Welsh football players. - Young guns

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Welsh Football Young news - by Owain Jones

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Young guns news - Friday 17th December

Young Guns will now go on a Christmas break, so thank you once again for all your assistance and I wish you a Happy Christmas and a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda. - Owain

Arron Davies (Southampton - striker) - Brought the the curtain down on his time with Saints after impressing during a reserve team appearance at Yeovil Town. The Wales U21 international was at the heart of everything good that the Yeovil team did in what was a 4-1 thumping of the Gas men and that was enough to convince Yeovil town manager Gary Johnson that he should sign him up. "I am delighted to have signed for Yeovil and got the contracts out of the way and I’m just looking forward to the game on Saturday and fitting in with the lads. It wasn’t really that much of a wrench to leave Southampton. I came up on Monday and played in the Reserves and the gaffer had a word with me afterwards and I was delighted to join Yeovil and get my career back on track." - Arron Davies

Craig Davies (Oxford - striker) - Scored on Saturday as the U's started life under new management at the Kazam Stadium. The former Wales U17 and U19 striker struck in the 28th minute as Davies raced into the box to slot past Lewis Price as the U's beat Cambridge 2-1. The former Man City scholar was voted fans choice as Man of the Match this week and will take encouragement in what has been a very good month for the Welsh qualified youngster.

Jamal Easter (Cardiff - striker) - Struck his sides winning goal as the Cardiff Youth team marched into the next round the FA Youth cup with a win over Hull City. The Wales U17 striker struck the only goal of the game after 38 minutes, and he and his side will now face Colchester in the next round.

Rob Edwards (Wolves - defender) - Played 35 minutes of a reserve match this week against Shrewsbury. The Wales international has been sidelined for the past few months and will be a welcome boost for John Toshacks senior squad when they return to action in the new year.

Wayne Hennessey (Wolves - goalkeeper) - Pulled off a couple of saves which aided his side to advance to the next round after beating Reading youth 1-0 on Tuesday night. The Reading side contained the influential Ryan Crockford (midfielder) but for all their efforts the Wolves resisted the efforts of the Royals to blow the house down.

Lewin Nyatanga (Derby - defender) - Started once again for the reserves against Watford on Tuesday night as the Rams drew 0-0 with the Hornets. The Wales U17 will look back on the start of the 04/05 season with a great deal of pride after being a regular with the second string and also travelling with Ian Rush' U17 side to the Netherlands where they were extremely unlucky not to qualify.

Gareth Owen (Stoke - defender) - Came off the bench in the second half only to suffer an injury which was at first thought to be a broken leg. The former Wales U19 defender had a scan this week which revealed that he has bruised the bone and will be out for around two weeks. The former Wales U19 and U20 international has not been lucky with injuries and will hope to be back asap to push for a first team place.

Liam Powell (Leicester - defender) - Has been released by the Foxes and has been on trial at Grimsby and Newport AFC over the past couple of weeks. The former Wales U19 international has signed on with Kings Lynn although may never play as he is currently on trial at Boston Utd. He may form a back line with the impressive Lee Beevers if everything goes well. It just goes to show how difficult a task it is to gain a profesional contract at a football club let alone break into the first team.

Jamie Price (Birmingham - midfielder) - Was on the bench as the reserves had their very own derby game against Villa on Tuesday night. It was not to be his or the teams night as he remained on the bench and the Blues lost to their city rivals.

David Vaughan (Crewe - defender/midfielder) - Has signed a contract that will keep him at Gresty Road until 2008. The St Asaph born midfielder/full back has been in outstanding form this season and is regarded as one of the most creative players in the Crewe squad and his progression has been fantastic, thus resulting in the offer and the acceptance of a new contract.

Scott Evans (Manchester City) - 15 year old Scott Evans who in the summer was transfered from Swansea City to Manchester City was part of their squad for the F.A Youth Cup game against West Brom.

Young guns news - Friday 10th December

Grant Basey (Charlton - defender) + Christopher Saunders (Charlton - defender) - Both started for the Charlton U19 team as they took part in the prestigious Nerja international tournament against Malaga on Wednesday night. The Wales U17 internationals and their side will join the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid as holders of the cup after a dramatic penalty shoot out victory against Malaga which saw the Addicks lift the cup.

Jason Brown (Gillingham - goalkeeper) - Will be out of action for around six weeks after tearing his hamstring. The former Wales U21 stopper will be gutted as he has only just broken back into the first team. He will also realise that with a new manager at the helm in Stan Ternant, he has lost the chance to impress at the start of his reign.

