Aston Villa F.C. Reserves and Academy

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Aston Villa Reserves

Full name

Aston Villa Football Club Reserves

Nickname(s)

The Villans

Founded

1874

Ground

Villa Park
Aston
Birmingham B6 6HE
England
(Capacity 42,640)

Chairman

Randy Lerner

Head Coach

Kevin MacDonald

League

FA Premier Reserve League

2007-08

FAPRL Southern Division, 1st





Home colours





Away colours

1 Aston Villa Reserves
2 Aston Villa Academy

[edit] Aston Villa Reserves

Aston Villa Reserves are the reserve team of Aston Villa, they have been part of the FA Premier Reserve League since its foundation in 1999 and are current holders of the Premier Reserve League South title. The team plays its home games at Villa Park - during the months of Autumn and Spring - and the Bescot Stadium (home of nearby Walsall F.C.) - during the winter months. In accordance with Villa's impressive youth development, the team has received success in recent years - as well as becoming victorious in the 2003/04 season, the team has regularly sustained high positions along with the second-string becoming a place of learning for the likes of current first-teamers Gabriel Agbonlahor, Craig Gardner, Nathan Delfouneso, Stephen O'Halloran and Isaiah Osbourne, as well as former players Gary Cahill, Lee Hendrie, Darius Vassell and Steven Davis amongst many others. The team is currently coached by Kevin MacDonald, but Aston Villa Youth Team coaches Gordon Cowans and Tony McAndrew also have close links with the second string. The Reserve team is primarily made up of players aged 16-19 - in the priority of development. The team also regularly includes fringe first-team players and first-team players recovering from injury.

[edit] Matchday

The Reserve team play their league matches at Villa Park from September to November and March to May, winter fixtures are played at the nearby Bescot Stadium. Matches are played on weekday nights (usually Mondays) - although the day varies from match to match.

[edit] History

Signs of the team date back to 1892, when Aston Villa Reserves joined the Birmingham & District League. After finishing in the runners-up position twice in the first 2 seasons of the competition, Villa finally won their first trophy in the 1894/95 season, amazingly winning 26 out of 30 league games and losing just once all season. Several titles followed after this achievement, including an extraordinary run of 8 consecutive titles between 1902 and 1910. When Villa finally left the Birmingham & District League in 1915, they had accumulated a total of 12 league titles and 6 runners-up finishes.

In 1999/00, the FA Premier Reserve League was set up, Villa were one of the founding members, and were split into the Northern section of the league. Three disappointing seasons followed, however in the 2003/04 season - inspired by brothers Stefan Moore and Luke Moore - Villa eased to their first title. In the two seasons which followed (04-05 and 05-06) - Villa agonisingly finished both campaigns as runners-up, both times to Manchester United. In the 2006/07 season, for the first time since its introduction, the FA Premier Reserve League excluded Coca-Cola Championship teams from playing in the league, with the 20 senior English Premiership teams parallelling the teams involved in the FA Premier League. This also meant that due to geographical circumstances, Aston Villa Reserves were switched from the Northern Division, to the Southern equivalent, for the first time since the start of the original format in 1999. Villa eventually finished 4th - winning 9 out of their 18 games, with Luke Moore the top goalscorer, with 7. The season saw the impressive development of several youngsters, most notably including Zoltán Stieber, Shane Lowry and Stephen O'Halloran, all of which were rewarded with first-team opportunities in the following summer of 2007.

In the 2007/08 season, Aston Villa Reserves clinched the Southern title for the first time in their history, however they lost in the national final, losing 3-0 to Liverpool. This included the most goals scored by all 20 participating teams (38) and two 6-0 victories (against Chelsea and Derby County, home and away respectively). Swede Tobias Mikaelsson was the top scorer with 8 goals, followed by strikers Nathan Delfouneso and Marlon Harewood (4 each). Zoltán Stieber and Nathan Baker both scored twice. The season was also notable for the impressive development of several young players, such as Nathan Delfouneso, Barry Bannan, Ciaran Clark and - most remarkably - the rise of young defender Nathan Baker, who stepped up from Under-16 level to Reserve regular inside a single season.

[edit] Current Reserve squad

Last update - End of season.

	Player	DOB	Position	International Caps	Previous Club	Reserve Apps	Reserve Goals
Reserve Squad
	Marc Albrighton	November 18, 1989	Midfielder	Capped at Under-18 level	Trainee	18	1
	Nathan Baker	April 23, 1991	Defender	–	Trainee	7	2
	Barry Bannan	December 1, 1989	Midfielder	Capped at Under-17 level	Trainee	15	3
	Damian Bellon	August 28, 1989	Midfielder	Capped at Under-17, Under-18 and Under-19 level	FC St. Gallen	6	1
	Yago Bellon	August 28, 1989	Midfielder	Capped at Under-17 and Under-18 level	FC St. Gallen	15	0
	David Bevan	June 24, 1989	Goalkeeper	Capped from Under-15 to Under-19 level	College Corinthians AFC	3	0
	Daniel Bradley	May 13, 1991	Midfielder	–	Trainee	1	0
	Ciaran Clark	September 26, 1989	Defender	Capped at Under-17, Under-18 and Under-19 level	Trainee	11	2
	James Collins	December 1, 1990	Forward	–	Coventry City	7	1
	Nathan Delfouneso	February 2, 1991	Forward	Capped at Under-16 and Under-17 level	Trainee	17	4
	Harry Forrester	January 2, 1991	Midfielder	Capped at Under-16 and Under-17 level	Watford	7	0
	Chris Herd	April 4, 1989	Midfielder	–	Bayswater City SC	28	3
	Dominik Hofbauer	September 19, 1990	Midfielder	Capped at Under-17 and Under-18 level	SK Sturm Graz	2	0
	Jonathan Hogg	December 6, 1988	Midfielder	–	Trainee	23	1
	Eric Lichaj	November 17, 1988	Defender	Capped at Under-15, Under-16, Under-17 and Under-20 level	University of North Carolina	4	0
	Shane Lowry	June 12, 1989	Defender	Capped at Under-17, Under-19 and Under-21 level	ECU Joondalup	33	1
	Erik Lund	November 6, 1988	Defender	–	Ljungskile SK	40	1
	Adam McGurk	January 24, 1989	Forward	Capped at Under-16 and Under-17 level	Larne FC	15	6
	Tobias Mikaelsson	November 18, 1989	Forward	–	Vallens IF	17	10
	Stephen O'Halloran	November 29, 1987	Defender	Capped at Under-15, Under-16, Under-17, Under-21 and Full level	Springfield FC	46	3
	Zoltán Stieber	October 16, 1988	Midfielder	Capped at Under-17 and Under-19 level	Újpest FC	25	3
	Andreas Weimann	August 5, 1991	Forward	Capped at Under-17 level	SK Rapid Wien	5	1
	Sam Williams	June 9, 1987	Forward	–	Trainee	26	12

[edit] Hong Kong Soccer Sevens

The yearly invitational seven-a-side tournament brings together the best youth and reserve sides in the world, and this competition has brought notable success to Aston Villa in the past - with a squad of reserve and youth players fielded for the 3 day event.

Villa - inspired by Stephen Cooke and Steven Foley clinched the trophy in the final against Manchester United in 2004 for their first success. Striker Gabriel Agbonlahor captained Villa to the semi-final in 2006 - losing to the eventual winners Urawa Red Diamonds - and also received the 'Player Of The Tournament' accolade. Villa won the competition again in May 2007, beating Central Coast Mariners of Australia in the final, with Hungarian playmaker Zoltán Stieber winning 'Player Of The Tournament'. Villa then went onto win the competition again a year later, defeating Yau Yee Select, Bulova Rangers and PSV Eindhoven in the group stages. Further victories against Eastleigh, Australian Institute of Sport and Glasgow Celtic in the final, ensured the title was regained. Additionally, young Scottish midfielder Barry Bannan won the 'Player Of The Tournament' accolade.

[edit] Honours

Birmingham & District League

Winners:
- 1894/95, 1895/96, 1899/00, 1902/03, 1903/04, 1904/05, 1905/06, 1906/07, 1907/08, 1908/09, 1909/10, 1911/12
Runners-Up:
- 1892/93, 1893/94, 1897/98, 1898/99, 1900/01, 1910/11

Birmingham Senior Cup

Winners:
- 1879/80, 1881/82, 1882/83, 1883/84, 1884/85, 1887/88, 1888/89, 1889/90, 1890/91, 1895/96, 1898/99, 1902/03, 1903/04, 1905/06, 1907/08, 1908/09, 1909/10, 1911/12, 1984/85
Runners-Up:
- 1875/86, 1880/81, 1892/93, 1894/95, 1900/01, 1901/02, 1923/24, 1982/83, 1994/95, 1995/96

FA Premier Reserve League North

Winners:
- 2003/04
Runners-Up:
- 2004/05, 2005/06

FA Premier Reserve League South

Winners:
- 2007/08

FA Premier Reserve League

Runners-Up:
- 2007/08

HKFC Philips Lighting International Soccer Sevens

Winners:
- 2004, 2007, 2008

[edit] Aston Villa Academy

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 2007/08 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 James Collins (23), Austrian striker Andreas Weimann (16), Nathan Delfouneso (15) and Scot Barry Bannan (13).

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 1898. A 1-0 victory earnt them a final against 1. FSV Mainz 05, where a late strike by Harry Forrester won the Villains the trophy.

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.

