The City legend Paul Lake has kindly agreed to do an exclusive Q&A session with Bluemoon members. His new radio show, Blue Tuesday, goes out on GMR from 18th August at 6pm. Here are his answers to your questions. Many thanks to Lakey for taking the time out to do this, top man.
1) Does he think that City have a realistic chance of breaking into the top four this season and, if so, which club is going to make way for them?
I think we've got an excellent chance of breaking through as we now have strength in depth in all positions, especially if Lescott signs. This will enable Mark Hughes to field sides that will cope with the physicality of the Premier League and will provide more consistency away from home (something that we lacked last season). Mark Hughes' man-management will also come into play this year, with all the world-class talent that we now have in our ranks. It will take a brave man to put SWP on the bench, if that's going to be the case. And with my physio hat on, in spite of the wealth of attacking players we have, we still need to keep these guys fit to be able to rotate and keep the pressure on places. Mark will also be fully aware that Toure (and maybe Adebayor - long shot) will be away for the African Nations and so it's vital that we keep Richards, Onouha and/or Dunney during this period.
If any of the Top Four are going to make way, it'll be Arsenal in my opinion. I think they're too dependent upon Fabregas and the up-and-coming Wilshere. And Liverpool have finally lost the services of Alonso, which might be significant.
2) What was your best memory of playing for City?
The whole weekend of the 23rd and 24th September, 1989, i.e. the 5-1. The whole of Manchester seemed to be totally up for the derby and prior to the match I got so much stick from United fans it was untrue. The game is still so fresh in my memory; it was just a joy to play in and I could still probably give you a running commentary of the whole 90 minutes. I think Ken Barnes probably best summed up the derby experience when he said: "It was the fear of losing, the fear of letting your fans down in front of their biggest rivals..."
3) Who was the best player you played with out of that crop of youngsters that came through the youth set up in the late 80's/early 90's (White, Moulden, Redmond, the Brightwells, Hinchcliiffe etc)?
That's such a difficult question because they all had so much to offer. There was Whitey's pace and goalscoring prowess, Reddo's strength and focus, Brighty's never-say-die attitude and athleticism and Hinchy's left foot (the best I ever saw). And not forgetting Mouldy, who was a brilliant professional and at times was unplayable in the penalty area. But if I had to choose, at their peak I would probably go for Whitey and Reddo. On their day they were awesome.
4) Which player in the current City side would he have liked to play with?
Can I choose two? Firstly, I would have loved to play centre-half alongside Micah Richards. The kid is a powerhouse and with his many attributes he could be the envy of the (current) top four. There are just a couple of parts to his game which could be refined - decision-making in particular areas of the pitch, for example - but with continual on-pitch support he could improve quickly. Secondly, Steven Ireland. He is the talisman of the side and, as we've seen, is able to change defence into attack with consummate ease. By covering his defensive duties - akin to what De Jong does now - I would have been able to support his attacking game no end.
5) Has he read Colin Shindler's latest take on what's happening at our club? Does he have any sympathy with his romantic/delusional views of how City are now worthless and, apparently, not worth following because they are no longer the same club he used to love?
Yes I did read the piece, and I found it quite sad that a supposed true blue says he's fallen out of love with the club. Mr Shindler was lucky to have witnessed the purple patch of the late 1960s and early 1970s, yet there are generations of City fans (including the grandson he writes about bouncing on his knee) who haven't had much to show for the two decades following those halcyon days. But nowadays money is key to a club's success, whether you like it or not. I am personally delighted with all the wealth and opportunites that have come our way courtesy of our Arab benefactors who have (literally) changed our fortunes and are allowing us to dare to dream. It is time to celebrate, not to castigate. If there's ever been a club that deserves a bit of success, it's us, having had to contend with a severe lack of silverware and live in the shadow of our neighbours for far too long. A note of caution, though; whilst we have succeeded in bringing in some world-class players this season, it is very important that we come up with the goods and set the standards from the word go. If we don't, we'll cop so much flak from all directions. But I for one (unlike Mr Shindler it seems) am really, really, really excited about the season ahead...aren't you…?!
6) You were known as a versatile player and featured in pretty much every position on the pitch for City, as I recall. What did you regard as being your best position? And which was your favourite to play in (if different)?
Centre-half was probably the position that I most excelled in; without sounding too big-headed I think I was very comfortable and very confident in that role. I don't feel as though there were that many centre-halves in the game who could play from the back and I think it was this that caught the eye of Howard Kendall and the England manager at the time (Bobby Robson, RIP). Having said this, playing in midfield probably excited me more as I was able to get box-to-box and could play as well as put my foot in. I always felt I should have scored more goals, though.
7) How devastating was Kendall leaving for you?
