JJ Gabriel wins U18 Player of the Season award
As a forward of Manchester United, Gabriel could not hide his joy when talking about winning the Premier League U18 Player of the Season award.
This young star with full potential has performed amazingly in the team coached by Darren Fletcher this season, and he deserves this honor. Although he is only 15 years old, he has been competing across age groups.
The game started last weekend and the team defeated Stoke City 3-1. In this game, he successfully scored a goal. This goal was his 21st goal in the league this season. In addition, the team will also have a game on Thursday, which is the FA Youth Cup final against Manchester City.
After Gabriel helped the Red Devils reach the final of this well-known event, as he received personal honors, he was also fully looking forward to accompanying the team to win the team trophy in one fell swoop.
I feel extremely happy to have successfully won this award. He said this during an exclusive interview with MUTV's Mark Sullivan at the Carrington training base, and this was his first interview since joining the club. Thank you to the coaches and teammates. It was their help that enabled me to win this precious honor.
Since I entered the echelon, the team has become better and better in terms of running-in. Everyone helps each other and works side by side for the team. I think we had a pretty good season.
Manchester United's youth academy that trains young players, as well as Fletcher, and Gabriel's family members all played a key and particularly important role in his rapid rise and growth.
According to him, the youth academy has made him mature a lot and taught him to stay humble and down-to-earth.
I have a special sense of honor to play under Fletcher, who is an exceptional coach. He has given me a huge boost this season to continue to grow and transform into a better version of myself. I have always believed that I must uphold the attitude of training hard every day and devote myself to the training field to the best of my ability. At the same time, I should exercise diligently in the gym to maintain good physical condition and avoid interruptions caused by injuries.
My family has given me great support and helped me through the lows and highs. No matter how far or short the journey is, they will never miss every game. I love my family very much.
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Manchester United's senior staff will make recommendations during the meeting with Ratcliffe to appoint Carrick as the official head coach.
This week, Manchester United's senior football officials plan to make a recommendation at the executive committee meeting to provide Carrick with the position of official first-team head coach.
The club's chief executive Omar Berrada believes that director of football Jason Wilcox holds the same view. They all believe that Carrick is the right person to lead Manchester United for next season and are planning to formally make this proposal to Ratcliffe.
As co-owner of the club, Ratcliffe has the final say in major personnel decisions. The appointment has not yet been officially confirmed. However, all signs show that Carrick will stay on and continue to coach. The Glazer family, which holds a majority of the shares, is also happy to let Ratcliffe lead football-related affairs.
After finalizing this intention, it is expected that Manchester United will officially start contract renewal negotiations with Carrick. At the Carrington training base, Carrick participated in a meeting on the team's tactical planning. Players and staff in the team were generally optimistic about his official appointment.
Manchester United has been evaluating a number of head coach candidates. Illaura is on the investigation list, and Emery is also on the investigation list. Club staff have conducted background research on multiple candidates.
The management originally planned to wait until the season was over before making the final decision. However, now that the team has confirmed its qualification for the Champions League, matters related to the coaching position have also been put on the agenda.
Preparations for the team's recruitment have been steadily progressing, determining the candidate for the head coach, and identifying potential new players who will coach them in the future. This is regarded as a very important link in the recruitment process.
What is obvious to all is the change that Carrick has brought to the team. After the team defeated Liverpool with a score of 3-2 to secure the Champions League qualification, Kobe Menu, who scored the winning goal, directly stated in an interview with Sky Sports: "We are willing to do our best for Carrick on the court."
A week before this double red meeting, TA had relevant reports. The content of the report was that Carrick and Ratcliffe had a meeting. During this meeting, Ratcliffe expressed his support for Carrick.
The 44-year-old Carrick returned to Old Trafford in January this year and served as interim coach for the second time. Before that, Amorim resigned and Fletcher briefly led the team for two games. At that time, Manchester United was only seventh in the Premier League, 11 points behind city rival Manchester City, with a ranking difference of five places.
After this former England international took over the team, Manchester United's performance has improved significantly. Now it is firmly in the third place in the league, a full 6 points higher than the fourth-placed Liverpool team. The entire league only has two rounds left to end.
Due to only ranking 15th in the league last season, Manchester United lost the qualification to compete in the European competition, and also suffered an early exit from the domestic cup; in this season, the team returned to the Champions League after the 2023-2024 season. However, in the 2023-2024 season, the Red Devils failed to successfully break through the Champions League group stage.
