Four games. Four wins. Top of the Group 1 table with a perfect record, and the football world was losing its collective mind. The media storm that had begun after our FA Youth Cup triumph at Wembley had now evolved into a full-blown hurricane.
Every major outlet, from The Guardian to Sky Sports, was running features on us. "The Best Youth Team in a Generation," screamed one headline.
"Walsh's Wonders: The Future of English Football," proclaimed another. Pundits who had never given youth football a second thought were now dissecting our tactics, analyzing our players, predicting which Premier League clubs would come calling in the summer. It was intoxicating. It was terrifying. And it was exactly what I had planned.
Group 1 the second league table told a simple, beautiful story. Crystal Palace U18s sat at the top with twelve points from four games, three points clear of Manchester City in second.
