Claret and Blue Rising - The Villa Academy Newsletter

Ruthless in Roeselare

A much anticipated journey to North-West Belgium met our UEFA Youth League squad following Matchday Three success over Bologna and formed somewhat of a crossroads to our League Phase campaign, sitting on three points from three games after defeats to Young Boys and Bayern Munich preceded our maiden UYL win.

A change in midfield saw Charlie Pavey return to the starting XI to join George Hemmings in our midfield pivot, with Jamal Jimoh-Aloba occupying the 10 role in which he has prospered so much across the past 18 months. The back four of Rowe, Katsukunya, Routh and Patterson has become customary in this tournament and continues to serve the Academy well with all four showing high promise - indeed, two of the four would go on to earn International honours in the November break.

Villa showed huge character in this performance and grabbed the opportunity to earn a second successive UYL win with both hands. Twice trailing in the first half, Villa went on to lead at the break with the enigmatic Travis Patterson and Ben Broggio providing the inspiration for a memorable half of football. First, Broggio aimed an inch perfect cross into the path of Brad Burrowes to duly convert from six yards before Broggio’s own attempt was handled on the line, allowing him to restore parity a second time from the spot.

Villa’s third was a thing of beauty, Patterson and Broggio exchanging passes - the assist a beautiful drag back which allowed our talismanic left-back to strike a trademark drive into the far post and earn Villa a see-it-to-be-believed advantage at the half. Jamal Jimoh-Aloba struck our fourth in the second half before Mason Cotcher’s introduction swiftly brought about a brace for the summer recruit. 

Presented with the opportunity of playing against ten, Villa showed a commendable ruthlessness in hammering home their man advantage. Charlie Pavey performed admirably in a somewhat unfamiliar deeper role, pinching the ball as Brugge played out to set the wheels in motion for our second of the afternoon. His midfield partner George Hemmings continues to demonstrate the ability that has earnt an England U18 call-up. George is full of industry in the action areas of the pitch, his long-legged frame allowing him to hassle opponents and frustrate opposition attacks. He’s gone from strength to strength since his move from Nottingham Forest in January 2024.

The 6-2 win means Villa now sit in 16th position in the UYL League Phase - a solitary point ahead of Monaco who currently occupy the 22nd and final qualification place. The home fixture with Juventus on 27th November will be crucial to our hopes of progress ahead of a trip to Leipzig on the final League Phase Matchday in December.

BSM Trophy Progress 

A night of mixed emotion came to pass in Barrow with a sorry 3-0 defeat for our U21s to end our Bristol Street Motors Trophy Group Stage - returns from injury for Kerr Smith and Charlie Lutz proved to be the only noteworthy moments from a forgettable evening in Cumbria.

Eyes turned to Bolton, where the only result which would send Villa crashing out would be a draw in 90 minutes followed by a bonus-point penalty shootout win for Fleetwood. Indeed, Ian Evatt’s men lent a helping hand, scoring late on to defeat the Cod Army and send Villa through to the Round of 32 - in doing so, becoming the only U21 side to progress through this year’s round robin.

It’s another cab in the rank of Josep Gombau’s side who have battled some odd fixture arrangement to advance through with an Emi Buendia inspired win over Fleetwood and a memorable bonus-point shootout win over Bolton on a night where Villa began with five 16-year olds in the starting XI. The Round of 32 draw is still a couple of weeks away, with the final fixtures in the Group Stage left to be wrapped up. Gombau will be looking to go one better than in 2022/23 where a Villa side featuring Tim Iroegbunam were sent packing at this stage by Charlton.

U18s Top of the Tree

It’s been a scintillating start to life at Villa for Jimmy Shan (yes, that Jimmy Shan!). 7 wins, a draw and 2 losses in his opening 10 League games in charge of our U18s have propelled Villa to the top of the U18 Premier League South Division as we pause for the November international break.

Impressive away wins over Arsenal and Leicester came either side of a significant last-gasp win over early pacesetters Brighton. Elijah Briscoe’s injury time winner was symbolic of the impact he has made following his promotion to the U18 side after some prolific scoring for the U16s. There was a debut U18 goal for Markie Meade in the success at Arsenal alongside a brace for Brad Burrowes - a feat matched by Cole Brannigan in the 4-1 disposal of Leicester.

