# 2016–17 Professional U18 Development League

The 2016–17 Professional U18 Development League was the fifth season of the Professional Development League system for youth football.

## 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 A in the second league stage became the overall champion and qualified for the UEFA Youth League for the 2017–18 season.

### First League Stage
#### North Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Manchester City U18s | 22 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 70 | 22 | +48 | 55 | Group 1 |
| 2 | Manchester United U18s | 22 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 63 | 31 | +32 | 46 | Group 1 |
| 3 | Liverpool U18s | 22 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 50 | 33 | +17 | 46 | Group 1 |
| 4 | Blackburn Rovers U18s | 22 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 40 | 27 | +13 | 44 | Group 1 |
| 5 | Everton U18s | 22 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 49 | 35 | +14 | 39 | Group 2 |
| 6 | Derby County U18s | 22 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 38 | 45 | −7 | 32 | Group 2 |
| 7 | Middlesbrough U18s | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 33 | 40 | −7 | 24 | Group 2 |
| 8 | Stoke City U18s | 22 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 34 | 49 | −15 | 23 | Group 2 |
| 9 | Newcastle United U18s | 22 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 25 | 43 | −18 | 22 | Group 3 |
| 10 | West Bromwich Albion U18s | 22 | 4 | 6 | 12 | 29 | 42 | −13 | 18 | Group 3 |
| 11 | Sunderland U18s | 22 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 23 | 55 | −32 | 13 | Group 3 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers U18s | 22 | 2 | 4 | 16 | 30 | 62 | −32 | 10 | Group 3 |

#### South Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Chelsea U18s | 22 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 68 | 21 | +47 | 52 | Group 1 |
| 2 | Arsenal U18s | 22 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 46 | 26 | +20 | 41 | Group 1 |
| 3 | Reading U18s | 22 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 51 | 40 | +11 | 39 | Group 1 |
| 4 | West Ham United U18s | 22 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 37 | 31 | +6 | 34 | Group 1 |
| 5 | Fulham U18s | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 39 | 32 | +7 | 33 | Group 2 |
| 6 | Aston Villa U18s | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 31 | 39 | −8 | 33 | Group 2 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur U18s | 22 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 48 | 36 | +12 | 31 | Group 2 |
| 8 | Norwich City U18s | 22 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 46 | 38 | +8 | 31 | Group 2 |
| 9 | Southampton U18s | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 28 | 41 | −13 | 26 | Group 3 |
| 10 | Brighton & Hove Albion U18s | 22 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 28 | 51 | −23 | 23 | Group 3 |
| 11 | Swansea City U18s | 22 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 23 | 60 | −37 | 12 | Group 3 |
| 12 | Leicester City U18s | 22 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 17 | 47 | −30 | 11 | Group 3 |

### Second league stage
#### Group 1

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Chelsea U18s (C) | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 7 | +10 | 18 | Qualification for 2017–18 UEFA Youth League |
| 2 | Arsenal U18s | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 13 | +9 | 14 | |
| 3 | Manchester City U18s | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 11 | +5 | 14 | |
| 4 | Manchester United U18s | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 18 | −2 | 8 | |
| 5 | Reading U18s | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 17 | −7 | 7 | |
| 6 | West Ham United U18s | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 13 | −5 | 6 | |
| 7 | Blackburn Rovers U18s | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 18 | −7 | 6 | |
| 8 | Liverpool U18s | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 11 | −3 | 5 | |

#### Group 2

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 9 | Aston Villa U18s | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 5 | +10 | 17 |
| 10 | Tottenham Hotspur U18s | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 13 | +8 | 14 |
| 11 | Norwich City U18s | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 11 |
| 12 | Derby County U18s | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 13 | +3 | 9 |
| 13 | Fulham U18s | 7 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 15 | 16 | −1 | 7 |
| 14 | Stoke City U18s | 7 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 13 | −4 | 7 |
| 15 | Middlesbrough U18s | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 16 | −6 | 6 |
| 16 | Everton U18s | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 14 | −10 | 4 |

#### Group 3

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 17 | Wolverhampton Wanderers U18s | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 5 | +7 | 16 |
| 18 | Swansea City U18s | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 6 | +5 | 13 |
| 19 | Newcastle United U18s | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 10 |
| 20 | Sunderland U18s | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 9 |
| 21 | Leicester City U18s | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 12 | −2 | 9 |
| 22 | Brighton & Hove Albion U18s | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 10 | +1 | 7 |
| 23 | Southampton U18s | 7 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 9 | −1 | 7 |
| 24 | West Bromwich Albion U18s | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 16 | −9 | 5 |

## League 2

The Professional U18 Development League 2, also known as U18 PDL-2, was split into two regional divisions.
Teams played each team in their own division twice, and each team in the other division once, for a total of 28 games each.
At the end of the season, the teams finishing in the top two positions of both divisions met in the knockout stage to determine the overall league champion. Brentford withdrew from the competition after last year playing 4 seasons in the League.

