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.”