Following on from this excellent article in the MEN
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That's the way to do it, Manuel!
As City look to fashion a world-class youth set-up, a new book remembers the young 1986 cup winners
THE message is clear to Manuel Pellegrini and the rest of the coaching staff at City. Not only do the owners want to have the best team in Europe, they also want a youth set-up which is the envy of the world.
That is why Sheikh Mansour is pouring so much money into the development of the Etihad Campus, which is now slowly taking shape across the road from the stadium.
City are aiming for excellence and a new book which charts the story of the 1986 FA Youth Cup-winning team is a timely reminder of the way things used to be.
Teenage Kicks charts the story of a team which remains strong in the consciousness of City fans, having gone on to provide Ian Brightwell, David White, Steve Redmond, Andy Hinchcliffe, Paul Lake, Paul Moulden and Ian Scott for the first team.
That group of players helped to succour and revive City following the tribulations of the early 80s, until they again slipped back into bad old habits.
But that team helped to remind everyone at the that sustainable success has to come from within.
By all means, buy world stars like Yaya Toure and David Silva, but to create a lasting dynasty you need to build from within.
Between them, the seven starlets who lifted the trophy in 1986 went on to make 1,397 first team appearances for the Blues.
By stark contrast, from the team that NEXT won the trophy, just months ahead of the Sheikh’s Blue revolution in 2008, only Daniel Sturridge has made any notable progress – and he did so by leaving for Chelsea 12 months later.
From that team, only Dedryck Boyata, Alex Nimely and Abdi Ibrahim remain at City, and none of those three is currently threatening to make the first-team squad.
It is a simple truth which needs to be enshrined in City’s philosophy in the coming years – there needs to be a clear, visible pathway from academy to first team.
But the players need to be good enough, and coached well enough, to take it.
That is the size of the task facing Pellegrini, football director Txiki Begiristain, academy heads Brian Marwood and Mark Allen, and elite development squad manager Patrick Vieira.
It puts the buzzword ‘holistic’ into context – the gap between the academy and EDS on one side, and the first team on the other, created by the rapid acceleration of the latter, has to close.
The new book, by Phill Gatenby and Andrew Waldon, is a timely reminder of a different age, when youth teams were predominantly made up of local lads, with a sprinkling of players from elsewhere in the British Isles.
The authors make the contestable claim that the 1986 winners are City’s greatest-ever youth team, based on the fact that they were the first Blues side to lift the trophy, and went on to become the nucleus of a very useful first team.
That claim may be contested by those who remember some of the strong City youth set-ups of the 50s and 60s, which provided the bulk of the 1968 title-winning team.
But the book recalls a more innocent age, when some of the youngsters still got the bus to training rather than turning up in a baby BMW, and when the football was tucked in between boot-cleaning and mopping-up chores.
Where Are They Now?
Steve Crompton: The goalkeeper went on to play for Carlisle and Stockport before entering non-league and is now managing director of a recruitment consultancy in Birmingham.
Steve Mills: Suffered a serious knee injury, dropped into non-league and now lives in South Africa, where he owns a printing business.
Andy Hinchcliffe: After a fine career with City, Everton, Sheffield Wednesday and England, has gone on to forge a career in the media.
Ian Brightwell: After 18 years at City went on to play for Coventry, Walsall, Stoke, Port Vale and Macclesfield – where he also became coach and manager. Now involved in property and building businesses.
Steve Redmond: Became City’s youngest captain before leaving for Oldham and Bury, where he was also assistant manager, and now works in customer services and sales for Travis Perkins.
Andy Thackeray: Released shortly after final but played over 500 times for lower league clubs. Now a chiropodist at a sports injury clinic in Huddersfield.
David White: The Urmston lad became a City and England star and went on to play for Leeds and Sheffield United. Now runs the family waste management and recycling business in Eccles, and his own corporate hospitality company.
Paul Moulden: The prolific goalscorer starred for City, Oldham and several other clubs before retiring to run the family chip shop business in Bolton.
Paul Lake: His stellar career tragically curtailed by injury, Lake has gone on to be a physio and broadcaster and written an award-winning autobiography, before recently becoming club support manager at the Premier League.
Ian Scott: The midfielder’s career was also ended by injury and he went into coaching – now working as senior technical director at Westfield Youth Soccer in Indiana, alongside fellow former Blue Gary Walker.
David Boyd: The Glaswegian’s career was curtailed by injury and ME, and he now works for UK Elite Soccer, running residential camps for American kids.
John Clarke: The Irish midfielder left Huddersfield to return to his native Dublin when his mother died, and is now a taxi driver.
Steve Macauley: Went on to play for Crewe, Rochdale and Macclesfield, and manage Fleetwood, and now works for the NHS.
John Bookbinder: The lifelong Blue later became a social worker in London before tragically dying of mouth cancer in 2006, at the age of 38.
Teenage Kicks, the book charting the story of City’s FA Youth Cup team of 1986 (Empire, £10.95) is on sale now
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That's the way to do it, Manuel!