There have been notable impressions made in defence by Junior Wilson, who has formed a solid partnership with Leon Routh following his promotion from the U16 side. Rodrigo Fortes and Teddie Bloomfield continue to battle away healthily for the left-back starting berth and Woody Burgess continues to develop his game at right-back. The Germany-eligible skipper of our U18 side is a name to keep an eye on as the season develops and we move into the eagerly awaited FA Youth Cup Third Round.

Villa will have a home draw in FA Youth Cup Round Three, with the winner of the tie between Accrington Stanley and Blyth Spartans facing the trip to Villa Park. Here’s hoping our early season success at U18 level is an indicator of things to come as we begin our bid for English Academy football’s most sought after prize.

Bumps in the PL2 Road

Consecutive away defeats for our U21s have left Villa chasing the pack in the Premier League 2 standings heading into November’s break. Twice 3-0 down in the first half, defeats to Middlesbrough and Leicester have embodied a difficult start to 23/24 for some of our more senior Academy players.

A pair of Jamal Jimoh-Aloba consolations against Boro provided something to take into our trip to Leicester but it was only another consolation which saw Villa get onto the scoresheet - Brad Burrowes’ first PL2 strike coming in injury time of our 3-1 loss.

Villa will be looking to buck the forming trend before PL2’s Christmas break - home fixtures against Norwich (2nd Dec) and Wolves (15th Dec) providing good opportunity to create some momentum as we head into 2025 hoping to make the end of season play-offs for a second successive term by finishing in PL2’s top 16.

Momentum could also come when the U21s kick off the defence of our Birmingham Senior Cup on Friday 22nd November, travelling to The Domino’s Arena (Coles Lane to you and I!) to take on Romulus FC in the Second Round of this season’s edition. Kick off is at 7:45pm in Sutton Coldfield and with Adult tickets available for £7, this presents a brilliant opportunity to catch some of our exciting Academy talent on display.

Globetrotting Villans

A special mention for the Villa Academy players representing their countries during the November international break:

Triston Rowe and Kadan Young will continue their robust right-sided relationship for England U19 in their Euro Qualification fixtures against Lithuania, Bulgaria and Belgium. Aidan Borland will be representing Scotland U19 as they host their U19 Euro Qualification mini-tournament with opposition coming from Wales, Liechtenstein and France. Cole Brannigan’s impressive form for our U18s has earned a call up to the Northern Ireland U19 squad for their run of Euro Qualifiers against Denmark, Israel and Albania.

Two friendlies for England U18 present first call-ups for Leon Routh and George Hemmings, while Ben Broggio will look to build on his brilliance in Belgium during the camp.

There’s a first Ireland U18 call-up for Keilan Quinn who has nailed down a spot in our U18 midfield since joining from West Brom. He’ll want to make an instant impression in friendlies against Japan, Croatia and Portugal.

Brad Burrowes’ stellar scoring form has presented a first England U17 call-up where he’ll join summer acquisition Owen Asemota in the squad for a friendly double-header with Belgium. Jack McGrath also receives his first England age-group call-up having previously represented Scotland U16s. Jack’s reward comes following a magnificent run of 20 goals in 16 games across all competitions for our U16s.

Best of luck to all of our Academy players representing Villa and their countries during November. 

Claret and Blue Rising

A huge thank you those who have made it this far in the first edition of what I’m hoping to become a monthly newsletter covering all things happening in the Villa Academy. This platform should allow a bit more depth to the stories you see me cover on X, Instagram and Threads and hopefully provide you with a better insight into the names to keep an eye on in our ranks.

For those unfamiliar with the motivations of the account, I’m an average Villa fan who feels unhappy with the level of coverage provided by the club regarding the Academy and this is something I felt I quite easily could do better. I aim to provide updates on as much as possible regarding our U21s and U18s. Live updates of matches, international call-ups, transfer and contract news; all things many clubs now offer a dedicated service for, but Villa still do not. 

One small ask would be to share the newsletter about where possible. While I beat the drum of the club not offering a worthy coverage of the Academy, I’m eager to help as many Villa fans as possible gain an insight into the fantastic talent being procured at Bodymoor Heath.

I’ll see you again in around a month and in the meantime, over on X, Instagram and Threads. Please get in touch with any feedback or suggestions for future instalments @academyavfc. Up The Villa!