Academy & U21s

[KentExile]

U21s won 3-1 vs PNE today, Edmondson, Boggan & Joseph with Rovers goals

 

[arbitro]

Arguably the best performance of the season so far albeit against a young Preston team who for some reason don't have an under 21 team.

Surprisingly no Matty Litherland for Rovers again and given the fact he hasn't gone out on loan I'm assuming he is injured.

We were always in control thought and at 2-0 missed a host of chances and Preston scoring with a few minutes to go set up a nervous finish until Joseph gave us back the two goal cushion. It's been said before about Joseph but he really is a beast. He has a boxer's physique and seems to enjoy the physical side of the game.

James Edmondson had a really good game alongside Dunn who, after a couple of indifferent games looked like he was coming back to form. Decandia also played well at centre half. To be truthful it looked too easy for Jake Batty as he didn't need to get out of third gear. I'm really surprised that he didn't get a move yesterday either on loan or permanent. He could well stagnate when he simply has to be challenged more.

Overall an enjoyable watch and hopefully this improvement will be carried into league performances.

[Bronzed A Donis]

Appreciate the write up.

[bigsigarner]

https://www.pnefc.net/news/2025/september/02/match-report---pne-1-blackburn-rovers-3/

[riverholmes]

3 hours ago, arbitro said:

Arguably the best performance of the season so far albeit against a young Preston team who for some reason don't have an under 21 team.

Surprisingly no Matty Litherland for Rovers again and given the fact he hasn't gone out on loan I'm assuming he is injured.

We were always in control thought and at 2-0 missed a host of chances and Preston scoring with a few minutes to go set up a nervous finish until Joseph gave us back the two goal cushion. It's been said before about Joseph but he really is a beast. He has a boxer's physique and seems to enjoy the physical side of the game.

James Edmondson had a really good game alongside Dunn who, after a couple of indifferent games looked like he was coming back to form. Decandia also played well at centre half. To be truthful it looked too easy for Jake Batty as he didn't need to get out of third gear. I'm really surprised that he didn't get a move yesterday either on loan or permanent. He could well stagnate when he simply has to be challenged more.

Overall an enjoyable watch and hopefully this improvement will be carried into league performances.

The melee of short-term non-league loans haven't been launched yet. Are the club keeping a stable U21s this year, favouring quality over quantity with loans, or is all that coming soon? 

[KentExile]

20 hours ago, riverholmes said:

The melee of short-term non-league loans haven't been launched yet. Are the club keeping a stable U21s this year, favouring quality over quantity with loans, or is all that coming soon? 

Whilst not a direct reply to your post, it does loseley tie in

 

Current players available for U21s & U18s. 

I have included Montgomery, Tyjon, Michalski etc as they look to be subs at most in the first team picture, so should get a few games for the U21s

red = currently loaned out

 

GK - Michalski, Goddard, Barrett,  Honor, Kahn, Thompson, Wolsoncroft, Holt, Krajewski

CB - O'Riordan, Atcheson, Litherland, Pratt, Olson, Davies, Eze, Decandia, Kelley-Quinn, McIlroy, Henderson

LB - Batty, Powell, Pates, Leeming,

RB - Duru, Houghton, Odugun, Wilkinson, Pitt

CM -  Garrett, Montgomery, O'Grady-Macken, Dunn, Edmondson, Farkas, Vare, Mansbridge, Potter, Ball

AM/Wingers - Tyjon, Wood, A.Doherty,  Mullarkey-Matthews, Strich, Dlamini, Leatherbarrow, Sergeant, McCoy, Clanford, Lister, 

S - Boggan, Joseph, Higgins, Cryer (Tyjon & Wood have also played up top)

Edited Wednesday at 17:08 by KentExile

[arbitro]

10 hours ago, riverholmes said:

The melee of short-term non-league loans haven't been launched yet. Are the club keeping a stable U21s this year, favouring quality over quantity with loans, or is all that coming soon? 

Personally I think some of the more regular under 21's will be loaned to but it has to be for regular playing time and the right standard.

[MarkBRFC]

11 hours ago, riverholmes said:

The melee of short-term non-league loans haven't been launched yet. Are the club keeping a stable U21s this year, favouring quality over quantity with loans, or is all that coming soon? 

Coming soon I imagine.

Rudy's pal will have to "earn" his wage somehow.

[Mattyblue]

Getting the band back together. Ben Marshall as events planner? Jason Lowe as ‘covering every blade of grass’ coach?

[bluebruce]

17 hours ago, arbitro said:

Arguably the best performance of the season so far albeit against a young Preston team who for some reason don't have an under 21 team.

Surprisingly no Matty Litherland for Rovers again and given the fact he hasn't gone out on loan I'm assuming he is injured.

We were always in control thought and at 2-0 missed a host of chances and Preston scoring with a few minutes to go set up a nervous finish until Joseph gave us back the two goal cushion. It's been said before about Joseph but he really is a beast. He has a boxer's physique and seems to enjoy the physical side of the game.

James Edmondson had a really good game alongside Dunn who, after a couple of indifferent games looked like he was coming back to form. Decandia also played well at centre half. To be truthful it looked too easy for Jake Batty as he didn't need to get out of third gear. I'm really surprised that he didn't get a move yesterday either on loan or permanent. He could well stagnate when he simply has to be challenged more.

Overall an enjoyable watch and hopefully this improvement will be carried into league performances.

