A BRIEF REVIEW OF 2007 / 08 
 At some clubs the sole measure of success is how many trophies have been won at the end of the season. That has never been our objective. While we prepare all our sides with a view of winning every match we play, our main goal is to create an environment where through good coaching and competitive matches, the best young footballing talent in the City is given the chance to develop their skills. 

 Against this measure 2007 / 08 has been a great success. No fewer than four young players made their debuts in the British Gas Business Southern Football League this season, something we are very proud of. One of the lads became the youngest ever player to represent the First Team in the clubs 125 year history. This year our players have attracted interest from Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Bristol City, Cheltenham Town and West Bromwich Albion.

Our Under 18 side had a very successful season making their way from the very first preliminary round to the First Round proper of the F A Youth Cup sponsored by e-on. This is a great achievement for the club and it took a Swansea City side including several Welsh Internationals to put us out of the competition. We also reached the final of the Gloucestershire Football Association Under 18 Shield, the premier cup competition in the County. We lost in the final to Filton Academy, a team with very close links to Bristol Rovers. This was our third final in four seasons; again a great achievement.

Our junior sides compete in the Midland Junior Premier League which is fast becoming the top youth league throughout the whole of the Midlands attracting teams from as far afield as Grantham and Newport next season. The standards of football are very high and so while we were disappointed that our Under 15 and Under 16 squads did not reach their cup finals, to have made the semi finals was a great achievement in itself. All of our sides finished in the top parts of their respective leagues, playing against top class opposition. Pride of place goes to our Under 12 squad who finished in second place.

While all these performances are very pleasing, above all the way that all of our young players have improved throughout the season has been very encouraging and we are hopeful that the young Tigers will again give a good account of themselves next season.

We firmly believe that there is more to youth football than just playing matches. We hope that in their time with us our players will learn a lot about team work, decision making, dealing with pressure situations and many other lessons which, if learnt well, will stand them in good stead wherever their future takes them. Above all we want them to have fun, to enjoy the company of their team mates and to look forward to the next training session and the next match. If the comradeship I have seen amongst both players and parents alike is any judge, we have had a good season on this score as well. 

David Miller (Youth Development Co-ordinator)