Anything the Manchester City senior team can do, the academy follows. Sometimes, the academy leads.
For the third year running, the under-18s and under-23s are both national champions, with the youth team beating West Ham on Wednesday night at the Etihad to complete an unprecedented treble-double.
After winning the Northern Division of the under-18 Premier League for the fourth year in a row last month, Ben Wilkinson's youngsters confirmed their status as the best youngsters in the country with a hard-fought extra-time victory over a fine West Ham outfit. The title, and the history that comes with it, will stay with these youngsters forever - while the manner of their latest victory will please the coaches and decision-makers at City who are now seeing a regular return for years-worth of planning and coaching.
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U18 captain Nico O'Reilly said that the job wasn't finished unless City won the national final for a third successive season, despite four northern titles in a row (there was no national champion in 2020). Head coach Wilkinson naturally looked at the bigger picture before the game, declaring that a third academy clean-sweep would reflect far more than the talented young players on the pitch.
"The people sitting down at the top looking down at the success over the last three to four years and the success had by the teams can be really proud of the structure they put in place 10-12 years ago," Wilkinson told MEN Sport. "The kids that are winning things now are boys who started in this programme when they were five or six years old and have been all the way through."
City knew the threat West Ham would pose, having demolished the Blues' FA Youth Cup foes Arsenal 5-1 in the final, after a 6-1 win in the semi-final. The young Hammers finished on the same number of points as City in the southern division, and were looking for a mightily impressive U18 double.
It was fair to bill this as a meeting of the best two youth teams in England this season, although it was West Ham who lived up to that title for the majority of normal time. George Murray-Jones had made three good saves to keep City level, but couldn't stop Gideon Kodua from beating the offside trap, latching onto a fine pass, and slotting into the bottom corner as the half-hour mark approached.
City had been trying to make something happen, but hadn't fashioned a convincing chance, and West Ham's pressure had been growing. It was uncharacteristically flat from a City side who had put a run of 12 consecutive wins together to win the league as part of a wider run of one defeat in 21 before their final-day defeat last week.
Their general indecision was summed up when Justin Oboavwoduo ran from the halfway line into the box, but couldn't decide whether to pass or shoot, and the effort was saved. At the other end, Murray-Jones was required to throw himself infront of a certain goal after City had lost possession once again.
If the bright lights of the Etihad were causing some of City's talents to freeze a little, Murray-Jones was certainly rising to the occasion. It was just a shame that only a few hundred fans were aware the game was going on - most family and friends of players. West Ham had taken 7,000 fans to Arsenal for the Youth Cup final in a crowd of over 30,000, and Southampton made a big effort to get fans in at St Mary's in the national final last year. United attracted 67,000 at Old Trafford last year for their Youth Cup win.
Most City fans will have been completely oblivious to the fact that this game was taking place on Wednesday, however, with little-to-no promotion of the contest by the club aside from calls to watch the game online instead. As the academy continue to reach new heights and set the standard for youth football in England, the players deserve more fans backing them in person.
Watching on at the Etihad was outgoing academy director Jason Wilcox, for the academy's final high-profile game before he joins Southampton in the summer. He was alongside Director of Football Txiki Begiristain in the Tunnel Club seats, with the pair chatting throughout on a night that promised to cap off those years of planning behind the scenes by both men.
Wilkinson saw a slight improvement after the break, although it was West Ham who went closest to scoring again - first seeing a dangerous break cleared at the last second, before the resulting corner forced a goalline clearance from the Blues. It wasn't until the last 20 minutes that City would finally test visiting goalkeeper Finlay Herrick, with substitute Ashton Muir volleying at goal as the heavens opened.
Maybe it was Herrick's quiet night, or the newly-slippery ball, but he will be the first to admit he should have done better with City's equaliser - Oboavwoduo's header squirming under the Hammers stopper from a free kick to hand City the momentum with 15 minutes remaining. West Ham should have been out of sight. City weren't complaining.
Wilkinson's tactical tweak with a double change just before the goal had worked, and pushed City into controlling the game as they will have always hoped. West Ham had put in all the work - still forcing blocked before the end of normal time - but were visibly tiring.
It's clear City can play flowing, technical football at all levels, with this season another reflection of a decade's-worth of hard work behind the scenes to produce players that will play in senior teams up and down the country, maybe even at City. These experiences are invaluable, then, to see the youngsters manage a game where it just wasn't possible to dominate the ball for long periods. It's the kind of contest that shows the coaches and watching directors as much in 120 minutes as over the course of a season.
As West Ham tired for their efforts before extra time, City had the wind in their sails during the additional 30 minutes. Dickson twice tested Herrick, who then made up for his earlier howler with a fine save to deny the impressive Muir. Finally, City had the space to play as they had wanted from the start.
Fittingly, then, it was a flowing move that saw the Blues take the lead as the clock ticked over 100 minutes. Kane Taylor was played into the box smartly, his shot was saved, but Oboavwoduo was on hand to smash in a goal that saw jubilant celebrations on the pitch and in the dugout. City had weathered the storm and were riding a wave - even if the rain was pouring heavier than ever.
West Ham had done all they could, and City saw out the rest of extra time with a mentality of a side who knew they had managed this game perfectly - as well as getting their fair share of luck along the way.
History won't remember that, though. The only thing that matters is the winners' medals and another trophy to add to the academy's growing collection. Don't bet against the best youth system in the country making it a quadruple-double next year.