In the fall of 2021, after Solskjaer dismissed get out of class, Carrick was appointed as the interim coach of Manchester United in a critical situation. During his coaching period, he achieved a record of two wins and one draw. Then Rangnick came to serve as the interim coach for the season, and Carrick left the team. Before returning to Manchester United, Carrick coached Middlesbrough in the Championship for almost three years, leading the team from 21st to fourth in the league in his first season.
Carrick played for Manchester United as a player for 12 years, making a total of 464 appearances, winning 5 Premier League trophies and 1 Champions League trophy.
As is customary at the end of the season, Carrick is likely to address the fans after Manchester United's final home game of the season against Nottingham Forest on Sunday. If the coaching position is confirmed, he can openly discuss the team's goals and ambitions for next season.
Definitely clarifying Carrick's role as coach will have a morale-boosting effect on the atmosphere in the stadium. The effect will be comparable to that of when a series of big-name new players such as Varane and Casemiro were announced to join the team in recent years. Carrick can also set a tone early on for the team building in the next few months, so as to continue the current good competitive state.
If the announcement is made after everyone is on vacation and the players are preparing for international competitions, it will easily create unstable emotions within the team and reduce Carrick's coaching authority. After Ten Hag led the team to win the FA Cup in 2024, Manchester United began to select coaches and introduce players very late, and a similar situation occurred.
Having said that, Manchester United will naturally start negotiating a new contract with Carrick, and at the same time determine the configuration of the coaching staff, and the existing assistant coaching team will probably stay on. However, it is still uncertain whether everything can be finalized before the game against Nottingham Forest, so the relevant process is not suitable to be rushed forward.
However, from a comprehensive perspective, if it is confirmed that Carrick will become the official head coach as expected by the outside world, the timing of the official announcement will be well controlled, and the rhythm of the entire process will be balanced, this will be very beneficial to the long-term development of the club.
LW’s interview with Fletcher
Darren Fletcher conducted an exclusive interview involving Manchester United rookie Chido Obi and JJ Gabriel, and mentioned his regrets about the venue arrangement of the FA Youth Cup.
Darren Fletcher, who was born in the youth training system of Manchester United, is very clear about the impact that the head coach of the first-line team will have when he personally goes to the youth team games to watch the games.
," Fletcher said, "It will give them extra motivation to come. It also means that the general is concerned about youth training and always pays attention to the development of the echelon. It's easy to talk about it, but it's not easy to actually implement it, and Michael has achieved this. Young players are quite happy to see the first-team coach coming to watch the game.
The Michael he was talking about was, of course, Carrick. When he took on the role of interim coach, Carrick had always attached great importance to Manchester United's youth teams. Not only did he go to Old Trafford and Leigh Sports Village to watch games in person, he even drove three hours in midweek to watch a game at Oxford United's Kassam Stadium, which was far away.
On Friday night last week, Manchester United's first team went to Sunderland to prepare for the next day's Premier League; at this time, Carrick, assistant Steve Horan and coach Travis Binnion stayed at the Joey Stadium to watch the Manchester United U21 echelon's 4-3 victory over Manchester City in the Premier League Second League play-offs. Carrick is expected to be there to watch the FA Youth Cup final between Manchester United and Manchester City on Thursday night.
As the coach who led Manchester United's U18 team to the final, Fletcher believes that this relationship between the first team and the youth training team is of great significance.
He preached, tracing back to the root cause, he had to go to the scene in person and set an example by himself. When players see Travis and Michael on the court, it's a huge boost. This shows everyone that the club really values young players and is not just paying lip service to them. Paying attention to youth training itself is the traditional foundation of the club. When this concept is implemented into actual actions, it will be more dynamic. I firmly believe that players’ parents will also agree with this. This positive effect is very profound, and Michael understands this very well.
They devote themselves to all aspects of the club, know its roots well, and expect success on all fronts. The first team is of course the most critical, but everyone is happy to see the young players grow and the staff develop steadily. We all support each other and work together to make the club even better.
