# 2015–16 Professional U18 Development League

The 2015–16 Professional U18 Development League was the fourth season of the Professional Development League system.

## League 1

The league was split into two regional divisions – north and south. After playing each team in their own division twice, the league was split into a second league stage consisting of three further divisions. The winning team of Group 1 in the second league stage was the overall champion and qualified for the UEFA Youth League in the 2016–17 season.

### First League stage
#### North Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Manchester City U18s | 22 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 53 | 23 | +30 | 48 | Group 1 |
| 2 | Everton U18s | 22 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 57 | 33 | +24 | 48 | Group 1 |
| 3 | Liverpool U18s | 22 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 45 | 28 | +17 | 43 | Group 1 |
| 4 | Blackburn Rovers U18s | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 45 | 31 | +14 | 37 | Group 1 |
| 5 | Sunderland U18s | 22 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 44 | 40 | +4 | 36 | Group 2 |
| 6 | Middlesbrough U18s | 22 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 43 | 38 | +5 | 34 | Group 2 |
| 7 | Wolverhampton Wanderers U18s | 22 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 42 | 40 | +2 | 28 | Group 2 |
| 8 | West Bromwich Albion U18s | 22 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 29 | 44 | −15 | 25 | Group 2 |
| 9 | Newcastle United U18s | 22 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 27 | 59 | −32 | 20 | Group 3 |
| 10 | Derby County U18s | 22 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 39 | 51 | −12 | 18 | Group 3 |
| 11 | Manchester United U18s | 22 | 5 | 3 | 14 | 29 | 44 | −15 | 18 | Group 3 |
| 12 | Stoke City U18s | 22 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 23 | 45 | −22 | 16 | Group 3 |

#### South Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Chelsea U18s | 22 | 15 | 5 | 2 | 65 | 27 | +38 | 50 | Group 1 |
| 2 | Reading U18s | 22 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 47 | 27 | +20 | 42 | Group 1 |
| 3 | Fulham U18s | 22 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 44 | 29 | +15 | 39 | Group 1 |
| 4 | West Ham United U18s | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 30 | 29 | +1 | 37 | Group 1 |
| 5 | Aston Villa U18s | 22 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 42 | 34 | +8 | 36 | Group 2 |
| 6 | Arsenal U18s | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 49 | 45 | +4 | 35 | Group 2 |
| 7 | Leicester City U18s | 22 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 39 | 37 | +2 | 32 | Group 2 |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur U18s | 22 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 43 | 40 | +3 | 31 | Group 2 |
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion U18s | 22 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 32 | 51 | −19 | 22 | Group 3 |
| 10 | Norwich City U18s | 22 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 28 | 48 | −20 | 21 | Group 3 |
| 11 | Southampton U18s | 22 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 34 | 57 | −23 | 15 | Group 3 |
| 12 | Swansea City U18s | 22 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 25 | 54 | −29 | 13 | Group 3 |

### Second league stage

    As of match played 7 May 2016

#### Group 1

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Manchester City U18s | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 7 | +14 | 19 | Qualification for 2016–17 UEFA Youth League |
| 2 | Everton U18s | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 15 | −1 | 13 | |
| 3 | Chelsea U18s | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 13 | +3 | 11 | |
| 4 | Liverpool U18s | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 11 | +2 | 8 | |
| 5 | Blackburn Rovers U18s | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 8 | |
| 6 | Fulham U18s | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 19 | −10 | 7 | |
| 7 | Reading U18s | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 13 | −4 | 5 | |
| 8 | West Ham United U18s | 7 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 13 | −4 | 5 | |

#### Group 2

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 9 | Middlesbrough U18s | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 6 | +8 | 19 |
| 10 | Sunderland U18s | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 8 | +6 | 13 |
| 11 | Leicester City U18s | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 11 | +5 | 12 |
| 12 | Aston Villa U18s | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 12 |
| 13 | Arsenal U18s | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 14 | +1 | 8 |
| 14 | Tottenham Hotspur U18s | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 17 | −2 | 7 |
| 15 | West Bromwich Albion U18s | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 13 | −5 | 5 |
| 16 | Wolverhampton Wanderers U18s | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 10 | 25 | −15 | 1 |

#### Group 3

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 17 | Swansea City U18s | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 13 | +4 | 15 |
| 18 | Brighton & Hove Albion U18s | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 13 | +5 | 14 |
| 19 | Derby County U18s | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 10 | +7 | 13 |
| 20 | Manchester United U18s | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 12 | +5 | 13 |
| 21 | Stoke City U18s | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 10 |
| 22 | Newcastle United U18s | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 18 | −9 | 7 |
| 23 | Southampton U18s | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 12 | −3 | 5 |
| 24 | Norwich City U18s | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 18 | −9 | 1 |

## League 2

League 2, referred to as the Professional Development U18 League, is split into two regional divisions.
Teams will play each team in their own division twice, and each team in the other division once, for a total of 30 games for North division teams, and 29 games each for South division teams.
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.

