Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany has urged the club to copy Manchester United's template by focusing on the long-term and slowly integrating youngsters into the senior squad.
The Belgium international has been on the Citizens' books for the past nine years, winning five major honours - including two Premier League titles and one FA Cup - during that time.
Kompany acknowledges that his time at the Etihad Stadium may soon come to an end, having recently seen a number of long-serving players depart, but he intends to play his part in helping the current academy crop successfully transition into the first team.
"This club has given me so much, and I think I have given a lot back," he told The Guardian. "I didn't really expect any of this when I came to England but there's a relationship now that's going to grow and go further. Once I finish playing I'm still a Manchester City player for the rest of my life, that won't change.
"At the moment I'm half-player and half-fan, that's why I spend a lot of my spare time at the academy watching the kids. There is a real vision for the future here, a long-term plan. Only the very best clubs are able to pass the baton of continuity down through the generations.
"Manchester United were able to do it because Sir Alex Ferguson stayed so long. Maybe you see Barcelona and Bayern Munich doing it now and I think that's what we are on the verge of putting in place. Nothing lasts for ever in football, Pablo [Zabaleta] and Joe Hart and others who were heroes at the club have gone now but I'm still around to provide a link to what we achieved in the last 10 years and hopefully players will come after me and do the same.
"No team here is going to win eight titles in a row. We had to scramble and fight to get the first one and then we got a second to confirm things. Since then we have been in the mix with other clubs, and that's progress. It's not as if any one team has been dominant over the period."
Kompany lasted the full 90 minutes in City's Premier League opener against Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend - a 2-0 victory - and is expected to start against Everton on Monday night.
Daniel Lewis