Ramon Calliste (Man Utd - striker) - Played for an under strength Utd reserve team as they slipped to a third defeat of the season to Nottingham Forest. The team was made up of academy players as most of the youngsters were in Turkey with the first team. The Forest defence included Gavin Hurren (defender) who once again played for the whole 90 minutes and had a goal disallowed during the second half.

Thomas Carter (MK Dons - midfielder) - Chipped in with a goal for the U18 side as they lost by 3-2 to Liam Norval's (Leicester - defender) young Foxes. The dual qualified midfielder has been in fine form the Dons youth team this season and is another player which may come under the gaze of Brian Flynn.

David Cotterill (Bristol City - striker) - Showed the quality which earned him a professional contract with a quality finish from 25 yards in the first period of last nights FA Youth Cup tie against Rotherham on Wednesday night. The City youth team ran out 3-1 winners on the night, with Sam Pearce (goalkeeper) making some fine saves to keep his side in it with Griff Jones (defender) also making a telling contribution.

Kyle Critchell (Southampton - defender) + Lloyd James (Southampton - midfielder) - Assisted Southampton's youth team in advancing to the next round as they beat QPR 3-1 on Tuesday night. The QPR first XI contained Daniel Murphy (defender) who started at the back in what was a busy night for the Rangers back four.

Craig Davies (Oxford - striker) - Is a name that has not been mentioned here for quite some while since a spell at Rushden and Diamonds saw him fall off the radar. But this season has seen Davies, the Ex Man City and Wales U17 striker make regular substitute appearances for Oxford's first team, including coming off the bench last Saturday as the U's beat Chester 3-1 at the Deva Stadium.

Carl Harris (Shrewsbury - defender) - Scored as Shrewsbury's youth team beat Port Vale 3-2 at the weekend. He was also joined on the score sheet by striker Endaf Jones who got his sides third goal. The former Wales U17 defender will now turn his attentions to the next round of the FA Youth cup against Leyton Orient.

David Jones (Man Utd - midfielder) - Flew out with the Manchester Utd Champions League squad Turkey as a young Red Devils squad took on Fenerbache. Jones was also involved in the Carling Cup last week, and must have relished the opportunity to travel with Fergie's young squad.

Dan Martin (Derby - defender) + Lewin Nyatanga (Derby - defender) - Lined up alongside each other in the centre of Derby's reserve team defence as they took on Ipswich Town. Both have been involved with Wales youth squads this season and have also been second string regulars along with Mitchell Booth (midfielder) who was an unused sub on Tuesday night. The game finished in a 1-1 draw, with Martin and Nyatanga getting another 90 minutes under the belt.

Liam Norval (Leicester - defender) - Played the full 90 minutes as Leicester reserves beat Norwich 1-0 on Monday night. The former Wales schools defender has been a regular in the second string side over the past few weeks and will obviously look at getting himself into a Welsh youth side next year when the qualifiers begin.

Gareth Owen (Stoke - defender) - Was an unused substitute on Saturday as Stoke beat Watford 1-0 at Vicarage Road. After starting the season on loan at Torquay, the time maybe right for Owen to stake a claim for a regular place in the first team squad and kick on with his career at the Britannia Stadium.

Scott Thyer (Spurs - striker) - Saw his side draw 2-2 with Cardiff City on Saturday morning, with the Wales U19 striker finding some form to score his sides second goal. The youngster struck just before half time with a well taken slotted goal, and will now hope to build on this for the rest of the season. He also supplied the pass that set up Andy Barcham for the only goal of the game as the Spurs Youth team advanced to the next round of the FA Youth cup with a win against Nottingham Forest.

Dale Williams (Yeovil - striker) - Was named on the bench for the FA Cup tie against Histon on Saturday but was ruled by injury. The Neath born attacker will now hope that with Gavin Williams on his way to the Hammers, that there may be more opportunities for him to shine and force his way into the Wales U19 side.

Gavin Williams (Yeovil - striker) - Is on his way to Upton Park this week after passing a medical and agreeing personal terms. It is good news for Welsh manager John Toshack as he will now have more options to choose from with Williams now set to play at Championship level alongside Carl Fletcher.

Young guns news - Friday 3rd December 2004.

With the appointment of Brian Flynn as Youth Supremo, all at Young Guns hope that this now heralds a change in attitude towards football at this level. Ian Rush hit the nail on the head when he mentioned last year that there needs to be a level of progression and continuity i.e. squads progressing together through age levels. We also hope that more is done to keep an eye on dual qualified talent such David Jones, Russell Fry, Owen Price and that they can be persuaded that there is a bright future to be had with the Red Dragon.

