The2013–14 Professional U21 Development League (League 1 referred to as theBarclays Under 21 Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the second season of theProfessional Development League system.
There were 42 participating teams in the 2013–14 Professional U21 Development Leagues; 22 in League 1, and 20 in League 2.
League 1 had a new format, with the three groups system being abandoned in favour of a single league system with the teams finishing in the top four positions qualifying for a playoff stage.
| Season | 2013–14 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Chelsea U21s (1st Title) |
| Regular Season Champions | Chelsea U21s (1st Title) |
| Matches | 234 (231 RS, 3 PO) |
| Goals | 777 (3.32 per match) (771 RS, 6 PO) |
| Top goalscorer | |
| Biggest home win | Liverpool U21s 5–0Tottenham Hotspur U21s (7 October 2013) West Bromwich Albion U21s 5–0Everton U21s (21 March 2014) |
| Biggest away win | Blackburn Rovers U21s 0–6Manchester City EDS (24 March 2014) |
| Highest scoring | Tottenham Hotspur U21s 6–3 Manchester City EDS (19 August 2013) Newcastle United U21s 4–5West Ham United U21s (2 September 2013) |
| Longest winning run | 4 MatchesManchester United U21s |
| Longest unbeaten run | 12 Matches Chelsea U21s |
| Longest winless run | 11 MatchesBlackburn Rovers U21s |
| Longest losing run | 5 MatchesMiddlesbrough U21s, Newcastle United U21s |
| Highest attendance | 13,203Manchester United U21s 1–2 Chelsea U21s (14 May 2014) Playoff Final |
| Lowest attendance | 37Reading U21s 3–4 West Bromwich Albion U21s (7 October 2013) |
2014–15 → | |
Each team played twenty one fixtures during this stage. Having played each other once, either home or away, the top four teams in the table progressed to the knockout stage to determine the overall winner.
Starting with the 2014–15 season, the U21 Premier League was divided into two divisions.[1] This means that the top 11 sides in the 2013–14 league stage qualify for the new Division 1, with the bottom 11 sides entering Division 2.
On 14 May, Chelsea defeated Manchester United in the final to claim the Under-21 Premier League title.[2][3] The top 8 teams in the final standings of the league stage qualified for the inaugural2014–15 edition of thePremier League International Cup.[citation needed]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea U21s(Q) | 21 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 49 | 26 | +23 | 44 | Qualification for Knockout Stage |
| 2 | Liverpool U21s(Q) | 21 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 55 | 30 | +25 | 42 | |
| 3 | Manchester United U21s(Q) | 21 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 34 | 18 | +16 | 39 | |
| 4 | Manchester City EDS(Q) | 21 | 12 | 2 | 7 | 50 | 28 | +22 | 38 | |
| 5 | Fulham U21s | 21 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 38 | 30 | +8 | 38 | |
| 6 | Leicester City U21s | 21 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 37 | 30 | +7 | 37 | |
| 7 | Southampton U21s | 21 | 11 | 3 | 7 | 35 | 30 | +5 | 36 | |
| 8 | Sunderland U21s | 21 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 34 | 28 | +6 | 35 | |
| 9 | West Ham United U21s | 21 | 10 | 3 | 8 | 32 | 31 | +1 | 33 | |
| 10 | Norwich City U21s | 21 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 34 | 29 | +5 | 31 | |
| 11 | Everton U21s | 21 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 28 | 29 | −1 | 30 | |
| 12 | Tottenham Hotspur U21s | 21 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 40 | 43 | −3 | 28 | |
| 13 | Bolton Wanderers U21s(R) | 21 | 8 | 3 | 10 | 40 | 47 | −7 | 27 | Relegation to2014–15 U21 Premier League Division 2 |
| 14 | Arsenal U21s(R) | 21 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 34 | 39 | −5 | 26 | |
| 15 | Aston Villa U21s(R) | 21 | 8 | 2 | 11 | 35 | 43 | −8 | 26 | |
| 16 | West Bromwich Albion U21s(R) | 21 | 8 | 1 | 12 | 33 | 39 | −6 | 25 | |
| 17 | Reading U21s(R) | 21 | 7 | 3 | 11 | 34 | 40 | −6 | 24 | |
| 18 | Stoke City U21s(R) | 21 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 26 | 33 | −7 | 22 | |
| 19 | Wolverhampton Wanderers U21s(R) | 21 | 6 | 2 | 13 | 24 | 37 | −13 | 20 | |
| 20 | Middlesbrough U21s(R) | 21 | 6 | 2 | 13 | 26 | 40 | −14 | 20 | |
| 21 | Newcastle United U21s(R) | 21 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 35 | 54 | −19 | 17 | |
| 22 | Blackburn Rovers U21s(R) | 21 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 47 | −29 | 14 |
