Cholsey Bluebirds Under 14s 2020/21
Almost done
COMPETITIVE LEAGUE & CUP GAMES AT THIS AGE
Fixtures arranged by Oxford Youth Football League (OYFL) For FIXTURES & TABLE - click on LOGO below. 
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Manager/Coach
Tel no U14s AGE INFORMATION Date of Birth Team Size Squad Size Maximum Number so far registered NB: Recruiting only experienced players at present. MATCHES PLAYED ON WHICH GROUP TRAINING INFORMATION Resuming on TUESDAYS at Cholsey Rec at 6 - 7pm after Easter 2021. FIXTURES The Divisions have been formed using the results from last season’s games but we have condensed the divisions from 5 down to 4 to make them a suitable size. Teams will play other teams in their division home and away on a traditional league basis. For the latest fixture scheduled for the next weekend, please visit the FIXTURES PAGE. |
MIKE COLLINS
mjayc50@hotmail.com 01491 201276 or 07516 655022 Over 13 but Under 14 1 Sept 2006 to 31 Aug 2008 Academic YEAR 9 11 aside 18 ? SUNDAYS with KO at 10:30am TBC OYFL U14s : Autumn League DIVISION A (10 teams) Cholsey Bluebirds Oxford City Reading United Heyford Park Didcot Town Youth Red Summertow Stars Pegasus Didcot Town Youth Clanfield FC Bullingdon Youth Tower Hill SPONSOR D N L Decor Click on logo for website 
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Summary 2020/21 as U14s
We have had a very tough season in the A league. Not only have many teams from around the area combined into one team but we have also had a few others join from the surrounding counties. We knew it was going to be tough and that to remain in the A league we were going to have to beat the teams in and around our level. This seemed to be going well enough, but our league had two teams drop out due to the pandemic and the gulf in class compared to the top of the division. So, with only 8 teams left and some unlucky results / forfeiting of games we sadly went down. This is however a big plus as we will be able to play in a league that is more suited to our situation and work on those things that we don’t normally have time to in the A league. We also are getting a few extra players and we can use this time to gel them into the team and get some important momentum back.
Mike Collins
We have had a very tough season in the A league. Not only have many teams from around the area combined into one team but we have also had a few others join from the surrounding counties. We knew it was going to be tough and that to remain in the A league we were going to have to beat the teams in and around our level. This seemed to be going well enough, but our league had two teams drop out due to the pandemic and the gulf in class compared to the top of the division. So, with only 8 teams left and some unlucky results / forfeiting of games we sadly went down. This is however a big plus as we will be able to play in a league that is more suited to our situation and work on those things that we don’t normally have time to in the A league. We also are getting a few extra players and we can use this time to gel them into the team and get some important momentum back.
Mike Collins
Summary 2019/20 as U13s
The under 13’s started the season off in the B league after being relegated from the A league at the end of the spring season. I challenged the boys at the end of the season that we should aim to win the league to get our place back in the top division. Something we have so far not been able to achieve.
We had a reasonable pre season! Plenty of people away on summer holiday (oh remember those!) we had a good win vs an older age group of bluebirds in pre season and seemed to be fit and raring to go. Sadly the first game of the season curse struck again as we stunk the place out labouring to a 4:3 loss. We had a bit of a wobble and a few attitudes were adjusted in the week that followed and the boys managed to rediscover what it takes to be part of a successful team. We went on to win all our remaining games which led to us being the champions as our result vs summertown kept us at the top and they went to the A league as runners up. So mission success! The next part we all knew was going to be very tricky. There are some exceptional teams in the top division but if we work hard we can give anyone a game.
We managed to get a few games in before the coronavirus pandemic put a stop to the league, managing to achieve some absolutely fantastic wins and draws to allow us to get a very respectable position in the league - which would have kept us in the A league for the coming season even if this lockdown had not occurred and voided the season.
This is the first time in about 2 years that we have managed to maintain our spot in the top league ready for the next season. A real achievement from the lads who are playing what can only be described as ‘super teams’ made up of players from many teams looking to win at all costs. We do things differently in this Team!