### Tables
#### North Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Sheffield United U18s | 28 | 19 | 6 | 3 | 68 | 32 | +36 | 63 | Qualification for Knock-out stage |
| 2 | Sheffield Wednesday U18s | 28 | 15 | 4 | 9 | 62 | 46 | +16 | 49 | Qualification for Knock-out stage |
| 3 | Nottingham Forest U18s | 28 | 14 | 4 | 10 | 73 | 53 | +20 | 46 | |
| 4 | Bolton Wanderers U18s | 28 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 57 | 48 | +9 | 44 | |
| 5 | Huddersfield Town U18s | 28 | 13 | 3 | 12 | 60 | 49 | +11 | 42 | |
| 6 | Crewe Alexandra U18s | 28 | 12 | 4 | 12 | 56 | 55 | +1 | 40 | |
| 7 | Barnsley U18s | 28 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 51 | 58 | −7 | 37 | |
| 8 | Leeds United U18s | 28 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 42 | 49 | −7 | 32 | |
| 9 | Birmingham City U18s | 28 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 40 | 46 | −6 | 30 | |
| 10 | Hull City U18s | 28 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 39 | 62 | −23 | 28 | |
Source - Professional Development League North results

#### South Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Coventry City U18s | 28 | 21 | 2 | 5 | 76 | 30 | +46 | 65 | Qualification for Knock-out stage |
| 2 | Charlton Athletic U18s | 28 | 19 | 4 | 5 | 67 | 33 | +34 | 61 | Qualification for Knock-out stage |
| 3 | Crystal Palace U18s | 28 | 13 | 4 | 11 | 59 | 53 | +6 | 43 | |
| 4 | Ipswich Town U18s | 28 | 13 | 2 | 13 | 54 | 49 | +5 | 41 | |
| 5 | Millwall U18s | 28 | 10 | 5 | 13 | 50 | 58 | −8 | 35 | |
| 6 | Watford U18s | 28 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 30 | 40 | −10 | 32 | |
| 7 | Bristol City U18s | 28 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 39 | 55 | −16 | 30 | |
| 8 | Cardiff City U18s | 28 | 9 | 3 | 16 | 41 | 73 | −32 | 30 | |
| 9 | Colchester United U18s | 28 | 6 | 5 | 17 | 38 | 69 | −31 | 23 | |
| 10 | Queens Park Rangers U18s | 28 | 4 | 5 | 19 | 39 | 83 | −44 | 17 | |
Source - Professional Development League South results

### Knockout stage

Semi-finals
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. Burnley would be promoted to Category 2 Academy status after this season.

### League stage

    As of match played 22 April 2017

#### North-East Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Mansfield Town U18s (C) | 24 | 16 | 4 | 4 | 41 | 15 | +26 | 52 |
| 2 | Rotherham United U18s | 24 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 49 | 25 | +24 | 46 |
| 3 | Oldham Athletic U18s | 24 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 47 | 22 | +25 | 44 |
| 4 | York City U18s | 24 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 34 | 40 | −6 | 39 |
| 5 | Burton Albion U18s | 24 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 47 | 44 | +3 | 37 |
| 6 | Notts County U18s | 24 | 11 | 4 | 9 | 39 | 36 | +3 | 37 |
| 7 | Chesterfield U18s | 24 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 46 | 43 | +3 | 32 |
| 8 | Doncaster Rovers U18s | 24 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 37 | 35 | +2 | 30 |
| 9 | Hartlepool United U18s | 24 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 38 | 45 | −7 | 30 |
| 10 | Scunthorpe United U18s | 24 | 8 | 5 | 11 | 37 | 33 | +4 | 29 |
| 11 | Grimsby Town U18s | 24 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 26 | 51 | −25 | 24 |
| 12 | Bradford City U18s | 24 | 6 | 4 | 14 | 33 | 53 | −20 | 22 |
| 13 | Lincoln City U18s | 24 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 26 | 58 | −32 | 17 |

#### North-West Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Blackpool U18s (C) | 28 | 19 | 5 | 4 | 74 | 23 | +51 | 62 |
| 2 | Burnley U18s | 28 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 64 | 35 | +29 | 60 |
| 3 | Walsall U18s | 28 | 18 | 4 | 6 | 55 | 31 | +24 | 58 |
| 4 | Rochdale U18s | 28 | 17 | 4 | 7 | 60 | 33 | +27 | 55 |
| 5 | Port Vale U18s | 28 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 46 | 40 | +6 | 47 |
| 6 | Bury U18s | 28 | 13 | 2 | 13 | 47 | 54 | −7 | 41 |
| 7 | Wigan Athletic U18s | 28 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 53 | 41 | +12 | 40 |
| 8 | Shrewsbury Town U18s | 28 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 47 | 50 | −3 | 39 |
| 9 | Fleetwood Town U18s | 28 | 10 | 5 | 13 | 54 | 63 | −9 | 35 |
| 10 | Preston North End U18s | 28 | 7 | 12 | 9 | 44 | 50 | −6 | 33 |
| 11 | Carlisle United U18s | 28 | 9 | 2 | 17 | 44 | 56 | −12 | 29 |
| 12 | Accrington Stanley U18s | 28 | 8 | 4 | 16 | 34 | 56 | −22 | 28 |
| 13 | Morecambe U18s | 28 | 7 | 3 | 18 | 39 | 58 | −19 | 24 |
| 14 | Tranmere Rovers U18s | 28 | 4 | 7 | 17 | 21 | 51 | −30 | 19 |
| 15 | Wrexham U18s | 28 | 3 | 8 | 17 | 29 | 70 | −41 | 17 |

