# 2017–18 Professional U18 Development League

The 2017-18 Under-18 Premier League is the fifth campaign of the top tier of the Under-18 Development League. A total of 24 teams are split regionally into north and south leagues.The format was changed completely this season. Instead of playing in the merit group stage format, teams face their regional opponents both home and away before the top two face each other to determine the national champion. No teams were added this season. As a result, 22 games were played in both the North and South Divisions. Chelsea U18s are the defending champions.

## North

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Manchester United U18s (C, Q) | 22 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 65 | 33 | +32 | 48 | Qualification for the National Final |
| 2 | Manchester City U18s | 22 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 58 | 34 | +24 | 42 | |
| 3 | Liverpool U18s | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 50 | 35 | +15 | 38 | |
| 4 | Stoke City U18s | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 49 | 34 | +15 | 37 | |
| 5 | Everton U18s | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 51 | 41 | +10 | 37 | |
| 6 | Derby County U18s | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 45 | 38 | +7 | 33 | |
| 7 | Sunderland U18s | 22 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 39 | 44 | −5 | 32 | |
| 8 | West Bromwich Albion U18s | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 49 | 57 | −8 | 26 | |
| 9 | Middlesbrough U18s | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 37 | 52 | −15 | 25 | |
| 10 | Newcastle United U18s | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 37 | 48 | −11 | 24 | |
| 11 | Wolverhampton Wanderers U18s | 22 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 31 | 53 | −22 | 19 | |
| 12 | Blackburn Rovers U18s | 22 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 28 | 70 | −42 | 10 | |

## South

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
| 1 | Chelsea U18s (C, Q) | 22 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 64 | 21 | +43 | 54 | Qualification for the National Final |
| 2 | Arsenal U18s | 22 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 61 | 33 | +28 | 45 | |
| 3 | Southampton U18s | 22 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 38 | 25 | +13 | 42 | |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur U18s | 22 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 58 | 39 | +19 | 34 | |
| 5 | Leicester City U18s | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 38 | 33 | +5 | 33 | |
| 6 | Swansea City U18s | 22 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 32 | 44 | −12 | 31 | |
| 7 | Fulham U18s | 22 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 40 | 33 | +7 | 30 | |
| 8 | Brighton & Hove Albion U18s | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 36 | 43 | −7 | 24 | |
| 9 | Aston Villa U18s | 22 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 27 | 36 | −9 | 23 | |
| 10 | West Ham United U18s | 22 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 27 | 51 | −24 | 21 | |
| 11 | Reading U18s | 22 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 24 | 50 | −26 | 21 | |
| 12 | Norwich City U18s | 22 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 22 | 59 | −37 | 13 | |

## Professional Development League 2

The Professional Development League is the sixth campaign of post-EPPP Under-23 football's second tier, designed for those academies with Category 2 status. A total of 21 teams are split regionally into north and south divisions, with each team facing opponents in their own region twice both home and away and opponents in the other region once for a total of 30 games each in the North Division, and 29 games in the South division.
At the end of the season, the teams finishing in the top two positions of both divisions will meet in the knockout stage to determine the overall league champion. Burnley U18s were officially granted Category 2 status in the summer of 2017 and became the league's 21st team. At the end of the season, Huddersfield Town U18s would leave as they would drop from category 2 to category 4 so they could restructure their academy.

### Tables
#### North Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Leeds United U18s | 30 | 19 | 3 | 8 | 72 | 39 | +33 | 60 | Qualification for Knock-out stage |
| 2 | Bolton Wanderers U18s | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 84 | 53 | +31 | 58 | Qualification for Knock-out stage |
| 3 | Sheffield Wednesday U18s | 30 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 81 | 42 | +39 | 54 | |
| 4 | Nottingham Forest U18s | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 75 | 54 | +21 | 51 | |
| 5 | Burnley U18s | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 66 | 60 | +6 | 49 | |
| 6 | Birmingham City U18s | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 72 | 63 | +9 | 46 | |
| 7 | Sheffield United U18s | 30 | 11 | 5 | 14 | 42 | 62 | −20 | 38 | |
| 8 | Hull City U18s | 30 | 11 | 5 | 14 | 57 | 78 | −21 | 38 | |
| 9 | Crewe Alexandra U18s | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 62 | 58 | +4 | 37 | |
| 10 | Huddersfield Town U18s | 30 | 9 | 5 | 16 | 49 | 86 | −37 | 32 | |
| 11 | Barnsley U18s | 30 | 9 | 4 | 17 | 46 | 63 | −17 | 31 | |