We are a small and local squad and we are determined to give a good account of ourselves! We’ve really embraced the work ethic and have developed a real trust in each other for everyone to do their best for the team. We have also become a bit more tactically proficient which allows us to manage games over the line. Hopefully we can keep this going into the next season and we can maybe recruit a few more players to account for sickness and injury.
Steve and I are very proud of the lads. They say it’s not the destination, it’s the journey. If this pandemic has shown me anything, it is that I am proud of what we as a team have accomplished and it’s a pleasure to have the lads and parents to enjoy the journey with. A few days out to pick up the silverware is just the icing on the cake.
Mike Collins & Steve Wilkinson
The under 13’s started the season off in the B league after being relegated from the A league at the end of the spring season. I challenged the boys at the end of the season that we should aim to win the league to get our place back in the top division. Something we have so far not been able to achieve.
We had a reasonable pre season! Plenty of people away on summer holiday (oh remember those!) we had a good win vs an older age group of bluebirds in pre season and seemed to be fit and raring to go. Sadly the first game of the season curse struck again as we stunk the place out labouring to a 4:3 loss. We had a bit of a wobble and a few attitudes were adjusted in the week that followed and the boys managed to rediscover what it takes to be part of a successful team. We went on to win all our remaining games which led to us being the champions as our result vs summertown kept us at the top and they went to the A league as runners up. So mission success! The next part we all knew was going to be very tricky. There are some exceptional teams in the top division but if we work hard we can give anyone a game.
We managed to get a few games in before the coronavirus pandemic put a stop to the league, managing to achieve some absolutely fantastic wins and draws to allow us to get a very respectable position in the league - which would have kept us in the A league for the coming season even if this lockdown had not occurred and voided the season.
This is the first time in about 2 years that we have managed to maintain our spot in the top league ready for the next season. A real achievement from the lads who are playing what can only be described as ‘super teams’ made up of players from many teams looking to win at all costs. We do things differently in this Team!
We are a small and local squad and we are determined to give a good account of ourselves! We’ve really embraced the work ethic and have developed a real trust in each other for everyone to do their best for the team. We have also become a bit more tactically proficient which allows us to manage games over the line. Hopefully we can keep this going into the next season and we can maybe recruit a few more players to account for sickness and injury.
Steve and I are very proud of the lads. They say it’s not the destination, it’s the journey. If this pandemic has shown me anything, it is that I am proud of what we as a team have accomplished and it’s a pleasure to have the lads and parents to enjoy the journey with. A few days out to pick up the silverware is just the icing on the cake.
Mike Collins & Steve Wilkinson
Summary 2018/19 as U12s
Quite a mixed season for the U12s ! We started in the B league on the trail for an instant promotion back to the A league. However, we started a bit slowly in the league when we lost to the eventual Champions in a close game. We then went on a run which left us solidly in second place to confirm promotion back into the A League. Along the way we managed to gain some much needed confidence and goals which we had hoped would have seen us improve our chances at staying in the A league in the second half of the season.
The A league seems to be getting stronger and stronger. We played some really good football and put it all on the line against some much more technically gifted teams than ourselves, almost pulling off some shocks. Only losing 1-0 to the new Academy Reading United team was a particular highlight as we could have easily scored 2 goals in the last ten minutes. Sadly, our losses were close and the games we were on top of we managed to draw, meaning we went back down to the B league.
We've had a reasonably successful tournament season. Getting to a few main semi-finals and even picking up some silverware at the Harwell Tournament. We progress to 11 a side next season and the boys and I have set the target of returning to the A league as Champions. Now we are about to start the final leg of the grassroots football journey, all of the handwork and discipline will start to pay off, and we can enjoy playing the final form of the game that we all love.
Mike Collins
Quite a mixed season for the U12s ! We started in the B league on the trail for an instant promotion back to the A league. However, we started a bit slowly in the league when we lost to the eventual Champions in a close game. We then went on a run which left us solidly in second place to confirm promotion back into the A League. Along the way we managed to gain some much needed confidence and goals which we had hoped would have seen us improve our chances at staying in the A league in the second half of the season.