These words may sound quite simple, but since Sir Alex Ferguson established the tradition, Manchester United's successive coaches have sometimes found it difficult to spare enough time to personally go to the youth training field and make a sense of presence. It is even rarer to do so like Carrick. Amorim once watched half-time of an academy game at Carrington, but he could be forgiven for having to deal with the thorny matters of the first-team at that time.
At the same time, Manchester City made the decision to hold the FA Youth Cup final at the Youth Academy Stadium, which can accommodate 7,000 people, instead of hosting it at the first team's home court. This move broke the traditional rules of this event and caused dissatisfaction and disappointment within the Manchester United team. Even some Manchester City fans also had a lot of criticism. Manchester City claimed they could not arrange for the Etihad Stadium to host the game and rejected Manchester United's offer to use Old Trafford. The event will be broadcast live by TNT Sports in the UK and ESPN in the US.
Fletcher said: "We tried our best to get it because we really wanted the final to be held in a larger stadium. If it can be held at Old Trafford, it will be an unforgettable event for the players and everyone. We are disappointed by this. After all, the meaning of this event originally encompasses the experience of playing in a large professional stadium, which has a unique historical heritage. Even if the players win the Premier League championship in the future, they will still talk with interest about the experience of following the youth team and winning the championship with their teammates, and express emotion about the wonderful feeling.
With regret, this regret is for everyone, including Manchester City players, and our own young players are no exception. The fans are also included, and it can even extend to the coaching staff of both sides. However, in the face of such a situation, all we can do is accept the reality and then face the challenge head-on. This challenge is the challenge of playing on the youth academy pitch.
The FA Youth Cup final is the stage for young players to feel the atmosphere of the competition and see the top scenes, but Fletcher often deliberately tries to keep the minds of young people with potential prospects stable and practical and serious.
"The outside world doesn't understand all the efforts behind the scenes." He explained, "For them, children have things that should be handled within their own identities every day to complete, and urging them to properly complete such small tasks is just like at home, children are often asked to try their best to tidy up the room. This is also a lesson for their growth. Part of the education process is the process of cultivating good qualities and basic skills. "Fletcher has a deep understanding. He has a pair of 19-year-old twin sons, Jack and Taylor. These twin sons regularly participate in training with the Manchester United first team this season, and he also has a pair of twin daughters born in 2022.
Although the current era is very different and there is no need for youth team players to polish the shoes of senior first team players, Fletcher still insists on instilling that old-school education and team concept in his work.
Fletcher claimed that they still have their own daily division of labor, such as carrying and putting away balls and equipment needed for training before and after training, and everyone takes turns to do these things.
Even when the coach travels, everyone has to share the task of carrying luggage and supplies. These arrangements are not to punish anyone, but to establish a sense that the whole team is in the same boat, so as to ensure an orderly journey. The best way is to work in groups and perform their respective duties, such as setting up conference room seats, filling drinking water bottles, etc. These are all trivial things, but they add up over time and mean a lot. Everything everyone does is for the group they belong to, and the effect of this model is particularly obvious.
Fletcher's coaching philosophy has obviously achieved great results. Last summer, he decisively left the Amorim first-team coaching team to take over the Manchester United U18 echelon, and then officially started his personal coaching career. His two sons have exceeded the scope of participation in this age group, so there is no conflict of interest at all. After taking office, he has polished this talented youth army with the same full enthusiasm and determined fighting spirit as when he was a player.
This season, the team's journey to win the Triple Crown has left regrets, because in the U18 Premier League Cup final, they lost to Crystal Palace on penalties, and they were 4 points behind Manchester City in the Northern League standings, finishing second. However, the FA Youth Cup is the most valuable honor. If he can lead the team to win the trophy for the 12th time in team history and set a new tournament record, then no matter what the future direction of Fletcher's coaching is, it will become a classic in his career.
He said, "I am extremely enjoying this season.", "I am very fortunate to get to know each player in depth.", "I can witness them step by step when they have opportunities to grow.", "At the same time, I am also very satisfied with the team's playing style throughout the season," "We are getting better and better as the season progresses.".
What surprises me is that the team has fully accepted and implemented the tactical concepts we gave from the beginning. Whether it is controlling the ball when the ball is present, or organizing and pressing without the ball, we always uphold and unswervingly implement the ultimate style of play, which is actually the most appropriate and comprehensive way to cultivate and train younger players. Generally speaking, it is understood that growth trends often come from the experience experienced after encountering a defeat. Every day, we will devote ourselves to daily training and preparations for matches and other corresponding schedule matters according to high standards and with high intensity. My team with the status of coach is also quite outstanding, which means that it has many advantages. ".