#### South Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Crystal Palace U18s | 29 | 17 | 8 | 4 | 63 | 29 | +34 | 59 | Qualification for Knock-out stage |
| 2 | Charlton Athletic U18s | 29 | 17 | 4 | 8 | 77 | 55 | +22 | 55 | Qualification for Knock-out stage |
| 3 | Cardiff City U18s | 29 | 15 | 3 | 11 | 65 | 48 | +17 | 48 | |
| 4 | Watford U18s | 29 | 15 | 2 | 12 | 65 | 48 | +17 | 47 | |
| 5 | Millwall U18s | 29 | 14 | 5 | 10 | 66 | 57 | +9 | 47 | |
| 6 | Queens Park Rangers U18s | 29 | 13 | 2 | 14 | 65 | 73 | −8 | 41 | |
| 7 | Bristol City U18s | 29 | 9 | 4 | 16 | 44 | 54 | −10 | 31 | |
| 8 | Ipswich Town U18s | 29 | 7 | 6 | 16 | 42 | 72 | −30 | 27 | |
| 9 | Colchester United U18s | 29 | 7 | 1 | 21 | 47 | 92 | −45 | 22 | |
| 10 | Coventry City U18s | 29 | 3 | 1 | 25 | 29 | 82 | −53 | 10 | |

### Knock-out stage

Semi-finals
Professional Development League Two Play-Off Final

## League 3

League 3 is run by the Football League under the auspices of the Football League Youth Alliance. 50 teams once again competed this season, however the makeup was different. Burnley U18s would be promoted to Category 2 Academy status before this season to join the U18 Professional Development League 2. Forest Green Rovers U18s would join this season as a category 4 academy in the South-East Division, before promoting to a Category 3 Academy the next season.

### League stage
#### North-East Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Mansfield Town U18s (C) | 24 | 16 | 7 | 1 | 55 | 16 | +39 | 55 |
| 2 | Chesterfield U18s | 24 | 13 | 2 | 9 | 52 | 42 | +10 | 41 |
| 3 | Rotherham United U18s | 24 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 35 | 27 | +8 | 41 |
| 4 | Notts County U18s | 24 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 53 | 34 | +19 | 40 |
| 5 | Grimsby Town U18s | 24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 46 | 29 | +17 | 40 |
| 6 | Doncaster Rovers U18s | 24 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 41 | 31 | +10 | 39 |
| 7 | Oldham Athletic U18s | 24 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 32 | 40 | −8 | 39 |
| 8 | Burton Albion U18s | 24 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 27 | 33 | −6 | 30 |
| 9 | Lincoln City U18s | 24 | 9 | 2 | 13 | 37 | 50 | −13 | 29 |
| 10 | Bradford City U18s | 24 | 8 | 3 | 13 | 29 | 41 | −12 | 27 |
| 11 | Scunthorpe United U18s | 24 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 26 | 43 | −17 | 25 |
| 12 | York City U18s | 24 | 6 | 4 | 14 | 25 | 49 | −24 | 22 |
| 13 | Hartlepool United U18s | 24 | 2 | 6 | 16 | 28 | 51 | −23 | 12 |

#### North-West Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Rochdale U18s (C) | 26 | 21 | 3 | 2 | 64 | 19 | +45 | 66 |
| 2 | Wigan Athletic U18s | 26 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 70 | 21 | +49 | 65 |
| 3 | Bury U18s | 26 | 13 | 2 | 11 | 49 | 45 | +4 | 41 |
| 4 | Tranmere Rovers U18s | 26 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 32 | 37 | −5 | 40 |
| 5 | Blackpool U18s | 26 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 62 | 54 | +8 | 36 |
| 6 | Shrewsbury Town U18s | 26 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 43 | 43 | 0 | 36 |
| 7 | Walsall U18s | 26 | 11 | 2 | 13 | 43 | 35 | +8 | 35 |
| 8 | Preston North End U18s | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 53 | 46 | +7 | 35 |
| 9 | Carlisle United U18s | 26 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 40 | 49 | −9 | 31 |
| 10 | Fleetwood Town U18s | 26 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 26 | 43 | −17 | 30 |
| 11 | Port Vale U18s | 26 | 8 | 4 | 14 | 41 | 62 | −21 | 28 |
| 12 | Wrexham U18s | 26 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 35 | 39 | −4 | 27 |
| 13 | Accrington Stanley U18s | 26 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 30 | 59 | −29 | 25 |
| 14 | Morecambe U18s | 26 | 5 | 3 | 18 | 30 | 66 | −36 | 18 |

