- So Joe you joined city in 2006 you know it's a hell of a long time ago how would
you sum up your time at this Football Club - It's a difficult question
there's been so many chapters to it so many changes you know feels like I've
joined a different Club three or four times been out on loan so it's
been a fantastic experience you know I've grown a lot like I've came
here at nineteen, I'm going to leave thirty one so a long time. You know it's hard to look at
yourself but I certainly feel a lot of love and a lot of appreciation and you
know I've always enjoyed the Man City fans you know I came to Manchester City
as a Shrewsbury Town player as a kid from Shrewsbury and it was you know the
pinnacle for me to be at this club and that was before you know they were
challenging for titles and challenging for leagues it was huge
I think they saw in me someone who was just gonna try
his best and try and get the best out of whatever he had and I would like to think
that's how I've been appreciated and I wouldn't have been able to do the things
I did if I wasn't embraced how I have been so I'm happy to have given you know the
fans some great memories and hopefully I'll be thought of well when I
I do leave - Okay so let's start with this first clip this is in
2006 of course and this is your debut against Sheffield United, Weaver was
injured you came in and keep a clean sheet so tell me what it was like
because I looked before there was 42,000 people in the stadium that day
and that's a big jump up from kind of what you were used to at that point how
did it feel? - Yeah it was strange because you know at the time
I was kind of playing one or two, I was playing number three when I arrived and
they got rid of Jamo (David James) and signed Isaksson and he came in
injured so I was on the bench for Weaves (Nicky Weaver) who was a fantastic guy and you know
also a really important guy in Man City's history and didn't even know
he was injured he was a bit of a warrior he tried to get through things
best he could but he actually rung me on the morning of the game and said
get yourself ready you're gonna play and I was like oh my god
I don't know if I was ready for it but then I just did what I usually do and
went and got on with it the lads were fantastic, it was a
good bunch they looked after me and you know we got through the game - The next
clip that I selected was Tottenham 2010 so you'd been off to Birmingham
and you done so well on loan, how important was that loan move for
in thinking sort of establishing yourself as a genuine Premier League starter?
- It it was important I played a lot of football before it I
played you know 50 games in the Premier League for City under Sven, Sven gave me a
a really good run in the team and then Mark Hughes came in and as
it seems to be in my career, it seems like a manager either feels
strongly towards me one way or another and you know he brought Shay in and
I needed to go out and play and I thought that was the end of my Man City
career there to be honest I literally sorted it two days after the season
finished because I wanted to be somewhere and be somewhere organised
and sorted and Alex gave me the opportunity with Birmingham coming up and I
just put my heart and soul into that I didn't even think about Manchester City
or anything I was a Birmingham player. Roberto came in and you know he
saw something in me and I'll be forever grateful for that and I didn't think it
was going to happen but he said listen I want you to come back preseason and I
want to see you more closely and then I kind of stayed in the team from there.
- I mean this game you were absolutely incredible I mean there were
saves from Defoe, Huddlestone, Benoit Assou-Ekotto
can you remember those and do you have a particular favorite from this game that
really stand out to you? - I made an early one off JD, off Jermaine
Defoe he kind of did what he does best and just hooked one round the corner and
it was a big save and I knew it's a big moment like I knew this was
really important it was a huge game for me and I'm really pleased with how it
went I just wish, if we'd have won it would have been even more special.
- For a lot of the City fans the semi final win against United was the moment that
they started to believe actually this takeover and this new dawn might
actually end up paying dividends, was there a similar feeling with the players
did that feel like a significant game that win against United? - This this was
one of the most important wins I think one of the best atmospheres
that I have ever played in. I've played a lot of times for England
at Wembley and it's and it's hard it's hard for the fans to make it perfect
and hard to make but this was literally blue and red divide they were by far
obviously historically the strongest team in Manchester, you know, end of,
and if we ever beat them it was more down to Man United not
playing particularly well but now there was a real opportunity for us to make a
statement you know we hadn't won a trophy for 35 years and that was you
know obviously they're kind of their little joke towards us so this
game was huge and you know to get the one-nil, there was another game, this was
probably one of most important wins for me and then there was another
game I think when we sealed Champions League this year as well I
think we beat Tottenham one-nil at home
those were massive, all the great things that came after
that I think we'll be down to those kind of results. - And then the final against
Stoke there's a real outpouring of emotion at the full time whistle
obviously because there is 35 years of not winning a trophy have ended, are you
aware in moments like that of kind of the level of history and significance
that you've created for a football club? - I think we were and I think
it was hard to take in you know if I could do the
celebrations again I would, my family were kind of shaking me, I
didn't know what to do I was kind of dumbfounded
it's a moment you know when you work so hard for something and it does
actually come off, I don't think you quite know what to do it was just happy
it was nothing more there was nothing other than just happiness
and that's a really nice thing to be a part of. - And Mancini, I remember
after he was interviewed on the pitch and he said this is for all
the supporters and he had a great relationship with the fans what was he
like to work with? I mean you mentioned before you'll forever be indebted to him
for showing all that faith in you but what was it like to work with with
him, because he wasn't your usual character? - No he was
supercharged, he was getting what he wanted, he put his team out to win
the game and I thought if I really want
to give a lot of credit it was down to the people that he put out on the pitch.
