I've been fortunate to play with and against many great footballers over the years, including watching many play with and against my brother and sons. But I'll limit this to just those players who have played for City. For me, I played for a very good junior side called Hillsboro Celtic and two of my team mates were Carl Shutt and Wayne Biggins. Both later played for City but didn't really play to their full potential, so very few older Blues will remember them fondly on here. I also played against Peter Barnes in an amateur game after he retired. He was unbelievably quick and skilful, even though he was probably the oldest on the pitch at that time.
I watched my younger brother in a junior cup final when he played centre half for Reddish St Mary's v Denton Boys. His managers instruction was simple....mark Dentons centre forward out of the game and St Marys will win. My brother was a good player but Dentons centre forward had scored 3 headed goals before half time and they went on to win the game. Dentons centre forward was a lad called Paul Lake.
I've watched both my sons play for a good junior football team called Reddish Vulcans, overseen by a dedicated football manager and overall great guy called Joe Makin. The best two players I've watched my sons play with were Jacob Davenport and Phil Foden. There were a lot of similarities with these two players at junior level, apart from their obvious talent, skill and ability to very rarely lose the ball. They were both small, both very modest and both had wonderful parents who kept them grounded.
So, in my humble opinion, who was the best at junior level? Well, in order, it would have to be Davenport third, Foden second and Lake first. But to have witnessed all these three, and the others, all at junior level and all later to play for City, it has been a privilege.
