remember going down the riverside in Chester-le-Street with my mate who was in our academy when we were about 13 to watch the "Nike Cup", which was made up of u-16 academies. All the parents there were raving about "James" who played for West Ham as a centre back and had black hair. If I had a quid for every time I heard a cockney call him "the new Bobby Moore" I'd have been the richest kid in town.
FWIW Ishmael Miller was an absolute beast for Man City academy. Scored 4 in one game.