Where are they now? (Former) Manchester United trainees

x42bn6

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I thought it would be a nice idea to keep track of our (former) trainees, to see how they're getting on; to see if there's any real problems in our Academy in terms of producing talent.

I don't want to list every single one who's played for us at some time, so I'll simply be starting with all the players in our Under-18s and Reserves this season (2008/2009), as well as those who transferred at the end of last season.

I'm sure I'm missing people, so do tell.

So...

At Manchester United
Ben Amos
Antonio Bryan
James Chester
Tom Cleverley
James Derbyshire
Danny Drinkwater
Richard Eckersley
Magnus Eikrem
Jonny Evans
Corry Evans
Fábio da Silva
Daniel Galbraith
Darron Gibson
David Gray
Sam Hewson
Matthew James
Federico Macheda
Rodrigo Possebon
Rafael da Silva
Danny Welbeck
Ron-Robert Zieler
Nicky Ajose
Robert Brady
Evandro Brandão
Reece Brown
Chris Curran
James Derbyshire
Conor Devlin
Joe Dudgeon
Oliver Gill
Joshua King
Scott Moffatt
Oliver Norwood
David Petrucci
Cameron Stewart
Kenny Strickland
Gary Woods
Scott Wootton

On loan
Febian Brandy (Swansea)
Fraizer Campbell (Tottenham)
Craig Cathcart (Plymouth)
Lee Martin (Nottingham Forest)
Danny Simpson (Blackburn)
Tom Heaton (Cardiff City)

Former players
Chris Eagles (Burnley, undisclosed)
Kieran Lee (Oldham, free)
Michael Lea (Scunthorpe, free)
Séan Evans (Aberystwyth Town, free)
Michael Barnes (Northwich Victoria, free; released September 2008)
Conor McCormack (Triestina, free)
Chris Fagan (Glenn Hoddle Academy, free)
Ritchie Jones (Hartlepool, free)
 

PS18

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Chris Fagan is part of the Glenn Hoddle Academy.

Planning to try and compile a list like this for my site once I've got player profiles finally done, quite interesting to see where everyone is.
 

Longlivekeano

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Giuseppe Rossi-Villareal
Gerard Pique- Barcelona
Nicky Butt-Newcastle
Phil Neville- Everton
David Backham-LA Galaxy
Kieran Richardson- Sunderland
Danny Higgenbotham-Sunderland
Phil Bardsley-Sunderland
Ronnie Wallwork-Westbromwich Albion
Jonathan Spector- WestHam
Frazier Campbell- Tottenha Hotspurs (Loan)
Souleymane Mamam-Antwerpt (our Belgian feeder club)
Paul McShane-Sunderland
Luke Chadwick- First Division Club
Keith Gillespie (Newcastle & a host of other clubs)
Clayton Blackmore- Middlesborough
Mark Bosnich-Aston Villa, Chelsea, some Australian Club
 

Name Changed

weso26
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A few off the top of my head

Craig Lawton - left United for Port Vale, now at a Welsh Club, Bala Town. He played for Connah's Quay for years.
Dessie Baker - left United for 7 years at Shelbourne. He is now at Shamrock Rovers.
Arthur Gomez - signed by United at sent by them on loan to Antwerp to get a work permit. His contract wasn't renewed after he was eligable for one. He is now at Henan in China.
Colin McKee - left United in 1994 and went around various Scottish clubs. His last club was Foldhouse or something like that before retiring.

They were all decent players on FM at one stage, apart from Dessie Baker.
 

Epic

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BabyLayz said:
True, but who won that game?

And was he not instrumental in defence?
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Well done to him. Remembered him being mentioned as the own goal scorer, just though I pointed that out. :p
 

Midfield

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Where did Ngalula "our Next Vieira" go?

Feel shame about Barnes, he looks very promising in Malaysia 2 season ago in a youth tourno.
 

Wonder Pigeon

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Name Changed said:
A few off the top of my head

Craig Lawton - left United for Port Vale, now at a Welsh Club, Bala Town. He played for Connah's Quay for years.
Dessie Baker - left United for 7 years at Shelbourne. He is now at Shamrock Rovers.
Arthur Gomez - signed by United at sent by them on loan to Antwerp to get a work permit. His contract wasn't renewed after he was eligable for one. He is now at Henan in China.
Colin McKee - left United in 1994 and went around various Scottish clubs. His last club was Foldhouse or something like that before retiring.

