SHALEUM Logan joined a prestigious club when he proudly stepped up to City's first team.
The 19-year-old defender became the 23rd graduate of the Blues' renowned Academy to play for the senior side when he made his debut in the Carling Cup victory at Bristol City.
It is a production line that has created several stars and a fair few characters since it was set up by Jim Cassell in 1998 - and it has proved to be one of the wisest investments the club has ever made.
The Academy's £2m annual running costs over the past nine years have more than paid for themselves with the £21m sale of Shaun Wright-Phillips - the very first graduate - and the £5.8m received for Joey Barton, the eighth man to step up.
And in addition to the £28m-plus the club have received in transfer fees for Academy graduates they have sold on, the youth set-up has also saved the Blues a fortune in the transfer market.
Cassell and his team could hardly have imagined just how successful the Academy would turn out to be when Wright-Phillips arrived at the club as a 15-year-old, having just been released by Nottingham Forest.
In fact, he might never have arrived at all but for a persistent scout and some alert work by Barry Poynton, City's Academy recruitment officer.
Scout
Poynton said: "I was working for Everton when I first saw Shaun. He was 14 at the time and very close to getting into the National School at Lilleshall.
"About a year or so later, the scout who was responsible for taking Shaun from London to Nottingham had been trying to get hold of me. He'd been ringing Everton and didn't know I'd left, so without asking Everton said: `He's at Manchester City'.
"So eventually we spoke and he said: `Remember Shaun Wright-Phillips? Would you be interested?' I said: `Yes, has he grown?' He said no, but also mentioned that Bradley was coming on a lot and as soon as he said Brad was part of the deal, we took the pair of them.
"The first youth game Shaun played was against Port Vale's A team and Ian Miller was their coach. He wanted him taken off the pitch after five minutes as he was so small. We kept him on and he scored two goals - we signed him three days later!"
It was Cassell who told City's then-manager Joe Royle that Wright-Phillips was worthy of a place in the first team, and the youngster made his bow in a League Cup tie at Burnley in August 1999.
The match itself was unmemorable but for City's Academy, it was the first excavation of what was to prove one of the richest seams of footballing talent in Britain.
Wright-Phillips was the first of three full England internationals to emerge from the youth set-up, with Barton and Micah Richards following. There may be more to come, too, if midfielder Michael Johnson maintains his fine form of late.
Success
Not all of the band of 23 have managed to forge careers at City, but most have gone on to enjoy success elsewhere.
The most notable of them is probably New Zealand international Chris Killen, who managed just three substitute appearances under Kevin Keegan, but is now looking forward to Champions League football after signing for Celtic during the summer, following spells with Oldham and Hibernian.
While Killen has become a success in Scotland, Dickson Etuhu and Tyrone Mears have both made it back into the Premier League. Etuhu is now aiding Roy Keane's efforts at Sunderland while Mears is playing for Derby.
Only one of the 23 is no longer playing professional football and he was arguably one of the most talented of the lot.
Leon Mike broke into City's first team as a teenager, and looked set for a good career. It didn't happen. Mike made two appearances for the Blues, then moved on to Aberdeen in 2002 - and it was a switch that did not quite work out.
"Maybe Leon was too nice a guy," Cassell said. "It is easy to slip down the ladder and unfortunately Leon was one of those casualties."
Mike's last club was FC United, before he quit the game to start a law degree.
Who will be the next graduate from the Academy? Have your say.
City's production line rolls on
September 05, 2007
Comments
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Logan is a fine player but so is Mears and imo i believe we let him go a tad early.
Think its a lot more heart warming seeing the clubs youth breaking through and establishing themselves in first team. especialy in derby games. lets not do a chelsea and buy too many ready made players, as this will no doubt halt the progress of promising youngsters we have at the academy. Well done jim and staff. keep em coming.
i remember seeing shauny wright wright wright in a friendly between city XI and rossendale united. he scores twice and was head and shoulders above the rest.... even though he was head and shoulders below the rest... Sir Jim Cassell Arise!
Sturidge!
Keep em coming Jim, well done our academy is something to be really proud of.
Villa and Man City are showing the other clubs how it is done.
Miller? Testimonial for Cassell and his staff please.
Same old story, 23 graduates
but sadly only 3 are established in the PREMIERSHIP,(SWP, Barton and Richards), Johnson looks like he will follow and Logen is coming along nicely.
At £2mill a year the Academy
must produce PREMIERSHIP players, not just lower division pin money transfers.
A sign of the academy's growing success, and effectiveness in producing the finished article is the fact that over recent years the City academy has overtaken united as the one to aim for. The son of one of my wife's best friends, sadly a stretford utd supporter, was actually disappointed when he was offered a place with the utd youths. He told me that it was almost considered a failure and that, despite the colour, being taken on at Platt Lane was his aim and felt it was the sign of a decent player.
Don't know how accurate this actually is, but it came from a united-supporting youth who'd been offered a place in the united academy.
Jim Cassell is the longer serving City magician, albeit with a much lower profile than Sven. However, in his own rite Jim is a superstar who's contribution to City is invaluable.
Obviously he has several carefully chosen deputies, including Paul Power, amongst others at the Academy.
