We bought 'em too late

[Big Swifty]

City have had a number of players who were pretty good in their day but by the time we acquired them they were well past their best. If only we could have had the best out of them! Off the top of my head, there are:

Seaman & Beardsley - top England stars.
Peter Reid & McMahon - solid midfielders, internationals.
Tommy Hutchison - brilliantly gifted, wasted his career at Coventry and Blackpool.
George Weah - at his peak, wow! (Not here, though)
Nigel Clough and McManaman were obviously talented, but couldn't be arsed by the time they arrived here.
Another I thought was very good in his day at Oldham was Richard Jobson. When we got him, alas, he was about 90 years old.

Any other ex-greats I've missed?

 

[petrusha]

Three who spring to my mind are Schmeichel (snr), Deyna and Denis Law.

 

[kun]

Hamann
Ali Benarbia
Schmeichel
Andy Cole
Fowler
Vieira
Sylvinho
Pizarro

 

[Didsbury Dave]

Ali Bernarbia - although he was still brilliant!

Robbie Fowler - had lost all his pace. As had Trevor Sinclair.

 

[Gaylord du Bois]

Gerry Gow.
Rocky Rocastle.

 

[markbmcfc]

Dalian Atkinson was decent for Villa, absolute carthorse for us though.

Fowler has to be up there.

Andy Cole?

I remember being gutted when Weah fell out with Joe.

 

[Gaylord du Bois]

Three who spring to my mind are Schmeichel (snr), Deyna and Denis Law.

We had Law first.

 

[the blue panther]

Mick Channon
Joe Royle
Wyn Davies
David Seaman
Andy Morrison - but was very good while he lasted!

 

[Big Swifty]

Thanks for those smart answers. How could I have forgotten some of those, esp. Ali B? A pretty good XI could be made from some of that lot.

 

[petrusha]

Three who spring to my mind are Schmeichel (snr), Deyna and Denis Law.

We had Law first.

I know. And we let him go before he really established himself as a great player, though he was obviously going to do so. Then we got him back when he was past his best (though still OK and he did score one wonderfully memorable goal for us). But he wasn't on anything like the same level when he came back to us as he'd been when voted European Player of the Year nearly a decade previously, which is why he belongs in this thread.