It was great to see Steve Eyre’s Under 21s claim the Professional Development League II North title.
The 3-0 win over Barnsley at Canalside means we can’t be caught, with four games of the regular season still to go, starting at Sheffield United tomorrow afternoon.
After those four games come the play-offs, and after going out in the semi-finals last season, the aim this time will be to go all the way.
Tomorrow night it’s the turn of the Under 18s to take centre stage.
Craven Cottage is the destination for the FA Youth Cup quarter-final game against Fulham.
It’s a ground that holds special memories for me as the scene of my Town debut back in 1992.
I had come through the academy, and played in the Youth Cup, but I never got as far in the competition as the current side.
The lads have already done the club proud, beating West Brom and Manchester United as well as Luton.
Two of the ties have gone to extra time, showing we possesses both character and stamina.
Fulham will be tough opponents, their excellent form in the FA Premier Academy League shows that, but what a fantastic challenge and experience it will be to go and play them.
I know Mark Lillis, Frankie Bunn and Tony Carss will have prepared the side properly.
The squad are having an overnight stay and will do things in exactly the same way as we would do for a firstteam game.
The progress made in the Youth Cup, along with our form in the Under 18 Professional Development League (we lead our division after making the play-off final last season) reflects the effort and investment which has gone into our development system, which is centred at the PPG Canalside complex, the creation of which is another another sign of the strides we are taking as a club.
Our Pedal for Pounds cyclists have raised plenty of funds for the academy as well as the Yorkshire Air Ambulance via the Keep It Up campaign.
And it won’t be long before we are heading off on the fifth ride, this time from Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium to our own ground, starting on April 23.
It’s become a fantastic annual event, admired by many other clubs, and we remain very grateful to the supporters who get involved and ride through the pain barrier to push the amount raised ever higher.
Boxing press conferences have become predictable – but the Carl Froch versus George Groves rematch at Wembley in May is hard to call.
I’m no boxing expert, but the small amount of experience I gained of training and being in the ring when we staged our fight night at the club last year brought home just how gruelling and tough a sport it really is.
The build-up began last week when the pair came face to face, and Froch gave Groves a shove (right), to promote the fight.
Froch is a formidable competitor who has been at the top for a long time, but he was given a really tough test by the younger Groves back in November, when many said he was hard done by in losing the contest.
Not many have floored the world champion, but Groves did it, and while he was stopped in round nine, it was argued that the referee acted too soon.
Froch has bags of experience, and has fought his way out of some tough situations to win title fights, but Groves has youth on his side, and the knowledge he came close to victory last time out.
Groves will also have home advantage, with Froch having been keen to stage the fight at his beloved Nottingham Forest.
The suggestion was that the City Ground wouldn’t be big enough, and tickets sales have borne that out!