#### South-East Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Milton Keynes Dons U18s (C) | 22 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 40 | 27 | +13 | 44 | Merit League One |
| 2 | Southend United U18s | 22 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 44 | 37 | +7 | 40 | Merit League One |
| 3 | Cambridge United U18s | 22 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 42 | 25 | +17 | 38 | Merit League One |
| 4 | Gillingham U18s | 22 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 43 | 42 | +1 | 34 | Merit League One |
| 5 | Stevenage U18s | 22 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 37 | 34 | +3 | 30 | Merit League One |
| 6 | Luton Town U18s | 22 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 30 | 28 | +2 | 30 | Merit League One |
| 7 | AFC Wimbledon U18s | 22 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 35 | 37 | −2 | 30 | Merit League Two |
| 8 | Dagenham & Redbridge U18s | 22 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 32 | 39 | −7 | 30 | Merit League Two |
| 9 | Northampton Town U18s | 22 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 32 | 35 | −3 | 29 | Merit League Two |
| 10 | Leyton Orient U18s | 22 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 33 | 39 | −6 | 25 | Merit League Two |
| 11 | Barnet U18s | 22 | 8 | 1 | 13 | 33 | 46 | −13 | 25 | Merit League Two |
| 12 | Peterborough United U18s | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 33 | 45 | −12 | 24 | Merit League Two |

#### South-West Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Exeter City U18s (C) | 20 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 69 | 19 | +50 | 48 | Merit League One |
| 2 | AFC Bournemouth U18s | 20 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 50 | 21 | +29 | 41 | Merit League One |
| 3 | Swindon Town U18s | 20 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 44 | 35 | +9 | 36 | Merit League One |
| 4 | Portsmouth U18s | 20 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 53 | 36 | +17 | 34 | Merit League One |
| 5 | Oxford United U18s | 20 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 40 | 31 | +9 | 34 | Merit League One |
| 6 | Bristol Rovers U18s | 20 | 9 | 2 | 9 | 38 | 40 | −2 | 29 | Merit League One |
| 7 | Plymouth Argyle U18s | 20 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 36 | 41 | −5 | 26 | Merit League Two |
| 8 | Yeovil Town U18s | 20 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 30 | 35 | −5 | 24 | Merit League Two |
| 9 | Newport County U18s | 20 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 29 | 50 | −21 | 17 | Merit League Two |
| 10 | Forest Green Rovers U18s | 20 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 20 | 62 | −42 | 12 | Merit League Two |
| 11 | Cheltenham Town U18s | 20 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 32 | 71 | −39 | 10 | Merit League Two |

### Merit League Stage

The teams in the Southeast and Southwest Divisions played another ten games to determine the champions of Merit League One and Merit League Two.

#### Merit League One

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Gillingham U18s (C) | 11 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 25 | 15 | +10 | 24 |
| 2 | Exeter City U18s | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 34 | 10 | +24 | 23 |
| 3 | Luton Town U18s | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 28 | 17 | +11 | 19 |
| 4 | AFC Bournemouth U18s | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 25 | 21 | +4 | 19 |
| 5 | Southend United U18s | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 18 |
| 6 | Swindon Town U18s | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 22 | 25 | −3 | 17 |
| 7 | Milton Keynes Dons U18s | 11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 21 | 23 | −2 | 16 |
| 8 | Stevenage U18s | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 21 | 22 | −1 | 12 |
| 9 | Portsmouth U18s | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 21 | 27 | −6 | 12 |
| 10 | Bristol Rovers U18s | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 18 | 26 | −8 | 10 |
| 11 | Cambridge United U18s | 11 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 15 | 29 | −14 | 9 |
| 12 | Oxford United U18s | 11 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 25 | −15 | 6 |

#### Merit League Two

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Leyton Orient U18s (C) | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 12 | +9 | 21 |
| 2 | Dagenham & Redbridge U18s | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 25 | 14 | +11 | 20 |
| 3 | Northampton Town U18s | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 21 | 13 | +8 | 20 |
| 4 | Plymouth Argyle U18s | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 19 | 11 | +8 | 16 |
| 5 | Yeovil Town U18s | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 17 | 10 | +7 | 15 |
| 6 | Peterborough United U18s | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 15 |
| 7 | AFC Wimbledon U18s | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 19 | +1 | 14 |
| 8 | Cheltenham Town U18s | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 23 | 32 | −9 | 13 |
| 9 | Barnet U18s | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 16 | 18 | −2 | 11 |
| 10 | Newport County U18s | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 27 | −13 | 6 |
| 11 | Forest Green Rovers U18s | 10 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 11 | 31 | −20 | 6 |