Cieran Slicker

In 2019/20, City’s EDS team finished eighth, but with a lot of fresh faces having come on board, City had our sights set on a more positive campaign the following term.   

One of those new squad members was goalkeeper Cieran Slicker, who got his first taste of life in PL2 in 2020/21.   

Three days before his 18th birthday, Slicker made his Under-21s league debut as the City youngsters opened the season with a 3-3 draw to Derby County. A week later, he was a late substitution in our 2-1 defeat at Blackburn Rovers, a far from ideal start to the season.   

Alongside the arrival of Slicker that summer, Enzo Maresca had also been appointed to the position as Head Coach.   

Slicker would go on to make a further 10 league appearances in which City lost just one. And the Scotland international was quick to attribute our fine form to the overall talent of the squad.  

“It was crazy to think of the talent [in the team],” began Slicker.   

“A lot of the guys are playing in the Premier League now or equivalent in another country, so it was crazy. But I think the good thing about the squad was there was never any egos.   

“Everyone was just willing to improve. I know to me and Traff were there together and there was [healthy] competition in every spot on the pitch.   

“And I think that massively helped as well. Always competition, always pushing each other.   

“And I think it's transpired to now. It was the first sort of smell of like first team football, and I think it’s definitely helped everyone along the way, and it set everyone up in the right way.”  

After a short stint on the sideline due to quarantine restrictions as a result of COVID-19, Slicker returned to the starting line-up.   

And after what would be City’s last league loss of the campaign, a 5-2 reverse to Southampton, the team began to pick up momentum.   

One emphatic result, that was the catalyst for the squad to realise just what they were capable of, was a stunning 7-2 win at Liverpool.   

A brace for Cole Palmer and Liam Delap, alongside strikes from Adrian Bernabe, Tommy Doyle, Ben Knight, showcased the talent City had across the entire pitch.  

“Yeah, I remember that game,” said Slicker with a smile.  

“I think he [Cole Palmer] scored a worldy.  

“But even I remember that game the quality of that Liverpool team and the talent of the teams we were playing.  

“I remember one player was [Caoimhin] Kelleher playing in that game and he’s a top goalie so to get seven past him just showed our level was unbelievable. 

“And I don't think he had a bad game either, which was even crazy to say. But that's almost that statement. Obviously, Liverpool, Man City, even for the first team in recent years, it's a massive rivalry.  

“But we weren't really doing anything different to the first two games of the season. It was just sticking by the process.”     

Slicker went on to help City lift not just the 2020/21 PL2 title but also retain the trophy the following campaign.  

He then spent the first half of 2022/23 on loan at Rochdale, before helping City win the Premier League 2 titles for a historic third-successive campaign in the latter half of the season.  

In the summer of 2023, Slicker made the permanent move to Ipswich Town. At the start of 2025/26, the now 23-year-old joined League Two outfit Barnet on a season-long loan as he continues to build up more senior football experience.  

And despite his former Academy team-mates now being spread not just across the UK, but around Europe, Slicker’s biggest takeaway from his time winning the Premier League 2, is the friends he got to play alongside.  

 “I've got friendships for life,” he said.  

“Obviously, Liam [Delap] is probably the main one with James [Trafford]. But that's all the boys. All the boys were so together.  

“And even now if you give me a random name from that team, I can probably message and just catch up and see how they are. They stay with you for life, them relationships.”  

Tommy Doyle

In many ways the on-field heartbeat of that City EDS squad, Tommy Doyle also proved a perfect, inspirational captain to help drive us to that historic first title. 

A formidable, all energy midfield talent and a player blessed with superb dead ball accuracy, Doyle was the perfect on field embodiment in seeking to deliver what Head Coach Enzo Maresca and the City youngsters sought to achieve. 

A natural leader, having captained a succession of City sides through his Academy journey, Tommy was also a figure with City in his very soul thanks to his incredible family heritage through legendary grandfathers Mike Doyle and Glyn Pardoe, both key members of City’s golden side of the late 1960s/early 70s. 