| Home \ Away | ARS | AST | BLB | BOL | CHE | EVE | FUL | LEI | LIV | MNC | MNU | MID | NEW | NOR | REA | SOT | STO | SUN | TOT | WBA | WHU | WOL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal U21s | 4–2 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 2–4 | 4–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–5 | 1–0 | 5–3 | 2–1 | |||||||||||
| Aston Villa U21s | 4–2 | 2–4 | 3–5 | 3–4 | 6–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | ||||||||||||
| Blackburn Rovers U21s | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–6 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–5 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–3 | |||||||||||
| Bolton Wanderers U21s | 2–1 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 0–5 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–3 | |||||||||||
| Chelsea U21s | 1–0 | 5–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 3–3 | ||||||||||||
| Everton U21s | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | |||||||||||
| Fulham U21s | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 5–3 | 1–0 | 4–4 | |||||||||||
| Leicester City U21s | 1–0 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–3 | ||||||||||||
| Liverpool U21s | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 5–2 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 3–4 | 5–2 | 5–0 | 4–0 | ||||||||||||
| Manchester City EDS | 3–0 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 6–2 | 3–1 | ||||||||||||
| Manchester United U21s | 3–0 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | |||||||||||
| Middlesbrough U21s | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 3–4 | 4–3 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | ||||||||||||
| Newcastle United U21s | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2–4 | 4–5 | 3–1 | |||||||||||
| Norwich City U21s | 2–2 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | ||||||||||||
| Reading U21s | 2–1 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 3–4 | 0–2 | ||||||||||
| Southampton U21s | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–4 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 3–0 | ||||||||||||
| Stoke City U21s | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–6 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 0–1 | |||||||||||
| Sunderland U21s | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | ||||||||||||
| Tottenham Hotspur U21s | 2–0 | 2–5 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 6–3 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 5–2 | ||||||||||||
| West Bromwich Albion U21s | 1–0 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 3–4 | 1–3 | 0–1 | |||||||||||
| West Ham United U21s | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 0–3 | ||||||||||||
| Wolverhampton Wanderers U21s | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 0–2 |
| Manchester City EDS | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | Chelsea U21s |
|---|---|---|
| Ntcham | Report | Feruz |
| Penalties | ||
| Angeliño Glendon Fofana Facey Cole Ntcham | 4–5 | |
| Season | 2013–14 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Crewe Alexandra U21s (1st Title) |
| Regular Season Champions | Huddersfield Town U21s (1st Title) |
| Matches | 183 (180 RS, 3 PO) |
| Goals | 570 (3.11 per match) (560 RS, 10 PO) |
| Biggest home win | Crystal Palace U21s 6–0Brentford U21s (8 April 2014) |
| Biggest away win | Sheffield United U21s 0–5Crewe Alexandra U21s (16 September 2013) |
| Highest scoring | Charlton Athletic U21s 6–3 Brentford U21s (3 March 2014) |
| Longest winless run | 9 matchesCoventry City U21s |
| Longest losing run | 6 matchesCoventry City U21s |
2014–15 → | |
20 Teams competed this season. This is 3 fewer than last season. Crystal Palace joined this season after dropping their academy to Category Two Status, joining the South Division. Barnet dropped out of the league after one season, Colchester United briefly dropped to Category Three Academy[5] and would return the next season,[6] Wigan Athletic would also drop to Category Three Academy, while Leicester City joined the Premier League 2 as a Category One Academy after one season on July 4.[7]
Having played each other home and away, the top two teams from each division progressed to the knockout stage to determine the overall winner.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huddersfield Town U21s | 18 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 41 | 21 | +20 | 42 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Crewe Alexandra U21s | 18 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 40 | 22 | +18 | 32 | |
