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LONDON -- In an instant, Paul Lakes mind goes back more than three decades to a soccer field in Manchester and Barry Bennells tricks with the ball.The youth team coach flicked the ball between his feet, knees, shoulder, and head, impressing the youngsters hoping to break into the game, and their parents.He was a person you would completely trust, recalls the 48-year-old Lake, who says he was 11 or 12 at the time. He would do keepy-up, ball skill sessions in front of all the parents and they would be clapping and cheering him.It was like, `Wow. This guy is a fantastic footballer. And he was great with the kids. He said the right things; he was encouraging; he looked the part; he was fit; he was powerful. All of our parents would see how good he was and see how he was with each individual boy.That was the public face of Bennell, the man entrusted by parents with turning their children into professionals. In private, Bennell was sexually abusing some aspiring players linked to Manchester City and later Crewe Alexandra in the 1970s and 80s.He was the pied piper, he knew how to manipulate the environment to suit his needs and his desires and his horrible behavior, Lake told The Associated Press. He could gain trust from parents unwittingly under the guise of being this caring coach who could get your son to be a professional footballer.Only now, after receiving three separate jail terms in the United States and England from 1995 to 2015, are the full horrors emerging of what Bennell subjected the children in his care to.Lake can now recall only one training session with Bennell because he was in a separate coaching group around Manchester City feeder teams. But David White and Paul Stewart, future teammates in the City first team, suffered in private for years before this week waiving their anonymity to tell their stories of abuse at the hands of Bennell and an unnamed coach.There were muted conversations around and suspicions around Barry Bennell even around that time, Lake said. It was dismissed because there is no way that person -- because hes a football man and kids love him -- would be an abuser of young men because hes wearing club badges. So hes got to be legitimate.Im not knocking City or Crewe because no one knew, or came forward. No one pointed the finger. Football wasnt ready with how to deal with it. So many young lives were traumatized, carrying burden.Bennell was first convicted in Florida in 1995 after being charged with raping a boy and repeatedly sexually assaulting a player from a youth team he had escorted to the United States. Back in England, Bennells crimes were the subject of a television documentary in 1997, and a year later he was convicted again, receiving a six-year sentence for 23 offences.Then the story stopped, with no deeper scrutiny until now of the role of Bennells employers, and no demands for public inquiries to discover how entrenched pedophile coaches were in soccer.Looking back at that particular time, there was an overriding trust in individuals, Lake said. The likes of Barry Bennell sourced the most vulnerable and they understood how much it meant to that boy to be a professional footballer, to make it at the top.They sussed out the families. They showered the families with gifts, saying the right things.With it, Bennell gained their trust and the ability to convince parents to allow their children to stay in his home.Not for one instance was there a thought there was an ulterior motive, there was this underhand and vile individual that was preying on your child, said Lake, whose wife Jo is assisting David White on his autobiography featuring details of abuse by Bennell.In society you knew these people were around, but they were almost stereotyped as being as a person with greasy hair and wore a rain coat and were a real loner. Thats never the case. Barry Bennell proved he was the complete antithesis of that.Lake, whose City career was curtailed by injury, went on to be an ambassador for the team. Now working for the Premier League as club support manager, Lake wants officials to be proactive in the welfare of players.Chairman and CEOs need to be more responsible, said Lake, who attended a player care seminar on Friday organized by the Premier Sports Network. Its too easy to be dismissive and say `Thats somebody elses responsibility. The chairman at Crewe is now talking about how upset and how frustrated he is around Barry Bennell.They should have made more efforts to find out because that information was out there. Instead, there are lives that have been broken, disrupted, and shaken in a negative way.Crewe announced on Saturday that external lawyers will investigate how the club responded to child abuse allegations in the past. It came after Hamilton Smith, a Crewe director from 1986 to early 1990, said the club retained Bennell despite being aware of claims against the coach, only opting to prevent boys being alone with him.---Rob Harris is at www.twitter.com/RobHarris and www.facebook.com/RobHarrisReports Richaun Holmes Jersey . PAUL, Minn. Elie Okobo Jersey . The International Olympic Committee released the official list of bid cities on Friday after the deadline for applications had passed. The candidates -- all previously announced in their own countries -- are: Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing; Krakow, Poland; Lviv, Ukraine; Oslo, Norway; and Stockholm. http://www.officialsunsfanstore.com/penny-hardaway-suns-jersey/ . After taking two big hits this week -- losing at home and dropping back-to-back games for the first time all season -- Indiana struck back by playing its most complete game of the year. Deandre Ayton Jersey . JOHNS, N. Steve Nash Jersey . After dropping their final six games of December, the Wild opened the new calendar year with four consecutive wins. Following a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebounded the following night to blank Nashville 4-0, but then had the tables turned on them Tuesday. Harmanpreet Kaur became the first India Womens cricketer to be signed by an overseas Twenty20 franchise after inking a deal with the WBBL champions Sydney Thunder for the 2016-17 season.The confirmation on Saturday ends speculation that began with Anurag Thakur, the BCCI president, announcing in June that Harmanpreet had sealed the deal.We are delighted to secure a player of the calibre of Harmanpreet, Nick Cummins, the Sydney Thunders general manager, said on Saturday. She was on the top of our target list, and we are very pleased that the BCCI has released her to play in Australia.Sydney Thunder prides itself on being an innovator in Australian cricket, so it is a real fillip for the club to have signed the first Indian international to play Big Bash cricket in Australia.Harmanpreet, India Womens vice-captain, is said to have received an offer from three teams - including the Sydney Sixers, the runners-up in the inaugural season - before zeroing in on the Thunder.With a cap of two overseas players allowed in the playing XI of each side, Harmanpreet said her interest in the Thunder was driven by her desire to get significant match time.dddddddddddd Currently, Stafanie Taylor, West Indies Womens World T20-winning captain, is the only other overseas professional on their roster.Its a great feeling Harmanpreet was quoted as saying in a press release. The WBBL is a great platform for womens cricketers. Being the first player from my country to sign a contract for a BBL club is one of my best moments.I was looking at a franchise where I would have opportunities to showcase my talent. Thats why I was keen on Sydney Thunder. My aim is to serve my team to win the WBBL title for the second time in a row. Playing with the best players against the best players is always a great feeling. I would definitely learn a lot of things from them all.Harmanpreet, 27, has featured in 118 internationals across formats, and impressed during Indias tour of Australia in January, when she made a 31-ball 46 to help India record their highest-ever T20 chase. She was one of Indias better performers in a disappointing World T20 campaign at home in March-April. ' ' '