The FA Youth Cup has an illustrious roll of honour with winners in the past possessing players who have gone on to achieve great things in the game.
West Ham United U18s will aim this season to clinch their first FA Youth Cup since 1999 and right-back Jake Eggleton hopes he and his teammates can etch their name into the history books.
The 17-year-old has been with the club for eight years and is targeting big things this season, one of those being a good performance in the Cup.
“For the U18s, I think we’d like to try and win the Youth Cup this year,” said Eggleton.
“I know it’s a big ask, but in recent years we’ve not done as well as we should have done. Hopefully with the team we’ve got this year, we’ll look to try and do that.
“For my aims personally, I’d like to be a starter in the U18 side every weekend. I’d also like to train with the PL2 side and hopefully get a few starts for them.”
Eggleton has been with the Hammers since the age of nine and this has enabled him to build strong relationships with the staff at Chadwell Heath.
He is full of praise for the coaches at the Academy of Football and also says the atmosphere is equally as welcoming for new players joining the setup.
“Because I’ve been here so many years getting to know all the staff is good, because they make you feel very welcome.
“It’s a relaxed environment, and every wants you to try your best. Even if I had only been here a couple of years, I think I’d still feel the same.”
Being a full-back, you would expect the youngster to compare himself to first team players like Alvaro Arbeloa or Aaron Cresswell, but Eggleton chose a Hammers player from another position for his comparison.
He describes himself as a “hard-working right back who likes to get up and down the line a lot”.
“I think my biggest skills are defending one-v-one against an attacker and getting crosses in,” Eggleton added.
“Retention of the ball is another skill I’m good at. I have a good range of passing and my crossing on most occasions is quite good.
“I model myself as a leader on the pitch, so [I’d compare myself to] Mark Noble. I look up to him quite a lot, the way he leads the team out.”
After a strong year with the U18s last season, Eggleton aims to break into the PL2 side this campaign.
In the meantime though, his primary focus is to consistently perform well for the 18s, and he’ll hope for more feelings like the one he received after the win over Aston Villa last season.
“I think we were 2-1 down with about ten minutes to go. We played well and should have been four or 5-0 up at half-time but it just didn’t work out that way.
“But, with ten minutes to go, we came back and won the game 3-2 and that was probably my highlight of last season.”