1. Nigel De Jong
I still can’t believe he’s gone. Signed by Mark Hughes in the January transfer window of 2009 he was always tough in the tackle. City were ridiculed in some areas of the press for paying such a large sum for him (£17m), when they could have gotten him on a free in the Summer. Money well spent in my eyes. Alongside Tevez he was the first name on the team sheet during the 2010/11 season. He never gave in and scored a couple of cracking goals too. Sadly for him the team progressed and there was less demand for his abilities. Although at this present time I think we are missing him. Good luck Nigel.
2. Pablo Zabaletta
This guy is great. Fact. Over the past few seasons he must have spent more time being patched and stitched up than any other Premier League player. He has other qualities too (see my Lifetime XI). Opened the scoring on that fabulous day in May versus QPR. “I thought I score one goal in one season and we are going to lose. But I’m still dreaming I don’t want to wake up”. If every player showed his determination we would never lose. He seems to be getting better in every game we play. Why City bought Maicon when we have Zab Man and Richards is beyond me.
3. Danny Tiatto
This guy had that Aussie competitive spirit and it clearly showed in his game. He was up and down the whole game, could put his foot in and scored goals. Bought in 1998 for £300,000 he was never one to shy away from a challenge. I went away to Boro in 2001 when he scored a cracker. Ran the length of the field, beat a few men and slotted the ball in the corner. It was incorrectly ruled out for offside. Typical City.
Had his less than favourite moments as well, like when he was sent off against Blackburn in 2002 and went mental. Tia Tia Tiatto, Tiatto, Tiatto.
4. Peter Reid
Signed by Howard Kendall in 1990 he went on to manage City, leading them to two 5th place finishes (1990/91 and 1991/92) after Kendall could not resist a return to Goodison. A real ‘bull in a china shop’ Reid was coming toward the end of his playing career whilst at City. He provided experience and midfield steel to complement some of City’s emerging youth talent of the time. Thankfully he didn’t have to chase Maradona around the pitch whilst at City.
5. Joey Barton
Despite his recent antics Barton did well during his time at City. After graduating the youth set up he was given his debut during the 2002/03 season by Kevin Keegan. He went onto become a senior figure in the squad making 153 appearances scoring 17 goals in the process.
Eventually he moved to Newcastle in 2007 after an earlier ill advised transfer request fell through. Sadly Barton only seems to make headlines for the wrong reasons nowadays.
His antics on May 13th provided the extra 5 minutes which allowed City to score twice.
Grant Mills
@mancinismarvels
No comments:
Post a Comment