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All is not well at the Manchester United Academy.

On Saturday lunchtime they lost their 12th league game in a row - their worst run of form since the side was established way back in 1932.

Stoke were the latest club to see off what has historically been one of English football's best youth sides, with a 1-0 win in the Under-18 Premier League. Earlier this week they lost 2-0 to their cross-town rivals Manchester City.

This latest defeat leaves them bottom of the North Division of the Under-18s Premier League with their last win coming in September when they won 2-1 at Middlesbrough.

As well as the dire sequence of results in the league, Paul McGuinness' side were sent packing 5-1 by Chelsea at home in the FA Youth Cup earlier this month in front of Louis van Gaal , Ryan Giggs, David Gill and Sir Bobby Charlton.

Van Gaal hasn't been shy in turning to Academy players this season, with Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, Andreas Pereira and Sean Goss all making at least the bench for the first-team during the current campaign.

In fact, last night's 3-1 win over Derby County was the 3,779th consecutive first-team with at least one youth team player in the matchday squad - a streak which goes back to October 1937, which is one of the most impressive statistics in English football.

But what does the youth team's current decline mean for the future prospects? Will there ever be another Class of 92? And will that streak be ending soon?

What's going wrong?

It was the 5-1 loss to Chelsea in the FA Youth Cup was the one result that really got alarm bells ringing at Carrington, but the reasons behind the under-18's current slump are not necessarily clear cut.

(Image: Getty)

In the short-term, a lack of confidence has been growing with every defeat, creating a rather large monkey on their backs.

Paul McGuinness has a very young squad this season which also lacks depth, making it harder for their leading lights to take centre stage and strut their stuff.

What the thrashing by Chelsea did make clear was the that the investment the Blues have made in the past half-decade is beginning to create a real gap between the two old rivals.

The EPPP rules have made it easier for the big boys to snap up the country's best talent, but the money Chelsea have pumped into their Cobham Academy gives them the inside track when it comes to recruitment, as their facilities and scouting networks are now superior.

Worryingly for Manchester United, City have followed in Chelsea's footsteps and begun sinking money into their youth system and will soon begin the reap the rewards and move ahead of their local rivals.

(Image: Laurence Griffiths)

Although Chelsea and City are yet to bring through many players to the first team, the blame lies here with the first-team and managers who have been afraid to blood the youngsters.

Aside from the financial aspect, perhaps more alarming is the lack of leadership being shown at Carrington.

There has been no Academy director at the club for almost a year and it is beginning to show. Van Gaal has had his own problems this season and has taken his eye of the ball, as have the rest of the senior management, meaning that there is no current clear direction at the club.

As a result, it means that there is a lack of continuity in both the coaching and scouting, allowing the likes of Chelsea and City to surge further ahead.

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Does the losing streak matter?

The old cliché goes that youth team football is not about results, only experience.

(Image: John Peters)

There is plenty of substance in this, but in Manchester United's case, their best crops of youngsters to succeed in the first-team have generally come when the under-18s have tasted success - think of the 1992 FA Youth Cup final that Fergie's great side of the 1990s were built around.

It is therefore too narrow a perspective to believe that results simply do not matter at this level. Which means United's place in the current Under-18s table doesn't made pretty reading:

Under-18 Premier League table - Northern Division

Pos Team P W D L GD Pts 1 Manchester City 19 12 5 2 26 41 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 10 Derby 17 3 6 8 -8 15 11 Stoke 19 3 4 12 -19 13 12 Manchester United 18 3 2 14 -18 11

What are Manchester United doing about it?

Change could be on the way soon. Recent reports suggest that the club are finally looking to overhaul the complete Academy, with Nicky Butt being offered a new contract as part of a root-and-branch review.

(Image: John Peters)

It is thought that every position under Academy director Butt is under consideration and that the Red Devils are looking to bring in a director of football to oversee the process, with FA technical director Dan Ashworth's name being mooted.

In a slightly more left field move, the club are also working with Olympic medal-winning gymnast Beth Tweddle to "improve their basic movement skills." As you do.

Are they any good prospects at the moment?

It's not all doom and gloom at Carrington though, despite the under-18s' current 11-game funk.

Those at the club are excited by winger Callum Gribbin's prospects. The 17-year-old was included in the Red Devils' touring squad to America in pre-season and he has gone on to impress in the UEFA Youth League this term.

(Image: Getty)

Quick, creative and with bags to tricks, the feisty teenager has represented England at youth level and is one of the best prospects at the Carrington Academy.

Defender Timothy Fosu-Mensah was snapped up from Ajax and comes with a high pedigree, impressing both in the centre-back and central midfield positions.

(Image: Getty)

Forward Marcus Rashford has trained with the first-team squad this season and the powerful striker has a fan in Nicky Butt:

(Image: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire)

"Marcus is explosive, he’s a very talented boy but a good, hard worker as well," said the former United and England midfielder. "He’s a good lad to have in the side because he puts a shift in for the team. He’s explosive and he scores goals."