Gonna have to give a shout out to Paul Lake,even if I'm biased, and he played a lot of his football at sub premier standard.
Lake started out in City youth as a forward. He had pace,fantastic dribbling ability and ball control,decent header,brilliant tackler,and played centre mid with composure and guile.My fav City player before the Foden years..
He played many games for us in centre mid,but also turned out at right midfield,and ,left midfield in devastating fashion in The Maine Road Massacre ,absolutely destroying utds ex England right back Viv Anderson all match,constantly taking the ball to the byeline on his weaker left foot,setting up 2 goals,and smashing a hole in fergies pre match planning during the 5-1 win..,Lake at his finest.
He played left back at least once for us( nothing special) and I watched him turn out at right back for us against Shrewsbury town (iirc) at Maine road,under Mel Machin.For the first 5mins he played a safe and cautious game,staying resolutely in a defensive position,after about 15 mins,he was starting to dribble the ball up to the half way line,providing width and making the oppennent track back furiously..
By the half hour stage his confidence had grown ,he realised he was a class above and he could be seen in the wide right position at the dead ball line ,cutting in with mazy dribbles doing damage right in their pen box...City went 2nil up and we were cruising, Lake outstanding....we then crumbled and Carl Griffiths,I think poached 2 and it ended 2-2..
Lakes finest midfield moments were as an attacking centre mid on our league cup run of 87/88 season where he absolutely destroyed top league Watford and league cup holders Nottingham Forest at Maine Road..here he ran the midfield, breaking from deep with brilliant surges of ball control,gliding past top level players effortlessly,creating panic in the heart of their defence and scoring or assisting,being man of the match both games..
That very same season City progressed to the quarter finals of the league Cup AND the Fa cup,an outstanding achievement for a team of kids from the old 2nd division.Facing Everton,the league champions at Goodison in front of 54k Lake turned out at inside forward, due to injuries..and later in the season against Liverpool in the fa cup quarter finals played centre back ,when prob the best team in the land that season ,1st division Liverpool with a team of expensive signings ..overwhelmed a young City side, full of home grown talent..
I was there ,on the Kippax terrace,the evening City played Aston villa and Lake did his knee,challenging Tony Cascarino ,falling awkwardly, again playing centre back under Howard Kendall..the start of a career ending painful withdrawal from the game.
Lake had started that season as captain at Spurs away ,August 1990,one of my proudest moments,watching this gifted home grown player lead City out to a rip roaring atmosphere at WHL.
My fav Lake moment was at The County ground Swindon,under Mel Machin,Lake at right back defending a corner,the ball dropped in front of him in the 6 yard box.. big Dave Bamber,the Swindon centre forward, hard man and an awkward customer advanced menacingly to cut off the clearance..quick as a flash Lake put the ball through his legs ,ran round him,and simply glided down the right wing in a pulsating counter attack at speed....it was like watching a rolls royce....the only City player fast enough to catch him up was David White ,but when Lake squared it to him 15 yards in front of goal, White still accelerating, smashed it over the stand roof..!!
Lots of memories of City's own Mr Versatile, and thoughts of what a fit Paul Lake could have achieved for City and England.
Perhaps the highest accolade I could give him is that he would have,imo, slotted into Peps squad,effortlessly.
