TheManchester City Under 18s squad have won the prestigious FA Youth Cup in fine fashion after cruising past Leeds United 4-0.
The academy-level competition is one of the most highly revered trophies in the English youth ranks, with some of the greatest teams and legendary footballers having first shone on this stage, including the Class of ’92 as well as players like Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Rio Ferdinand, Phil Foden and more.
Ben Wilkinson’s promising young side secured the youth title after a comfortable showing at the Etihad Stadium on Friday night, making this the fourth time they have lifted the trophy, the previous times being 1986, 2008 and most recently in 2020.
Here’s the moment the young ‘Cityzens’ drank in their success.
Commenting on the momentous achievement, Academy Director Thomas Kruecken said of the squad and staff: “This is a fantastic achievement for our Academy. The FA Youth Cup is one of our main targets each season, so to have won the trophy for the fourth time in our history really feels special”.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Ben, his staff and all the players deserve huge credit for the way they have played throughout the competition. It’s been a pleasure to watch them grow and develop together and they’ve produced some outstanding football along the way.
“But this trophy belongs to everyone connected to Man City’s Academy. There are so many people who work tirelessly every single day to ensure the Academy environment is as good as it can be – to give our young players a platform to develop and become the best footballers they can.
ADVERTISEMENT
“It makes me really proud to see the work our staff do every single day.”
The names on the scoresheet included Justin Oboavwoduo, Stephen Mfuni and Matty Warhurst, who came straight off the bench to grab the fourth and final goal, but this was probably the pick of the bunch from Jaden Heskey, son of former Wigan Athletic, Bolton Wanderers and England striker, Emile:
City are still a fair few short of Manchester United’s record in the competition, having won the tournament 11 times, but with more development and focus on the academy system and club-wide playing principles up and down all age levels ever since Pep Guardiola arrived, this won’t be their last.
ADVERTISEMENT
Congrats to the youngsters and be sure to remember those names – we’re sure plenty of them will be lighting up leagues soon enough.
You can watch the highlights from Man City’s U18s’ convincing Youth Cup victory down below or watch back the game in full HERE.
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
10th May 2024 
