EXETER City assistant manager Kevin Nicholson feels the club’s participation in the Premier League Under-21 Cup is an ideal stepping stone between Academy football and the first team.
The Grecians enjoyed a decent run in the competition, topping a group that included Bromley, Norwich City and Bristol City, but hopes of going further were ended at the last 16 stage when they lost 1-0 at home to Brentford.
The experience has been invaluable to many of their fringe and younger players, though, especially with no reserve team football. And for one man in particular – central defender Ed James – it has led to international recognition with a call-up to the Wales Under-21 squad for their friendlies against Andorra today and Sweden on Sunday.
“It is amazing for Ed to get that call up and I know he’ll have an incredible experience out there,” Nicholson said. “But it’s the work of Dan Green and Perks (David Perkins) with that Under-21 group and that run that they went on in the Premier League Cup, which was brilliant.
Ed James of Exeter City u21s during the Premier League Cup Match between Exeter City u21s and Bromley u21s at St James Park, Devon on Wednesday 18 December 2024. Photo: Frankie OKeeffe/PPAUK
“They were winning games under pressure against big clubs and it was a group of young players coming through and showing that they are capable of stepping up to that level, that they can compete with bigger clubs and their development would have been fast-tracked through that.
“It’s a difficult thing to become a footballer. It’s a really, really difficult industry not just to break into, but stay in and this club does it better than most. We try and give that opportunity as best we can and good luck to the next group that are coming through.
In a week the EFL is celebrating youth development, the Grecians remain a strong advocate of a process which sees youngsters join their academy and aim to graduate to the first team via the Under-18s. Their current first team squad has no fewer than 10 academy graduates – Harry Lee, James, Max Edgecombe, Cheick Diabate, Tom Dean, Gabriel Billington, Mitch Beardmore, Pedro Borges, Jake Richards and Sonny Cox, while on-loan Wycombe defender Alex Hartridge is another that came through the system before he left for pastures new last summer.
However, only Richards and Cox can be considered as ‘first teamers’ and even they have only made 18 appearances apiece this campaign. But with the likes of Liam Oakes, Louie Cayless, George Birch, Theo Cutler and Kieran Wilson behind those Academy graduates already mentioned, then patience is key in their development to the first team squad.
“I came into the club as part of the academy in the head of coaching days and I have worked closely with Pughey (Academy director Arran Pugh) and everybody else over in that side of the building and they do some incredible work.
“Alex Hartridge is a real example of what can happen because he worked really hard and hung around for a lot of years where other clubs would have probably let them go. He went on his loans, he did the work and hard yards and he has played however many games it is now for the Football Club.
Tom Dean of Exeter City u21s on the ball during the Premier League Cup Round of 16 Match between Exeter City u21s and Brentford B at St James Park, Devon on 13 March 2025. Photo: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK
“Harry Kite did similar, Josh Key did similar and I think it is amazing when you can point at an Ethan Ampadu, who was a freak in how good he was at such a young age with a Dad who played and coached and the environment around him was such that we just needed to nudge him here and there to give him the best opportunities and he was probably going to make it.
“There are other players here that have been through a lot more in terms of how hard they have had to work to get their opportunities and I think it’s testament to the Academy that those guys come through and play first team football.
“We now have Sonny (Cox) and Jake (Richards) and Al back in the building and we have a group of younger players that are pushing to come through. Their job is harder than it’s ever been because we are in League One, so the standard is higher, the expectations are more, the quality of the league is higher. But what a great challenge and I know how hard the Academy are working to stay up to that and to keep bringing these players through.”