The entire Academy Staff deserve a huge thank-you on behalf of all at C.o.M.S. from Dr Frank to the youngest 'Junior Blue'. CTID
Please send this to Patrick Viera the chicken who would not give Keane a leathering!
Shame about Leon Mike. I saw him twice - once away at Portsmouthwhich was the first match I saw Peter Crouch play in, and once for the reseves v Blackburn down at Morecambe. He struck me as a powerful and promising young prospect and was sorry to see him go. There again, I thought Crouch was rubbish, so what do I know?
Brother G...if memory serves me didn't Mears do the same as Dickson Etuhu and have his head turned by a greedy agent and he didn't sign the contract he was offered but left with the promise from the agent of bigger and better things? with regards to the young players coming through its important that they can see homegrown players given a chance in the first team to encourage future youngsters to join City. Micah Richards has now established himself in the England squad and hopefully in the process banished chuckle brother senior to being ex England right-back. In Michael Johnson we have a young midfielder with great talent and a superb temprament that can establish himself as an intragal part of the City team for years to come, and England if he continues his current rate of improvement. He has the right attitude to make it if he wants to. Add to him Onhuha,Logan,Sturridge all english and joining the first team squad and we have proof that the talent is coming through more than ever. Sturridge needs to kick on now and prove himself, and i believe Logan may be the next one to make a name for himself in the first team, possibly on the right wing where Sven seems to have played him this season.
Logan has the most important thing that a player can have - hunger. When I meet someone for the first time I always take a good look into their eyes. You can tell a lot about someone by thsi - are they nervy, are they confident, do they have desire/hunger, can I rely on them in battle.
He'll be a regular first time player within two years.
It'a always good to see home grown talent and I offer my congratulations to Cassell for supplying the first team squad with a fine young
player.
top marks to jim and all his staff.
Ashley Grimes, Kelvin Etuhu, Danny Sturridge, Ched Evans, Garry Breen Filip Mentel, all talented lads who any preiership club would love on their books....
WELL TOUGH, WE GOT EM!!!!!!!!!!
Giles! Exactly! That what I do too the first time I meet a person (although not in such refined ways as you do): assess whether this is someone I can rely on in battle. I mean, that's a good thing to know, isnt it?
We rightly expect so much of Jim and his team after developing SWP, Joey and Micah etc... it's incredibly difficult to turn these kids into some of the best youngsters in the world. The Rags were more fortunate than they'll ever know with the 99 class but from an early age usually the superstars stand out....Rooney, Owen, SWP, they were doing astonsihing stuff at a very young age and all half the same 3 qualities, Hunger, pace and fearless. Remember SWP at Stamford bridge when we got beat (2-0 I think), he took the proverbials out of a team of superstars that day! was one of the games I remember thinking he's going to be amazing!...and he was! Micah was the same, Logan was fantastic in pre-season and Strurridge @19 has a lot to prove this year if he wants to follow in the foottsteps of Owen etc...The rest of the crop look very good premiership players (ill be suprised if most don't make it) but superstars?! I believe only Micah, Logan and maybe sturridge will maybe get to that level? Very few young lads end up like Messi and co.. and i'll be surpised if Jim has half a dozen of them! The lucky rags won the lottery in 99...Taggarts made a career out of luck! Opinions????
I find this article a bit confusing,from previous articles about SWP I understood that he had been signed aged 16 on a free tranfer by Franke Clarke on the recommendation of his assistant manager Alan Hill who had been in charge of the Youth set up at Nottingham Forrest and new all about Shaun. So which story is correct?
Giles.....your a legend.....your comments and observation is second to non.....I do the same...look deep into the eyes to see any mis-givings that might be, before I go into battle....nothing better than to have someone reliable to beat the living daylights out of the old dear trying to kill you with her shopping trolley in the tinned foods isle while battling round Asda for the weekly shop....!!!!
Legend.....
Logan, Laird, Srturrige, Grimes/Evens in that order...
i'll tell you somethin its about time jim and the team got the reconition they deserve there has to be a reward or somethin for him! all you here about is this manger did this. this manger did that. that player did this this player did this.granted they have done well! for the team! but where would we be without some of the players which he has nurtured through....! with the money we brought in. he is an absolout legend!!! he needs this reconition deffernetly!!
According to www.soccerbase.com S.W.P was a YTS trainee at Nottingham Forrest until 31-05-98 which would have made Shuan who was born 1981 16 years 7 months old.He joined City on the 01-07-98 ,which means my earliar posting is probably correct.So why is Barry Poynton saying he brought him to the club when he was 15!
The Man C. Academy is now the envy of World Football. Ferguson is envious at the number of top class talent Cas and his men are churning out. If Rooney and Ronaldo are young players of the year Micah Richards must be the man of the decade, they are not in his class!
Get a life Jack!
I thought Tyrone went to Norwich ?
Several stars? Yet 23 have made the big time in nine years? To make it at a senior level whether it is a City or another club (and surely the transfer fees received is greater than quoted) makes them all stars. Shame that Leon Mike had to end up at FC of Bury though and surely Stephen Ireland at least came part way through the Academy. It would be good to see a full list but doeasn't Stevie Lomas come in the Academy list?