[Albion] Freddie Simmonds, Harry Howell, Cristiano Anah - UEFA Development Tournament

[AZ Gull]

As previously mentioned on here, Albion U-16s Freddie Simmonds and Harry Howell were called up to the England U-16 squad for a UEFA Development Tournament being held at the Pinatar Arena in Spain. Albion U-15 Cristiano Anah was also called up to the Italian U-16 squad for the same tournament.

This tournament was originally meant to feature four teams but earlier this week it emerged that the Spanish embassy had, for some reason, refused to sanction visas to the Nigerian FA. That leaves us with a three-team tournament with Belgium making up the numbers.

Today the tournament opened with England facing Italy. Albion's Freddie Simmonds (no. 6) had the honour of captaining the side once more and Harry Howell (no. 7) also started:-

Cristiano Anah was named as a substitute for the Italians - I'm not sure if he got on the pitch. England won 2-1:-

 

[AZ Gull]

England face Belgium on Monday.

Italy face Belgium on Wednesday.

 

[The Fits]

Presumably given his age Anah is a 'local' Italian?

 

[HCxUK]

Oliver Blini is gloriously FM regen

 

[AZ Gull]

Presumably given his age Anah is a 'local' Italian?

I don't understand the question.

 

[The Fits]

I don't understand the question.

As in he's a local kid who qualifies for Italy rather than someone we've signed from some random club there.

 

[AZ Gull]

As in he's a local kid who qualifies for Italy rather than someone we've signed from some random club there.

As I understand it, he's been with Albion for about three years or so. Beyond that I know virtually nothing about his background (his ancestry, where he was born etc).

 

[dazzer6666]

Reliably informed Dowman is the player to watch…..he’s an U14 !

 

[AZ Gull]

Reliably informed Dowman is the player to watch…..he’s an U14 !

And Amir Ibragimov (a club U-16) came on as a sub for the Man Utd U-21s against Albion on Monday.

 

[AZ Gull]

Freddie Simmonds and Harry Howell both started on the bench today for the England U-16s against Belgium. I don't know if Howell came on, but Simmonds did and scored for England as they lost 2-1.

 

[schmunk]

Presumably given his age Anah is a 'local' Italian?

A quick Google search suggests he's from Crawley, with (presumably) brothers Alessio and Vittorio both competitive athletes.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

A quick Google search suggests he's from Crawley, with (presumably) brothers Alessio and Vittorio both competitive athletes.

And can run 100m in 11.47 seconds (aged 14).

Edit: make that 11.31 seconds (a month later).

 

[AZ Gull]

...
Cristiano Anah was named as a substitute for the Italians - I'm not sure if he got on the pitch. England won 2-1:-

Confirmed that Anah was an unused sub against England on Friday.

Hopefully he'll make his debut against Belgium on Wednesday.

 

[BNthree]

Reliably informed Dowman is the player to watch…..he’s an U14 !

Yeah he’s phenomenal and already played for Arsenal u18s this season

 

[GT49er]

And Amir Ibragimov (a club U-16) came on as a sub for the Man Utd U-21s against Albion on Monday.

Getting a bit confused here - is Amir Ibragimov one of ours or Manchester United's?

 

[AZ Gull]

Getting a bit confused here - is Amir Ibragimov one of ours or Manchester United's?

And Amir Ibragimov (a club U-16) came on as a sub for the Man Utd U-21s against Albion on Monday.

 

[GT49er]

And Amir Ibragimov (a club U-16) came on as a sub for the Man Utd U-21s against Albion on Monday.

Yes - the thread is essentially about our young players - and the 'a club U16' looked as if it applied to us, so it was puzzling why he was playing for ManU, unless he had been one of ours but got poached by them.

But thanks for clearing it up with some big angry letters!

 

[AZ Gull]

Yes - the thread is essentially about our young players - and the 'a club U16' looked as if it applied to us, so it was puzzling why he was playing for ManU, unless he had been one of ours but got poached by them.

But thanks for clearing it up with some big angry letters!

I used the phrase "a club U16" because the year demarcation is different between club football and international football - typically in international football the qualification age for youth tournaments commences on 1 January of the relevant year whereas at club level the "year" runs from September 1 through to August 31.

Hence at international level you might have two players that qualify for the England U-16 side (as they were born in 2008), but one of them is a club U-16 (they were born in 2008 before September 1) and the other is a club U-15 (they were born in 2008 after August 31).

The point I was making with Ibragimov is that he is still only an U-16 player for Manchester United, but he is already playing for their U-21 side (and I only mentioned him in the first place because @dazzer6666 had highlighted Max Dowman [another non-Albion player] who is very highly rated).

 

[GT49er]

I used the phrase "a club U16" because the year demarcation is different between club football and international football - typically in international football the qualification age for youth tournaments commences on 1 January of the relevant year whereas at club level the "year" runs from September 1 through to August 31.

Hence at international level you might have two players that qualify for the England U-16 side (as they were born in 2008), but one of them is a club U-16 (they were born in 2008 before September 1) and the other is a club U-15 (they were born in 2008 after August 31).

The point I was making with Ibragimov is that he is still only an U-16 player for Manchester United, but he is already playing for their U-21 side (and I only mentioned him in the first place because @dazzer6666 had highlighted Max Dowman [another non-Albion player] who is very highly rated).

Yes, I got it that 'a club U16' wasn't referring to us - but I didn't realise the age cut off dates were different for club and country. I thought our U21s out on loan, or in the squad but don't have to be named, were U21s due to their age on the relevant 1st. January - or does the rule variation only apply to the younger groups (corresponding to the school years)?

 

[GT49er]

Yes, I got it that 'a club U16' wasn't referring to us - but I didn't realise the age cut off dates were different for club and country. I thought our U21s out on loan, or in the squad but don't have to be named, were U21s due to their age on the relevant 1st. January - or does the rule variation only apply to the younger groups (corresponding to the school years)?