By the time the 20/21 campaign got underway, Tommy had already made his senior City debut under Pep Guardiola. 

And he revealed how Maresca immediately identified the crucial role he and fellow talismanic young gun Cole Palmer could have in helping provide a lead and template to the rest of their supremely talented team-mates. 

“Enzo was amazing for us. I remember, I think quite early on, he pulled me and Cole to one side and just said, ‘Listen, you have to bring a level to this team. And that comes every day in training.’” Tommy says looking back. 

“His message was ‘If you're messing around or you think this level's too easy, you won't play for me.’ 

“Enzo said we needed to bring a good level to this team because I think he knew how good we all were collectively and that Cole and I had the experience of training with the first team on a regular basis. 

“I've seen it before where, subconsciously, maybe some lads just have a little bit of an arrogance to them because they think they're too good to be playing at this level. 

“Early on Enzo just said: ‘Listen, that's not going to be the case here. You're going to train just as hard here as what you do with the first team and have the mentality that we're going into every game to win.’ 

“He was a massive part of what we were able to achieve that season. 

“In terms of the captaincy, I’d pretty much been captain of every age group coming through the Academy, so I was used to the role. 

“But obviously that was probably the first time where you were treated as a captain and you had to sort things out and you had to deal with things, and you had to drive the standards. 

“I was of an age where you would really command and take control. And obviously we had a lot of experience there as well with the likes of Taylor Harwood-Bellis. 

“He's a great leader and there was a few of us on the pitch that would really drive the standards and lead. 

“Having that role as captain of the Under-21s, it really taught you how to conduct yourself, how to push standards, how to be the best you can be every single day. 

“There was so much talent in that group but maybe people on the outside didn't realise that we were going to be so hungry and wanting to win every game.  

“And we just blew teams away really. 

“It was so enjoyable to be honest and to be so successful that season as a group was an amazing feeling.” 

Ahead of the lifting that maiden Premier League 2 title, many of the EDS squad had already tasted success by helping City lift the 2020 FA Youth Cup in October of 2020. 

In a tournament delayed by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and then concluded over a weekend behind closed doors at St George’s Park once football resumed, Doyle would captain the Blues youngsters to glory. 

City secured what was a first FA Youth Cup success since 2008 by beating Chelsea 3-2 in a thrilling final with Palmer, James McAtee and Morgan Rogers all on the scoresheet. 

Looking back, Doyle says that memorable success only filled the players with even more confidence and belief looking to the remainder of the PL2 campaign, albeit with one nagging sense of regret. 

“Again, I have such special memories of winning the FA Youth Cup that season,” Doyle added. 

“I think it was pretty much a similar team to the PL2 side because of how young we were as a group. 

“I think the only thing that we were frustrated about that season was that we didn't get to have a go at the UEFA Youth League because obviously that got stopped due to the pandemic. 

“To be fair, with the players and talent we had I would have fancied us at that as well.

“Having won the Youth Cup and won the league there was a sense of frustration around the fact that we couldn't go and compete against teams abroad as I think we'd have been at the level to compete and definitely win that. 

“But winning the FA Youth Cup as well again just gave us special memories that you look back on and treasure it all now. 

“Like in the league we were just so young and had no fear and it was just so enjoyable and like you were just playing football with your mates really.” 

Reflecting back today, Doyle – who is now at Wolves and currently on a season-long loan with Championship side Birmingham City - says there were numerous ingredients that coalesced to help forge that inaugural PL2 triumph. 

The squad’s natural talent for starters, allied to a fierce hunger and will to win which sat neatly alongside a refusal to settle for anything other than excellence and consistency that was instilled by Maresca and his coaching team. 

But above all for Doyle, the real secret lay in the close bond of friendship and brotherhood that bound that group together as both players and friends and which still endures to this day. 

“I think our success just showed a real togetherness,” Tommy adds. 

