Players you wished had stayed longer

[Out on blue 6]

Francis is an obvious choice. Nicky Reid and Tommy Caton from my youth. Shauny Wright when he went first time. I still think we should have kept Joe Hart. It's a tragedy where his career has gone since leaving and surely he was better off scratching his arse on the bench at City than Burnley or Spuds. If he wanted regular football he could drop down a division.

 

[kippaxchris]

Mark Lillis.
One season and swapped for a donkey who played about 8 games and was flogged on.

Was asking my mum about him the other day. I had no idea who he is but i have his autograph in my collection.

 

[stan bowles]

David Phillips, Paul Walsh and Peter Barnes (and most of Allison's purge on his ill-advised return in fact).

 

[bobbyowenquiff]

Swapping Andy Hinchcliffe for Neil Poynton was madness. The most obvious ones were losing Gary Owen and Trevor Francis. It's easy to forget what a shambles City were in those days. In the modern era West Ham seem to have taken our place as the leading comedy club.

 

[Bayblue]

Messi

 

[Blue Theatre]

I cried my 11 year old eyes out when we sold Gary Owen and Peter Barnes to WBA. I can remember my dad saying to me love the club , never get attached to the players.

Me too.
To rub salt in the wound, West Brom visited Maine Road shortly afterwards, featured on MOTD that evening for the nation to watch ... and (surprise, surprise) a rampant West Brom won 3-1 with Barnes scoring twice.

City sold all their stars in the matter of a few months and largely replaced them with average to sub-average replacements. We were relegated a year later.
Heartbreaking time to be a City fan - took us about 30 years to properly recover.

Thinking about it again now, even after all these years, I feel a bit tearful once more.

 

[El Gringo]

Not so much "stayed longer", more "bought sooner". Ali Benarbia. In the stayed longer bracket, another year of Bellamy would have been good, even if his physical condition would limit his minutes on the pitch.

This all day. His masterclass at the 6-2 away at Sheff Wed is burnt into my brain

 

[El Gringo]

Tommy Caton !
Peter Barnes

Tommy, gone far too young.

 

[GoatersLeftShin]

Wished Tevez had stayed longer. One of those players who would be a nightmare to manage but gave everything.

I also thought Nastasic and Corluka should've stayed a bit longer.

I'm another who wishes we could've seen Benarbia a few years earlier. Once of the best players I've seen at City and would still be in this squad in his prime.

 

[The Stockport Iniesta]

Tueart when he left for New York at his peak, as a young kid I was devastated. He was my hero around that time, thankfully he came back, but those were two years we should never have lost him.