Players who should have played for City.

[WestGorton]

Off thread but wish we could have kept Paul Stewart.

 

[Cheadle_hulmeBlue]

Steed malbranque

 

[Dirty Harry]

Back in March 1998, having been the City manager for a month, Joe Royle was looking to sign a striker to help stave off relegation. Leicester were willing to sell Steve Claridge for £400K, and he became Royle's first choice only for him to opt to sign for promotion-chasing Wolves instead. He wasn't a success at Molineux and was sold at a loss to Portsmouth after playing five games without scoring. Meanwhile, Royle switched his sights to some guy called Goater at Bristol City.

Didn't work out too bad in the end did it mate :-)

 

[denislawsbackheel]

Gordon Banks

Allison really wanted him, Joe Mercer tried to negotiate the price down, so while we were faffin about he signed for Stoke

Banks' biggest football regret is he didn't play for a really big club and it should have been us

Was
He’s been dead a year.

 

[Sky Blue Thinking]

He did later on in his career. At the time (91/92) signing a dutch international was a massive transfer. I remember being gutted when it never happened.

Would have been a coup when compared to our Dutch signings of the era, Vonk and Groenendijk, did anyone ever witness his famed trick of opening a tin of peas with his left foot. A few years later but Wiekens was a solid servant.

 

[Mad Eyed Screamer]

I thought PSV?

Sorry I meant later he signed for Rangers.

 

[franksinatra]

Would have been a coup when compared to our Dutch signings of the era, Vonk and Groenendijk, did anyone ever witness his famed trick of opening a tin of peas with his left foot. A few years later but Wiekens was a solid servant.

I did quite like Vonk and will always remember his looming presence walking past me outside Anfield (circa 92/93) wearing a City polo neck. Needless to say no one commented.

 

[supersonicblue]

Lee Dixon, Kieran Tierney always thought he’s better than Robertson for Scotland.

 

[Big Swifty]

I always liked Kevin Phillips. He got nearly 250 League goals and was a great little striker with quick feet and an eye for goal. He was far better than some of the dross we had at the time.

 

[BringBackSwales]

Not quite how it happened. Alan Oakes, who does indeed hold the record for the number of first-team competitive appearances for City, was the manager of Chester at the time and realised he had a striker coming through who was going to be a star. Chester wanted to sell him because they needed the cash and Oakes wanted City to sign him, so tipped off Malcolm Allison about the player. Mal watched him and was impressed enough to want to make the signing, but didn't think Rush yet ready to play regularly in the old First Division. Swales wouldn't sanction a £300K fee for a player who wasn't going to be used immediately in the senior side.

I can actually understand Swales's point of view. But Liverpool met the asking price, played Rush in the reserves for 18 months and the rest is history.



Back in March 1998, having been the City manager for a month, Joe Royle was looking to sign a striker to help stave off relegation. Leicester were willing to sell Steve Claridge for £400K, and he became Royle's first choice only for him to opt to sign for promotion-chasing Wolves instead. He wasn't a success at Molineux and was sold at a loss to Portsmouth after playing five games without scoring. Meanwhile, Royle switched his sights to some guy called Goater at Bristol City.

Not what I read at the time. I read an interview with Rush where he said he was clearly advised by Alan Oakes that going to liverpool would be far better for his career than going to City. I haven’t had that corroborated by Oakes or Rush, and appreciate you can’t believe everything you read in the papers