We were really close, we were a really close knit group, we had a way of
winning and we stuck to it by playing good football but also being really like
really tight together so I thought he assembled a really good squad in
something that's not easy to do you know you can throw money around by all means
throw it around, but it doesn't actually mean you're gonna get results so the
players he picked and bought in, unbelievable you know, a couple
of them are still here now and that's credit to him. - The six one
against United and the reason I chose this again similar as the
semi-final this again was a moment where the City fans were kind of like right
we can actually be title contenders, you know, just kind of explain to us what
the feeling around the Club was after a result of that magnitude?
It was crazy because you know you can beat Man United but you
can't usually do things like that we were just relentlessly it was just
relentless what we were doing, you know they barely got near our goal even with
11 and it was it was a huge result, they had a super team
I think to go out there, you know, you see on the badge there, they're Premier League
Champions the year before, I think we showed our strength in depth you. I
think Edin came on and got two and he was only on about 15
minutes. David Silva, I remember his pass to Edin, it
was just moments of absolute brilliance all-round brilliance and it was
great to be a part of. - Next clip is just the celebrations from 2012 after Agüero
and the trophy lifts and there is the moment of you, arms out wide, running
and in the moment Gael Clichy, I mean they're kind of images that are going to
be remembered at this Football Club forever aren't they?
- That was a crazy day, a really emotional day and one maybe we were particularly prepared
for, we expected professionally to do a job that day and
you just didn't expect the whole drama to unfold how it did
and I spent the whole second half probably the last 40 minutes at least of
just in disbelief and it was a really low point it was really
low because there was nothing I could do to affect what was going on at the other
end, you know the guys, we weren't playing badly we just couldn't score and it was
over, I think if it hadn't happened then it wouldn't have
been as easy to do again, you know you never know in hindsight, but that was
such a low moment and then Edin scored and I was almost
angry, like don't, we don't need to go that close and then the feeling
when Sergio did score, it was a surreal moment
I didn't even know that I did what I did and I don't
know how I would have stopped so it's a good job Gael was there because I needed
someone to embrace otherwise I'd have probably been lapping the pitch now.
- You look at these celebrations now, do you remember any of this or is it
literally just a blur? - No this was not easy, this was a blur for me
yeah I didn't know what was going on, I really didn't, I was trying to keep cool, but
I was too also trying to enjoy it, I think with the emotion of
the day and three sips of champagne I probably
wasn't in control of what I was doing. - And then, obviously the next clip is actually
lifting that title did that in any way feel sweeter the second one or
can the first one never be topped? Or are they just all different? - No, that felt
really good, you know, myself personally I'd had a couple of games out of the
team, Manuel took me out in about October a few weeks out of the team so I really had
to kind of dig deep and stop riding that wave and kind of give myself a slap
during that season and got back to to where I wanted to be and I was really
pleased to play an important role and you know winning titles is such a
great feeling and something I'll never get bored of. - And then the
last clip is a defeat actually but it was away at Barcelona this for me I
remember being there that evening and just thinking I've never seen
anything quite like it from a goalkeeper, I mean I personally think
this is better than the Dortmund game. Which one do you think in terms of
your own personal performance? - I don't know it was nice to do it, you know,
it was a round of 16 match, and we were in it you know that was the
important thing I wanted to keep us in the tie as much as I could because you
know Sergio had a penalty, I remember Ter-Stegen saved a penalty from Sergio,
that really really could have put us in a chance of beating one of the best
teams to ever, you know, walk the planet. I just loved it, you know...
Nou Camp, I had a couple of my pals watching the game, the City fans up in
the gods, you go there at that time, probably not so much now,
think if city go there now they go there believing they could win, but we still
were at that moment quite hopeful that we could get a result and just tried my
best for the team, put myself on the line, you know, the saves that I like to
make I like to be big and strong and make people try and score past me
and it came off for me that night, I just wish it was a result
that meant we got through. - The thing about this one as well it almost
ended up being a personal jewel between you and Messi didn't it, a lot of the saves
you made were from him the greatest player to ever play the game does that
elevate a performance do you think when you're denying somebody of that
unbelievable quality? - I think it does, you know, there's no two ways about it.
I've played against him a lot of times and I've played against some really really
really good players who I think, you know, without him would be classed as the
world's best players, you know, the likes of Ronaldo or even Neymar to that
level now, even Hazard on his day but this guy was just
another level only and he didn't have a bad game
he was really playing well and it was an absolute joy
for me to be involved in a battle like that. I don't take
things too seriously, I'm fully aware of who I am and where I'm from and the
opportunities that I'm getting, so to be there was one and then to be
involved in something like that, it was good to be part of.
- So what about the remainder of your career now Joe?
What do you think's left for you and what are you hopeful that you can achieve?
- I think there's loads left for me.
I'm 31 but I feel I feel young I feel fresh I've been really lucky with
injuries and things like that you know it's not work for me here in the last
couple of years but that's fine, that's football.
I've shown I'm willing to go out and fight and willing to go
and give my all for anyone who will give me the opportunity to play for them
so I just want to build up another relationship with a new club,
it'll never die with what I've got here but I think we can all
shake hands and move on, the club will keep moving forward and I'll keep being
happy and in years to come I'd imagine I'll be coming to watch and still be a
part of the club, but football wise that's gone for me now I want to
give my all to someone else and try and give them some big
performances and some some big memories. - Well I think I speak for every City fan
when I say that you've played a massive role in getting us where we are today
and we just want to thank you very much for everything that you've done.
- It's a pleasure and I want to thank you guys as well, you've been better than I could
have ever imagined towards me and I appreciate it! - Fantastic, thanks mate.