[edit] Staff

Academy Coach: Tony McAndrew
Academy Coach: Gordon Cowans
Academy Director: Bryan Jones
Assistant Academy Director: Steve Burns
Academy Goalkeeper Coach: Rafael González-Robles
Head of Education and Welfare: Paul Brackwell

[edit] Academy Graduates

Player	DOB	Position	First-Team Debut	First-Team Appearances	First-Team Goals
Isaiah Osbourne	November 15, 1987	Midfielder	October 21, 2006 (vs Fulham)	Ongoing	Ongoing
Gary Cahill	December 19, 1985	Defender	April 1, 2006 (vs Arsenal)	31	1
Gabriel Agbonlahor	October 13, 1986	Forward	March 18, 2006 (vs Everton)	Ongoing	Ongoing
Craig Gardner	November 25, 1986	Midfielder	December 26, 2005 (vs Everton)	Ongoing	Ongoing
Steven Davis	January 1, 1985	Midfielder	September 18, 2004 (vs Norwich City)	102	9
Luke Moore	February 13, 1986	Forward	February 22, 2004 (vs Birmingham City)	98	14
Peter Whittingham	September 8, 1984	Midfielder	April 23, 2003 (vs Newcastle United)	66	2
Liam Ridgewell	July 21, 1984	Defender	January 4, 2003 (vs Blackburn Rovers)	93	7
Rob Edwards	December 25, 1982	Defender	December 28, 2002 (vs Middlesbrough)	9	0
Stefan Moore	September 28, 1983	Forward	September 11, 2002 (vs Charlton Athletic)	30	2
Thomas Hitzlsperger	April 5, 1982	Midfielder	January 13, 2001 (vs Liverpool)	114	12
Stephen Cooke	February 15, 1982	Midfielder	August 2, 2000 (vs Celta de Vigo)	4	0
Jonathan Bewers	September 10, 1982	Defender	April 15, 2000 (vs Tottenham Hotspur)	1	0
Adam Rachel	December 10, 1976	Goalkeeper	December 26, 1998 (vs Blackburn Rovers)	1	0
Darius Vassell	June 13, 1980	Forward	August 23, 1998 (vs Middlesbrough)	201	45
Darren Byfield	September 29, 1979	Forward	December 28, 1997 (vs Leeds United)	10	0
Richard Walker	November 8, 1977	Forward	December 28, 1997 (vs Leeds United)	10	2
Lee Hendrie	May 18, 1977	Midfielder	December 23, 1995 (vs Queens Park Rangers)	308	32

[edit] Current squad

	Player	DOB	Position	International Caps	Previous Club
2nd Year Scholars (players born between September 1, 1989 and August 31, 1990)
	Marc Albrighton	November 18, 1989	Midfielder	Capped at Under-18 level	Trainee
	Barry Bannan	December 1, 1989	Midfielder	Capped at Under-17 level	Trainee
	Ciaran Clark	September 26, 1989	Defender	Capped at Under-17, Under-18 and Under-19 level	Trainee
	Elliot Parish	May 20, 1990	Goalkeeper	Capped at Under-16 level	Trainee
	William Ricketts	September 6, 1989	Defender	–	Trainee
	Matthew Roome	October 12, 1989	Defender	–	Trainee
	Sam Simmonds	March 17, 1990	Defender	–	Trainee
1st Year Scholars (players born between September 1, 1990 and August 31, 1991)
	Nathan Baker	April 23, 1991	Defender	–	Trainee
	Daniel Bradley	May 13, 1991	Midfielder	–	Trainee
	James Collins	December 1, 1990	Forward	–	Coventry City
	Thomas Dau	August 9, 1991	Goalkeeper	–	SV Schwechat Juniors
	Nathan Delfouneso	February 2, 1991	Forward	Capped at Under-16 and Under-17 level	Trainee
	Harry Forrester	January 2, 1991	Midfielder	Capped at Under-16 and Under-17 level	Watford
	Robert Gucher	February 20, 1991	Midfielder	Capped at Under-17 level	Grazer AK
	Lance Heslop	December 4, 1990	Forward	Capped at Under-17 level	Auckland City
	Dominik Hofbauer	September 19, 1991	Midfielder	Capped at Under-17 and Under-18 level	SK Sturm Graz
	Mark Power	January 20, 1991	Defender	Capped at Under-15 and Under-16 level	Clonmel Town
	Andreas Weimann	August 5, 1991	Forward	Capped at Under-17 level	Rapid Vienna
Schoolboys (players born after 1 September 1991 )
	Joel Berry	–	–	–	Trainee
	Richard Blythe	–	–	–	Trainee
	James Clifton	–	–	–	Trainee
	Jack Dyer	–	–	–	Trainee
	Calum Flanagan	December 30, 1991	Defender	–	Trainee
	Gary Gardner	–	Midfielder	Capped at Under-16 level	Trainee
	William Grocott	–	Midfielder	–	Trainee
	Joseph Jackman	–	–	–	Trainee
	Jason Lampkin	–	Midfielder	Capped at Under-16 level	Manchester United
	Ben Love	September 22, 1991	Midfielder	–	Trainee
	Ethan Moore	–	Forward	–	Trainee
	Kofi Poyser	–	Forward	–	Trainee
	Tomos Roberts	–	Defender	Capped at Under-16 Level	Manchester United
	Ryan Simmonds	–	Midfielder	–	Trainee
	András Stieber	–	Midfielder	–	Trainee