#### South-East Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Leyton Orient U18s (C) | 22 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 59 | 23 | +36 | 56 | Merit League One |
| 2 | Southend United U18s | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 62 | 40 | +22 | 37 | Merit League One |
| 3 | Stevenage U18s | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 49 | 34 | +15 | 37 | Merit League One |
| 4 | Cambridge United U18s | 22 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 46 | 30 | +16 | 35 | Merit League One |
| 5 | Luton Town U18s | 22 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 48 | 38 | +10 | 34 | Merit League One |
| 6 | Gillingham U18s | 22 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 44 | 51 | −7 | 34 | Merit League One |
| 7 | AFC Wimbledon U18s | 22 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 40 | 30 | +10 | 32 | Merit League Two |
| 8 | Northampton Town U18s | 22 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 49 | 61 | −12 | 24 | Merit League Two |
| 9 | Dagenham & Redbridge U18s | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 40 | 65 | −25 | 24 | Merit League Two |
| 10 | Barnet U18s | 22 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 34 | 50 | −16 | 20 | Merit League Two |
| 11 | Milton Keynes Dons U18s | 22 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 45 | 63 | −18 | 19 | Merit League Two |
| 12 | Peterborough United U18s | 22 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 29 | 60 | −31 | 17 | Merit League Two |

#### South-West Division

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Exeter City U18s (C) | 18 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 36 | 26 | +10 | 35 | Merit League One |
| 2 | Bristol Rovers U18s | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 42 | 38 | +4 | 28 | Merit League One |
| 3 | Swindon Town U18s | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 36 | 34 | +2 | 28 | Merit League One |
| 4 | Plymouth Argyle U18s | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 40 | 35 | +5 | 26 | Merit League One |
| 5 | Newport County U18s | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 36 | 33 | +3 | 26 | Merit League One |
| 6 | Portsmouth U18s | 18 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 35 | 41 | −6 | 26 | Merit League Two |
| 7 | Oxford United U18s | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 40 | 27 | +13 | 25 | Merit League Two |
| 8 | AFC Bournemouth U18s | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 24 | 23 | +1 | 22 | Merit League Two |
| 9 | Cheltenham Town U18s | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 37 | 40 | −3 | 22 | Merit League Two |
| 10 | Yeovil Town U18s | 18 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 19 | 48 | −29 | 14 | 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 | Newport County U18s (C) | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 9 | +13 | 28 |
| 2 | Swindon Town U18s | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 25 | 16 | +9 | 18 |
| 3 | Exeter City U18s | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 20 | 18 | +2 | 15 |
| 4 | Stevenage U18s | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 22 | 20 | +2 | 14 |
| 5 | Southend United U18s | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 19 | 18 | +1 | 14 |
| 6 | Luton Town U18s | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 11 | +6 | 13 |
| 7 | Leyton Orient U18s | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 19 | 24 | −5 | 12 |
| 8 | Gillingham U18s | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 19 | −4 | 11 |
| 9 | Plymouth Argyle U18s | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 17 | 23 | −6 | 11 |
| 10 | Cambridge United U18s | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 16 | 21 | −5 | 9 |
| 11 | Bristol Rovers U18s | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 23 | −13 | 7 |

#### Merit League Two

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | AFC Bournemouth U18s (C) | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 24 | 10 | +14 | 22 |
| 2 | Peterborough United U18s | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 17 | 11 | +6 | 20 |
| 3 | AFC Wimbledon U18s | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 10 | +6 | 19 |
| 4 | Northampton Town U18s | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 19 | 20 | −1 | 16 |
| 5 | Oxford United U18s | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 13 | +3 | 15 |
| 6 | Portsmouth U18s | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 20 | 17 | +3 | 12 |
| 7 | Barnet U18s | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 19 | −2 | 12 |
| 8 | Milton Keynes Dons U18s | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 21 | −8 | 12 |
| 9 | Cheltenham Town U18s | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 13 | 17 | −4 | 10 |
| 10 | Yeovil Town U18s | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 20 | −8 | 7 |
| 11 | Dagenham & Redbridge U18s | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 15 | 24 | −9 | 6 |