| 3 | Sheffield United U21s | 18 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 30 | 23 | +7 | 32 | |
| 4 | Birmingham City U21s | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 26 | |
| 5 | Derby County U21s | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 26 | 24 | +2 | 25 | |
| 6 | Leeds United U21s | 18 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 25 | 29 | −4 | 23 | |
| 7 | Barnsley U21s | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 29 | 33 | −4 | 20 | |
| 8 | Nottingham Forest U21s | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 24 | 29 | −5 | 20 | |
| 9 | Sheffield Wednesday U21s | 18 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 25 | 42 | −17 | 15 | |
| 10 | Coventry City U21s | 18 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 20 | 37 | −17 | 8 |
| Home \ Away | BAR | BIR | COV | CRE | DER | HUD | LEE | NOT | SHE | SHW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnsley U21s | 4–1 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 4–1 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | |
| Birmingham City U21s | 4–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | |
| Coventry City U21s | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | |
| Crewe Alexandra U21s | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–4 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | |
| Derby County U21s | 4–2 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | |
| Huddersfield Town U21s | 3–0 | 2–4 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 4–1 | |
| Leeds United U21s | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 5–2 | 1–1 | 3–3 | |
| Nottingham Forest U21s | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | |
| Sheffield United U21s | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–5 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | |
| Sheffield Wednesday U21s | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 1–4 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 1–2 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cardiff City U21s | 18 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 29 | 22 | +7 | 36 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Queens Park Rangers U21s | 18 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 33 | 26 | +7 | 31 | |
| 3 | Crystal Palace U21s | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 37 | 25 | +12 | 30 | |
| 4 | Bristol City U21s | 18 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 34 | 23 | +11 | 27 | |
| 5 | Millwall U21s | 18 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 26 | 31 | −5 | 24 | |
| 6 | Charlton Athletic U21s | 18 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 25 | 25 | 0 | 23 | |
| 7 | Brighton & Hove Albion U21s | 18 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 26 | 27 | −1 | 23 | |
| 8 | Swansea City U21s | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 23 | 24 | −1 | 22 | |
| 9 | Brentford U21s | 18 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 25 | 40 | −15 | 18 | |
| 10 | Ipswich Town U21s | 18 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 18 | 33 | −15 | 14 |
| Home \ Away | BRE | B&HA | BRI | CAR | CHA | CPA | IPS | MIL | QPR | SWA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brentford U21s | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | |
| Brighton & Hove Albion U21s | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | |
| Bristol City U21s | 2–1 | 5–2 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | |
| Cardiff City U21s | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | |
| Charlton Athletic U21s | 6–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 5–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | |
| Crystal Palace U21s | 6–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | |
| Ipswich Town U21s | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | |
| Millwall U21s | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 4–2 | 2–1 | |
| Queens Park Rangers U21s | 4–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 3–4 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | |
| Swansea City U21s | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 |
| Huddersfield Town U21s | 2–3 | Queens Park Rangers U21s |
|---|---|---|
| Bunn Charles | Report | Johnson Mitchell |
| Cardiff City U21s | 0–4 | Crewe Alexandra U21s |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Leitch-Smith Clayton Baillie Melling |