Michael Byrne (Stockport - striker) - Equalised for Stockport reserves on Wednesday night, but it wasn't enough to stop his side from crashing to a 3-1 defeat to Macclesfield. The former Wales U-19 international has been on the fringes of the first team all season, and must hope that he can impress caretaker manager Mark Lillis if he gets a few more goals under his belt for the reserves.

Stuart Edwards (Leeds - defender) - Saw his side make a remarkable comeback on Thursday as they showed bounce back ability to beat Aston Villa 3-2 after being 2-0 down. The former Wales U-19 international played the full 90 minutes as the Leeds second string came back from being 2-0 down after 34 minutes to beat Villa.

Peter Ferris (Carlisle - striker) - Scored his sides second goal as Carlisle beat Wrexham 3-2 in midweek. The former Wales U-19 international has been in good form of late and is another name that Flynn may want to cast an eye over as he prepares his youth sides for future games.

Russell Fry (Hull - striker) - Pounced to scoop up the equaliser as Hull City reserves beat Walsall 4-2 on Wednesday afternoon. The talented youngster who has a Welsh father scored just before the half time whistle to send his side in all square at the interval. The Tigers eventually ran out comfortable winners and Fry will now set his sights once again on a place in the first team squad.

Lewis Haldane (Bristol Rovers - striker) - Kept pressure on the first team strikers with another goal for the reserves as they beat Swansea 2-1 on Thursday night. It was Haldane who got his side back on level terms with an equaliser as the Welsh qualified striker struck from ten yards to give his side a life line. He came off during the second half with a knee injury as the coach didn't want to take any chances that it could get worse.

David Jones (Man Utd - midfielder) - Was on the bench as Man Utd's youngsters beat Arsenal in the Carling Cup in midweek. The dual qualified youngster played for the last 10 minutes, and will hopefully get another chance in the semi finals against Chelsea. He is a player that Toshack may need to have a good long look at this season as he builds for the future.

Dan Martin (Derby - defender) - Opened the scoring as Derby County's youth team marched into the next round with a 4-0 win over Grimsby. The Wales U-19 international scored in the 33rd minute with a curling free kick and will now enter the draw for the fourth round with great confidence. Martin was joined in the starting XI by Lewin Nyatanga (Derby - defender) and later on by Mitchell Booth (Derby - midfielder) who came on as a substitute.

Liam Norvall (Leicester - defender) - Started for the reserves on Wednesday night as they entertained Southampton. It was not to be his night though, as his side which included several Academy players lost 2-1 on the night. Norvall has been lost to the Welsh system since playing a few years ago in the Victory Shield, and with Brian Flynn now in place as Youth supremo at the FAW, they may want to take a look a the London born defender.

Lewis Price (Ipswich - goalkeeper) - Went through a roller coaster of emotions on Saturday during the second game of a loan spell at Cambridge. The Wales U-21 international gave away a penalty and dusted himself down to go and save it. It wasn't to be a second consecutive win for the stopper though, as David Pipe's (midfielder) Notts County ran out 2-1 winners. Price was joined in the Cambridge squad by Adam Davies (defender) who was an unused substitute.

Mark Pritchard (Swansea - striker) - Scored the only goal of the game during last weeks second string South Wales derby against Cardiff City. The former Wales U19 international was also on the bench as the senior Swans took on Bury on Saturday. Mark is in the third year of his scholarship and will now look to impress manager Kenny Jacket so he can earn a pro contract at the end of the season. He was also on target once again this week as Pritchard struck after four minutes to give his side a lead against Bristol Rovers, although it wouldn't be enough as the Gas men ran out 2-1 winners.

Matthew Somner (Brentford - defender) - Will join Cambridge on a months loan as he strives to put his career back on track after watching it fade away under Martin Allen at Brentford. The Wales U21 international was on loan at The Vetch earlier in the season, but things didn't quite work out for him there, so now he has another chance to prove that he has the quality to play at league level. "Coming to Cambridge seemed like a good opportunity to get myself into the first team because at the moment they're not doing too well and I hope to help to change that." Matthew Somner

Danny Thomas (Cardiff - striker) - Started up front in what was a very young and inexperienced City reserve team that took on Cheltenham in midweek. And it was Thomas who broke the dead lock, scoring from six yards out to put his side ahead after sixteen minutes. Unfortunately the scores would not stay that way as the Bluebirds eventually lost 2-1.