### North Division table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Nottingham Forest U18s | 30 | 23 | 2 | 5 | 78 | 35 | +43 | 71 | Qualification for Knock-out stage |
| 2 | Sheffield United U18s | 30 | 19 | 2 | 9 | 68 | 39 | +29 | 59 | Qualification for Knock-out stage |
| 3 | Huddersfield Town U18s | 30 | 18 | 3 | 9 | 73 | 52 | +21 | 57 | |
| 4 | Crewe Alexandra U18s | 30 | 17 | 5 | 8 | 70 | 52 | +18 | 56 | |
| 5 | Birmingham City U18s | 30 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 66 | 53 | +13 | 48 | |
| 6 | Sheffield Wednesday U18s | 30 | 14 | 4 | 12 | 60 | 46 | +14 | 46 | |
| 7 | Coventry City U18s | 30 | 14 | 4 | 12 | 69 | 77 | −8 | 46 | |
| 8 | Bolton Wanderers U18s | 30 | 13 | 4 | 13 | 51 | 54 | −3 | 43 | |
| 9 | Leeds United U18s | 30 | 11 | 5 | 14 | 50 | 52 | −2 | 38 | |
| 10 | Hull City U18s | 30 | 8 | 1 | 21 | 36 | 82 | −46 | 25 | |
| 11 | Barnsley U18s | 30 | 2 | 9 | 19 | 46 | 83 | −37 | 15 | |

### South Division table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Watford U18s | 29 | 15 | 11 | 3 | 42 | 23 | +19 | 56 | Qualification for Knock-out stage |
| 2 | Charlton Athletic U18s | 29 | 15 | 6 | 8 | 64 | 35 | +29 | 51 | Qualification for Knock-out stage |
| 3 | Crystal Palace U18s | 29 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 54 | 43 | +11 | 45 | |
| 4 | Ipswich Town U18s | 29 | 12 | 3 | 14 | 57 | 56 | +1 | 39 | |
| 5 | Cardiff City U18s | 29 | 11 | 4 | 14 | 48 | 52 | −4 | 37 | |
| 6 | Millwall U18s | 29 | 10 | 7 | 12 | 30 | 41 | −11 | 37 | |
| 7 | Colchester United U18s | 29 | 9 | 8 | 12 | 48 | 53 | −5 | 35 | |
| 8 | Brentford U18s | 29 | 7 | 5 | 17 | 49 | 71 | −22 | 26 | |
| 9 | Queens Park Rangers U18s | 29 | 7 | 3 | 19 | 41 | 82 | −41 | 24 | |
| 10 | Bristol City U18s | 29 | 5 | 7 | 17 | 38 | 57 | −19 | 22 | |

### Knock-out stage
#### Final
## League 3

League 3 is run by the Football League under the auspices of the Football League Youth Alliance. 50 teams entered the competition this season.

### League stage

    As of match played 26 January 2016

#### North-West Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Wigan Athletic U18s (C) | 28 | 20 | 3 | 5 | 59 | 19 | +40 | 63 |
| 2 | Bury U18s | 28 | 18 | 7 | 3 | 66 | 28 | +38 | 61 |
| 3 | Walsall U18s | 28 | 15 | 5 | 8 | 54 | 31 | +23 | 50 |
| 4 | Tranmere Rovers U18s | 28 | 15 | 4 | 9 | 49 | 34 | +15 | 49 |
| 5 | Blackpool U18s | 28 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 51 | 36 | +15 | 44 |
| 6 | Shrewsbury Town U18s | 28 | 13 | 5 | 10 | 41 | 32 | +9 | 44 |
| 7 | Preston North End U18s | 28 | 13 | 3 | 12 | 42 | 42 | 0 | 42 |
| 8 | Port Vale U18s | 28 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 37 |
| 9 | Rochdale U18s | 28 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 40 | 44 | −4 | 36 |
| 10 | Accrington Stanley U18s | 28 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 36 | 48 | −12 | 36 |
| 11 | Fleetwood Town U18s | 28 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 33 | 51 | −18 | 36 |
| 12 | Wrexham U18s | 28 | 9 | 6 | 13 | 44 | 55 | −11 | 33 |
| 13 | Carlisle United U18s | 28 | 8 | 4 | 16 | 39 | 50 | −11 | 28 |
| 14 | Burnley U18s | 28 | 6 | 2 | 20 | 33 | 68 | −35 | 20 |
| 15 | Morecambe U18s | 28 | 4 | 2 | 22 | 29 | 78 | −49 | 14 |

