By: Alan
Soccer City FC Contributor
FA Youth Cup Final Preview: Manchester City vs Chelsea
Time to take a step back from the recent struggles of the first-team to the talented Under 18s who are playing the First Leg of the FA Youth Cup Final against Chelsea on Thursday. Forget the money and materialistic world that the world of football now exists in, this competition witnesses the pure drive and ambition of players to seek the their first taste of silverware in an attempt to make themselves known. It would be a magnificent achievement for the youngsters of Manchester City to claim a first-leg advantage and go on to lift the trophy.
Without attempting to be bias, the under 18s have shown over the past few years that they have the talent and ability to beat any of their counterparts. They have an incredible record in the academy league table, having already won it with 57 points from 23 matches and eight points above their closest rivals with games still remaining. City will be desperate to win the competition two years after they lost 3-2 on aggregate at the same stage to the hands of Liverpool. In fact, City have only managed to win the Youth Cup once back in 1986 despite making the final five times. They have never been so well equipped to turn that around though, with Daniel Sturridge once again lining up in attack along with a host of other names expecting to make an impact on the first-team in the years to come.
City will have to step up a gear from the performance in the semi-final against Sunderland. A 1-0 victory for Sunderland at Eastlands in the second leg was not enough for them to progress, having lost to City 2-0 at the Stadium of Light but it sent a warning that City could not afford to relax. The usually-clinical team had a slight off-day but if this season is anything to go by then the academy of Manchester City have a massive chance of finally claiming some silverware that they well and truly deserve. Daniel Sturridge is the highest profile player in the under 18s and can be considered somewhat of a veteran of the competition. He has formed an effective partnership with goal-poacher David Ball - another name to keep an eye on - with goals being scored from nothing.
Other players to watch are Slovakian winger Vladimir Weiss, described by Sunderland’s Michael Liddle as “so fast and so skillful…I think he's the best player I've played against in my career.”, and Liberian wonderkid Alex Nimely-Tchuimeni, who has made a name for himself in the CAF Champions League and now impressing in City’s reserve and academy sides. So great the occasion is though that any player has the opportunity of making them known in the hope of following Richards and other footballers nationwide that have been successful in the top-flight and beyond.
Manchester City were last victorious in the Youth Cup back in 1986, where they beat rivals Manchester United 3-1 on aggregate. Many figures from that team went onto playing important roles for City in the future, including the likes of White, Lake, Hinchliffe and Redmond (thanks Crossie). A similar outcome would be very welcome and give Jim Cassell and the academy team the rewards they deserve.
Key Dates
Final 1st Leg - Thursday 2nd April at Stamford Bridge
Final 2nd Leg - Wednesday 16th April at City of Manchester Stadium
The Story So Far
Round Three: Manchester City 5-1 Millwall
Round Four: Reading 1-3 Manchester City
Round Five: Bristol City 2-4 Manchester City
Round Six: Plymouth Argyle 1-4 Manchester City
Semi Final 1st Leg: Sunderland 0-2 Manchester City
Semi Final 2nd Leg: Manchester City 0-1 Sunderland (Manchester City win 2-1 on aggregate)
Last Starting Lineup (Semi Final 2nd Leg)
Hartley, Trippier, McGivern, Boyata, Mee (c), Kay, Weiss, Tutte, Ball, Sturridge, McDermott. Subs: Nimely-Tchuimeni, Johansen, Ramsey, Tsiaklis, Mak.
The Opposition
Chelsea’s foreign legion have been put together with some of the best young players around. Their relatively poor position in the academy league (7th with 34 points from 23 games) cannot be underestimated and their strong cup form and the first home leg tie gives them the perfect opportunity to gain a foothold in the final. Manchester City though can be fairly optimistic with their chances and, in the hope that this does not backfire, can leave Stamford Bridge with the upper-hand and take full advantage going into the second leg.
The Manchester City Academy
The success of the academy is comparable with those considered the best in the world, with 25 players in total progressing into the first-team. Such figures are unrecognisable in comparison to other top-flight clubs and City’s survival in the Premiership since their return to it in 2002 can be thanked largely to the work of the academy and the players that have been produced through it. The contributions of Shaun-Wright Phillips, Joey Barton and Micah Richards to name just a few have formed the backbone of teams and without them I would hazard a guess that Manchester City would not be in the current fortunate position of being owned by a billionaire and having a world-class manager. The three names mentioned are all England internationals, with many other graduates of the academy having full internationals and U21 caps themselves and have generated close to £30m in transfer receipts. Special praise must be given to Jim Cassell, having worked magic since he joined the club in 1997 and has shown he is as important to the club as anyone.
Despite Sven Goran-Eriksson stepping in as manager with a major transfer chest, youth players have continued to thrive with Richards, Onouha and Ireland playing vital roles in the successful season. Ched Evans, Kelvin Etuhu and Shaleum Logan made their first-team debuts where they made positive impressions and will return to the club next season from their loan-clubs ready to battle for the first XI. High-profile managers, such as Benitez, have bemoaned the cost of academies and declared they are “not working”, but the success of the City academy and that of Middlesbrough and West Ham show exactly just how important they are in the survival of a club in the top-flight. In the great words of Jim Cassell, "You have to work hard at something, and believe in it, to have a chance of being successful - youth development is no different.”
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