As City look to fashion a world-class youth set-up, a new book remembers the young 1986 cup winners
THE message is clear to Manuel Pellegrini and the rest of the coaching staff at City. Not only do the owners want to have the best team in Europe, they also want a youth set-up which is the envy of the world.
That is why Sheikh Mansour is pouring so much money into the development of the Etihad Campus, which is now slowly taking shape across the road from the stadium.
City are aiming for excellence and a new book which charts the story of the 1986 FA Youth Cup-winning team is a timely reminder of the way things used to be.
Teenage Kicks charts the story of a team which remains strong in the consciousness of City fans, having gone on to provide Ian Brightwell, David White, Steve Redmond, Andy Hinchcliffe, Paul Lake, Paul Moulden and Ian Scott for the first team.
That group of players helped to succour and revive City following the tribulations of the early 80s, until they again slipped back into bad old habits.
But that team helped to remind everyone at the that sustainable success has to come from within.
By all means, buy world stars like Yaya Toure and David Silva, but to create a lasting dynasty you need to build from within.
Between them, the seven starlets who lifted the trophy in 1986 went on to make 1,397 first team appearances for the Blues.
By stark contrast, from the team that NEXT won the trophy, just months ahead of the Sheikh’s Blue revolution in 2008, only Daniel Sturridge has made any notable progress – and he did so by leaving for Chelsea 12 months later.
From that team, only Dedryck Boyata, Alex Nimely and Abdi Ibrahim remain at City, and none of those three is currently threatening to make the first-team squad.
It is a simple truth which needs to be enshrined in City’s philosophy in the coming years – there needs to be a clear, visible pathway from academy to first team.
But the players need to be good enough, and coached well enough, to take it.
That is the size of the task facing Pellegrini, football director Txiki Begiristain, academy heads Brian Marwood and Mark Allen, and elite development squad manager Patrick Vieira.
It puts the buzzword ‘holistic’ into context – the gap between the academy and EDS on one side, and the first team on the other, created by the rapid acceleration of the latter, has to close.
The new book, by Phill Gatenby and Andrew Waldon, is a timely reminder of a different age, when youth teams were predominantly made up of local lads, with a sprinkling of players from elsewhere in the British Isles.
The authors make the contestable claim that the 1986 winners are City’s greatest-ever youth team, based on the fact that they were the first Blues side to lift the trophy, and went on to become the nucleus of a very useful first team.
That claim may be contested by those who remember some of the strong City youth set-ups of the 50s and 60s, which provided the bulk of the 1968 title-winning team.
But the book recalls a more innocent age, when some of the youngsters still got the bus to training rather than turning up in a baby BMW, and when the football was tucked in between boot-cleaning and mopping-up chores.
Where Are They Now?
Steve Crompton: The goalkeeper went on to play for Carlisle and Stockport before entering non-league and is now managing director of a recruitment consultancy in Birmingham.
Steve Mills: Suffered a serious knee injury, dropped into non-league and now lives in South Africa, where he owns a printing business.
Andy Hinchcliffe: After a fine career with City, Everton, Sheffield Wednesday and England, has gone on to forge a career in the media.
Ian Brightwell: After 18 years at City went on to play for Coventry, Walsall, Stoke, Port Vale and Macclesfield – where he also became coach and manager. Now involved in property and building businesses.
Steve Redmond: Became City’s youngest captain before leaving for Oldham and Bury, where he was also assistant manager, and now works in customer services and sales for Travis Perkins.
Andy Thackeray: Released shortly after final but played over 500 times for lower league clubs. Now a chiropodist at a sports injury clinic in Huddersfield.
David White: The Urmston lad became a City and England star and went on to play for Leeds and Sheffield United. Now runs the family waste management and recycling business in Eccles, and his own corporate hospitality company.
Paul Moulden: The prolific goalscorer starred for City, Oldham and several other clubs before retiring to run the family chip shop business in Bolton.
Paul Lake: His stellar career tragically curtailed by injury, Lake has gone on to be a physio and broadcaster and written an award-winning autobiography, before recently becoming club support manager at the Premier League.
Ian Scott: The midfielder’s career was also ended by injury and he went into coaching – now working as senior technical director at Westfield Youth Soccer in Indiana, alongside fellow former Blue Gary Walker.
David Boyd: The Glaswegian’s career was curtailed by injury and ME, and he now works for UK Elite Soccer, running residential camps for American kids.
John Clarke: The Irish midfielder left Huddersfield to return to his native Dublin when his mother died, and is now a taxi driver.
Steve Macauley: Went on to play for Crewe, Rochdale and Macclesfield, and manage Fleetwood, and now works for the NHS.
John Bookbinder: The lifelong Blue later became a social worker in London before tragically dying of mouth cancer in 2006, at the age of 38.
Teenage Kicks, the book charting the story of City’s FA Youth Cup team of 1986 (Empire, £10.95) is on sale now