The 2009–10 Premier Academy League Under–18 season is the thirteenth edition since the establishment of The Premier Academy League

Premier Academy League

The Premier Academy League is the top level of youth football in England. It is contested between the Academy sides of The Premier League and some Football League clubs, including Welsh side Cardiff City...

, and the sixth under the current make-up.

All teams played the other teams in their group twice and play 10 inter-group fixtures, producing 28 games a season. Eight of the inter-group games were played against teams in their 'paired group' (i.e. A–B and C–D are the paired groups), whilst the remaining two games comprise one game against a team in each of the two remaining groups. Winners of each group qualify for play-offs.

Arsenal U18s

Arsenal F.C. Academy

Arsenal Football Club Academy are the youth team of Arsenal Football Club. They currently play in the FA Premier Academy League, the highest level of youth football in England...

 defeated Nottingham Forest U18s

Nottingham Forest F.C. Youth Academy

The Nottingham Forest F.C. Youth Academy was launched in 1997 under the supervision of Paul Hart, currently the Academy is managed and directed by Nick Marshall, along with a host of full and part time staff including other ex-professional footballers, Steve Sutton, Eoin Jess and Steve Hodge. The...

 5-3 in the play-off final at the Emirates Stadium

Emirates Stadium

Ashburton Grove, currently known as the Emirates Stadium, is a UEFA elite football stadium which is home to Arsenal FC, where they moved from Highbury in 2006. It has an current capacity of 60,361, and there have been rumours of an expansion...

 and won the title for the second season in a row.

Academy Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Arsenal U18s Arsenal F.C. Academy Arsenal Football Club Academy are the youth team of Arsenal Football Club. They currently play in the FA Premier Academy League, the highest level of youth football in England...   (Q) (C)	28	17	5	6	31	56
2	Crystal Palace Crystal Palace F.C. Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...  U18s	28	13	8	7	18	47
3	Chelsea U18s Chelsea F.C. Reserves and Youth Team Chelsea F.C. Reserves are the reserve team of Chelsea Football Club. They are members of the Premier Reserve League Southern Division and the reigning champions of the Southern Division winning the Championship in 2010 - 11...	28	14	5	9	8	47
4	Norwich City Norwich City F.C. Norwich City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. As of the 2011–12 season, Norwich City are again playing in the Premier League after a six-year absence, having finished as runner up in the Championship in 2010–11 and winning automatic promotion.The...  U18s	28	11	6	11	-7	39
5	West Ham United U18s	28	10	8	10	8	38
6	Fulham U18s Fulham Academy The Fulham Academy, headed by Huw Jennings, runs along the lines of many of the English football academies as deemed appropriate by the national governing body, the FA. Players dealt with by the academy can be aged as young as nine years old...	28	12	2	14	0	38
7	Southampton U18s Southampton F.C. Academy Southampton Football Club Academy or Saints Academy is the youth organisation run by Southampton Football Club to encourage and develop young footballers in the South of England...	28	10	5	13	-13	35
8	Charlton Athletic U18s Charlton Athletic F.C. Academy Charlton Athletic Football Club Youth Academy are the youth team of Charlton Athletic. Their Under-18 team play in the highest level of youth football in England, the FA Premier Academy League, however the academy takes boys from the ages of 9 upwards....	28	10	4	14	-17	34
9	Ipswich Town Ipswich Town F.C. Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....  U18s	28	8	9	11	-9	33
10	Portsmouth U18s Portsmouth F.C. Reserves and Academy Portsmouth F.C. Reserves and Academy consist of the reserve and academy footballers of Portsmouth F.C..- The Reserves :The Portsmouth Reserves consist of mainly young players under the age of 21 who are no longer eligible for the academy but are still trying to make the step up to the senior team...	28	4	3	21	-37	15

Reference - final table at arsenal.com

Academy Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Leicester City Leicester City F.C. Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...  U18s (Q)	28	22	6	0	48	72
2	Tottenham Hotspur U18s	28	19	2	7	49	59
3	Aston Villa U18s Aston Villa F.C. Reserves and Academy Aston Villa Reserves are the reserve team of Aston Villa, they have been part of the FA Premier Reserve League since its foundation in 1999 and are current holders of the Premier Reserve League South title. The team plays its home games at Villa Park - during the months of Autumn and Spring - and...	28	16	5	7	40	53
4	Reading Reading F.C. Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...  U18s	28	11	7	10	2	40
5	Birmingham City U18s Birmingham City F.C. Reserves and Academy Birmingham City F.C. Reserves and Academy are the reserve team and the youth development system respectively of Birmingham City Football Club. The reserve team, established in 1879, played in the Premier Reserve League South in the 2009–10 season but have not entered a league since...	28	11	5	12	-15	38
6	Watford Watford F.C. Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...  U18s	28	10	4	14	-5	34
7	Cardiff City U18s Cardiff City F.C. Academy The Cardiff City F.C. Academy is the youth academy currently set up at Cardiff City in order to discover and nurture young talent. The academy has a range of players from ages seven to 18.-Information:...	28	10	4	14	-9	34
8	Bristol City Bristol City F.C. Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City...  U18s	28	9	5	14	-20	32
9	Coventry City Coventry City F.C. Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...  U18s	28	7	9	12	-10	30
10	Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons F.C. .Milton Keynes Dons Football Club is an English professional football club founded in 2004 and based since 2007 at Stadium mk, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire...  U18s	28	2	7	19	-57	13

