Niall Quinn

Mike N said:
I must be losing it in my old age but I always thought he did score against Chelsea. He was outstanding for us that night and changed my mind about him as I didnt fancy him coming to city.
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i was on the kippax that night. was not sure about quinn before that game-inn fact was embarrased we signed him to be honest...he had not had the best of reputations at arsenal,where he looked a gangly,akward player and ,if my memory serves me right was called a donkey by all football fans up and down the country,..lets be right,when city signed niall quinn most of us were completelty underwhelmed.

that tues night on the kippax quinn opened my eyes.he transformed the team,gave it a focal point and made me realize what centre forward play was all about....many teams in the past had had big name centre forwrards who led the line with power and gusto..in my short time watching city,back in the 80,s we,d had none of that...mel machin had set his stall around clive allen...Kendall went back to basics..niall quinn simply got the ball,chested it down,and passed it out wide to david white..then made his way into the penalty box for the cross..he did this on his debut(sure it was norwich not chelsea) and when the ball came in there was big niall to nod it in. so simple,so effective.

from that moment on.howard kendalls manchester city had truly arrived,our play was based around the big man,he was looked for by every player on the pitch,the amount of times he showed himself,demanding the ball,chesting it down or nodding it down to a team mate..because he was now the big fish at maine road,and a cult hero,his confidence soared..the ugly duckling had turned into a swan....his touch improved ,his passing was accurate,and he was almost unplayable in the air..all of a sudden city were going places.from relegation fodder to top 5 finishes..quinn and a rejuvenated david white were instrumental.

credit to howard kendall for seeing the potential in the lad-like i say,he was a laughing stock up and down the country at arsenal.city went from being a naive team of promising youngsters to a proper in-the-mix team of bruisers who could go anywhere in england and get a result.going to anfield,at a time when no-one got anything up there and getting a 2-2 draw when ward,white and quinn stepped up to the plate is still one of my best city away games.

i remember a 1 nil win at spuds,when quinn hit a volley from just outside the box which broke the net....the technique he used was somthing that no-one could have forseen when he was struggling at arsenal. time and again he would get the ball at his feet and decide to go on a mazy dribble,often surprising centre halves with his deftness of touch,and gaining a few penalties along the way.

prob my fav quinn moment was coventry away on the 1st day of the season,under reid i think-city took over 5000 fans to highfield road..we had the normal away terracing up high behind one end,then, on the other side of the ground,all down one side in paddocks,then above this a good thousand or so in the seats...playing in that burgundy kit, a tight game,and then ricky holden gets the ball,slings over a really high cross to the far post..big niall ,marked by the centre half,but its n o contest..quinny header into the roof of the net-1nil city..so simple,so effective.

quinn is a legend.
 
Niall QUinn is a legend.

I used to be do a pub-quiz every week back then in a pub in Altrincham, and one of the members of another team was ... Niall Quinn. He was there every week and would just wander around the bar like everyone else, buying pints, laughing and joking, and trying to answer questions about the capital of Venezuela, etc. You wouldn't have known he was famous.

Having read his autobiography and thinking about the things he's done (giving away his testimonial money - paying for taxis for Sunderland fans when they got stuck, etc) I think he is a genuinely one of the "good guys" (and let's be honest; there aren't many of those in football; fame goes to most of their heads).

When he played for us, he also did more than anyone to promote City to a wider audience - he was regularly on the TV (on things like A Question of Sport, etc) - more than any City player I can remember before or since ... and he always presented the "nice" face of City and (I believe) made people think warmly of us.
I think he really integrated into Manchester life when he was with us, and he seems to have done the same in Sunderland. (Compare that with the "Manchester is rubbish" we get from Tevez and others).

Add to that that he was a cracking player (anyone remember his hat-trick at Palace when he scored with left-foot, right-foot and header ?) .. never mind the boys-own stuff that others have mentioned (how many players have scored and saved a penalty in the same match ?) and I think he has to go down as one of the top-5 City legends of all time.

