http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...-Manchester-City-s-new-Football-Factory.html#
Some tit bits from the article
Kompany: 'The mood in this place is one that you can never stand still, never be satisfied. We have to keep going forward. We've had our difficulties, such as in the Champions League, but we want to go forward, we want more. It has all happened so quickly, it is phenomenal.
'When I came here, it was difficult to get the mix right between the great financial opportunity of playing for this club and the desire for sporting success. We had so much to prove. But after the first trophy (the 2011 FA Cup), it sets up everything else. Now we want more.'
Keown: 'I remember speaking to Yaya Toure three years ago. I didn’t think then that the club was ready to progress. It was like it was too much, too soon. But today, seeing all this and feeling the mood around the place, I feel Manchester City is ready. It is like a football factory is being created. It will help attract players and to develop your own. It’s the detail that is impressive.'
Kompany: 'We have yoga, a place to train at altitude where you can work for 30 minutes and it feels like two hours, use of the pools, brilliant chefs. We are tested for food intolerances and diets are adjusted accordingly.'
Vieira: 'And because of that, he (Kompany) can play until he is 37, 38, 40 with the medical advances here and the facilities we have. He can play three or four years longer than before.'
The facilities here are 'miles ahead' of those Vieira has experienced before. Even at Arsenal. At AC Milan. At Inter Milan. At Real Madrid, where he was shown around by Zinedine Zidane. At Clairefontaine, where France produced World Cup winners, including a 22-year-old Vieira.
Vieira explains: 'The next generation of players come in through the same entrance (as the first team), but then they turn left. The first team players turn right. They can watch them train, they can see it, they can smell it and they can see they need to have it.
Will this luxury help to deliver hungry street-warriors, or will they be too pampered? 'No, not too pampered. It will send out a message “you can achieve” to anyone who is talented enough to be here,' Vieira urges. Among those training currently are at least four juniors with significant Manchester United connections. The air might be turning blue in this city in more ways than one; the neighbours are more than noisy.
Keown is focusing again on the circular shape of the dressing room, facing Sergio Aguero’s locker. 'I can see there is no place for cliques, no hiding in corners.'
'It is designed like this so there is nowhere to hide,' says Vieira. The younger players have a dressing room that is the same shape, but smaller.
After leaving Vincent’s company, Vieira speaks firmly. 'That man should never be allowed to leave this club. He is mature, smart, the captain, yes. He has been a leader since he was young, you can see that. But he is more than that; he has to remain part of our future.
'What we are trying to do is build more than a team. We are building a football club. You need role models, people who are aspirational. Vincent is one man, Pablo Zabaleta is another. It’s not the way of English football to continue to use ex-players in this role, as it is in Germany. They should. It will happen here.'
It feels odd to see Vieira in such a significant role at City. Why is he not at Arsenal, where he played for nine years? It was Brian Marwood, football administrator and another ex-Arsenal player, who had the foresight to ensure it was City’s gain.
'I am at home here. I am working with Brian, who has been like a mentor to me. When I retired, he offered me a path and a future. There is nothing I would not do for City and, whatever I do next, it will only be with the blessing of this club.'
The junior players call him 'Patrick', not 'boss', but he explains: 'There is only one boss at this club and that is Manuel Pellegrini. I’m happy with “Patrick”. The young players show me respect… that is all that matters.'
He has decided he wants to be a manager, one day – 'I am 200 per cent sure,' he says. He is also aware that a black manager being successful would be significant. 'I would be naive if I didn’t recognise that, but I will only leave here if it is the right choice. It is important that I succeed; I want to be a great manager.' Like everything else at City, he seems to be on a journey.
The train journey back to London. Keown is summing up his day at Manchester City.
'That was no bulls*** show, was it? That club has a deeper vision, they are on a journey and they are creating pathways to the first team.
'The challenge now is to get young players – hopefully, young English players – through their system and playing for Manchester City in the Premier League.
'They know it is not about a building - it is what that leads to - but I like what they have done. The round dressing rooms… just like King Arthur and his knights; everyone is equal.
'They have built in the heart of Manchester, too, and they are creating a heart and an infrastructure.
'We heard the story today of the cleaner whose son used to pick up syringes on that ground where they have built. She said, “It has taken a man from the desert” to regenerate the region.
What is there not to be impressed with? I went to watch their Under 21s play against Reading and the entire first team turned up to watch. That doesn’t happen at other clubs. It told me they are all together.
'When you have players, leaders, like Vincent Kompany, that helps. I can't believe he is only 28. He’s still a baby. But what a winner, a leader. He is on the pitch and they have people like Patrick off the pitch. Pat will make a great manager one day, possibly for City - why should he go anywhere else and feel like he’s taking a step back?
'Us ex-Arsenal players question why he is at City and not Arsenal. I have found out why. He was a falling star and City rescued him, offered him direction. He does not forget. He is not an Arsenal man at City. He is a City man and they are lucky to have him.
'The money helps what City are doing, of course. But they are using it wisely. I told Vincent, “You have built a wonderful home”. We have seen something special. Something very special.'
