MANCHESTER CITY WILL begin their pursuit of a third consecutive title when they kick off their Premier League season at West Ham United on Saturday.
Yet when Dubliner Karl Moore joined City from St Kevin’s Boys as an aspiring winger 15 years ago, the club was working towards more modest objectives by comparison.
In the season prior to Moore’s arrival, they finished just two places above the relegation zone. When he left six years later, the likes of David Silva and Yaya Toure passed him on the way in. City were crowned champions within two seasons.
Now lending his efforts to Shelbourne’s push for promotion from the SSE Airtricity League First Division, Moore is our guest on Episode Three of The Football Family.
The 30-year-old provided a really interesting account of what it was like to be present during the early stages of a dramatic overhaul at Manchester City, which has been backed by the substantial wealth of Sheikh Mansour of Abu Dhabi’s Royal Family, who assumed control of the club in 2008.
Moore recalled how he had just embarked on a loan spell at Millwall when he learned of the developments that would change Manchester City beyond recognition.
“In the canteen after my first training session [at Millwall], I switched on Sky Sports News and saw that Manchester City had been taken over by the Royal Family of Abu Dhabi and they were looking to sign Robinho,” he laughed.
“Obviously I was buzzing to go down to Millwall to get a taste of first-team experience. Then you see your parent club, where you obviously want to aspire to be, getting taken over and there’s a big injection of cash.”
He added: “I was just like, ‘Jesus, this is a bit surreal’. Obviously I just got the head down and got on with things at Millwall, and then go back to City and see what it was like.
“I went back in January, another transfer window, and saw the likes of Craig Bellamy, Wayne Bridge and Shay Given — they were just splashing the cash so you kind of know it’s curtains coming then.”
Having been unable to make a first-team breakthrough amid such a drastic increase in the competition for places, Moore was let go by City in the summer of 2010, learning of his release from the club through the press.
“It was disappointing for it to go that way,” he said. “But I knew [it was coming] from some time ago. I was 21 at that point and I hadn’t played for the first-team. Given the influx of new superstars, I suppose it wasn’t going to be the place for me to be.”
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Although there were opportunities elsewhere in the UK at various stages, Moore has been playing in the League of Ireland ever since he left Manchester City. While doing so, he was able to ensure that football wasn’t his only professional option. How he negotiated his career path is certainly worth consideration for any aspiring footballer.
Episode Three of The Football Family is now available to our membership. Details of how you can become a member for just €5 per month — or €42 for an entire year — are available here.
