The January transfer window has opened and it looks likely to be a quiet one …

James Bishop, although no longer on the loan list, is still expected to leave the club, possibly on a permanent deal, however with the players contract expiring at the end of the campaign any potential suitors may wait until the summer transfer window. In a final attempt to offload the youngster, Chelsea made Bishop available for transfer at the reasonable price of £825,000.

Owen Edwards, having only signed for Q.P.R at the beginning of the season, is to stay put and help the club avoid relegation.

Will Luck’s short term future was somewhat clouded due to injury, once again. Blackburn had to decide whether to gamble on the player returning to fitness soon however, with his loan deal coming to an end at the beginning of January, or instead allow him to return to United. Eventually it was agreed that Luck should return to Old Trafford. Manchester United have once again made him available for loan so the young forward may once again head out on loan however due to his injuries it may be unlikely for him to find another club. Eventually, Luck ended up staying at Manchester United.

Alistair Paterson, who has been dubbed “the new Glen Hoddle” will continue to fight for a regular place in the Birmingham first eleven for the remainder of the season.

Phil Taylor is now considered an important member of the first team at Arsenal and looks set to remain for a long time to come.

The season has reached it’s half way point. Will James Bishop have managed to force his way into the Chelsea set up? Will Owen Edwards and Alistair Paterson settle in well at their new clubs and will Phil Taylor continue impressing for Arsenal and England?

James Bishop has, as expected, failed to feature at all this season. His squad status has been set as “not needed by the club” and it looks like his Chelsea career may be coming to an end. Chelsea are currently having a poor season and find themselves languishing in 8th place, eight points off the Champions League places.

Owen Edwards has bedded in succesfully at Q.P.R, making 22 appearances so far this season, contributing seven assists and picking up three man of the match awards. His form was so impressive in the early stages of the season that he picked up the Coca-Cola Championship Young Player of the Month for September. Unfortunately, Edwards has also started to develop a nasty side to his game, and has already picked up seven yellow cards, and one red, so far this season. Q.P.R are struggling this season and find themselves embroiled in a relegation dogfight. They currently sit in 21st place only two points of Norwich in 22nd.

Will Luck has featured primarily as a left winger for Blackburn, the first time he has been played as anything other than a striker, and has so far made 16 appearances, scoring once and setting up three. Unfortunately, Luck has once again been hit by injuries and has been ruled out for the better part of two months with a hip injury. It is, however, expected that Blackburn will renew his loan deal until the end of the season. Blackburn are currently on course to finish in the play off places, sitting 5th, seven points off of Sheffield United in 2nd. Manchester United are currently topping the Premier League

Alistair Paterson has been something of a disappointment so far for Birmingham and has only made 6 appearances and setting up one goal. Birmingham are currently fighting for their survival and sit in 18th, one point behind Burnley in 17th. Paterson started in both legs of the Euro U21 Qualifier Playoff as England drew 2-2 on aggregate, reaching the tournament via the away goals rule.

Phil Taylor is, once again, playing regularly for Arsenal as a left midfielder. He hasn’t quite hit the same heights as last season but still managed to make 13 appearances, scoring once and setting up two before being ruled out for a month with a broken jaw. Taylor will be absolutely distraught as he is likely to miss out on the third round FA Cup tie against his beloved Bradford. There are, however, rumorus, that he may in fact play through his injury. Arsenal are having a far better season under van Gaal and sit in third place. The are, however, ten points of Manchester United who top the table. Taylor has also continued to confirm his position as an England regular and has now made 15 appearances for his country, scoring an impressive five goals in the process.

With the new season kicking off it is once again time to check on how the graduates are shaping up.

James Bishop turned down the opportunity to go out on loan this season. It is now likely that he will instead move out on loan in January.

Owen Edwards finally moved away from Forest, making the step back up to the Championship with QPR.

Will Luck will be hoping to help Blackburn in their push to return to the Premier League at the first attempt. It’s likely that he’ll be played as a left winger rather than a central striker.

Alistair Paterson became the most expensive graduate so far with his £5.25million move to Birmingham.

Phil Taylor will be looking to press on with the progress he has shown for both Arsenal and England so far.

A busy transfer window saw two of the graduates earn moves to new clubs, with another once more heading out on loan.

James Bishop was once again named in the Sheffield Wednesday Seasonal Best Eleven. He also remained on the loan list with Hartlepool considered a possible destination, however no bids were forthcoming and Bishop will spend the first hald of the season warming the bench at Stamford Bridge.

Owen Edwards was named in the Nottingham Forest Seasonal Best Eleven. Although still considered an instrumental member of the first team, Ipswich were known to be monitoring his situation, with Coventry and Leeds also believed to be interested in the young full backs services. As the summer progressed, more clubs joined the chase, with £1.2million bids lodged by Swansea, Watford, Leicester, Leeds and Q.P.R, all offering him Championship football once more. Eventually Edwards opted for Q.P.R, in turn becoming the last academy graduate to leave his original club.

Will Luck was named in the Coventry Seasonal Best Eleven. He has once again made available for loan and Blackburn quickly snapped him up. He will now spend next five months at Ewood Park helping Blackburn bounce back to the Premier League at the first attempt.

Alistair Paterson looked set to stay at Sheffield United for another season until the Blades received a massive £5.25million from Birmingham offer for the attacking midfielders services. The offer was accepted and Paterson swiftly agreed terms, securing himself a return to the Premier League.

Phil Taylor was named in the Arsenal Seasonal Best Eleven. He was also fortunate enough to earn a place in the England World Cup Squad and played in two of their group games. He was left out of the side that was defeated 3-1 by Russia in the second round.

The 2013/14 season has drawn to a close. Will Taylor continue to impress for Arsenal, will Edwards put himself in the shop window and will Luck recover from his recurring thigh injury in time to play a role towards the end of the season

James Bishop made a total of 29 league appearances, setting up two goals and claiming two man of the match awards before returning to Chelsea. Unfortunately his presence was not enough to ensure Sheffield Wednesday survived in the Championship and they finished the season bottom of the table, 19 points adrift of 23rd placed Plymouth. Chelsea managed to claim the last Champions League spot, finishing 17 points off league champions Manchester City. James Bishop looks set to remain on the loan list, suggesting he will once again be farmed out next season. Bishop made an appearance in the England U21 win over Kazakhstan.

Owen Edwards made a total of 38 league appearances, scoring once, setting up ten and claiming one man of the match award. His performances saw him named in the Coca-Cola League 1 Team of the Week on four separate occasions. Nottingham Forest finished the season in a disappointing 9th place meaning they face another season of League One football. Edwards will be hoping to move on this summer and is currently wanted by both Bristol City and Swansea. A move may be easier to come by this time around too, as a season in the lower leagues has seen his price plummet and it is now expected that Nottingham Forest could ask for as little as £140k for their young left back.

Will Luck recovered from his injury at the beginning of April. Unfortunately, this meant there was very little chance of him regaining any sort of match fitness before the season ended. Currently there are very few clues as to what Luck’s future may hold. Manchester United finished the season in a disappointing 5th place and face the ignominy of participating in the Europa League next term. Coventry finished the season in 14th place, 7 points clear of the drop and 20 off of the play off places.

Alistair Paterson made 31 appearances for Sheffield United this season, scoring once and setting up four. Sheffield United, who were hoping to bounce straight back to the Premier League, finished the season in a disappointing 8th place. It is currently understood that Paterson is not seeking a way out of the club, he’s on a rather healthy £26,000 per week, but may consider moves elsewhere.

Phil Taylor was a revelation in his first full season for Arsenal, making 29 appearances, scoring three, setting up a further six and claiming one man of the match award. His performances were so impressive that he was named in the English Premier League Team of the Week on four different occasions. Despite Taylor’s impressive form, Arsenal, under new manager Aguirre, were awful and he was replaced by Louis van Gaal at the end of February. Van Gaal had limited time to mould the team and they only manage to finish in 9th place meaning they will miss out on European football entirely next season. Taylor also added to his England appearances as he played in a 2-0 friendly win over Norway and he will be hoping to be named in Stuart Pearce’s World Cup squad.

It looked set to be another quiet transfer window with the closest thing to a transfer being Will Luck’s likely return to parent club Manchester United to recover from his injury.

James Bishop was expected to renew his loan deal at Sheffield Wednesday for a further 3 months. Eventually a new deal was negotiated and Bishop will now remain at Hillsborough until the end of April.

Owen Edwards is set to see out the season at Nottingham Forest as he struggled to attract any interest from bigger clubs. There later seemed to be some hope of a transfer to Southampton, however no firm offer was lodged.

Will Luck was always likely to return to Manchester United when his current deal expired as Coventry saw little point in renewing his loan considering his injury problems. Unsurprisingly, come the 21st of January, the worst kept secret of the transfer window was announced publicly and Luck returned to Old Trafford to complete his rehabilitation. There is some hope that he could be available once more towards the tail end of the season.

Alistair Paterson is to remain a Blades player. He’ll be hoping to put in some good performances to put himself in the shop window for the summer.

Phil Taylor was never likely to move on from the Emirates, with both the player and club very happy with each other.

I realised, having advanced the game until December, that I’d completely forgotten about screenshots so they’ll be included in this post. On other news, we have graduates plying their trade in the Premier League, Championship and League One. Time to check on their progress.

James Bishop made 15 league appearances for Sheffield Wednesday, setting up one goal and earning two man of the match awards. Despite this, Sheffield Wednesday have struggled so far and find themselves down in 19th place in the Championship and are currently 5 points clear of the drop. Bishop has also played in all four of England U21’s qualifying games this season of which they have won all four.

Owen Edwards has so far played in 21 of Nottingham Forest’s 23 games this term and has set up two goals. Nottingham Forest have really struggled this term and rather than fighting for an instant return to the Championship they find themselves battling it out at the foot of the table and currently sit in 20th place, 1 point outside of the relegation zone.

Will Luck has made 20 appearances for Coventry, scoring six goals and setting up one. However he has suffered from a recurrence of his injury from last term and will once again spend the next four months out with a torn calf muscle, making it unlikely that his loan deal will be renewed. Coventry are sitting 13th in the Championship, 10 points off the play offs and 10 points clear of the drop.

Alistair Paterson has made 13 appearances so far this season, setting up one goal in the process. Sheffield United have struggled upon their return to the Championship and their hopes of bouncing straight back to the Premier League have been dealt a severe blow due to their rather inept start to the season as they failed to win 12 of their opening 15 games. They have managed to recover to 15th position and find themselves 8 points clear of the drop and 12 behind Leeds in 6th place.

Phil Taylor has begun to cement himself as a Premier League quality player, having made 13 league appearances, scoring once and setting up three goals so far this term. He has primarily been deployed as an attacking left winger by new Arsenal coach Javier Aguirre. His breakthrough season has also seen him garner 6 England caps, having made appearances for the World Champions in qualifying victories over San Marino, Czech Republic, Israel and Montenegro as well as in friendly victories over Argentina and Tunisia. Taylor made the right appearance on his debut, scoring England’s second in a 4-1 victory. He also scored in the 2-1 victory over Tunisia. Arsenal, however, have struggled, and currently sit in 10th in the Premier League. They are, however, only 6 points of the Champions League places but have played two more games than 4th placed Aston Villa.

The summer transfer window has swung open. With both Wenger and Ferguson leaving their posts, could their be upheavals in store for Taylor and Luck? Will Paterson manage to find another Premier League club and will Edwards finally leave Forest?

James Bishop was named in Sheffield Wednesday Seasonal Best Eleven, and on his return to Chelsea was once again listed for loan. A return to Wednesday was touted, however it was rumoured that they were to face competition from Reading. On the last day of the transfer window, Bishop decided upon another spell at Sheffield Wednesday meaning he will spend the next four months in the Championship.

Owen Edwards was named In Nottingham Forest Seasonal Best Eleven and was also voted the 2012/13 Supporters Player of the Year. Upon relegation to League One he was swiftly labelled an indispensable member of the team and all offers were rebuffed.

Will Luck was named in Preston Seasonal Best Eleven. Upon his return to Old Trafford he was removed from loan list. Despite this, a loan offer from Coventry tempted United into parting with the player until January and the young Welshman moved to the Ricoh Arena.

Alistair Paterson was initially transfer listed with Wolves considered the most likely destination. However, Paterson was later removed from the transfer list as Sheffield United managed to off load 9 players for a combined £4.2million. Paterson also played in England’s Euro U21 Qualifying defeat to Croatia.

Phil Taylor was unsurprisingly named in the Blackburn Seasonal Best Eleven. He was swiftly removed from loan list at the Emirates and it has now been suggested that he will become a regular member of the first team squad. Taylor also played in England’s Euro U21 Qualifying victory over Poland as well as in the defeats to Croatia and Italy. He has also become the first Academy player to be called up for the full England squad, being named by Stuart Pearce for the friendlies against San Marino and the Czech Republic.

The 2012/13 season has come to an end with all the graduates expecting regular first team football at their respective clubs. Let’s take a look at how they got on.

James Bishop made 14 appearances for Sheffield Wednesday, setting up one goal and claiming one man of the match award before returning to Chelsea. His form also saw him named in the Coca-Cola Championship Team of the Week on one occasion as well as claiming the Coca-Cola Championship Young Player of the Month award in February. Bishop also played one game for Chelsea after returning, coming on as a substitute in a 1-0 home defeat against Manchester City. Chelsea finished the season in second place, ten points behind champions Manchester City. Sheffield Wednesday just managed to survive in the Championship, finishing one point ahead of 22nd placed Doncaster. Bishop has remained on the loan list with the club hoping to farm him out once more.

Owen Edwards ended the season with 32 appearances to his name, his highest total so far. Edwards also managed to score twice, set up six, claiming three man of the match awards and being named in the Coca-Cola Championship Team of the Week on one occasion. Despite this, Forest finished the season in 23rd place, meaning the will be playing League One football next term. It is assumed that Edwards will be hoping to leave the club in the near future however, despite his good season, it is unlikely that a Premier League club will move for him.

Will Luck failed to reach the same heights after recovering from his injury in February and ended the season with 22 appearances to his name, contributing eight goals and two assists in the process. He didn’t help endear himself to the fans at Deepdale either, getting sent off for the first time in his career against former club Cardiff in an away draw. Manchester United finished the season in third place, a full 12 points behind their noisy neighbours. Preston finished 12th, 11 points clear of the drop and 12 away from the play off places. Luck has remained on the loan list with the club hoping to farm him out once more.

Alistair Paterson made 17 appearances for Sheffield United this term but failed to score or set up a single goal. The blades were once more unsuccessful in their attempts to retain their Premier League place, finishing the season in 19th place, finished 6 points behind 17th placed Everton. Paterson, along with the majority of the Sheffield United squad, has been placed on the transfer list as the club look to reduce their wage bill, with a price tag of £4.4million slapped on him.

Phil Taylor was a huge success at Ewood Park, making 42 appearances, scoring ten goals and setting up a further eight, earning him one man of the match award in the process. This impressive form helped Blackburn to a second placed finish in the Championship, ensuring a swift return to the Premier League. Arsenal secured fourth place, losing out to United on goal difference. Taylor is once more likely to head out on loan next season with the Gunners keen for him to continue adding to his match experience.

The FMSB Academy returns! With two players already out on loan at Championship clubs it remains to be seen whether Bishop will join them once more …

James Bishop, having struggled for first team football at Chelsea, had remained on the loan list. Sheffield Wednesday were the first and only team to show an interest, with Bishop agreeing to a loan for the remainder of the season.

Owen Edwards has just signed a new improved contract (he’s know earning £5,250 per week) and therefore looks set to stay with Forest for the time being. Although continuity at this early stage in his career is in many respects a good thing, he’ll be hoping to push on in the near future to establish himself as a Premier League player.

The future of Will Luck, currently on loan at Preston, looked in doubt due to his injury. With his current deal set to expire towards the end of the month the Deepdale club were pondering renewing the deal despite the fact that Luck was set to remain out for another month. Eventually it was decided by the management that, due to Luck’s good form earlier in the season, it was worth gambling on his fitness and his loan deal was renewed until the end of the season.

Alistair Paterson is still seen as an instrumental member of the Sheffield United team and there was never any chance that he would be sold in the January transfer window, especially with Sheffield United looking capable of avoiding the drop this time around.

Phil Taylor’s loan spell at Blackburn has been such a resounding success so far that there was little doubt that they would try their hardest to renew it. Eventually, Blackburn convinced Arsenal that it was in Taylor’s best interests to remain at Ewood Park for the time being and he will now spend the remainder of the season helping Blackburn in the quest to return to the Premier League.