Lionel Lewis and Manchester City!

My friend say I should bravely post the article on Lionel. Here it goes!

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The Straits Times, Dec 25, 2007
SOCCER

Tired, but Lewis wouldn't have missed Manchester for the world
By Wang Meng Meng

HE HARDLY slept a wink on the 14-hour flight home. Kept awake by a mischievous kid who tugged constantly at his blanket, Lionel Lewis arrived back in Singapore dead-tired early yesterday.

But ask Singapore's top goalkeeper and he will tell you that the jet-lag was well worth it and Christmas had come early for him.

Not only has he returned with cherished memories of his one-week training stint with Manchester City's first team, but he is also carrying hope that an offer will come from the English Premier League club.

The 25-year-old was picked by the Football Association of Singapore to be the first Singaporean to train with the first team of an English top-flight club with the possibility of getting signed by City or one of their partner clubs.

Those partner clubs are Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland), FC Moscow (Russia), Perth Glory (Australia), Shanghai Shenhua (China), Thanda Royal Zulu (South Africa) and Chonburi FC (Thailand). City work with them in areas such as player loans and coaching exchanges.

In Manchester, Lewis worked alongside Elano and Rolando Bianchi and helped striker Valeri Bojinov, who is back in training after knee surgery, with shooting practice. He also received specialised goalkeeping training alongside Joe Hart, Andreas Isaksson and Kasper Schmeichel.

'It was a great experience,'' he said. 'To work with these top players has been incredible. It's not just about being there with a Premier League club, I've picked up good goalkeeping tips that I'll use to improve my game.
"City were great in making me feel part of the set-up, allowing me to travel with the first team for the game at Aston Villa and letting me sit next to the bench.

'Apart from the fact that the players arrive in their club suits, the preparations are the same. 'The squad arrive for Sven Goran Eriksson's team talk and after that, loud music will be played in the dressing room.''

City have confirmed that the club will be taking a second look at the Home United custodian before making a decision.

The club's executive director, Taweesuk Jack Srisumrid, had said earlier: 'In January, Lionel will be invited by the club for a training camp in Australia where we will assess his potential further...

'We will also consider the suitability of placing him in one of our partner clubs.'

Lewis added: 'I'm waiting to hear from the club on the date for the training camp.

'It will be great to get another chance to impress.

'Like I've said, it's every footballer's dream to play at the highest level.''

While playing in the Premier League remains a pipe dream, it is by no means impossible for the goalkeeper, who is rated as one of the best in Asia.

Last Thursday, when asked by Sky Sports about talk of Isaksson leaving during next month's transfer window, manager Eriksson had noted: 'We have a goalkeeper from Singapore (Lewis) ... training with us here, so we'll see what's happening there.'