The A league seems to be getting stronger and stronger. We played some really good football and put it all on the line against some much more technically gifted teams than ourselves, almost pulling off some shocks. Only losing 1-0 to the new Academy Reading United team was a particular highlight as we could have easily scored 2 goals in the last ten minutes. Sadly, our losses were close and the games we were on top of we managed to draw, meaning we went back down to the B league.
We've had a reasonably successful tournament season. Getting to a few main semi-finals and even picking up some silverware at the Harwell Tournament. We progress to 11 a side next season and the boys and I have set the target of returning to the A league as Champions. Now we are about to start the final leg of the grassroots football journey, all of the handwork and discipline will start to pay off, and we can enjoy playing the final form of the game that we all love.
Mike Collins
Summary 2017/18 as U11s
Well, we knew it was going to be another tough year in the A league and so it proved to be ! We have come on leaps and bounds with getting to grips with the change to 9 a side this year and the boys have been making huge strides in their understanding of the game as it develops towards the 11 a side game.
We started pretty slowly this year but continued to get better in the autumn league. We stayed up by the skin of our teeth but knew that next term we would find it hard.
The winter league started with the addition of some newly formed teams freshly promoted from the B league who we welcomed in our first game. We were unlucky to lose but that’s football. Then came a run of a few games where we suffered from injuries and illness. This led to us needing to get 7 points from our last 3 games to stay up.
We managed to win the first two (7-0 and 5-4 respectively) but we came unstuck in the final game of the season to the other new team, Banbury. So alas it looks like we may be going to the B league.
I don’t imagine that it will be for long as our squad is great and we have proven that we have what it takes in the A league to beat anyone on our day.
What we are looking for next year is to play with a bit of confidence again and grab ourselves a hatful or goals and clean sheets.
Mike Collins
Well, we knew it was going to be another tough year in the A league and so it proved to be ! We have come on leaps and bounds with getting to grips with the change to 9 a side this year and the boys have been making huge strides in their understanding of the game as it develops towards the 11 a side game.
We started pretty slowly this year but continued to get better in the autumn league. We stayed up by the skin of our teeth but knew that next term we would find it hard.
The winter league started with the addition of some newly formed teams freshly promoted from the B league who we welcomed in our first game. We were unlucky to lose but that’s football. Then came a run of a few games where we suffered from injuries and illness. This led to us needing to get 7 points from our last 3 games to stay up.
We managed to win the first two (7-0 and 5-4 respectively) but we came unstuck in the final game of the season to the other new team, Banbury. So alas it looks like we may be going to the B league.
I don’t imagine that it will be for long as our squad is great and we have proven that we have what it takes in the A league to beat anyone on our day.
What we are looking for next year is to play with a bit of confidence again and grab ourselves a hatful or goals and clean sheets.
Mike Collins
Summary from 2016/17 Season as Under 10s
The under 10s enjoyed a solid season. We were newly promoted to the A league and we stayed in the top division on the last day for both the autumn and spring leagues.
We have pushed on this year and set ourselves up for when we switch to 9 a side and offsides. The boys are enjoying it and so is the boss!
Mike Collins
The under 10s enjoyed a solid season. We were newly promoted to the A league and we stayed in the top division on the last day for both the autumn and spring leagues.
We have pushed on this year and set ourselves up for when we switch to 9 a side and offsides. The boys are enjoying it and so is the boss!
Mike Collins
Summary from 2015/16 Season as Under 9s
There's only one way to describe the season that the under 9's have had. That word is Teamwork! What a wonderful journey we have all had. We started the season in the C league, where we only lost one game. We eventually won the trophy event (on penalties!) as well as having the most points in the division. So a great start.
After securing promotion, we moved onto the B league. We carried on playing hard and evolving our passing game - we eventually came second in the league, only losing to our local rivals, Crowmarsh.
We also had a marvellous cup run. We managed to be drawn to play the A League Winners, Ardley, away. The boys played out of their skin and adapted to a more counter stacking set up. We ended up earning a 3:0 victory vs the champions. Sadly, Crowmarsh ended our cup run at the semi-final stage with a lucky 1:0 win where we hit the woodwork 4 times and got unlucky with the goal we conceded.