They were all decent players on FM at one stage, apart from Dessie Baker.
Click to expand...

Dessie Baker now plays for Dundalk now.
 

Decotron

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Defender Lea links up with Rochdale

Rochdale manager Keith Hill has snapped up former Manchester United trainee Michael Lea on non-contract terms until the end of the season.

The defender, who also had spells with Scunthorpe and Chester, joined United aged 10 and progressed through the youth ranks at Old Trafford.

He earned a one-year professional contract but it was not extended and then headed for Scunthorpe, where he struggled to make an impact and broke his ribs in training.

Lea, 21, said: "I'm hopeful that this move will be one that takes me forward.

"I have heard a lot about Keith Hill and Dave Flitcroft and the special way they manage, coach and advise players and I'm looking forward to training and being at Spotland."
 

Mr. MUJAC

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Conor McCormack

Thursday, 24 February 2011 17:47

Shamrock Rovers have signed another of the league’s top young talents, capturing the signature of midfielder, Ronan Finn.

The 23-year-old former Sporting Fingal and UCD player put pen to paper for the Hoops this afternoon.

Rovers have also completed the signings of goalkeeper, Ryan Thompson, and defender, Conor McCormack.

Jamaican native, Thompson, has been plying his trade in the United States for the past few years, while McCormack was previously with Italian Serie B side, Triestina.

Hoops boss, Michael O’Neill said: “We have been working hard putting together a quality squad, and we feel these players fit right in. They are all young, hungry, hard-working players, and I am very excited to have them on board.”
 

forevrared

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Here's a post I did in the newbs last summer, detailing all the Americans who were at one time on United's books. With a couple exceptions (Brown, Howard), they were all trainees at some point. It was more directed at finding all the Americans who'd represented United, but figured it would fit here. The numbers in parenthesis are their caps and goals for the US unless otherwise noted (Rossi). Everything is up to date through last August I believe.

me said:
The most interesting name I found while researching was Jim Brown, a player born in Scotland but who moved to the US and turned out for us in the 1930 World Cup, scoring our lone goal in our 6-1 loss to Argentina in the semi-finals.

Here's the list I've got for now:

Jim Brown (4/1) from Kilmarnock, Scotland played for United from 1932 - 1934. He made 40 appearances, scoring 17 goals. He played with 7 different clubs in America before moving to United and later turned out for Spurs. Jim died in 1995, aged 84.

Jovan Kirovski (62/9) from Escondito, California played for United from 1992-1996. He never made a first team appearances for lack of a work permit, but lead reserves in scoring before being sold to Borussia Dortmund. He was also first American to win Champions League (with Dortmund). Other clubs include Sporting Lisbon, Crystal Palace, Birmingham City, LA Galaxy, San Jose Earthquakes, and Colorado Rapids.

Ian Joy (16 U-20 caps) was born in San Diego to British parents before moving to Scotland aged 3. He joined United's academy at 13 and stayed for two years before moving to Tranmere's academy. As a professional he has played for 9 clubs, including St Pauli, Kidderminster, Columbus Crew, and Hamburg. Currently captain of Portland Timbers, a second division side in the US due to join MLS next season.

Paul Rachubka (uncapped) from San Luis Obispo, California, joined United as a trainee in 1997. In 2000, he signed professional forms with the club and made 2 first team appearances over the next 2 years in between loans at Royal Antwerp and Oldham. Paul was sold to Charlton in 2002 and in all has turned out for 11 clubs in the football league, most notably at Huddersfield Town and Blackpool. Played 20 games for Blackpool in their promotion winning side last season and could see time in the Premiership in the coming season.

John Thorrington (4/0) from Johannesburg, South Africa, joined United's academy as a 17 year old in 1997. He stayed for only two years, gaining American citizenship in his last year at the club before moving to Bayer Leverkusen. His only significant playing time in Europe came at Huddersfield Town, where he made almost 70 appearances, scoring 7 goals. Has represented USA at all youth levels and the senior team.

Jemal Johnson (uncapped) from Paterson, New Jersey played for United's academy circa 2001 before moving to Blackburn. He's seen time in the first team at Blackburn, Wolves, and MK Dons as well as spent time on loan at Leeds, Darlington, Preston and Stockport County.