Preston got rid of their u21s years ago, that's why we ended up with Dolan. They let him go because there was no more youth football for him, and they didn't see him as a first team squad member.

Who did we just play then, do they cobble a team together from their u18s to enter comps?

[Tugayisgod]

[arbitro]

3 hours ago, bluebruce said:

Preston got rid of their u21s years ago, that's why we ended up with Dolan. They let him go because there was no more youth football for him, and they didn't see him as a first team squad member.

Who did we just play then, do they cobble a team together from their u18s to enter comps?

They will have a few professionals who are 21 or under so I guess it's a mix of both. It was pretty telling that they had a few six feet plus players in their side.

[bluebruce]

56 minutes ago, Tugayisgod said:

Good news, just need Tyjon to follow suit.

[MarkBRFC]

I think if Tyjon was going to sign a professional deal he would have done it by now, it's been on the table since March apparently.

[bluebruce]

5 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

I think if Tyjon was going to sign a professional deal he would have done it by now, it's been on the table since March apparently.

I didn't think Eze was going to either, I assume that had been on the table a while too.

[K-Hod]

1 hour ago, MarkBRFC said:

I think if Tyjon was going to sign a professional deal he would have done it by now, it's been on the table since March apparently.

You mean to tell me we are offering players lots less money than they could earn elsewhere?

[Mashed Potatoes]

16 minutes ago, K-Hod said:

You mean to tell me we are offering players lots less money than they could earn elsewhere?

In the case of young players who interest Premier League clubs like Arsenal no Championship club is going to be able to match wages available from the Premier League club. The question will be whether the player - more likely his family - thinks it is in his long term interests to stay at the Championship club for the time being.

[KentExile]

2 hours ago, bluebruce said:

I didn't think Eze was going to either, I assume that had been on the table a while too.

To be honest, once he signed the scholarship deal later than the rest of them, I think it was nailed on that he had sorted the pro deal at the same time

Great news though

[MarkBRFC]

18 hours ago, bluebruce said:

I didn't think Eze was going to either, I assume that had been on the table a while too.

Signed it within a day of his 17th birthday to be fair,

Tyjon turned 17 back in March and still hasn't signed up, will be amazed if he does.

[bluebruce]

16 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

Signed it within a day of his 17th birthday to be fair,

Tyjon turned 17 back in March and still hasn't signed up, will be amazed if he does.

Fair enough, I couldn't find his birthday at the time 

[KentExile]

1 hour ago, MarkBRFC said:

Signed it within a day of his 17th birthday to be fair,

Tyjon turned 17 back in March and still hasn't signed up, will be amazed if he does.

 

1 hour ago, bluebruce said:

Fair enough, I couldn't find his birthday at the time 

I would imagine that when Eze signed his scholarship in July (2 months later than the rest of the players in his age group), A pro deal was arranged at the same time, which needed nothing apart from sighing once he was legally able to do so

[riverholmes]

Was Tyjon ever prolific? In past season or so, he hasn't seemed to have had the impact for the U21s or England youth that his hype would suggest. That said, he is a lot younger, of course, and suffered numerous niggly injuries. I just wonder if he's burning out early.. or whether it is something of a plateau before further development.

[KentExile]

8 hours ago, riverholmes said:

Was Tyjon ever prolific? In past season or so, he hasn't seemed to have had the impact for the U21s or England youth that his hype would suggest. That said, he is a lot younger, of course, and suffered numerous niggly injuries. I just wonder if he's burning out early.. or whether it is something of a plateau before further development.

He is "a 10", rather than an out and out centre forward

Even so, has strike rate for last season was just under 1 in 3  (6 in 19, which also factors in his 6 minutes over 2 appearances for the first team)

If we take out those 2 games for the first team, then he scored 6 goals across 17 appearances, during which he played an average of less than 62 minutes per game.  not bad in my opinion especially for a 16 year old who isn't playing as a centre forward, and is also playing a few levels above his age group

Summary 2024/25

19

Games

6

Goals Scored

	G	M	GS	AST
Premier League International Cup	2	114	0	0
Premier League 2	7	471	4	0
EFL Championship	2	6	0	0
U21 PL Cup	2	125	0	0
National League Cup	2	108	0	0
	15	824	4	0
National Friendlies	1	90	0	0
Euro Quals U17	3	138	2	0
	4	228	2	0
Total	19	1052	6	0

Edited 13 hours ago by KentExile

[KentExile]

On 12/08/2025 at 13:10, bluebruce said:

Former ingrate - sorry sorry, former Rovers youth product, Rory Finneran, explains why he buggered off without a care for the club that developed him:

https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/ex-rovers-youngster-finneran-explains-095808095.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAALoW4t9ACw8mY0MEny2-ha0MzMLmBrrvMshr5KhabcWUkaX3rLGdmkAQ0Je3MKhvltM02tpD6Ta3_9Bby-fPa80X2EE6dpOXzRbsZOQBy0mbnTbg7G3n37WJaQg81DyefYq-PF6B-KycQKH1wwBgD5RNM_OxBXvs2U0XsZSBPqEl

Apparently picked up an injury on his first training session after joining them last year.

Although he has since been training with their first team squad.

Looks like he was injured again during pre season, although did return and play 45 mins last week

[bluebruce]

1 hour ago, KentExile said:

Apparently picked up an injury on his first training session after joining them last year.

Although he has since been training with their first team squad.

Looks like he was injured again during pre season, although did return and play 45 mins last week

I wish him many more injuries.