Under the eagle eye of a host of Premier League and Football League scouts and coaches, Academy players, Sam Lechmere and Ryan James put in performances to get themselves noticed. With Ryan looking cool and composed at the heart of the defence and Sam also getting his name on the score-shee ...

To succeed, you need to test yourself against the very best. And for the Nike Academy players, the squad’s recent visit to Barcelona provided their sternest challenge yet. With Pep Guardiola and the Academy coaches watching their match against Barcelona B, this was the players’ ...

Date: 04.02.09 Location: London Colney Weather conditions: Extremely cold. Temperature range from -5C to +5C. Conditions changed from sunny, blue skies to cloudy with snow and rain. Pitch conditions: Ploughed snow. Ground soggy but firm. Players and staff: Abou Diaby, Nicklas Bendtner, Ja ...

Date: 05.02.09 Location: Carrington Weather conditions: Very cold and windy. Conditions ranged between cloudy, snowing and sunny. Temperature range 0-1C without wind chill. Well below freezing with wind chill. 0-20 mph winds throughout. Pitch conditions: Good, short grass. Players and st ...

Date: 28.01.09 Location: Ciutat Esportiva Weather conditions: Clear blue skies, no wind, sunny. Temperature of 15C. Pitch conditions: Short grass (1.5cm). Good conditions. Pitch was sprayed 10 minutes before training. Players and staff: The full squad took part, except Gai Yigaal Assulin ...