Reference - table minus one fixture at official site, Tottenham results for final fixture

Academy Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Manchester United U18s Manchester United F.C. Reserves and Academy Manchester United Football Club Reserves are the reserve team of Manchester United F.C. They play in the North section of the Premier Reserve League. They have been champions four times since the league's inauguration in 1999; in 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2010...  (Q)	28	16	7	5	27	55
2	Everton U18s Finch Farm Finch Farm is the training ground for Everton F.C., in the Liverpool suburb of Halewood.The School of Science is the nickname given to the complex by some supporters, referring to a long-standing nickname for the club. The training ground houses both the Everton first team and the youth academy...	28	15	5	8	21	50
3	West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion F.C. West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...  U18s	28	12	9	7	21	45
4	Liverpool U18s	28	14	3	11	4	45
5	Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...  U18s	28	13	5	10	1	44
6	Manchester City U18s Manchester City F.C. Reserves and Academy Manchester City is represented at Reserve level by the Elite Development Squad, also referred to as just the Elite Squad, or EDS, a predominantly 'Under-21' side that replaced the previous Reserve team in a move to focus on youth development post-academy...	28	12	6	10	19	42
7	Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers F.C. Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....  U18s	28	11	9	8	-2	42
8	Stoke City Stoke City F.C. Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...  U18s	28	9	10	9	-6	37
9	Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra F.C. Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional football club based in Crewe, Cheshire. Nicknamed The Railwaymen due to the town's links with the rail industry, they currently play in Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football, and are based at the Alexandra Stadium.The club...  U18s	28	10	6	12	-9	36
10	Bolton Wanderers U18s Bolton Wanderers F.C. Reserves and Academy -Reserve team:Bolton Wanderers Reserves play in the Barclays Premiership Reserve League North. They also participate in the Manchester Senior Cup, although in recent years the teams entered in this competition have featured an increasing number of youth players.Bolton Wanderers Reserves play their...	28	5	8	15	-21	23

Reference - table minus one fixture at official site, Wolves results for final fixture

Academy Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Nottingham Forest U18s Nottingham Forest F.C. Youth Academy The Nottingham Forest F.C. Youth Academy was launched in 1997 under the supervision of Paul Hart, currently the Academy is managed and directed by Nick Marshall, along with a host of full and part time staff including other ex-professional footballers, Steve Sutton, Eoin Jess and Steve Hodge. The...  (Q)	28	18	5	5	27	59
2	Sunderland Sunderland A.F.C. Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...  U18s	28	17	4	7	37	55
3	Newcastle United U18s Newcastle United F.C. Reserves and Academy Newcastle United F.C. Reserves and Academy are the reserve and academy teams for the Premier League club Newcastle United.The reserve team plays in the Premier Reserve League North. It also participates in the Northumberland Senior Cup each season...	28	14	7	7	17	49
4	Middlesbrough U18s Middlesbrough F.C. Reserves and Academy Middlesbrough Reserves and the Middlesbrough Academy are the reserve and under-18 teams of Middlesbrough F.C. respectively.Most reserve home fixtures and all Academy home fixtures are played at Rockliffe Park, near Hurworth, though the final reserve home game of the season is usually played at the...	28	9	9	10	-7	36
5	Leeds United U18s Leeds United A.F.C. Reserves and Youth Team Leeds United Reserves are the reserve team of Leeds United A.F.C.. The manager of the reserves is Neil Redfearn and they currently play at the first team's home ground, Elland Road. In previous seasons, the reserves have played at York City's Bootham Crescent and the South Leeds Stadium...	28	10	5	13	-15	35
6	Barnsley Barnsley F.C. Barnsley Football Club are a professional English football club based in the town of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Nicknamed the Tykes, they were founded in 1887 under the name Barnsley St. Peter's...  U18s	28	8	5	15	-21	29
7	Derby County Derby County F.C. Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...  U18s	28	7	6	15	-21	27
8	Sheffield United Sheffield United F.C. Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...  U18s	28	5	11	12	-16	26
9	Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town F.C. Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...  U18s	28	4	7	17	-28	19
10	Sheffield Wednesday U18s Sheffield Wednesday F.C. Academy Sheffield Wednesday Football Club Youth Academy are the youth team of Sheffield Wednesday. Their Under-18 team play in the highest level of youth football in England, The FA Premier Academy League....	28	3	8	17	-33	17

Reference - official table

Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd goals scored
Pos = Position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
Q = Qualified for playoffs; C = Champions

Play-off semi-finals

----

Play-off Final

External links

• Fixture and Results on official website

Match reports can be found at each club's official website:

Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
Arsenal Charlton Athletic Chelsea Crystal Palace Fulham Ipswich Town Norwich City Portsmouth Southampton West Ham United	Aston Villa Birmingham City Bristol City Cardiff City Coventry City Leicester City Milton Keynes Dons Reading Tottenham Hotspur Watford	Blackburn Rovers Bolton Wanderers Crewe Alexandra Everton Liverpool Manchester City Manchester United Stoke City West Bromwich Albion Wolverhampton Wanderers	Barnsley Derby County Huddersfield Town Leeds United Middlesbrough Newcastle United Nottingham Forest Sheffield United Sheffield Wednesday Sunderland