Howard was the best man-manager that I ever came across. He was great with the youngsters that he inherited and it wasn't long before he galvanised the team and put together an organised unit that wasn't leaking goals. The mood in the squad in the time, enhanced by great pros like Peter Reid and Adrian Heath, meant that we would die for him on the pitch. It was definitely part of our contract to work hard and play hard as well (I've got some cracking pre-season stories) but this only served to boost our morale even more. Had Howard stayed I'm sure he would have been able to attract more quality players and maybe he would have received more financial backing from the club (which wasn't bestowed on his successor Peter Reid). Obviously we were all very shocked and upset when Howard left for Everton but we totally understood his reasons why.
8) What was the worst rumour your read about yourself in the papers?
A certain top-flight manager once insinuated that I always seemed to conveniently get injured before England u-21 call-ups, which was just rubbish. If that was the case, why would I have chosen to miss the France and Italy games and opted to go for the glamour ties in communist Albania and Poland? That really bugged me at the time, I must admit.Â
9) I would interested to know about your call up to the England 1990 pre-World Cup squad? did you really get measured up for the suit? How was it watching it at home knowing you were so close to it? What did Sir Bobby Robson say?
It was before our second replay against Millwall in the Cup that I received the phone call in my hotel room that I'd been included in the 1990 squad. It made up for the fact that we got beaten 3-1 that day. I didn't get measured for a suit, sadly - Bobby Robson took me aside at Lilleshall and told me that Paul Parker's age and experienced had just shaded it for him. And yes, it was very painful to watch the games on telly that summer (although I loved watching David Platt hook the ball over his shoulder in the dying minutes against Belgium). I still get a pang every time I hear "World In Motion"...
10) Lakey....how did you actually feel when you kicked off your testimonial knowing it would be the last time you kicked a ball ever at Maine Road?
Bereft. Like I was dying inside. I could hardly look up at my beloved Kippax because I felt so choked up. But I knew that I had to swallow my tears and keep control because there were lots of people there who had done so much for me that day, from the fans and the testimonial committee to the players and the managers. I owed it to them to try and keep my head held high, regardless of how I was feeling inside. My son had been born just a few hours earlier so I was all over the place, really. I sobbed my heart out when I got home.
11) Lakey, am surprised nobody has asked about when you swallowed your tongue!! How much do you remember about it and exactly how serious could it have been?
All I remember is going up to head the ball. Everything went black after that, and it was only by watching the incident on video later that I realised how serious it was. Suffice to say that if it hadn't have been for the skills of Roy Bailey and Dr Norman Luft that day I might not have been here to tell the tale. It actually set a bit of a precedent, because shortly after, the FA insisted that all club doctors had to stay at pitch-side (Dr Luft had had to leg it all the way down from the Directors' Box). Trevor Morley scored his first hat-trick for City that day (we were playing Leicester). He gave me a card in hospital which said "Glad to hear you're on the mend, Lakey, and thanks for hogging all the headlines, you selfish little b*******.."
12) Do you stay in touch with anyone from your days at Maine Road, or have people tended to drift apart after going their separate ways?
Jason Beckford is my best mate - we speak every day - and I still keep in touch with Bob Brightwell and David White. I've recently got back in contact with Reddo and will be catching up with some more old faces (Brian Gayle, David Oldfield, Gary Fleming, Andy Hinchcliffe etc) when we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the 5-1 in September. How ancient does that make me feel, by the way?
13) How is your knee now?
Not good. I'll have to have a half-knee replacement in the next year or so on the right side. But, because I've spent years over-compensating on my left side, I'll also have to have that fractured and re-set (a high tibial osteotomy) because it's started to bow ridiculously. I suppose it's a good job I'm not playing anymore...I'd be so easy to nutmeg.
14) What was your first game watching City at Maine Rd?
I watched us beat Stoke City 1-0 at Maine Road on 24th September, 1975. It was a floodlit match and Rodney Marsh scored the winner. I was only six and remember being totally in awe of Maine Road; I couldn't get to sleep that night for all the sights and sounds that were buzzing round my little head. It was magical.
I hope these answers suffice, and thanks a lot for taking the time to ask them. But there is another question which wasn't on my list that I'd like to answer, posed by Dirty Harry (although the others about WAGs, Gazza and my PE teacher Mr Dixon also made me laugh).
If you were cooking a romantic meal for ‘er indoors’, what would you choose:
I'm not the best cook in the world but am doing my damndest to learn, so here goes:
1/ Starter
The finest minestrone soup from Lidl, er, Waitrose
2/Main course
My wife will tell you that my sausage linguine is legendary.
3/Sweet.
Chocolate mousse (inspired by a favourite Alan Partridge episode)
Plus what accompanying beverages ?