Fletcher's training course configuration is comparable to first-team standards and is equipped with professional technological equipment commonly used by first-team stars.
He explained it as a streamlined version of the first-team training model, which uses drones to film the entire training content and provides post-match replays to the players. The process planning of the game and training is extremely similar to that of the first-team.
The key to a player's real improvement lies in the intensity of training. If you just pass and control the ball unhurriedly, and there is no opponent pressing, resulting in a lack of intensity, then there is no point in practicing like this. Only by maintaining high-intensity confrontation can you improve your pressing ability and then polish your ball-holding skills.
Therefore, in order to encourage players to gain faster speed, become stronger, have more powerful explosive power, and conduct daily training according to the intensity of official games, this is absolutely indispensable.
Training does not have to be high-intensity to squeeze players all the time, but once it enters the special training stage, the duration will be strictly controlled and the scope of the field will be demarcated so that the players can use their full strength to comprehensively improve their physical fitness, tactical awareness and technical ability, which will be improved in all aspects.
Many of Manchester United's Youth Cup matches this season have gone into overtime.
Fletcher said that the further we play in the second half, the more stable our state becomes. This is due to multiple factors. The coaching team scientifically ensures the physical fitness of the players, coupled with our game tactical style, firmly controlling the ball, we consume less, and our opponents have to run around more.
Within the team, it is also crucial for talented players to boost their strength, and the outside world's attention naturally focuses on JJ Gabriel. During this season, which echelon is he representing in the competition coached by Fletcher? He played a total of 33 games. How many goals did he score in the end? The answer is 28 goals. What kind of honor did he receive just this Tuesday? He was selected as the best player of the Premier League U18 season.
The third round of the FA Youth Cup was in December last year. Gabriel was only 15 years and two months old at the time. He scored the winning goal at Old Trafford and became the youngest person to score in the FA Youth Cup in the history of Manchester United. During Amorim's coaching period, and later Carrick's coaching period, Gabriel trained with the first team many times. With his exquisite skills, he won praise from his teammates. This summer, he will also be selected into Manchester United's pre-season squad.
Fletcher, as a player, received attention from the first team at the age of 16. For Gabriel, who is still in the physical development stage, he knows very well how to plan his growth path.
Fletcher commented that JJ is extremely talented. He devotes himself to training every day with a passion for football. He is eager to learn, eager to appear, and eager to control the game with the ball. He is extremely pleasant to work with. He is also a particularly sensible child.
Remember, he's just a teenager and he's on a strong team. JJ himself understands that being able to get out of shooting positions and score goals is inseparable from the full support of his teammates. There are good players everywhere in the team, but scoring goals will attract the spotlight and cause him to attract more attention.
Like all offensive players, he fully accepts the tactical concepts of off-ball defense and team first, and he is also particularly good at listening to constructive opinions. As a master and apprentice, he and I have a very harmonious relationship. He has an unlimited future in the future.
Speaking of Gabriel's future improvement and development in the club, Fletcher said: "This requires the club to make planning decisions at a higher level. But not only JJ, but all our youth team players have the opportunity to participate in the preseason. Whether he can be selected in the end depends on the overall selection arrangements and what kind of growth training he needs most at this stage."
It is extremely important that his growth path shows a diversified trend. What we hope in our hearts is that when he enters the first team echelon, he can establish a firm foothold and show his due level. Even if he is not able to achieve what we want for the time being, this is definitely not a problem. The bad thing is that we have been controlling the overall rhythm with a cautious attitude from beginning to end, so that he can experience the atmosphere of the first team at the right time. However, in this process, we must choose the right time and clearly understand his growth needs and initial planning ideas.
Once you officially enter the first team, external evaluation will come quickly, regardless of whether it is fair or not. We must make his long-term progress our top priority.
JJ Lin is fully capable of joining the first-tier team, and the same is true for many young players in the team. Many youth training players have the same experience of training with the first-line team, but few outsiders are aware of this situation.
Chido Obi made his Manchester United first-team debut during the period when Amorim was coaching when the team encountered a wave of injuries. Last season, he was only 17 years old and made 8 appearances for the first team. He started in the game that Manchester United lost 3-4 to Brentford and became the youngest starter in Manchester United's Premier League history.
