Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Under-23s and Academy


The Tottenham Hotspur Academy was created to train and develop players from the age of eight right up to the age of 23. Many of whom have progressed through Tottenham's youth academy have gone on to sign professional contracts and represent their country at International level.
The reserves in recent times have been known as the Development Squad to reflect the purpose of producing players for the first team. Though matches are billed as under 21, three overage players are allowed which gives the club the opportunity to give senior squad players a chance to play and keep or build up match fitness, often following an injury.
They have won one Premier Reserve League South title since the league's formation in 1999 and were runners-up in the inaugural Barclays U21 Premiership League which took over from 2012.

Historical reserve team

In 1948 Tottenham entered an 'A' team into the Eastern Counties League. They won the League Cup in their first season and the league title and the East Anglian Cup in their second. In 1957–58 they again won both the league and East Anglian Cup and went on to win the League Cup the following season. They won three consecutive league titles in 1959–60, 1960–61 and 1961–62. In 1963 they left the ECL to join the Metropolitan League, which they won in 1966–67 as well as the League Cup in 1963–64 and the League Cup and Professional Cup in 1964–65. In 1969 they joined the South East Counties League, where they played until the formation of the Academy team in 1998, winning it three times between 1969 and 1973 and several times in the 1980s and 1990s.
During their time in the ECL the club played at White Hart Lane, as well as at Hoddesdon Town's Lowfield Ground, the Hoddesdon Sports Arena and Brookfields Lane in Cheshunt.

The Academy

The Tottenham Hotspur Academy coaches young footballers from the ages of 8 to 18 involving approximately 150 young players, looked after by 30 full-time and part-time staff. The academy features a network of 35 scouts who are tasked with finding the best local, national and international talent. Whilst under 16, in the Youth development phase, players are coached or play in the evenings and the weekend whilst they are in full-time education. On reaching 16, the best players are offered a place in the U18s Academy on a full-time 2 year Scholarship contract. This provides an academic programme alongside their football commitments. Players will usually progress through first and second years of the professional development phase whereupon on completion, they will be either offered a professional contract or be released. Where a player is borderline or has been held back because of injury there is the option of offering a third year at the Academy by exception.
Notable players to come through the Tottenham Hotspur Academy include Ledley King, Glenn Hoddle, Peter Crouch, Stephen Carr, Nick Barmby, Ian Walker, and Sol Campbell all of whom have gone on to represent their country at international level.
The Academy Manager is John McDermott. One of the former Youth Team coaches is Alex Inglethorpe who joined the club in 2006 after a two-year spell as manager of Exeter City. In November 2012 after six years service to Tottenham he joined Liverpool to become their Under-21 coach.

Development Squad

Players who have progressed through the Academy and have shown the potential to play at a higher level are offered professional contracts and will then join the Development Squad. The Development Squad may also be joined by Under-21 players signed from other clubs or free agents who have proved themselves in trials at the club. The purpose of the Development Squad is to produce new players for the First Team though breaking into the senior squad is no easy feat for a young player. As well as playing in Under-21 games players may be loaned out to other clubs in lower leagues or sometimes clubs abroad to give them experience and to aid their development.
As of the 2013 – 2014 season the Development Squad have played in the Barclays U21 Premiership League. In July 2014, former Aston Villa and Middlesbrough defender Ugo Ehiogu was appointed Under-21 Team Coach following a period of part-time work within the Academy. However, on 20 April 2017, Ehiogu went into cardiac arrest after collapsing at Tottenham's training ground; he died the following day at the age of 44. Two months later, Tottenham announced that they had appointed former Dagenham and Redbridge manager Wayne Burnett as Ehiogu's successor, with former player Scott Parker taking charge of the Under-18s.

Seasons

2005–06 season

became the manager of the reserve team at the beginning of the season and led them to their first FA Premier Reserve League South title, staying in 1st position from mid-December until the end of the season. They lost just three times during the league season. In the Barclays Premiership Reserve League Play-Off, contested by the winners of the Southern and Northern Reserve League titles, Tottenham Reserves lost 2–0 to Manchester United Reserves at Old Trafford. Home games were played at Broadhall Way, the home ground of Stevenage Borough.

2006–07 season

The 2006–07 was less successful for the reserve team with them finishing mid-table, in fifth place, behind league winners Reading, Watford, Chelsea and Leicester City. The Academy team made a vast improvement over the previous season and finished the league in third position in their Under-18 Group, behind Reading and Leicester City.
The end of the season coincided with the end of a Tottenham career for Charlie Lee and Rob Burch, with both being released to further their careers elsewhere.

2007–08 season

From the 2007–08 season onwards home matches were played at Leyton Orient's home ground, the Matchroom Stadium.

2008–09 season

On 1 July 2008, Tottenham Hotspur confirmed the permanent transfer of Joe Martin, who had previously been on loan, to Blackpool.
Spurs also loaned out Tomas Pekhart to Southampton, Troy Archibald-Henville to Norwich City, Simon Dawkins to Leyton Orient, David Button to Grays Athletic, and Andrew Barcham, Leigh Mills & Charlie Daniels went on loan to Gillingham.
In 2009, Grays Athletic loaned Lee Butcher, another goalkeeper, for a month and Gillingham acquired Barcham permanently. Charlie Daniels was allowed to join Leyton Orient on a free transfer. Button went on loan to AFC Bournemouth, making his league debut for them, and Archibald-Henville went to Exeter City, while Yuri Berchiche and David Hutton both moved to Cheltenham Town.

2009–10 season

The club announced on 12 June 2009 that for the 2009–10 season it would not be entering a team in the Reserve League. Instead the reserve players would be loaned out for first team experience, and if necessary friendly matches would be arranged as required during the season to test out players returning from injury.

2012–13 season

After not participating in the Reserve League for three seasons the club agreed to play in the newly formed Barclays U21 Premiership League. Tottenham Under-21s won the Group 2 League in the first half of the season which qualified them for the Elite Group, which they also won. This put them through to the end of the season knock-out competition where they progressed all the way to the final, eventually losing 3–2 to Manchester United Under-21s.

Honours

Domestic

Under-23s

Under-18s

Second Year Academy Players

First Year Academy Players

Notable Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Academy graduates

The following list of academy graduates have appeared in 25 or more competitive fixtures for the first team. Players still currently playing for the club are in bold

Reserve team manager history