Jonathan Spector (26/0) from Arlington Heights, Illinois joined United's academy in 2003. He turned out for United 8 times in total, including 2 appearances in Europe. After a loan spell at Charlton, Jonathan was sold to West Ham, where he's made 25+ appearances in 3 of the last 4 seasons. Played a key role in the US's runner-up finish at the 2009 Confederations Cup and was a member of the 2010 World Cup squad.

Kenny Cooper (10/4) from Baltimore, Maryland also joined United in 2003 after his father, a former teammate of United scout Jimmy Ryan recommended him. After a bizarre loan spell at Academia Coimbra in Portugal, Kenny scored his only goals in English football while on loan at Oldham the next season. In 2006, he returned to the US to play for FC Dallas, where he stayed for 3 years before returning to Europe with 1860 Munich. He was loaned to Plymouth Argyle in the Championship last season.

Tim Howard (56/0), from North Brunswick, New Jersey is easily the most recognizable American to play for United. He made 77 appearances for the club between 2003-2006 and won both a Community Shield and an FA Cup (2004) as United's first choice keeper. Since going on loan and eventually being sold to Everton, Howard has become the US's first choice keeper and earned international acclaim for his performances on the world stage.

Giuseppe Rossi (15/3 for Italy), from Teaneck, New Jersey, joined United in 2004 from Italian club Parma. Born and raised in America, Giuseppe makes his home in New Jersey, where his family still lives. Although he only lived in Italy for a few years as a teenager, Giuseppe qualified for an Italian passport through his parents and represented Italy as a result. He scored 4 goals for United's first team in 14 appearances. Following loan spells at Parma and Newcastle, Rossi was sold to Villarreal, where he's scored 45 goals in 122 appearances.

Also from North America: Jimmy Nicholl was born in Hamilton, Ontario. Owen Hargreaves was born in Calgary, Alberta.
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Mr. MUJAC

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forevrared said:
Here's a post I did in the newbs last summer, detailing all the Americans who were at one time on United's books. With a couple exceptions (Brown, Howard), they were all trainees at some point. It was more directed at finding all the Americans who'd represented United, but figured it would fit here. The numbers in parenthesis are their caps and goals for the US unless otherwise noted (Rossi). Everything is up to date through last August I believe.
Click to expand...
If Jim Brown was born a Scot then he is hardly an American regardless of naturalisation so strange he is on the list.

Another who falls into that category is Eddie McIlvenny.
 

forevrared

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I went into a bit more detail in the original post, saying I was including both players born here and representing other nations (Rossi) and foreign-born American internationals (Brown, Thorrington). The original idea was just to find anyone who'd represented United with direct ties to America - be it having been born here or moved here and played for the US national team. I'm not trying to claim the US has produced them or anything, just putting together a list for my own interest.

Cheers for McIlvenny, I knew the name but never knew he was born in England or played for United.
 

SecondFig

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This seems the best place for this; Richard Eckersley (sold to Burnley last year) is now on loan with Toronto and apparently enjoying it so far:

From the excellent Les Rosbifs blog

Burnley loanee enjoying Toronto

Defender Richard Eckersley (Burnley, loan) had a busy week as his Toronto FC secured two big results.
Eckersley played the full 90 minutes in both matches, the first a 1-0 win Wednesday over North American Soccer League side FC Edmonton to win their Nutrilite Canadian Championship semifinal, 4-0 on aggregate. Toronto next face fellow MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps in a two-leg final, to determine which club will represent Canada in this year’s CONCACAF Champions League. The first leg will be in Vancouver on 18 May, with the return leg on 25 May.

Eckersley also went the distance in Toronto’s 2-1 win over Houston on Saturday. That result snapped a 6-match winless run in league play for the Reds. Eckersley also had a chance to meet the Toronto media and supporters, speaking by phone to Sportsnet Radio 590′s “The Soccer Show” on Thursday. In the 10-minute interview, Eckersley told the hosts that he felt MLS is a more physical league, “if not the same,” as the Championship. He also praised Toronto’s “very professional setup,” saying many English clubs don’t have facilities as good as he has seen in Toronto. Eckersley’s interview can be heard by clicking here.
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