Aston Villa Academy is the youth development system of Premier League team Aston Villa, it covers the age of under-18's - and for the 2007/08 season - participated in Group B of the FA Premier Academy League. Victories over Arsenal and Manchester City subsequently earnt Villa the national Academy title in 2007/08.
In the 2009/10 season Villa clinched top spot in Group B, impressively notching the most wins (22), most points (68) and most goals (84) of all 41 clubs involved. Villa's youngsters were drawn against Group A winners Arsenal in the semi-final, which was won via a single strike from Nathan Delfouneso. This subsequently meant a final against FA Youth Cup winners Manchester City, which was comprehensively won 2-0, with goals from James Collins and Chris Herd. The top scorers for the season were Irish striker James Collins (23), Austrian striker Andreas Weimann (16) and English striker Nathan Delfouneso (15).
As well as this, Villa also reached the semi-finals of the FA Youth Cup, eventually being knocked out by eventual runners-up Chelsea, and were victorious in the prestigious Ergenzingen Tournament in May 2008. A draw against HNK Hajduk Split, and subsequent victories against Ergenzingen FC and São Paulo FC, placed them in a semi-final against FC Thun. A 1-0 victory earnt them a final against FSV Mainz, where a late strike by Harry Forrester won the Villains the trophy.
The 2008/09 season was less fruitful for Villa's youngsters, as they finished 3rd in Group B, and were knocked out of the FA Youth Cup at the first hurdle, losing in the Third Round to eventual champions Arsenal.
The team train at Bodymoor Heath in North Warwickshire and also play their home matches there on weekends. The system has been very productive in recent years, heavily down to the influence of Head Youth Team Coach Gordon Cowans and Youth Team Coach Tony McAndrew.
Read more about this topic: Aston Villa F.C. Reserves And Academy
Famous quotes containing the word academy:
“...I have come to make distinctions between what I call the academy and literature, the moral equivalents of church and God. The academy may lie, but literature tries to tell the truth.”
—Dorothy Allison (b. 1949)