He is now 18 years old and is still growing steadily in the youth echelon this season. The forward has participated in 36 games and scored 20 goals this season. He mainly represents the U21 echelon in competitions. After Binnion was promoted to the first team coach, Adam Lawrence took over the responsibility of taking charge of Manchester United's U21 echelon. In Manchester United's 4-3 victory over Manchester City last week, which Carrick watched live, Obi scored twice.
In the FA Youth Cup, Obi's performance was also very impressive. He scored 4 goals in 4 games. In February this year, he represented the U18 echelon led by Fletcher to participate in the Premier League U18 league and was eligible to participate. At that time, he successfully scored in the team's 3-1 away game against Manchester City.
Fletcher said that the most gratifying thing about Chido was that Chido’s U21 game was temporarily canceled the day before. Chido took the initiative to send him a message that Chido wanted to participate in the U18 game. Chido is willing to lower his profile and sign up to play in the U18 competition. He does not think that this echelon is not suitable for him, which is very rare. This is enough to show that he is much more mature than his peers.
His growth and progress have been remarkable for all to see. In the U18 field, his running without the ball, tactical understanding, and various abilities as a forward have been greatly improved. He originally had the ability to score, but now he has greatly improved in other aspects such as holding the ball with his back, supporting in series, and can also provide assists to his teammates. This also shows his frontline leadership qualities.
All the experience he has accumulated in the first team and the U21 echelon has been integrated and applied to the U18 competition, and his overall strength has been upgraded to a higher level.
After Amorim was sacked, the Manchester United first team went through a period when Fletcher was in charge for a short period of time. That experience allowed him to truly experience the ups and downs of coaching, including the team's draw with Burnley and the FA Cup loss to Brighton. The personnel arrangements made by Fletcher during his short coaching period paved the way for Carrick's subsequent appointment. Specifically, B Fee returned to the tenth position and cooperated with Sheshko tacitly. At the same time, Dolgu was placed on the left wing.
Fletcher will maintain regular communication with the club's senior management for those players who belong to the youth team in the team he leads!
Teams at all levels have always maintained uninterrupted and continuous communication with each other, and we will provide immediate feedback on player situations as they arise. He said that while everyone can express their own opinions, they must also respect the ideas of the first-team coach. Each coach has his own hiring preferences and tactical concepts.
Sometimes, the head coach of the first team will pay special attention to a player's ability in a certain aspect. It goes without saying. And we have always been committed to cultivating young players in all aspects. After a player is promoted to the first team, the coaching staff can often see areas where they can make targeted improvements.
The player growth plan is formulated by us. It is not set in stone, but is adjusted regularly. The principle is not to change overnight. However, once there is a need to strengthen shortcomings, precise targeted training will be carried out. Players will focus on improving specific abilities in stages. After receiving feedback from the first team coaching staff, we will adjust the focus of training in the next stage, and the entire training system will continue to iterate and improve.
The road to Manchester United's first team is often tortuous and bumpy. The experience of Kobe Menu proves that even if you have established a foothold, there will still be variables in your career. Fletcher has high expectations for the young players he leads. Thwaites in the midfield, Ajayi at the winger position, Hraf at the full-back, and central defender Mills, who was also selected for the Premier League U18 Player of the Season candidate list, are all outstanding talents.
"Jimmy has shown excellent performance this season and has the ability to play in multiple positions." This is what Fletcher said. "At the beginning, we placed him in the deep position of the sixth position, allowing him to get the ball more and control the ball more. We focused on fine-tuning his passing vision and long-passing ability. After that, we also tried to move him forward to a more forward position to participate in the attack."
There are also many commendable young players in the team. We have given everyone ample opportunities to play. Instead of just sending out the strongest eleven every week, we ensure that every young player can get experience in a reasonable game rhythm. It is inevitable that some people will not be satisfied with the rotation arrangement, but everyone has contributed a lot of playing time this season.
In 2022, there was a man named Menu who followed the team and won the FA Youth Cup. He is the best growth model.
"It was Fletcher who said that Kobe has successfully entered the first team and has established a firm foothold. After all, just a few years ago, he was on the same starting line as this group of youth training players now, so he is very inspiring to our youth training group."