Crowmarsh were once again the bogey team in the trophy event final, but we finished the B league trophy event as runners up, which secured a back to back promotion to the A league for next year.
We eventually had our chance to beat Crowmarsh in the final of their own 7 a side tournament, beating them 1:0 and getting yet more silverware! We are really keen to test ourselves in the A league next year. We know that if we keep working hard and using our counterattacking, swift passing football then we can hold our own with anyone. We must continue to work together, continue to try our hardest, and keep helping each other to reach our full potential on and off the pitch.
MIKE COLLINS
There's only one way to describe the season that the under 9's have had. That word is Teamwork! What a wonderful journey we have all had. We started the season in the C league, where we only lost one game. We eventually won the trophy event (on penalties!) as well as having the most points in the division. So a great start.
After securing promotion, we moved onto the B league. We carried on playing hard and evolving our passing game - we eventually came second in the league, only losing to our local rivals, Crowmarsh.
We also had a marvellous cup run. We managed to be drawn to play the A League Winners, Ardley, away. The boys played out of their skin and adapted to a more counter stacking set up. We ended up earning a 3:0 victory vs the champions. Sadly, Crowmarsh ended our cup run at the semi-final stage with a lucky 1:0 win where we hit the woodwork 4 times and got unlucky with the goal we conceded.
Crowmarsh were once again the bogey team in the trophy event final, but we finished the B league trophy event as runners up, which secured a back to back promotion to the A league for next year.
We eventually had our chance to beat Crowmarsh in the final of their own 7 a side tournament, beating them 1:0 and getting yet more silverware! We are really keen to test ourselves in the A league next year. We know that if we keep working hard and using our counterattacking, swift passing football then we can hold our own with anyone. We must continue to work together, continue to try our hardest, and keep helping each other to reach our full potential on and off the pitch.
MIKE COLLINS
Summary from 2014/15 Season as Under 8s
Another fantastic season for the team !
We have all worked really hard to work on our game craft this year. We have become solid in defence, hard working in midfield and deadly in front of goal. The first half of the season we came into the trophy event with some mixed results. We scraped through into the event by the skin of our teeth and managed to work our way into the final for the second year running. Sadly the boys had their first of many heart breaks that all good Englishmen will attest to. We lost on penalties after extra time.
We managed to ride out the second half of the season - even though at the start of the campaign we just couldn’t seem to score. We managed to get to semi-final of the trophy event and were beaten. This was a good turning point for the boys though, after nearly 2 years of saying it., they took it to heart – “to get the results we are capable of we need to play as a team and not try to do everything on our own”. Somehow, this time, the lesson stuck.
The new 'enlightened Bluebirds started off the tournament season with a local round robin event where I had my first truly spine tingling moment of beautiful football from the boys. The football was just getting better. The passing was good, the play was fast and the effort supreme. We even managed to cap the season off with a fantastic day in the Didcot tournament from both teams. We both finished second in our group of 7 and one of the teams managed to get to the final and ended up winning it!
Roll on next season.
MIKE COLLINS (Manager)
Another fantastic season for the team !
We have all worked really hard to work on our game craft this year. We have become solid in defence, hard working in midfield and deadly in front of goal. The first half of the season we came into the trophy event with some mixed results. We scraped through into the event by the skin of our teeth and managed to work our way into the final for the second year running. Sadly the boys had their first of many heart breaks that all good Englishmen will attest to. We lost on penalties after extra time.
We managed to ride out the second half of the season - even though at the start of the campaign we just couldn’t seem to score. We managed to get to semi-final of the trophy event and were beaten. This was a good turning point for the boys though, after nearly 2 years of saying it., they took it to heart – “to get the results we are capable of we need to play as a team and not try to do everything on our own”. Somehow, this time, the lesson stuck.
The new 'enlightened Bluebirds started off the tournament season with a local round robin event where I had my first truly spine tingling moment of beautiful football from the boys. The football was just getting better. The passing was good, the play was fast and the effort supreme. We even managed to cap the season off with a fantastic day in the Didcot tournament from both teams. We both finished second in our group of 7 and one of the teams managed to get to the final and ended up winning it!
Roll on next season.
MIKE COLLINS (Manager)