Congratulations to the Manager, his staff and of course the players for securing the Coca-Cola League One title with their recent win over Gillingham. This is a fantastic achievement and all involved deserve real credit.
This season has been a very fruitful one for the Academy too, with a number of Academy graduates appearing in the first team.
As I mentioned in the last programme Korey Smith and Chris Martin are now established members of the first team and have performed excellently this season, but there are a number of other young players who have made good progress this season.
Declan Rudd (pictured top-right) made his debut earlier in the season and has performed excellently in goal in the matches he has been selected to take part in. Tom Adeyemi also made his debut for the first team this year making several starts and numerous appearances from the bench.
Elsewhere David Stephens made his debut in the first team's Johnstone's Paint Trophy match at Gillingham and has since joined Lincoln City on loan where he recently produced a 'man of the match' display against Bury in his first appearance.
Second year scholars Josh Dawkin and George Francomb have also tasted first team action this season. Both players appeared in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy and George has also made his league debut for the Club with appearances against Carlisle United and Swindon Town. George and Josh have both been offered professional contracts for next season and they will be looking to add to their first team appearances.
The youth team have enjoyed another good season with some excellent results in the Premier Academy League, a 2-1 win over Chelsea and a battling 2-2 draw away at Arsenal probably the highlights.
Over the last few weeks we have used numerous under-16s in the under-18 squad and those boys have performed well. These under-16 players will join us in the summer on scholarship terms and it seems as though we will enjoy another good season in 2010-11.
Finally I would like to thank the supporters' groups who have provided us with fantastic financial support this year. Friends of Norwich City Youth (FONCY) continue to provide us with much-needed funds and work very hard for the Academy. The Ambassadors Club, Shareholders Association, NCISA, Richard Pike and Margaret Mansell have also provided us with sponsorship this season in addition to Norfolk County Council who agreed a two-year deal with the Club to sponsor the Academy. The support of all these groups is very much appreciated.
Enjoy the game and see you next season.
Ricky Martin
Academy Manager
