Check out the latest column from City cult hero Paul Lake.
Lake, now a committee member of City’s relaunched former players association ‘Once a Blue’, offers his thoughts on sky blue matters.
This month he discusses the impending departure of legends Bernardo Silva and John Stones, his own memories of the FA Youth triumph in 1986 on this 40th anniversary, our battle for honours in the FA Cup and Premier League as well as much, much more.
I don’t want to believe it’s 40 years ago today since we triumphed over Manchester United in the FA Youth Cup final, but the calendar doesn’t lie!
Every young player strives to win the youth equivalent of the FA Cup, and I remain very proud to have gained that honour by playing alongside some fabulous team-mates like David White, Ian Brightwell, Paul Moulden and Steve Redmond.
To have such a tough route to get to the final – winning against Fulham and Arsenal – and then beating your arch rivals over two legs was simply unbelievable. There was nothing sweeter!
The memory of that fabulous final at Maine Road, played in front of an amazing home crowd, is something that I will always cherish.
I know the club will be marking the anniversary in the run-up to the 2026 FA Youth Cup final, which again pits City with United!
What an amazing achievement to reach four Wembley finals in a row.
This FA Cup side has not played regularly in the Premier League, don’t forget, and yet the standards and the expectations of each other, through Pep Guardiola’s stewardship, have been brilliant.
I went to the Wembley semi-final with my son and my best pal, Jason Beckford, and we had a magnificent day.
Southampton were no pushover, having already beaten Arsenal and having scored plenty of goals in the Championship.
Our team hadn’t played together that regularly, and it was a big stage for them to play on, with huge expectations of individuals and the team itself.
Some players were also wanting to give Pep Guardiola a timely reminder to regain their place in the first team; excellent performances in particular from John Stones and Mateo Kovacic underlined that fact.
It was a great outcome for the Blues, of course...what a wondergoal from Nico Gonzalez!
Their form has been very erratic of late, but if they get it right on the day they’ll be formidable opponents.
It’s going to be an exciting cup final, I think, with plenty of goals and chances created by both teams.
It would certainly be an astounding achievement for us to win the FA Cup and to continue the remarkable legacy of Pep Guardiola.
Bernardo Silva epitomises everything great about Manchester City.
He’s just been an incredible servant for the club and his attributes are countless.