(a)PDL Team Of The Season

Professional Development League - 2024-25

This is *a* Professional Development League Team of the Season based on the games I’ve watched live.

This is the Category 2 Academies U21 league.

9 Teams from the South, 9 from the North.

Play twice whithin your group, once against teams from the other group.

There’ll be bias based on the games I’ve decided to watch in the South Seed, the ones actually open to the public.

There’ll be an element of second guessing who showed what it takes to make the step, more than actually scoring loads of goals in a league that produces 3 to 4 goal per game.

There’s some role players who I liked too, in their own right, doing some Gallagher / Yates mixed bag of closing down, second balls with the odd goal. Ryan Huke (Charlton) or Malcom Da Costa Gonzales (Bournemouth) spring to mind.

A Team of the Season is however more a selection of individuals who go above and beyond, than a balanced lineup for the dynamics of the game.

Starting XI

Tommy Reid : seen at Ipswich Town away, with some good saves, dives and footed distribution.

Kyle Smith : best player you haven’t heard of, his crossing is spectacularly good, positional awareness is surprisingly faultless and he also scores direct free kicks

Kai Enslin : plays LB, WB, winger or striker. Makes the most of what he’s got, which is a relentless drive, incisive carries and regularly wanting it more which means he gets penalties and ends up scoring goals.

the CB pairing of Benjamin Arthur and Harold William have looked composed to win their duels on the floor and in the air, not make too many fouls

Ibrahim Fullah : does more than running around, his two-way game is impactful. Industrious to close down and win second balls without many fouls ; he’s also a catalyst to bring the ball into final third with give and go, who can also pass and run in behind, sometimes from wing-back. His goal reel is outrageous.

Rafiq Lamptey : still raw around the edges, the combination of a fine first touch, weight of passing but also edge to tackle and cover different positions make him standout whilst he’s springing on toes all around the pitch

Tommy Taylor’s been equally good at connecting and receiving between the lines, than he’s been at getting at the end of stuff in the box

The reason I picked Tommy Taylor over Patrick Casey : whilst Casey’s finishing execution to shift and shoot is high level, Taylor’s been good in a fairly average team.

I saw Henry Rylah torment his left back vs Birmingham City and drill some excellent low crosses inside the box, and can also get shots/goals from wide.

Ashley Clarke also scored a lot of goals from wide, and I liked the repeatability (therefore consistency) of his separation movement to get goalscoring chances and finish.

Dan Adu-Adjeyi scored 24 goals in 15 games since he was called back from Carlisle where he scored 2 goals in half a season in League 2. Which is a good benchmark to kind of evaluate the scalability of output. Not naming him would’ve been a travesty.

He looks fairly alright at receiving back to goal, run the channels and get shots at the end of these moves. I’m still not really sure where that puts him when it comes to EFL football as of now, because I don’t see one super strength.

Thinking of Adebayo’s heading game, Harry Cornick’s speed, Callum Morris’s workrate if we look at the top end of EFL talents who crashed the party at PL level. Plenty of time, and if you’re scoring goals, it means someone else isn’t when you’re proving you can. I’m not pushing an open door ; players who score goals at Academy level have a better chance to replicate it at senior level, than the other way round.

Substitutes:

Jayden Smith (Coventry, WB) was eating up ground and getting in crossing positions on the right for Coventry without really connecting despite some interesting deliveries

Alan Mwamba is a ball playing, give and go, energetic midfielder from Charlton who’s playing a few years up. His on the ball output is higher than off it, unlike Ibrahim Fullah but one to keep an eye on.

Morgan Bates has been scoring a few goals, and has a nice left foot ; and could still show his quality vs Bournemouth in another long afternoon of football

Elliott Betjemann ran the game at Watford when Coventry won 2-1 with a mix of separation movement, passing range with a nice finish.

Alfie Chang : because he’s the best set piece taker I’ve seen at PDL level this season, his evening at Dartford for Charlton U21s was a florilege of pin point deliveries

Morgan Wigley came on early at Charlton and despite the 6-1 scoreline, buffalo’-ed his way through on the right wing which put him in a comfortable spot to nail a EFL spot in years to come

Patrick Casey has flair, nice touch, an edge and a “I’m a good footballer” stance. Will score goals, the speed of execution to lash out finishes is quality. He does run around a bit, works hard along the line.

Ben Wodskou rattled the Charlton’s defence for Birmingham City, both in physical contact but also renting a luxurious penthouse in the back three’s heads.

Could’ve also been featuring :

• Josh Laqueretabua (Charlton, CB) a decent all rounder who can move around the pitch in all directions, possibly deceptively quicker than he looks. Likes an interception but I’ve also seen him be on the line sometimes

• Josh Lewis (Ipswich Town, LB) : reliable 1v1 defensively with good supporting runs and crosses

• Paris Maghoma (Brentford, CM) : a really nice touch but probably too many of them to really move the ball for a purpose

• Riley Owen (Brentford, CM) : character to get on the ball and change the picture, keen to provide feedback. I liked him, just haven’t seen him score

• Emmerson Sutton (QPR, LW) : nice variety of runs in behind and 1v1 from the LW, he’s also been featuring in CM at the end of the season

• Michael Da Costa Gonzales (Bournemouth, CM) : I see it, but also I haven’t seen it. Good feet for a big guy, seems to be able to do a lot of stuff, I’ve liked the flashes but I’d have to have seen a dominant performance (which I’m sure he’s had this year) to really include him there

• Jaiden Celestine-Charles (Millwall, CF) : signed from Wealdstone. A big boy, initially tried as support striker and on the wings ; he really is more of a forward keen to run in behind and shoot. There’s a lot to work with, and the next season could be a breakout with a stronger stance back to goal, and more goals

• Jonathan Lawson (Watford, LW) : industrious and active to get the ball in the box from the LW, should be an OK EFL winger

• Kaheim Dixon (Charlton, CF) for his variety of movement in behind, ability to exist in tight games, but probably let down by his finishing technique despite his dozen goals

• Josh Toluwaloju (Coventry, CF) : signed from Grassroots and a College Program, quite the handful upfront with a variety of box movement, flicks and carries

• Nickson Okosun: signed from Ireland and having played a few rounds in the FA Youth Cup, he's been exposed to senior minutes in the PDL. Good movement in behind around the corner, side of centre backs. And also able to hold the ball back to goal

Ra’ees Bangura-Williams : would have been one of the standouts players in the 2023-24 version.

He’s since had his First Team debut, scored a fairly good goal and was called up for England U20s.

Played a bit early on, and scored that good goal: