A few weeks ago I was unfortunately given the news that all apprentices dread come the end of the two year scholarship. In a meeting with Gary Issott and Dougie Freedman I was told I would not be offered a professional contract at Crystal Palace.

It’s been a few weeks since I have last blogged and in that time there have been some memorable performances and some not. After we knocked out Cardiff in round three of the FA Youth Cup, we received a mouth watering tie away at Liverpool. The excitement and the buzz amongst the boys was electric in the build up to the game.

FA Youth Cup: Liverpool v Crystal Palace

The FA Youth Cup is the pinnacle for most young players in the country. We were looking forward to it for some time and couldn’t have gone into the game much better after beating Arsenal 4-1.

Its coming to a really crucial stage in the season now and the next few results will have a big say in the direction our season goes. Last season the results around Christmas time were really positive and had a good impact on the rest of our season; we won our FA Youth Cup game and went in to the Christmas break on a high.

Academy Match: Crystal Palace v Portsmouth

Unfortunately we couldn’t make it 5 wins out of 5 when we entertained Pompey at home two weeks ago.

Since my last blog things have been going really well for us and we have done really well to keep up our winning streak. There is no better feeling than winning and the confidence and belief it brings to the squad is huge.

The season seems to be flying by at the moment, with games coming thick and fast. It’s great to be playing regularly, and hopefully it can stay this way.

In the space of a week, the feelings after our first two league games couldn’t be more different. After a fantastic win away to Leeds in our first game, we let ourselves down at home to Barnsley on Saturday.

Welcome back to my first blog of the 2010-2011 season.

No footballers enjoy pre-season and I am no different! It’s a test both physically and mentally, as you have to be tough enough to push yourself and get as fit as possible.

Well we have come to the end of another season and just like the first team, my season has been very up and down.

To say I was a bit surprised at playing in the Reserve game against Crawley last week is a bit of an understatement. We report in for training at 8.45am every day, and we came in no different on Thursday.

This week in training we have been lucky enough to work with Assistant Manager Dougie Freedman and former Palace defender Tony Popovic, as they are both currently doing their coaching badges.

It has been a while since I have written a blog and being honest it’s because I have been bitterly disappointed about a few things concerning me and my career. A small break from the blogs has done me good and I am looking forward to writing more for the remainder of the season.

On Saturday we continued our excellent form with another win, this time away to Portsmouth. We should have beaten them earlier in the season at home so we were desperate to get one over them this time.

Last week turned out to be somewhat of an anti-climax with our Youth cup game away to Hull being called off. We had prepared really well and everything was put in place for us to go and get a positive result.

There is no getting away from what was announced at the Club last week. My phone didn’t stop all Tuesday night as friends and family tried to find out what was going on and to check if the administration would be affecting me.

Unfortunately our league game away to Norwich City on the weekend got called off again due to a frozen pitch. On the Thursday afternoon they told us that the game was 90% likely to go ahead, so to find out on Friday morning that the game was off was very disappointing. It seems like we haven’t had a proper competitive match in a long time and with our youth cup game just around the corner, it’s not ideal preparation.

After finding out our league game against Southampton at home was called off Gary Issott managed to arrange another game for us instead against Leyton Orient on Saturday morning.

Firstly I wish you all a happy new year and hope that you all had a good Christmas. I hope 2010 is good for you all.

It’s been another very quiet week at the training ground as we had no game on Saturday and had nothing to train towards. We started the week on Monday down at the Dome with Antonio Falanga taking us for a really good session.

Last week we beat Bristol City 3-2 in the FA Youth Cup which was important for us. It was a great experience for us to play at Selhurst, and one that was made much more enjoyable because of the result.

Firstly I can update you on the leg injury I sustained against Kingstonian last week. I am pleased to report that it cleared up pretty quickly, and hasn’t stopped me from doing too much.

The reason for this week’s blog being late is because there has been a lot going on recently, and finding time to sit down and type this out has been difficult.

I’ve had to revise for my driving theory test, there’s been a lot of college work to get done and I played in the Surrey Senior Cup on Monday in which we beat Kingstonian FC 3 – 2.

Last week in a friendly game we beat FK Tolyatti from Russia 4-0. It was by far our best friendly performance of the season, against a hard working and intelligent Tolyatti team.

During the international breaks the training ground is always a bit eerie and quiet. The first team have had a few days off, so it has only been the youth team in. It’s strange around the place but it does make it easier for us apprentices.