Paul Lake

The twins were the younger siblings of Susan (born 1962), David (1964), and Michael (born 1966).

Paul Andrew Lake (born 28 October 1968) is an English former professional footballer who played for Manchester City and represented England at under-21 and B team level.

Lake was born on 28 October 1968, five minutes before his twin sister Tracey, to Sheila McGinty (housewife) and Ted Lake (asphalt technician).

He grew up in Haughton Green, though both his parents came from Ardwick.

He won the 1980 Smiths Crisps Six-a-Side Championship with his school, St Mary's RC Primary (Denton), and scored the winning goal in the Wembley final against St Cuthbert's School (Sunderland).

He was spotted by Manchester City scout Ted Davies playing for Denton Boys under-13s, who got him a place alongside Andy Hinchcliffe on Blue Star, a feeder team to Manchester City.

Ian Brightwell later joined the team, though by then the club had changed its name to Midas, and later Pegasus.

Lake became an associated schoolboy at City in July 1983, and signed a contract to become a Youth Training Scheme apprentice in July 1985.

He won a treble in the 1985–86 season, as the reserve team won the Central League, the 'A' team won the Lancashire league title, and the youth team beat Manchester United in the FA Youth Cup final.

He had an excellent early career with Manchester City, winning the FA Youth Cup in 1986 and helping the club to win promotion out of the Second Division in 1988–89.

Following an injury to David White, Lake was given his first-team debut by manager Jimmy Frizzell on 24 January 1987 in a 0–0 draw with Wimbledon at Plough Lane.

He scored on his home debut on 21 February in a 1–1 draw with Luton Town.

New manager Mel Machin gave him more of a run in the first team early in the 1987–88 season after centre-half Kenny Clements picked up an injury.

On 7 November he featured in City's 10–1 victory over Huddersfield Town.

He became a regular first team player, but missed the last three games of the season with a knee injury he picked up against Bradford City.

He played in every outfield position throughout the 1988–89 campaign as City secured promotion out of the Second Division with a second-place finish.

On 11 March 1989, he came close to death when he was knocked unconscious during a match against Leicester City and subsequently suffered with a blocked airway whilst lying on the ground.

It had taken some minutes for the City doctor to make his way from the director's box to the pitch and as a result of the incident the Football Association changed their rules to ensure that club doctors must remain at pitch-side during games.

Despite beating rivals Manchester United 5–1, the 1989–90 season saw City initially struggle to adapt to life back in the First Division after two seasons away.

Machin was sacked in November 1989, and Lake later said that his replacement, Howard Kendall, was "the best boss I ever had".

However a ruptured Anterior cruciate ligament in September 1990 would lead to several seasons struggling with knee injuries, and he would only play four further games from that point before announcing his retirement in January 1996.

Despite his career effectively ending at the age of 21 he was later inducted into the Manchester City Hall of Fame, and was seen as a player who would have been a key first team player for many years had it not been for his injury problems.

Lake went on to spend ten years as a physiotherapist in the game, working with Macclesfield Town and Bolton Wanderers.

He was appointed as club captain for the 1990–91 season and was given a new five-year contract.

However three games into his captaincy he picked up an injury against Aston Villa.

An initial X-ray showed no broken bones and he was told it would take six weeks for the injury to heal.

However, he broke down after initial straight line running work stepped up to include twisting and turning.

An arthroscopy revealed a ruptured Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), and he underwent pioneering surgery to reconstruct the ligament using tissue taken from the patella tendon of the same knee; he was initially given a six-month recovery time which could have seen him back in the team at the end of that season.

However, when the time again came to train with a football his knee gave way once again.

He was declared fit to play again in June 1991 following months of recovery time at Lilleshall Hall.

Lake had a son Zachary Lake (1997) to his first wife Lisa Johnson Lake He had a son called Edward Lake (2003) and Hannah Lake (2006) to his second wife.

He spent all of his free time during childhood playing football.

He grew up supporting Manchester City, as he was taken to games at Maine Road by the local milkman.

His great-Uncle George was on the books of Manchester City before the First World War.

At the age of eight he played for the Denton Youth under-12 side.

In 2008 he was recruited by Manchester City as its City in the Community Ambassador, helping to forge links with local charities.

In 2013, he joined the Premier League as a Club Support Manager, liaising with various football academies across the north of England.

He also works as a match day co-commentator for BBC Radio Manchester.

City ended the season in 14th place, five points above the relegation zone.

He signed professional forms with the club on his 18th birthday.