The Arsenal Junior Teams – January Update Part 3 – The Women’s Development Squad

by Andrew Crawshaw

Here is the current League table courtesy of fulltime-league.thefa.com

POS		P	W	D	L	GD	PTS
1	Reading FC Women Academy	15	11	1	3	30	35 *
2	Liverpool FC Women Academy	11	9	1	1	31	28
3	Chelsea FC Women Academy	13	9	0	4	11	27
4	Arsenal Women FC Academy	13	8	1	4	28	25
5	Bristol City WFC Academy	12	7	1	4	18	23 *
6	Manchester City WFC Academy	14	6	2	6	8	22 *
7	FA East Region (ITFC)	14	6	2	6	-8	21 *
8	Everton LFC Academy	13	5	3	5	6	19 *
9	Brighton & Hove Albion WFC Academy	11	3	3	5	-10	13 *
10	Birmingham City WFC Academy	13	3	0	10	-37	9
11	West Ham United LFC Academy	8	1	0	7	-20	3
12	Yeovil Town LFC Academy	15	1	0	14	-57	3

Points totals marked * have been adjusted but I have no idea why or how.

Due to the large variation in the games actually played by each club it is difficult to get any real idea of who is actually where.  Allowing for their four games in hand Liverpool may well be able to overcome their 7 point deficit to Reading.

We have four outstanding matches still to play:-

• Birmingham v Arsenal – postponed on 7/10/18 (Coleshill Town FC)
• Brighton v Arsenal – postponed on 11/11/18 (Brighton Training Ground)
• Arsenal v Brighton – postponed on 9/12/18 (University of Hertfordshire)
• Arsenal v Bristol – postponed on Sunday 27/1/19 14:00 @ Bisham Abbey –

West Ham have 9 postponed matches to play and it is difficult to see how they will be able to fit them all in before the end of the season:-

• West Ham v Everton – postponed on 14/10/18 (Warwick)
• West Ham v Bristol – postponed on 21/10/18 (Bisham Abbey)
• West Ham v Chelsea – postponed on 4/11/18 (TBC)
• Liverpool v west Ham – postponed on 18/11 (Warwick)
• Bristol v West Ham – postponed on 25/11/18 (Bisham Abbey)
• Man City v West Ham – postponed from 12/12/18 (Warwick)
• West Ham v Brighton – postponed from 13/1/19 (TBC)
• Birmingham v West Ham – postponed from 23/1/19 (Nene Valley)
• Everton v West Ham – postponed from 27/1/19 (Warwick)

The schedule of Arsenal’s fixtures to the end of the season is (League unless noted):-

• Sunday 03/02/19 14:00 @ University of Hertfordshire (FA Academy League Cup) – Arsenal v Leicester
• Sun 17/2/19 14:00 @ University of Hertfordshire – Arsenal v West Ham
• Sun 24/2/19 14:00 @ Highfields Sports Complex – Liverpool v Arsenal
• Sun 03/3/19 14:00 @ University of Hertfordshire – Arsenal v Reading
• Sun 31/3/19 14:00 @ Chelsea Training Ground – Chelsea v Arsenal
• Sun 14/4/19 14:00 @ Warwick – Arsenal v Everton

Now I have no idea why we are playing home matches at Warwick or The University of Hertfordshire rather than at our own training ground but this is the fixture list as I have been able to determine it.

With a number of the more senior players in this group being called up for first team duties in the past few weeks, our recent results have been a bit up and down.

20/1/19 – Everton v Arsenal 0 – 4 (our first team players were on International break so no call on the Development Squad.  Lachante Paul scored a brace and there were also goals from Paige Bailey-Gayle and Jennifer Echegeni as we ran out comfortable winners.

Team – Ana Caterina Albuquerque, Paige Bailey-Gayle, Maxine Borden, Hannah Dawbarn, Jennifer Echegini, Alexandra Fuggle, Libby Harper, Amelia Hazard, Ava Kuyken, Lachante Paul, Shauna Vassell

13/1/19 – Arsenal v Liverpool 1 – 2 (Ava Kuyken was on first team duties making the bench as we played Chelsea).  A single goal from Ruby Grant wasn’t enough.

Team – Maxine Borden, Hanah Dawbarn, Jennifer Echegini, Melissa Fillis, Alexandra Fuggle, Ruby Grant, Libby Harper, Amelia Hazard, Lachante Paul, Gracie Pearse, Shauna Vassell

16/12/18 – Bristol v Arsenal 0 – 2 (no first team match so a full strength team again). Goals from Silvana Flores and Lachante Paul were enough.

Team – Ana Caterina Albuquerque, Paige Bailey-Gayle, Maxine Borden, Hannah Dawbarn, Jennifer Echegini, Silvana Flores, Libby Harper, Amelia Hazard, Ava Kuyken, Lechante Paul, Shauna Vessell

02/12/18 Ipswich v Arsenal – Home Walkover (our first team were away playing Manchester City and Paige Bailey-Gayle, Ava Kuyken, Libby Grant and Amelia Hazard were all in the squad)

25/11/18 Arsenal v Man City – Away Walkover (our first team played Brighton and Ava Kuyken, Libby Grant and Paige Bailey-Gayle were involved, all coming on as second half substitutes)

I have no explanation for these two walk-overs at all (other than the obvious one that we were unable to field a team) – The internet has no answers.

I know that our Academy was very badly affected at the start of the season with a perfect storm of players following departing coaches and more senior players leaving to the newly promoted sides to get a much better guarantee of first team games but I really had no idea that we were as short of players as these two walk-overs would seem to suggest.  I requested clarification from Arsenal but have not received any response.