s	26	10	6	10	62	54	+8	36
6	Shrewsbury Town U18s	26	10	6	10	43	43	0	36
7	Walsall U18s	26	11	2	13	43	35	+8	35
8	Preston North End U18s	26	10	5	11	53	46	+7	35
9	Carlisle United U18s	26	9	4	13	40	49	−9	31
10	Fleetwood Town U18s	26	8	6	12	26	43	−17	30
11	Port Vale U18s	26	8	4	14	41	62	−21	28
12	Wrexham U18s	26	7	6	13	35	39	−4	27
13	Accrington Stanley U18s	26	6	7	13	30	59	−29	25
14	Morecambe U18s	26	5	3	18	30	66	−36	18

Source: soccerway.com
(C) Champions

South-East Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Milton Keynes Dons U18s (C)	22	14	2	6	40	27	+13	44	Merit League One
2	Southend United U18s	22	13	1	8	44	37	+7	40
3	Cambridge United U18s	22	12	2	8	42	25	+17	38
4	Gillingham U18s	22	11	1	10	43	42	+1	34
5	Stevenage U18s	22	8	6	8	37	34	+3	30
6	Luton Town U18s	22	9	3	10	30	28	+2	30
7	AFC Wimbledon U18s	22	9	3	10	35	37	−2	30	Merit League Two
8	Dagenham & Redbridge U18s	22	9	3	10	32	39	−7	30
9	Northampton Town U18s	22	8	5	9	32	35	−3	29
10	Leyton Orient U18s	22	7	4	11	33	39	−6	25
11	Barnet U18s	22	8	1	13	33	46	−13	25
12	Peterborough United U18s	22	7	3	12	33	45	−12	24

Source: soccerway.com
(C) Champions

South-West Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Exeter City U18s (C)	20	15	3	2	69	19	+50	48	Merit League One
2	AFC Bournemouth U18s	20	12	5	3	50	21	+29	41
3	Swindon Town U18s	20	11	3	6	44	35	+9	36
4	Portsmouth U18s	20	10	4	6	53	36	+17	34
5	Oxford United U18s	20	10	4	6	40	31	+9	34
6	Bristol Rovers U18s	20	9	2	9	38	40	−2	29
7	Plymouth Argyle U18s	20	8	2	10	36	41	−5	26	Merit League Two
8	Yeovil Town U18s	20	7	3	10	30	35	−5	24
9	Newport County U18s	20	4	5	11	29	50	−21	17
10	Forest Green Rovers U18s	20	3	3	14	20	62	−42	12
11	Cheltenham Town U18s	20	2	4	14	32	71	−39	10

Source: soccerway.com
(C) Champions

Merit League Stage

The teams in the Southeast and Southwest Divisions played another ten games to determine the champions of Merit League One and Merit League Two.

Merit League One

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Gillingham U18s (C)	11	7	3	1	25	15	+10	24
2	Exeter City U18s	11	7	2	2	34	10	+24	23
3	Luton Town U18s	11	6	1	4	28	17	+11	19
4	AFC Bournemouth U18s	11	5	4	2	25	21	+4	19
5	Southend United U18s	11	5	3	3	22	22	0	18
6	Swindon Town U18s	11	5	2	4	22	25	−3	17
7	Milton Keynes Dons U18s	11	5	1	5	21	23	−2	16
8	Stevenage U18s	11	3	3	5	21	22	−1	12
9	Portsmouth U18s	11	3	3	5	21	27	−6	12
10	Bristol Rovers U18s	11	3	1	7	18	26	−8	10
11	Cambridge United U18s	11	3	0	8	15	29	−14	9
12	Oxford United U18s	11	1	3	7	10	25	−15	6

Source: soccerway.com
(C) Champions

Merit League Two

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Leyton Orient U18s (C)	10	7	0	3	21	12	+9	21
2	Dagenham & Redbridge U18s	10	6	2	2	25	14	+11	20
3	Northampton Town U18s	10	6	2	2	21	13	+8	20
4	Plymouth Argyle U18s	10	5	1	4	19	11	+8	16
5	Yeovil Town U18s	10	4	3	3	17	10	+7	15
6	Peterborough United U18s	10	5	0	5	16	16	0	15
7	AFC Wimbledon U18s	10	4	2	4	20	19	+1	14
8	Cheltenham Town U18s	10	4	1	5	23	32	−9	13
9	Barnet U18s	10	3	2	5	16	18	−2	11
10	Newport County U18s	10	1	3	6	14	27	−13	6
11	Forest Green Rovers U18s	10	2	0	8	11	31	−20	6

Source: soccerway.com
(C) Champions

See also

• 2017–18 in English football