#### North-East Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Mansfield Town U18s (C) | 24 | 14 | 4 | 6 | 36 | 26 | +10 | 46 |
| 2 | Scunthorpe United U18s | 24 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 39 | 31 | +8 | 42 |
| 3 | Hartlepool United U18s | 24 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 46 | 39 | +7 | 40 |
| 4 | Doncaster Rovers U18s | 24 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 33 | 27 | +6 | 40 |
| 5 | Chesterfield U18s | 24 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 67 | 51 | +16 | 38 |
| 6 | Notts County U18s | 24 | 12 | 2 | 10 | 44 | 37 | +7 | 38 |
| 7 | Rotherham United U18s | 24 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 43 | 37 | +6 | 36 |
| 8 | Burton Albion U18s | 24 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 39 | 37 | +2 | 35 |
| 9 | Lincoln City U18s | 24 | 10 | 4 | 10 | 32 | 38 | −6 | 34 |
| 10 | Oldham Athletic U18s | 24 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 51 | 39 | +12 | 32 |
| 11 | Bradford City U18s | 24 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 36 | 49 | −13 | 30 |
| 12 | Grimsby Town U18s | 24 | 5 | 3 | 16 | 28 | 58 | −30 | 18 |
| 13 | York City U18s | 24 | 2 | 5 | 17 | 30 | 55 | −25 | 11 |

#### South-West Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Plymouth Argyle U18s (C) | 18 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 39 | 24 | +15 | 39 | Merit League One |
| 2 | Cheltenham Town U18s | 18 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 42 | 28 | +14 | 32 | Merit League One |
| 3 | AFC Bournemouth U18s | 18 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 30 | 22 | +8 | 31 | Merit League One |
| 4 | Exeter City U18s | 18 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 31 | 33 | −2 | 27 | Merit League One |
| 5 | Portsmouth U18s | 18 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 39 | 31 | +8 | 26 | Merit League One |
| 6 | Oxford United U18s | 18 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 35 | 36 | −1 | 25 | Merit League Two |
| 7 | Swindon Town U18s | 18 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 34 | 36 | −2 | 24 | Merit League Two |
| 8 | Bristol Rovers U18s | 18 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 23 | 30 | −7 | 21 | Merit League Two |
| 9 | Newport County U18s | 18 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 27 | 44 | −17 | 18 | Merit League Two |
| 10 | Yeovil Town U18s | 18 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 21 | 37 | −16 | 13 | Merit League Two |

#### South-East Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Luton Town U18s (C) | 22 | 17 | 2 | 3 | 57 | 15 | +42 | 53 | Merit League One |
| 2 | Southend United U18s | 22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 47 | 37 | +10 | 42 | Merit League One |
| 3 | Leyton Orient U18s | 22 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 49 | 21 | +28 | 41 | Merit League One |
| 4 | Barnet U18s | 22 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 55 | 39 | +16 | 38 | Merit League One |
| 5 | AFC Wimbledon U18s | 22 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 42 | 37 | +5 | 38 | Merit League One |
| 6 | Gillingham U18s | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 49 | 43 | +6 | 37 | Merit League One |
| 7 | Stevenage U18s | 22 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 35 | 52 | −17 | 27 | Merit League Two |
| 8 | Northampton Town U18s | 22 | 8 | 2 | 12 | 39 | 43 | −4 | 26 | Merit League Two |
| 9 | Milton Keynes Dons U18s | 22 | 8 | 1 | 13 | 44 | 63 | −19 | 25 | Merit League Two |
| 10 | Dagenham & Redbridge U18s | 22 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 36 | 54 | −18 | 21 | Merit League Two |
| 11 | Peterborough United U18s | 22 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 37 | 63 | −26 | 20 | Merit League Two |
| 12 | Cambridge United U18s | 22 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 34 | 57 | −23 | 15 | 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 | Leyton Orient U18s (C) | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 3 | +20 | 28 |
| 2 | Portsmouth U18s | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 24 | 18 | +6 | 18 |
| 3 | AFC Wimbledon U18s | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 22 | 16 | +6 | 18 |
| 4 | AFC Bournemouth U18s | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 20 | 13 | +7 | 17 |
| 5 | Luton Town U18s | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 12 | 11 | +1 | 14 |
| 6 | Exeter City U18s | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 17 | 19 | −2 | 14 |
| 7 | Cheltenham Town U18s | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 21 | 26 | −5 | 13 |
| 8 | Gillingham U18s | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 17 | −8 | 10 |
| 9 | Southend United U18s | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 19 | −5 | 9 |
| 10 | Plymouth Argyle U18s | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 16 | 24 | −8 | 7 |
| 11 | Barnet U18s | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 13 | 25 | −12 | 7 |

#### Merit League Two

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Oxford United U18s (C) | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 32 | 9 | +23 | 27 |
| 2 | Cambridge United U18s | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 22 | 14 | +8 | 19 |
| 3 | Milton Keynes Dons U18s | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 29 | 23 | +6 | 19 |
| 4 | Newport County U18s | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20 | 23 | −3 | 16 |
| 5 | Stevenage U18s | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 14 |
| 6 | Yeovil Town U18s | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 20 | −4 | 14 |
| 7 | Swindon Town U18s | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 25 | 20 | +5 | 13 |
| 8 | Dagenham & Redbridge U18s | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 26 | 28 | −2 | 13 |
| 9 | Northampton Town U18s | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 21 | 15 | +6 | 12 |
| 10 | Peterborough United U18s | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 15 | 26 | −11 | 10 |
| 11 | Bristol Rovers U18s | 10 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 7 | 35 | −28 | 1 |