Football shirts can often come to define certain eras for fans, and that’s certainly the case with a classic Manchester City shirt we’ve just re-released. The club’s 1989 home shirt will always remind fans of a famous 5-1 win over neighbours Manchester United, and it even brings the memories back for some of the players as well! As the author of one of the year’s finest football books, and the man at the centre of that famous derby win, former City captain Paul Lake (pictured above, left, celebrating that win with team-mate Ian Bishop) is certainly a good man to ask about this era – here’s what he had to say about it when we caught up with him recently….

Paul, does that City shirt bring back any memories of a particular season or game?

‘To be honest, whenever I see that shirt, I think of the obvious game. I know it’s a bit clichéd, but because of the history of the club and my link to that, it’d have to be the 5-1. Being a City fan myself just adds that extra sugar on top to a derby game like that. It certainly was a historic occasion, to score so many goals in that shirt, and whenever I see any retro shirts, it always takes me back to certain games. There was the black and red checked shirt that reminds me of a game against Blackpool in the pouring rain for instance. There’s the old burgundy shirt, which is one of my favourites, that takes me back to a pre-season game in Norway, where I was on fire to be honest with you! But the shirt we’re talking about now, it is and always will be the 5-1 shirt.’

When talking about that game, most of the players admit that the result was unexpected…

‘If you speak to any City fans from that time, they were absolutely dreading that game. We hadn’t started the season particularly well, and United had made some big signings that year. Fortunately for us, the spine of their team at the time were all out injured, but we also had our goalkeeper Andy Kibble, our most experienced player Neil McNabb and our million-pound striker Clive Allen all out injured, so it was a very young and inexperienced side that we put out. City fans were praying for a draw to be honest, so it was a real upset.

On the day, people will remember that at the start we let the occasion get to us, and for the first 15 minutes United were on top. It was the United fans that coming onto the pitch from the North Stand forcing the game to stop that calmed us down, and Tony Book that got us back on track. After that we won every second ball, every header, and to go in at half time 3-0 up was testament to that particular team talk.’

What was said in that team talk?

‘He told us to get back together and work as a team – talking to each other, passing players on, hunting in packs, doing together in groups. We did the simple things well, and got the ball out wide early. That sounds pretty basic, but when you do that it gives you confidence to peg the opposition back, put more pressure on the ball and upset their rhythm. Then at half time, it was all about keeping our feet on the ground. At 3-0 up, you think you’ve won, but you’ve still got 45 minutes to play. So it was all about staying professional, keeping those levels up, keeping that focus. After 8 minutes of the second half, Mark Hughes scored a wonder goal to make it 3-1, and we had a bit of a wobble, but we got it back on track and managed to get back on top. Once we got it back to 4-1, it was all over.’

Looking back on the kits you wore during your time at City, do you have a favourite?

‘My favourite was the burgundy kit. I adored it – this is going to sound really sad but I used to wear it with a pair of jeans when I was out with my mates! I used to get some stick off them, saying: “alright, we know you play for City!” but it was never about that, I just loved that shirt. You can see that love for the current City shirts now amongst the fans as well, they’re all so proud to wear them. The other one that stands out for different reasons was the yellow shirt that everyone talks about, which we only wore once. No one’s ever seen those since!’

This was a time when Manchester’s music scene was getting a lot of attention, did you feel part of that side of things as well?

‘It was just the coolest place in the world at that time, with such an eclectic mix of people. The Hacienda was great for a few reasons – the music was great and there was a real mix of people, but as a footballer you were also left alone to enjoy yourself. It was the height of everything – the ‘Cool As F***’ tee shirts, people coming from Sweden, China, everywhere, the atmosphere, everything combined made Manchester the place to be.’

Who were your musical favourites at the time?

‘It’s hard to single any one out, because there’s so many from that time, and I always listened to other stuff as well, my tastes go from The Stone Roses to Orange Juice right up to bands today like Elbow and Bombay Bicycle Club. At the time, you listened to everything, the dance stuff and the indie stuff all came together, it all shared that attitude, that Manchester simian swagger that everyone adapted. That swagger, that’s what Manchester has in abundance. Manchester City has that swagger, not because of the players or whatever, but because of the fans. They carry that with us, and that’ll never go away. Combined with the humour, that self-deprecation, that’s a connection to the city that no other big club has, and it’s something we’re all very proud of.’

Coming right back up to date, were you annoyed that the current squad went one better than you, with a 6-1 derby win?

‘There’s no jealousy, because at the end of the day we played against 11 men, not 10, so that’s my excuse!’

As a City fan, you must be enjoying watching the current team, but who are your favourites?

‘Vincent Kompany epitomises Manchester City for me, he’s an adopted Mancunian, and his attitude and approach is exactly how you would want a City captain to be. David Silva is obviously the player that everyone wants to watch as well, he’s what football all about. If I was playing now, I’d love to play alongside him.’

You’ve been getting plenty of acclaim for your autobiography this year, how are you feeling now about the whole process of writing it?

‘I’m really proud of the book, and shocked at how well it’s done to be honest. Me and my wife wrote it, and it took us two and a half years to put it together. I wanted to move away from your typical football book that says it was all better in my day, I wanted to give people a real understanding of those times and let people make up their own mind. I think it flows really well, we were meticulous about it and we’re really proud of the way it seems to have moved beyond just City fans.’

Finally, if the book was turned into a film, who would you want to play you?‘

‘Probably Curly Watts! I’ve been asked that a couple of times now, and it’s a tough one to answer, I’ve no idea to be honest.’

Thanks to Paul – who is now a Club Ambassador for City In The Community – for taking the time to speak to us. His book I’m Not Really Here is available now.

The classic 1989 Manchester City shirt is on sale now from Umbro.com, and you’ve still got time to get it delivered before Christmas. Take a look here for details.