Great pity we let him go off to Sunderland, where he seems to have formed an equally strong bond with the people of that City. We should have kept him for ourselves, as he is special.
 
dennishasdoneit said:
Mike N said:
I must be losing it in my old age but I always thought he did score against Chelsea. He was outstanding for us that night and changed my mind about him as I didnt fancy him coming to city.
Click to expand...

i was on the kippax that night. was not sure about quinn before that game-inn fact was embarrased we signed him to be honest...he had not had the best of reputations at arsenal,where he looked a gangly,akward player and ,if my memory serves me right was called a donkey by all football fans up and down the country,..lets be right,when city signed niall quinn most of us were completelty underwhelmed.

that tues night on the kippax quinn opened my eyes.he transformed the team,gave it a focal point and made me realize what centre forward play was all about....many teams in the past had had big name centre forwrards who led the line with power and gusto..in my short time watching city,back in the 80,s we,d had none of that...mel machin had set his stall around clive allen...Kendall went back to basics..niall quinn simply got the ball,chested it down,and passed it out wide to david white..then made his way into the penalty box for the cross..he did this on his debut(sure it was norwich not chelsea) and when the ball came in there was big niall to nod it in. so simple,so effective.

from that moment on.howard kendalls manchester city had truly arrived,our play was based around the big man,he was looked for by every player on the pitch,the amount of times he showed himself,demanding the ball,chesting it down or nodding it down to a team mate..because he was now the big fish at maine road,and a cult hero,his confidence soared..the ugly duckling had turned into a swan....his touch improved ,his passing was accurate,and he was almost unplayable in the air..all of a sudden city were going places.from relegation fodder to top 5 finishes..quinn and a rejuvenated david white were instrumental.

credit to howard kendall for seeing the potential in the lad-like i say,he was a laughing stock up and down the country at arsenal.city went from being a naive team of promising youngsters to a proper in-the-mix team of bruisers who could go anywhere in england and get a result.going to anfield,at a time when no-one got anything up there and getting a 2-2 draw when ward,white and quinn stepped up to the plate is still one of my best city away games.

i remember a 1 nil win at spuds,when quinn hit a volley from just outside the box which broke the net....the technique he used was somthing that no-one could have forseen when he was struggling at arsenal. time and again he would get the ball at his feet and decide to go on a mazy dribble,often surprising centre halves with his deftness of touch,and gaining a few penalties along the way.

prob my fav quinn moment was coventry away on the 1st day of the season,under reid i think-city took over 5000 fans to highfield road..we had the normal away terracing up high behind one end,then, on the other side of the ground,all down one side in paddocks,then above this a good thousand or so in the seats...playing in that burgundy kit, a tight game,and then ricky holden gets the ball,slings over a really high cross to the far post..big niall ,marked by the centre half,but its n o contest..quinny header into the roof of the net-1nil city..so simple,so effective.

quinn is a legend.
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Great post, fella. That Coventry game was a brilliant awayday.
The man carried us single-handed at times. A modern City great and a truly class act as a man.
 
I was also at Cov for the seasons opener and remember big Nialls header. It was also Keith Curles debut and he had a blinder.
 
Martin Margetson had a good match at Coventry, he was going to be a star.
 
Had the pleasure of talking to him a couple of times; a nicer person you couldn't wish to meet.
 
peepo said:
We should start a Niall Quinn for Chairman campaign, the man is exactly what our club needs. Here is a man that raised over £1 million from his testimonial year and gave it all away to charity, a man that cared enough about the club that he played for that he went out and sourced investment to take them into the Premier League and spend millions on players, and i'll never forget how upset he was when we were relegated against Liverpool.

If the current crop of players. with their superior talent cared half as much we'd be champions.

He would be the perfect link between the absent sheiks and the club......give me Quinn over Gary 'I cried over a meaningless last minute equaliser, Richard Dunne doesn't sell shirts in the far east, please welcome Uwe into the manchester United hall of fame' Cook!
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Can't disagree with a single word of this.
Quinn is a shining example as to how players and former players should conduct themselves,yet sadly seldom do.
Of course I will applaud him,and I would gladly stand him a pint for everything he did for the club I love,given half a chance.
Why anyone would think differently is beyond me.
 
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