Under-23s moving on up
Last Monday evening the first team moved out of the bottom three in the Premier League; just a few hours earlier a 2-1 win against Fulham had taken the under-23s off the bottom of Division 2 in the Premier League 2.
It’s very difficult to gauge how things are going for the under-23s this season. We are at a new level, coming up against much tougher opposition, I’ve not been able to watch them so can’t judge just how much more difficult the games and, in any case, it is a much changed team.
I suggest much changed but the team that kicked off against Fulham included just two players who weren’t with us last season. Anthony Gomez Mancini, who is on loan from Angers, was in midfield while Richard Nartey, who has subsequently signed for us, was on the right hand side of the back four. However, all five of the named substitutes are new to the club this season.
We went into the game two points behind Fulham but they are now propping up the league with six points with our total having moved on to seven. Suddenly, others are within striking distance. We are just two points behind Stoke and only three behind all of Wolves, Newcastle and Reading and those three have all played a game more.
At the other end of the table, the top three, Middlesbrough, Leeds and Norwich all won but defeats for Sunderland and West Brom, who held the next two positions, have seen Aston Villa and Crystal Palace move ahead of them.
In Division 1, Liverpool were only able to draw against Southampton but it was enough to take them top of the league, ahead of previous leaders Middlesbrough on goal difference.
West Ham were beaten 2-1 at Leicester with Demarai Gray scoring both goals for a very strong looking home team. West Ham remain the only team in both leagues without a win.
The player featured this week is striker Max Thompson. He scored our opener against Fulham and has now scored three league goals this season.
The League Tables and our Fixtures and Results can now be found within U23/U18 Stats which can be found on the top menu.
All of last week’s results, this week’s fixtures, the leading goalscorers, our goalscorers and the current league tables are all below.
LAST WEEK’S RESULTS
Division 1
Friday 20th November
Arsenal 1 Everton 0
Saturday 21st November
Liverpool 0 Southampton 0
Sunday 22nd November
Manchester City 2 Chelsea 2
Manchester United 4 Tottenham 2
Monday 23rd November
Brighton 1 Blackburn 2
Leicester 2 West Ham 1
Division 2
Friday 20th November
Wolves 1 Middlesbrough 4
Monday 23rd November
Burnley 2 Fulham 1
Leeds 2 West Brom 1
Newcastle 0 Norwich 2
Stoke 0 Aston Villa 2
Sunderland 3 Crystal Palace 4
THIS WEEK’S FIXTURES
Division 1
Friday 27th November
Arsenal v Derby
Blackburn v Everton
West Ham v Manchester United
Saturday 28th November
Liverpool v Manchester City
Monday 30th November
Southampton v Brighton
Tottenham v Leicester
Division 2
Friday 27th November
Aston Villa v Fulham
Middlesbrough v Reading
Norwich v Burnley
Monday 30th November
Newcastle v Wolves
Stoke v Crystal Palace
West Brom v Sunderland
LEADING GOALSCORERS
Division 1
8: Jack Stretton (Derby)
6; Connor McBride (Blackburn), Ellis Simms (Everton)
5: Daniel N’Lundulu (Southampton)
4: Oladapo Afolayan (West Ham), Bryan Fiabema (Chelsea), James Mcatee (Manchester City),
Division 2
5: Sam Greenwood (Leeds), Taylor Perry (Wolves)
4: Scott Banks (Crystal Palace), Rumarn Burrell (Middlesbrough), Mitch Curry (Sunderland), Stanley Flaherty (Newcastle), Isaac Fletcher (Middlesbrough), Joe Gelhardt (Leeds), Gabriel Kyeremateng (Stoke), Benjamin Mbunga-Kimpioka (Sunderland), Jaden Philogene-Bidace (Aston Villa), Owen Windsor (West Brom)
BURNLEY’S GOALSCORERS
3: Max Thompson
2: Ashley Barnes, Joel Mumbongo
1: Owen Dodgson, Lewis Richardson, own goals
CURRENT LEAGUE TABLES
| Team | pld | w | d | l | f | a | pts |
| Liverpool | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 9 | 16 |
| Derby | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 16 | 16 |
| Blackburn | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 10 | 14 |
| Chelsea | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 12 | 13 |
| Manchester City | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 14 | 11 |
| Manchester United | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 17 | 11 |
| Tottenham | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 8 | 11 |
| Brighton | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 16 | 11 |
| Everton | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 7 | 10 |
| Leicester | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 14 | 9 |
| Arsenal | 9 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 16 | 8 |
| Southampton | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 15 | 8 |
| West Ham | 8 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 18 | 2 |
| Team | pld | w | d | l | f | a | pts |
| Middlesbrough | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 6 | 16 |
| Leeds | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 19 | 16 | 16 |
| Norwich | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 9 | 15 |
| Aston Villa | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 10 | 13 |
| Crystal Palace | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 15 | 13 |
| Sunderland | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 19 | 20 | 12 |
| West Brom | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 9 | 11 |
| Wolves | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 15 | 10 |
| Newcastle | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 10 |
| Reading | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 23 | 10 |
| Stoke | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 11 | 9 |
| Burnley | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 15 | 7 |
| Fulham | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 17 | 6 |
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