Meanwood showed their complete dominance of the youth league season after season and won an incredible five league titles. A record not matched previously or since. During this incredible reign Meanwood lost very few matches. KFC were the only team that mounted any possible challenge to Meanwood but lost every single time they faced them and had to keep settling for the runners up spot. Meanwood were consistently better than everybody else as they consistently beat team after team with ease. However, Meanwood's reign came to an end when Anthony Mckieth, James Milner, Johnny Milner and Sam Sawiuk had other commitments and couldn't play. This left Bissitt on his own for a lot of weeks. Gafa later singed on loan but this still left Meanwood without enough players for most weeks. However even with a very incomplete squad, Meanwood still managed to finish second and only lost the title on goal difference. Meanwood finally realised that the Youth League was posing no challenge and entered the Mens League.
Christmas Cracker Tournament
Meanwood dominated this tournament from start to finish. They breezed past most opposition, which included an unpredictable Pool's Wonders team, a stubborn Horsforth team and an up and coming Real Smeaton team amongst many others. A highlight of the tournament came when Sam Sawiuk got sent off against Horsforth and started fighting with Horsforth's substitutes. However, even with Sam missing due to suspension for some games, Meanwood were still far too strong and won the tournament convincingly.
Goals Youth Cups
Meanwood were always a threat in Goals' Under 18 youth cups. "They were the team that everyone wanted to avoid playing", states former Pool's Wonders star Chris Tetley. They always made the final and either won or finished runners up. No other youth team has appeared in the final as many times as Meanwood has. The main reason for this success is due to their determination as they always managed to succeed no matter how hard the challenge was. Another reason could be their ability to play a fast attackive style of play that all cups are played under. Each match usually less than 10 minutes long and one mistake could cost you the whole tournament, which is why Meanwood's concentration is so high during them. Players such as Richard Bissitt seem to strive under pressure and always provide the goods. For any team it is an achievement to win a cup but to keep making the final again and again it is some achievement. This is yet more evidence of Meanwood's total dominance.
Youth Point Cups
For some strange reason Gafa loves these tournaments...maybe it's because he scores lots of Goals in them. Gafa made his official Meanwood debut during Meanwood's first youth point tournament and dominated it with style, scoring 7 goals in the first two eight minute matches, which helped Meanwood progress into the semi-finals… Unfortunatley, the first Youth Point competition ended in disaster for Meanwood as they lost 1-0 to City Boys in the semi-final leaving Gafa heart-broken.
However Meanwood would get a second chance. For this tournament, Meanwood needed a manager and Stuart Turpin seemed like the best possible option. After defeat first time round, Gafa was now a man on a mission and when Meanwood needed him most, Gafa provided the goods and scored crucial goals with seconds to spare. Gafa wasn't the only Meanwood player who was determined to get some silverware, Anthony Mckieth and James Milner produced to goods, Woody proved a sturdy barrier in net and Sam Sawiuk rallied the troops on. Meanwood beat YP Seniors in the semi-final with a last gasp goal from Gafa and progressed to the final where they were unfortunate losers to Holbeck. They had run out of steam and fallen at the last hurdle. This was partly due to having no substitutes available. However, it was still a good achievement from a side that was struggling with injuries to key players such as Richard Bissitt.
