Crewe Alexandra's under 18's are placed in one of the toughest leagues in the FA Premier Academy League, but despite coming up against the academies of some of the biggest club's in Europe they have proved themselves well once again, and one of their Managers, James Collins, is pleased with how the season has turned out.

The coaching staff at Crewe Alexandra never put too much emphasis on results for our youth, but when it comes to the FA Youth Cup, it is a chance for the youngsters to feel the pressure of a results driven competition. This year, Collins admits that losing out to Birmingham City in the fourth round proper is one of the lower points, especially having been leading the game, but also says there is one result in particular that stands out for different reasons.

James said: "It's been a good season for our 18's this year, we have had some good results and some bad results. The big disappointment really was the Youth Cup, we really felt that we could have done better this year, going 2-0 up and then losing 3-2 was the biggest disappointment of all I think. But overall it was a good year this year, and the boys did well.

"As we always say, with youth football, it's not all about results, it is about the development of the boys, and there have been some games this year that really stand out for us. The game against Newcastle is one particular highlight for me, we won that game 4-0 and Newcastle had only lost 4 games all season. We were excellent in that game."

It's not just a result that stands out as a positive for the season though, there have been times when the side have lost out to the likes of Manchester United's academy, but still put in a creditable performance, and that is another plus of the year that pleases James.

He says: "There are other games, which we have ended up losing, but where we have been excellent performance and commitment wise, the Manchester United game for example. As usual with the boys though, there have been some good performances.