Peroni for me, and a nice bottle of sauvignon blanc for the missus. We've also got a bottle of bubbly in the fridge which we're saving for a suitable occasion this season...
1) Does he think that City have a realistic chance of breaking into the top four this season and, if so, which club is going to make way for them?
I think we've got an excellent chance of breaking through as we now have strength in depth in all positions, especially if Lescott signs. This will enable Mark Hughes to field sides that will cope with the physicality of the Premier League and will provide more consistency away from home (something that we lacked last season). Mark Hughes' man-management will also come into play this year, with all the world-class talent that we now have in our ranks. It will take a brave man to put SWP on the bench, if that's going to be the case. And with my physio hat on, in spite of the wealth of attacking players we have, we still need to keep these guys fit to be able to rotate and keep the pressure on places. Mark will also be fully aware that Toure (and maybe Adebayor - long shot) will be away for the African Nations and so it's vital that we keep Richards, Onouha and/or Dunney during this period.
If any of the Top Four are going to make way, it'll be Arsenal in my opinion. I think they're too dependent upon Fabregas and the up-and-coming Wilshere. And Liverpool have finally lost the services of Alonso, which might be significant.
2) What was your best memory of playing for City?
The whole weekend of the 23rd and 24th September, 1989, i.e. the 5-1. The whole of Manchester seemed to be totally up for the derby and prior to the match I got so much stick from United fans it was untrue. The game is still so fresh in my memory; it was just a joy to play in and I could still probably give you a running commentary of the whole 90 minutes. I think Ken Barnes probably best summed up the derby experience when he said: "It was the fear of losing, the fear of letting your fans down in front of their biggest rivals..."
3) Who was the best player you played with out of that crop of youngsters that came through the youth set up in the late 80's/early 90's (White, Moulden, Redmond, the Brightwells, Hinchcliiffe etc)?
That's such a difficult question because they all had so much to offer. There was Whitey's pace and goalscoring prowess, Reddo's strength and focus, Brighty's never-say-die attitude and athleticism and Hinchy's left foot (the best I ever saw). And not forgetting Mouldy, who was a brilliant professional and at times was unplayable in the penalty area. But if I had to choose, at their peak I would probably go for Whitey and Reddo. On their day they were awesome.
4) Which player in the current City side would he have liked to play with?
Can I choose two? Firstly, I would have loved to play centre-half alongside Micah Richards. The kid is a powerhouse and with his many attributes he could be the envy of the (current) top four. There are just a couple of parts to his game which could be refined - decision-making in particular areas of the pitch, for example - but with continual on-pitch support he could improve quickly. Secondly, Steven Ireland. He is the talisman of the side and, as we've seen, is able to change defence into attack with consummate ease. By covering his defensive duties - akin to what De Jong does now - I would have been able to support his attacking game no end.
5) Has he read Colin Shindler's latest take on what's happening at our club? Does he have any sympathy with his romantic/delusional views of how City are now worthless and, apparently, not worth following because they are no longer the same club he used to love?
Yes I did read the piece, and I found it quite sad that a supposed true blue says he's fallen out of love with the club. Mr Shindler was lucky to have witnessed the purple patch of the late 1960s and early 1970s, yet there are generations of City fans (including the grandson he writes about bouncing on his knee) who haven't had much to show for the two decades following those halcyon days. But nowadays money is key to a club's success, whether you like it or not. I am personally delighted with all the wealth and opportunites that have come our way courtesy of our Arab benefactors who have (literally) changed our fortunes and are allowing us to dare to dream. It is time to celebrate, not to castigate. If there's ever been a club that deserves a bit of success, it's us, having had to contend with a severe lack of silverware and live in the shadow of our neighbours for far too long. A note of caution, though; whilst we have succeeded in bringing in some world-class players this season, it is very important that we come up with the goods and set the standards from the word go. If we don't, we'll cop so much flak from all directions. But I for one (unlike Mr Shindler it seems) am really, really, really excited about the season ahead...aren't you…?!
6) You were known as a versatile player and featured in pretty much every position on the pitch for City, as I recall. What did you regard as being your best position? And which was your favourite to play in (if different)?
Centre-half was probably the position that I most excelled in; without sounding too big-headed I think I was very comfortable and very confident in that role. I don't feel as though there were that many centre-halves in the game who could play from the back and I think it was this that caught the eye of Howard Kendall and the England manager at the time (Bobby Robson, RIP). Having said this, playing in midfield probably excited me more as I was able to get box-to-box and could play as well as put my foot in. I always felt I should have scored more goals, though.
7) How devastating was Kendall leaving for you?
