I went up for the training camp in Scotland twelve days ago and that was very enjoyable. It was a preparatory for the European Championships in Turin in May. I went up there on the Sunday night and we stayed in a posh hotel in Glasgow, and then we trained on the Monday at St Mirren’s training ground.

Youth Alliance Match: Carlisle United v Stockport County

We played Stockport County at Creighton last Saturday and it was difficult conditions for us yet again. The wind was blowing strongly but I thought we dealt with it quite well, and we played some decent stuff.

Youth Alliance Match: Carlisle United v Port Vale

Well, the weekend started rather badly for me for me this time, but it definitely got better as it went on! I started the game for the Youth team against Port Vale on the Saturday morning but I didn’t last very long.

Our next Youth game was the away trip to Macclesfield. The trip is a fairly long one but that’s nothing we’re not used to given our location and the geography involved in the Youth Alliance League.

Match: Carlisle United Reserves v Blackpool Reserves

The next game I played in is the Reserve game against Blackpool. We played that on their first team pitch and it’s always good to get the chance to play on the main surface at any club.

I’m a bit late in doing this blog as it has been a really busy period for me with plenty of ups and downs.

Youth Alliance Match: Carlisle United v Wigan Athletic

We played Wigan ten days ago and it was a disappointing 2 – 0 defeat.

Match: Tranmere Rovers Reserves v Carlisle United Reserves

The next game that I was involved in was against Tranmere in the Reserves and we had quite a young team out.

Cumberland Cup Match: Carlisle United Reserves v Whitehaven FC

The good thing about playing for the Reserves at Carlisle United is that we are involved in a County competition called the Cumberland Cup.

Match: Carlisle United Reserves v Morecambe Reserves

Our next game was a Reserve home fixture against Morecambe on the Brunton Park pitch. We started off really well but ended up losing the game by 2 – 1.

Match: Sheffield United Reserves v Carlisle United Reserves

We had another Central League Cup game to play against Sheffield United on the Wednesday, and it was a competition that we hadn’t been doing too well in.

We were allowed to go home two days before Christmas, which was good, as it gave me the chance to spend a bit of time with my family and friends.

FA Youth Cup Match: Carlisle United v Crewe Alexandra

We played Crewe in the third round of the FA Youth Cup and we were all up for it. It was reminiscent of last year and we all wanted to get through to the fourth round and get a big tie. Unfortunately we were 1 – 0 down within 20 minutes and it became very difficult. There just wasn’t a response from the lads, and we were all a bit flat.

I was quite surprised when I got the call up to travel with the first team for the Grays Athletic game, and we went down to London on the Friday. We stayed in a similar hotel to the one that we used for the Millwall match on the Tuesday. It was a decent hotel, not too far from the ground, so that wasn’t too bad.

This is my first blog so I will start by saying a bit about myself. I’m 18-years-old and come from Bolton. I was at the Blackburn Rovers Academy for a while and then got the chance to join the Youth Team as an Apprentice at Carlisle United where I’m now in my second year.