The2021–22 Professional U23 Development League was the tenth season of theProfessional Development League system.
Nottingham Forest U23s andBirmingham City U23s both gained category one status.Manchester City U23s were the defending champions and successfully defend the title.[1]Leeds United U23s andCrystal Palace U23s were both promoted andSouthampton U23s were relegated.
| Season | 2021-22 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Manchester City U23s (2nd Title) Division 2 Fulham U23s (1st Title) |
| Promoted | Fulham U23s Wolverhampton Wanderers U23s |
| Relegated | Leeds United U23s Derby County U23s |
| Matches | 395 (392 RS, 3 PO) |
| Goals | 1,289 (3.26 per match) (1,283 RS, 6 PO) |
| Best Player | |
| Top goalscorer | Overall Division 1 Division 2 |
| Biggest home win | Nottingham Forest U23s 7–0Reading U23s (21 February 2022) Manchester City U23s 7–0Everton U23s (29 April 2022) |
| Biggest away win | Stoke City U23s 0–8Aston Villa U23s (27 September 2021) |
| Highest scoring | Leeds United U23s 4–4Blackburn Rovers U23s (24 September 2021) Stoke City U23s 0–8 Aston Villa U23s (27 September 2021) Arsenal U23s 3–5Derby County U23s (26 November 2021) Blackburn Rovers U23s 3–5 Manchester City U23s (9 January 2022) Liverpool U23s 7–1Tottenham Hotspur U23s (12 March 2022) Fulham U23s 5–3Burnley U23s (1 May 2022) |
| Longest winning run | 6 Matches Manchester City U23s |
| Longest unbeaten run | 12 Matches Manchester City U23s |
| Longest winless run | 13 Matches Derby County U23s |
| Longest losing run | 6 Matches Derby County U23s |
| Highest attendance | 21,321Leeds United U23s 1–3 Manchester City U23s (22 April 2022) League Record |
| Lowest attendance | 31Crystal Palace U23s 1–1 Arsenal U23s (19 March 2022) |
2022–23 → | |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City U23s(C) | 26 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 65 | 32 | +33 | 54 |
| 2 | West Ham United U23s | 26 | 15 | 3 | 8 | 59 | 39 | +20 | 48 |
| 3 | Arsenal U23s | 26 | 10 | 11 | 5 | 56 | 48 | +8 | 41 |
| 4 | Liverpool U23s | 26 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 47 | 37 | +10 | 40 |
| 5 | Manchester United U23s | 26 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 46 | 43 | +3 | 39 |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur U23s | 26 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 49 | 45 | +4 | 37 |
| 7 | Leicester City U23s | 26 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 38 | 53 | −15 | 37 |
| 8 | Crystal Palace U23s | 26 | 12 | 3 | 11 | 54 | 50 | +4 | 39 |
| 9 | Blackburn Rovers U23s | 26 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 50 | 56 | −6 | 35 |
| 10 | Brighton & Hove Albion U23s | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 41 | 41 | 0 | 34 |
| 11 | Everton U23s | 26 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 33 | 54 | −21 | 29 |
| 12 | Chelsea U23s | 26 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 39 | 47 | −8 | 28 |
| 13 | Leeds United U23s(R) | 26 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 44 | 49 | −5 | 27 |
| 14 | Derby County U23s(R) | 26 | 4 | 3 | 19 | 31 | 58 | −27 | 15 |
| Home \ Away | ARS | BLA | BHA | CHE | CRY | DER | EVE | LEE | LEI | LIV | MNC | MNU | TOT | WHU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal U23s | 2–2 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 4–2 | 3–5 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 1–4 | 3–3 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | |
| Blackburn Rovers U23s | 2–3 | 6–0 | 4–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–5 | 0–4 | 3–3 | 2–0 | |
| Brighton & Hove Albion U23s | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 5–1 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 4–2 | |
| Chelsea U23s | 1–6 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 4–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | |
| Crystal Palace U23s | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 4–3 | 2–4 | |
| Derby County U23s | 1–1 | 6–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–5 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | |
| Everton U23s | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–4 | |
| Leeds United U23s | 2–4 | 4–4 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 2–4 | 2–2 | |
| Leicester City U23s | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–6 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–4 | 2–1 | |
| Liverpool U23s | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 7–1 | 3–0 | |
| Manchester City U23s | 2–2 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 7–0 | 3–2 | 5–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | |
| Manchester United U23s | 1–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 5–2 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 3–1 | |
| Tottenham Hotspur U23s | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–4 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–4 | |
| West Ham United U23s | 6–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 6–0 | 3–1 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fulham U23s(C, P) | 26 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 64 | 27 | +37 | 62 |
| 2 | Wolverhampton Wanderers U23s(P) | 26 | 14 | 5 | 7 | 46 | 37 | +9 | 47 |
| 3 | Stoke City U23s | 26 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 34 | 36 | −2 | 43 |
| 4 | Nottingham Forest U23s | 26 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 52 | 31 | +21 | 42 |
| 5 | Norwich City U23s | 26 | 12 | 3 | 11 | 64 | 52 | +12 | 39 |
| 6 | Burnley U23s | 26 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 46 | 39 | +7 | 39 |
| 7 | Southampton U23s | 26 | 12 | 3 | 11 | 45 | 42 | +3 | 39 |
| 8 | Newcastle United U23s | 26 | 12 | 2 | 12 | 51 | 56 | −5 | 38 |
| 9 | West Bromwich Albion U23s | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 44 | 54 | −10 | 35 |
| 10 | Aston Villa U23s | 26 | 9 | 5 | 12 | 53 | 51 | +2 | 32 |
| 11 | Birmingham City U23s | 26 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 34 | 51 | −17 | 26 |
| 12 | Middlesbrough U23s | 26 | 8 | 2 | 16 | 31 | 50 | −19 | 26 |
| 13 | Sunderland U23s | 26 | 7 | 3 | 16 | 35 | 49 | −14 | 24 |
| 14 | Reading U23s | 26 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 32 | 56 | −24 | 23 |
