Foundation phase games against Man Utd a success
On Sunday 15 March our U9, U10 and U11 foundation phase teams traveled down to Littleton Road to play Manchester United.Academy coach Ben Benson said: "We've been trying to get these fixtures organised for a while as it is a great opportunity for the lads. We were treated fantastically well and I would like to thank the Manchester United staff for making us feel very welcome.
"It's a fantastic environment for the players to learn in and, like we always say, results are not the aim of the day. All the players have had lots of pitch time, lots of shots, lots of goals and lots of saves.
"Although we are two different academy systems our principles are very much aligned, with regards to the games programme used, based on a player centred approach. The players were given lots of opportunities to work things out for themselves and try new ideas."
"The Manchester United staff commented on the way our players try to play which is a massive pat on the back for them," he continued. "We have an open invitation to go back down there which is testament to how the players conducted themselves.
"One of our former players, Dean Henderson, is now at Manchester United and he came down to support the players, which was great for them. I speak to Dean regularly and whilst he was with us he spoke to some of our players, including the keepers, and passed on his experience to them.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff of Manchester United as well as our players and parents for making it such an enjoyable day."