Huddersfield Town's unused XI after summer transfer spree sets highest expectations

You could make a strong side out of the players who didn't even feature in Tuesday evening's 6-2 win over Newcastle United U21s in the Vertu Trophy

Men 6-2 Boys.

This was no game to judge anyone in a Town shirt, really. While the experience may serve the Newcastle players well, it’s hard to argue with fans who feel their presence diminishes the competition.

As someone put it in the press room at half-time, Town’s third goal felt like when you’re playing your little brother on FIFA: they get a fluky goal, so you go and score straight from kick-off just because you can.

That’s no disrespect to Newcastle. These kinds of score-lines are not unheard of in this competition. Last season Crewe beat Liverpool’s kids 5-1. Morecambe beat Nottingham Forest 4-2. Lincoln beat Manchester City 5-0. Huddersfield beat Manchester United 4-1. Wycombe beat Brighton 5-3. Barrow, Colchester and Northampton beat Aston Villa, Arsenal and Leicester respectively 3-0. Birmingham walloped Fulham 7-1.

Villa U21s were the only side to make it out of the group stage, and they lost in the round of 32. That makes it difficult to draw meaningful conclusions from these games, even more than the other group stage fixtures.

We could talk about how Leo Castledine stood out against players roughly his own age, but the truth is the cream of Premier League academies feature only sparsely. The very best are already playing men’s football themselves, whether at their own clubs or out on loan. There’s a reason Castledine, Josh Feeney and Will Alves are playing in the Trophy for Town, and not for the under-21s sides at Chelsea, Aston Villa and Leicester.

So, what we want to talk is Lee Grant’s teamsheet.