| Home \ Away | AST | BIR | BUR | FUL | MID | NEW | NOR | NOT | REA | STK | SOU | SUN | WBA | WOL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aston Villa U23s | 3–3 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 5–2 | 4–1 | 1–4 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 4–2 | 0–0 | |
| Birmingham City U23s | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 4–2 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–2 | |
| Burnley U23s | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 5–1 | 4–3 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 1–1 | |
| Fulham U23s | 2–1 | 3–0 | 5–3 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 4–2 | |
| Middlesbrough U23s | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | |
| Newcastle United U23s | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–6 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–4 | 2–0 | 4–3 | 2–3 | |
| Norwich City U23s | 4–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 3–4 | 4–2 | 5–2 | 0–1 | 4–3 | 1–1 | 2–5 | 0–2 | |
| Nottingham Forest U23s | 4–1 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 7–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | |
| Reading U23s | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 3–0 | |
| Stoke City U23s | 0–8 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–4 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | |
| Southampton U23s | 4–0 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 0–3 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–4 | |
| Sunderland U23s | 1–3 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 3–4 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 3–4 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–3 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | |
| West Bromwich Albion U23s | 2–1 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 2–4 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 0–5 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–4 | |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers U23s | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 0–5 | 1–0 | 4–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 |
| Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 2 | Wolverhampton Wanderers U23s | 1 (p) | |||||||
| 5 | Norwich City U23s | 1 | |||||||
| Wolverhampton Wanderers U23s | 2 | ||||||||
| Stoke City U23s | 0 | ||||||||
| 3 | Stoke City U23s | 2 | |||||||
| 4 | Nottingham Forest U23s | 0 | |||||||
(H) – Home; (A) – Away
4 – player scored 4 goals
Player of the season:
James McAtee (Manchester City U23s)[32]
| Season | 2021–22 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Coventry City U23s (1st Title) |
| Regular Season Champions | Ipswich Town U23s (1st Title) |
| Matches | 203 (200 RS, 3 PO) |
| Goals | 682 (3.36 per match) (667 RS, 15 PO) |
| Top goalscorer | |
| Biggest home win | Hull City U23s 6–0Coventry City U23s (20 November 2021) |
| Biggest away win | Barnsley U23s 0–7Charlton Athletic U23s (24 August 2021) |
| Highest scoring | Bristol City U23s 6–2 Hull City U23s (1 September 2021) Coventry City U23s 5–3Wigan Athletic U23s (18 October 2021) |
| Longest winning run | 8 MatchesIpswich Town U23s |
| Longest unbeaten run | 11 Matches Ipswich Town U23s |
| Longest winless run | 7 MatchesSheffield Wednesday U23s Queens Park Rangers U23s |
| Longest losing run | 5 MatchesQueens Park Rangers U23s |
2022–23 → | |
The Professional Development League season is the tenth campaign of post-EPPP Under-23 football's second tier, designed for those academies with Category 2 status. A total of 17 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 resulting in 23 games for the North Division, and 24 games for the South Division. The sides finishing in the top two positions in both regions at the end of the season will progress to a knockout stage to determine the overall league champion.Birmingham City U23s are the defending national champions.
17 Teams competed in the league this season, a record low for the competition with 1 fewer team than last season.Birmingham City U23s,[42] the defending national champions would leave the league after 9 seasons alongsideNottingham Forest U23s[43] to join the Premier League 2 as Category One Academies. Both founding members of the league left after 9 seasons.Peterborough United U23s joined as a Category Two Academy joining the North Division.[44]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sheffield United U23s | 23 | 15 | 3 | 5 | 47 | 23 | +24 | 48 | Qualification forKnock-out stage |
| 2 | Coventry City U23s | 23 | 13 | 4 | 6 | 57 | 39 | +18 | 43 | |
| 3 | Hull City U23s | 23 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 44 | 41 | +3 | 40 | |
| 4 | Wigan Athletic U23s | 23 | 7 | 4 | 12 | 31 | 39 | −8 | 25 | |
| 5 | Crewe Alexandra U23s | 23 | 7 | 2 | 14 | 27 | 50 | −23 | 23 | |
| 6 | Peterborough United U23s | 23 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 36 | 41 | −5 | 22 | |
| 7 | Barnsley U23s | 23 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 22 | 42 | −20 | 22 | |
| 8 | Sheffield Wednesday U23s | 23 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 21 | 32 | −11 | 20 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ipswich Town U23s | 24 | 16 | 3 | 5 | 58 | 27 | +31 | 51 | Qualification forKnock-out stage |
| 2 | Bristol City U23s | 24 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 60 | 31 | +29 | 50 | |
| 3 | Cardiff City U23s | 24 | 15 | 2 | 7 | 44 | 30 | +14 | 47 | |
| 4 | Charlton Athletic U23s | 24 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 55 | 46 | +9 | 36 | |
| 5 | Millwall U23s | 24 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 34 | 45 | −11 | 30 | |
| 6 | Colchester United U23s | 24 | 8 | 5 | 11 | 35 | 44 | −9 | 29 | |
| 7 | Watford U23s | 24 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 28 | 43 | −15 | 25 | |
| 8 | Swansea City U23s | 24 | 5 | 9 | 10 | 34 | 41 | −7 | 24 | |
| 9 | Queens Park Rangers U23s | 24 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 34 | 53 | −19 | 24 |
Semi-finals
Final
| Bristol City U23s | 2–3 | Coventry City U23s |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
(H) – Home; (A) – Away
4 – player scored 4 goals