“We had a great manager, great staff working behind the scenes, great players and sometimes it all just clicks. 

“And I know that it doesn't happen often where you have that click and where everything goes right. It's a collective. 

“You spend so much time at the training ground, and you spend so much time with staff and physios and managers and assistants and people who work on the desks and all that side of the thing. And I think it all just clicked. 

“We could have this conversation in another 10 years’ time, and it would still feel just as special. I’m 24 now and a Dad and, as you mature and you get to look back on it, you're just so proud of the achievements. 

“And seeing the journey all the other boys have been on, it's just great now to compete against your mates at the highest level, playing in the Premier League and competing against your mates that you've been so successful with since you were little boys. 

“It's something amazing. 

“I speak to a lot of them. I still speak to Cole, Morgan, Taylor. And I see a lot of the boys when we play against each other like Liam, McAtee, Traff… 

“Obviously, you're not in contact every single day but when there's a successful moment, a good game, you speak to a lot of the boys. 

“And I think our bond is something that will never change for the rest of our lives because of what we've been through together, through school, through growing up in the Academy, winning Premier League tournaments at the age of 13, 14, 15, competing against top teams and winning. 

“Our relationships will never disappear, even if you're not speaking every single day. 

“Whenever you cross paths, whether you bump into each other in Manchester or you have the odd text or play against each other, it's always the same feeling. 

“And then when you do see each other, it's like you've never been away from eachother, which is crazy. And that's all down to that amazing bond we had. 

“It was a really special time.”

 

ALEX ROBERTSON 

In his first season competing in the Premier League 2, City never lost a game in which Alex Robertson was involved.  

The Australia international made 14 league appearances in which the midfielder scored two goals and assisted one.  

Technical, quick, armed with eye-catching passing and the ability to dictate play, the then 17-year-old missed the start of the 2020/21 campaign through injury.  

But once he made his debut, assisting in a 7-2 win over Liverpool, in November 2020, Robertson found being part of Maresca’s team the perfect environment for him to develop his craft. 

“Enzo [Maresca] was the coach, and he's gone on to do great things in the game now. And I think as a person, I probably learned a lot because I was so young,” began Roberston. 

“I maybe wasn't ready to play a lot of games at that level, hence why I played quite a bit in the Under-18s as well as the Under-23s that season, but I think it probably just taught me a bit of patience and just obviously when you do get your chance, to try and take it the best you can. 

“And I think when I did get my chance, I just tried to enjoy it as much as I could. I enjoyed playing with great players and under a great manager.  

“And I enjoyed it because I was playing with my friends and we ended up winning the title.   

“I think a lot of us were really close having come through the Under-18s together and younger age groups.  

“I joined City when I was 15, so I knew Cieran [Slicker] James [Trafford], the boys from that age. But then obviously being in the 18s together with Cole [Palmer, Liam [Delap], Oscar [Bobb], everyone just became kind of tight, and I think that's probably why everyone did so well on the pitch because everyone was good mates off the pitch,” Robertson continued. 

“We'd go train every day, then go play golf, and then obviously just play our games.  

“But it was nice to do it with your friends and with such a talented group. It was something quite unique to be a part of.” 

Now at Cardiff City, where he is helping former EDS Lead Coach Brian Barry-Murphy and his team push for promotion to the Championship, Robertson isn’t the only player from that squad to be having a fruitful senior career.  

CJ Egan-Riley is playing his part as Marseille push for a place in next season’s Champions League through a top three finish in France’s Ligue 1.  

James Trafford was instrumental in Pep Guardiola’s side that beat Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final.  

Cole Palmer won the UEFA Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup with Chelsea last season to name just a few of the class of 20/21’s accolades thus far.  

And for Robertson, he was quick to point to the endless talent within City’s maiden PL2-winning side. 

“I think the whole team from goalkeeper to striker was unreal and even the substitutes like some games on the bench was like Felix  Nmecha who's now playing at Borussia Dortmund,” Robertson explained. 

