West Bromwich Albion F.C. Reserves and Academy

West Bromwich Albion F.C. Reserves and Academy

Nickname(s)	The Baggies
Ground	The Hawthorns, Keys Park
Owner	Shilen Patel
Manager	Richard Stevens
League	Premier League 2 Division 2
Home colours Away colours Third colours

West Bromwich Albion Reserves and Academy are the youth teams of West Bromwich Albion. The reserve team is made up of under-23 players, and is effectively West Bromwich Albion's second-string side. The under-18 players among other younger age groups make up the academy team. They play in the Premier League 2 Division 2, the second tier of reserve team football in England.

Academy staff and hierarchy

Position	Name
Academy Manager		Richard Stevens
Head of Academy Coaching		Mick Halsall
U-23s Manager		Richard Beale
U-23s Coach		Chris Brunt
U-23s Coach		Deon Burton
U-18s Manager		Leigh Downing
Professional Phase Goalkeeping Development Coach		Boaz Myhill
Head of Academy Recruitment		Tom Brady

History

In the 1882–83 season, Albion fielded a reserve side for the first time; the club's second team played 24 matches and went through the season undefeated. ^[1] Due to the club's financial situation, the reserves had their wages halved early in the 1885–86 season, and by January 1886 the payments made to reserve players were withdrawn altogether. This resulted in Albion's second team refusing to play against Small Heath Alliance and the game was cancelled. Some of the players were suspended as a result of their actions, but were later re-instated. ^[2] The Albion reserves first competed in The Central League in 1921 and won the competition seven times. ^[3]

Albion's Youth team first entered the FA Youth Cup in 1952–53. In their first game in the competition, they defeated Brush Sports by a 10–1 scoreline. ^[4] They reached the final in 1954–55 and 1968–69, losing to Manchester United and Sunderland respectively. Albion won the competition for the only time in their history in 1975–76, beating local rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers 5–0 on aggregate in the two-legged final. Albion came close to reaching the final of the competition during the 2018–19 season after an impressive cup run for the first time in 43 years, only to lose to Manchester City 4–2 in the semi-final under youth coach Mike Scott. Albion would have another successful cup run in 2020-21 season only to lose to Aston Villa in the semi-final 4–1. Albion won the U23s Premier League Cup for the first time in their history under Richard Beale during the 2021-22 season beating local rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers in a penalty shootout 5–4. ^[5] Since April 2013, the club's academy has been based in the former Tom Silk Building in Halfords Lane, close to The Hawthorns. ^[6]

Academy squads

Under-23 squad

West Bromwich Albion F.C. Academy building

As of 11 Feb 2025 ^[7]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 28 MF   ENG Fenton Heard 33 MF   ENG Cole Deeming 34 MF   ENG Harry Whitwell 36 DF   ITA Muhamed Diomande 37 FW   WAL Ollie Bostock 38 MF   ENG Kevin Mfuamba 39 DF   ENG Reece Hall 40 DF   ENG Deago Nelson 42 GK   ENG Ben Cisse 43 FW   SCO Eseosa Sule 45 GK   NZL Joe Wallis

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF   ENG Evan Humphries — DF   ENG Jamal Mohammed — DF   ENG Michael Parker — DF   ENG Josh Shaw — DF   WAL Alex Williams — MF   ENG Archie Kirton — MF   AUT Souleyman Mandey — FW   ENG Akeel Higgins — FW   ENG Layton Love — FW   ENG Miller McDonald

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 29 FW   ENG Reyes Cleary (on loan at Hartlepool until end of season) 41 MF   ENG Matthew Richards(on loan at Leamington) — GK   WAL Ronnie Hollingshead(on loan at Alvechurch until end of season)

Under-18 squad

As of 16 Jan 2025 ^[8]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 35 DF   ITA Dauda Iddrisa — GK   IRL Louis Brady — GK   ENG Liam Wilkes — DF   ENG Abdul Abudu — DF   NZL Noah Dupont — DF   ENG Adam Letlat — DF   ENG Alfie Maughan — DF   WAL Rhys Morrish — DF   ENG Corey Sears — MF   ENG Sam Beedie

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF   ENG Charlie Blackshields — MF   ENG Fran Cherchi — MF   ENG Matthew Crowther — MF   ENG Rio Parmar — FW   ENG Dan Chimeziri — FW   ENG Jaiden Francis-Caesar — FW   ENG Donte German-Ranger — FW   ENG Adam Okorodudu — FW   ENG Divine Onyemachi

References

1. Matthews, Tony; Mackenzie, Colin (1987). Albion! A Complete Record of West Bromwich Albion 1879–1987. Breedon Books. p. 220. ISBN   0-907969-23-2.
2. Matthews, Tony; Mackenzie, Colin (1987). Albion! A Complete Record of West Bromwich Albion 1879–1987. Breedon Books. p. 243. ISBN   0-907969-23-2.
3. Matthews, Tony; Mackenzie, Colin (1987). Albion! A Complete Record of West Bromwich Albion 1879–1987. Breedon Books. pp. 221–223. ISBN   0-907969-23-2.
4. Matthews, Tony; Mackenzie, Colin (1987). Albion! A Complete Record of West Bromwich Albion 1879–1987. Breedon Books. p. 228. ISBN   0-907969-23-2.
5. Matthews, Tony; Mackenzie, Colin (1987). Albion! A Complete Record of West Bromwich Albion 1879–1987. Breedon Books. p. 229. ISBN   0-907969-23-2.
6. "West Brom move into their new £1.3m base". Express & Star. 24 April 2013. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
7. "West Bromwich Albion Premier League 2 Player Profiles". West Bromwich Albion. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
8. "West Bromwich Albion U18 Team". West Bromwich Albion. Retrieved 31 December 2018.

External links

• West Bromwich Albion Under-23s at wba.co.uk
• West Bromwich Albion Under-18s at wba.co.uk