Howard was the best man-manager that I ever came across. He was great with the youngsters that he inherited and it wasn't long before he galvanised the team and put together an organised unit that wasn't leaking goals. The mood in the squad in the time, enhanced by great pros like Peter Reid and Adrian Heath, meant that we would die for him on the pitch. It was definitely part of our contract to work hard and play hard as well (I've got some cracking pre-season stories) but this only served to boost our morale even more. Had Howard stayed I'm sure he would have been able to attract more quality players and maybe he would have received more financial backing from the club (which wasn't bestowed on his successor Peter Reid). Obviously we were all very shocked and upset when Howard left for Everton but we totally understood his reasons why.
8) What was the worst rumour your read about yourself in the papers?
A certain top-flight manager once insinuated that I always seemed to conveniently get injured before England u-21 call-ups, which was just rubbish. If that was the case, why would I have chosen to miss the France and Italy games and opted to go for the glamour ties in communist Albania and Poland? That really bugged me at the time, I must admit.Â
9) I would interested to know about your call up to the England 1990 pre-World Cup squad? did you really get measured up for the suit? How was it watching it at home knowing you were so close to it? What did Sir Bobby Robson say?
It was before our second replay against Millwall in the Cup that I received the phone call in my hotel room that I'd been included in the 1990 squad. It made up for the fact that we got beaten 3-1 that day. I didn't get measured for a suit, sadly - Bobby Robson took me aside at Lilleshall and told me that Paul Parker's age and experienced had just shaded it for him. And yes, it was very painful to watch the games on telly that summer (although I loved watching David Platt hook the ball over his shoulder in the dying minutes against Belgium). I still get a pang every time I hear "World In Motion"...
10) Lakey....how did you actually feel when you kicked off your testimonial knowing it would be the last time you kicked a ball ever at Maine Road?
Bereft. Like I was dying inside. I could hardly look up at my beloved Kippax because I felt so choked up. But I knew that I had to swallow my tears and keep control because there were lots of people there who had done so much for me that day, from the fans and the testimonial committee to the players and the managers. I owed it to them to try and keep my head held high, regardless of how I was feeling inside. My son had been born just a few hours earlier so I was all over the place, really. I sobbed my heart out when I got home.
11) Lakey, am surprised nobody has asked about when you swallowed your tongue!! How much do you remember about it and exactly how serious could it have been?
All I remember is going up to head the ball. Everything went black after that, and it was only by watching the incident on video later that I realised how serious it was. Suffice to say that if it hadn't have been for the skills of Roy Bailey and Dr Norman Luft that day I might not have been here to tell the tale. It actually set a bit of a precedent, because shortly after, the FA insisted that all club doctors had to stay at pitch-side (Dr Luft had had to leg it all the way down from the Directors' Box). Trevor Morley scored his first hat-trick for City that day (we were playing Leicester). He gave me a card in hospital which said "Glad to hear you're on the mend, Lakey, and thanks for hogging all the headlines, you selfish little b*******.."
12) Do you stay in touch with anyone from your days at Maine Road, or have people tended to drift apart after going their separate ways?
Jason Beckford is my best mate - we speak every day - and I still keep in touch with Bob Brightwell and David White. I've recently got back in contact with Reddo and will be catching up with some more old faces (Brian Gayle, David Oldfield, Gary Fleming, Andy Hinchcliffe etc) when we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the 5-1 in September. How ancient does that make me feel, by the way?
13) How is your knee now?
Not good. I'll have to have a half-knee replacement in the next year or so on the right side. But, because I've spent years over-compensating on my left side, I'll also have to have that fractured and re-set (a high tibial osteotomy) because it's started to bow ridiculously. I suppose it's a good job I'm not playing anymore...I'd be so easy to nutmeg.
14) What was your first game watching City at Maine Rd?
I watched us beat Stoke City 1-0 at Maine Road on 24th September, 1975. It was a floodlit match and Rodney Marsh scored the winner. I was only six and remember being totally in awe of Maine Road; I couldn't get to sleep that night for all the sights and sounds that were buzzing round my little head. It was magical.
I hope these answers suffice, and thanks a lot for taking the time to ask them. But there is another question which wasn't on my list that I'd like to answer, posed by Dirty Harry (although the others about WAGs, Gazza and my PE teacher Mr Dixon also made me laugh).
If you were cooking a romantic meal for ‘er indoors’, what would you choose:
I'm not the best cook in the world but am doing my damndest to learn, so here goes:
1/ Starter
The finest minestrone soup from Lidl, er, Waitrose
2/Main course
My wife will tell you that my sausage linguine is legendary.
3/Sweet.
Chocolate mousse (inspired by a favourite Alan Partridge episode)
Plus what accompanying beverages ?
Peroni for me, and a nice bottle of sauvignon blanc for the missus. We've also got a bottle of bubbly in the fridge which we're saving for a suitable occasion this season...