“Adrian [Bernarbe] was playing as well sometimes. There was a lot of boys with the first team which would obviously drop down. You had the likes of Tommy Doyle, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, the older boys.  

“From the whole team and then including the bench, it was just an extremely talented group. And if you look at some of the boys doing really well now, it's good to see and it just shows how much talent was in that group. 

“And I think that just set the tone, didn't it?  

“Because we won three in a row after that. I ended up going out on loan in Scotland. It didn't go great, so I came back and then played a little bit and then got injured unfortunately. 

“And then the next season was my last season in the 23s with Brian [Barry-Murphy] and we won that one [PL2 title] as well.  

“So, I think to just set the tone from the first one with the team and the squad that we had, it was special to be a part of.”  

SAM EDOZIE

One impressive aspect to City’s first PL2 title win was that Maresca’s squad was the youngest in the competition. 

A year after joining City’s Academy, then 17-year-old Sam Edozie made the step up to Under-23s football, making him one of the youngest in the team.  

The winger looked instantly settled, his versatility one of his strongest attributes which saw him operate on both sides throughout the course of the season.  

Edozie got off the mark in our first win of the season, scoring City’s opener in a 2-1 triumph at Everton.  

And after jumping between the Under-18s and Under-21s for the latter end of 2020, Edozie then became a mainstay in Maresca’s matchday squad.  

One impressive feat, which took Edozie pleasantly by surprise when informed, was he helped City go on an 18-game unbeaten run that saw us secure the PL2 title.  

“To be honest, I didn’t even know we did that!”, said Edozie with a chuckle when asked about City’s eye-catching unbreakable form.  

“But I think that sums up the team, we were taking it game by game and enjoying our football. 

“We weren’t reading into those things, and we got a bit of momentum going and then the results followed.”  

One of those results was a 3-0 triumph over Manchester United which not only helped us move one step closer to the title, but we also turned Manchester blue in what was shaping up to be a phenomenal season.     

Edozie opened up the scoring before a Cole Palmer brace confirmed victory in what was the now Southampton winger’s favourite moments from the campaign. 

“I remember scoring and you want to score as many goals as possible,” Edozie continued.  

“To get a goal is a good feeling, so to do it in a derby, there’s no better feeling really, it is a proud moment for me to look back on.”  

On top of being one of the youngest in the side, Edozie was also still adjusting to life in Manchester after moving from Millwall the year prior.  

“It was a big move for me and my family,” began the winger.  

“It was the first time living away from home and Manchester is quite different to London.  

“I was away from all my friends and family so it was a difficult time, but I was playing football and doing what I love. I had good friends in the team, so that helped. 

“And after a few weeks I started to just really love my life up there.”     

As this piece alludes to, City went on to win our first-ever PL2 title.  

For Edozie, it was his third piece of silverware after winning the 2019/20 Under-18 Premier League North and National titles.  

The now 23-year-old went on to win the 2020 FA Youth Cup, another Under-18 PL North and National double and two further PL2 titles to see City become the first club to win the competition for three successive seasons.

And for Edozie, he explained how he is grateful to have been in a competitive, winning environment that has already provided him with valuable experience for his journey in the senior game.  

“Potentially, just because the feeling of winning and lifting that trophy is unmatched,” Edozie explained when asked if winning silverware is a key reason as to why so many of the class of 2020/21are now carving out successful careers around the globe.   

“Just knowing your hard work that season paid off,  there was no better feeling.    

“Then you start searching for where you can find that feeling elsewhere and it gives you that hunger to keep improving and doing the things that get you to the top.   

“And being around that winning atmosphere definitely helped me. In my second season at Southampton, we were expected to go back to the Premier League, so I was used to having that expectation because I kind of had it at Man City.   

“Even though we were younger, we still had an expectation to achieve certain things playing for City. We had a good atmosphere in the team and we wanted to win games, so coming here to Southampton, it was second nature to me.”