My earliest memories of Manchester City come from the 89-90 season. In the twenty years since we've largely been bobbins, it doesn't need me to say; three relegations, twelve managers, five chairmen, tens of millions of pounds splodged on mediocre signings, no silverware, a paltry two top-six top-flight finishes and more disappointments than you'd wish on your worst enemy.
In those two decades, though, the years of mis-management, all the headless chickens and the snatching of defeat from the jaws of victory time after time aside, there have been a few diamonds, not many, but some nonetheless. Sadly, for every Kinkladze we've signed a dozen Creaney's, Charvet's or Frontzeck's, but ignoring the donkeys for now, i'm going to try and put together the strongest side i've seen at the club in that time...
I guess we've been quite lucky at City to have had a number of top 'keepers down the years. Whilst the candidates during my time watching the club might not stand up to the legends of previous era's, like Trautmann & Corrigan, we've had several terrific and solid incumbents, and good job, too.
The first goalie who stood out, for me, was Tony Coton. He appeared to be a huge figure of a man at the time, he seemed as big as the goal, and with hands like dustbin lids. Having arrived for a fee just shy of the record for a 'keeper, if my memory serves me right, TC soon became a huge crowd favourite, winning Player of the Year twice. Somehow Coton never got to appear for England, being kept out of the squad by then shoe-ins Peter Shilton, Chris Woods, and later, David Seaman, though for my money Coton was a match for any of them. I always remember being supremely confident with him in goal, even during his last couple of seasons when, after Peter Reid's departure, we became blatantly crap. He had the lot; he organised his defence well, was a great shot-stopper, had cat-like reactions, and was a commanding figure.
Nicky Weaver will always have a special place in the hearts of City fans, mainly down to his performance at Wembley in '99. He played a huge part that season, even before those heroics, it's a shame his career eventually took a bit of a downturn meaning that he went on to miss three whole seasons and was eventually released. For around three years, however, he was genuinely one of the better 'keepers around. I've even got very vague memories of him being linked with a £10m move to Milan one summer, may've been 2000, madness. He became an England under-21 international during this time, and really looked like he might push on and takeover the jersey in the senior side. Though not in Coton's league, he certainly had a presence, and a certain unorthodox nature that endeared him to our support.
Peter Schmeichel's season here is another that sticks firmly in the mind, especially his performance at Anfield, which was as good as i ever saw from him, even during his time at them lot over the road. I think we could've got at least another year out of him, but respect why he might not have wanted to play past his 40th birthday. Overall, i'd have to say he's the greatest goalkeeper i've seen, not so much here, but, well, he was phenomenal during his eight years at The Skip, it probably wouldn't be too outlandish to suggest they've still not replaced him properly all this time later. During his year here he certainly seemed to have mellowed from the screaming mentalist we'd seen during his previous stint in the North-West, but he was pretty unflappable, solid, and capable of making great stops. He seemed to bring a bit of his Derby luck with him, too, and for that, the brilliant performance at Anfield and more importantly, the winding up of the older Munster brother before that season's thumping of United, i'm sure we'll all be eternally grateful.
Though often maligned, i thought that David James did very little wrong during his two-and-a-half years and exactly 100 appearances here. It was a canny buy for £2m, even at 33. It still surprises me that goalkeepers, the most important player in any side, go for such relatively small amounts. A good one can be worth a few points a year, and that first season here especially James was vital, saving a couple of penalties (one against Wolves at Eastlands, i think) and putting in some good performances. The following season he was again one of our better performers as we conceded very few goals on our own patch. Infact, despite him having a reputation as a bit of a calamity, i can't recall him making many errors at all whilst at the club. He might be a bit of a melon, and there's no doubt that when he does drop a rickett it's usually a big one, but he's been an excellent player for ten years now, and as consistent as there are. I was certainly disappointed when he moved on to Portsmouth.
After a brief renaissance for Weaver, Joe Hart established himself as first-choice under Sven. Similar to Weaver in the sense that he came into the side with a certain confident naivety that didn't do him any harm. He was probably lucky to get such a run so early in his career, but he never looked out of place. There was the odd hairy moment, he certainly has that madness to him that some sticksmen seem to, his decision making, especially when not under pressure, could probably be worked on, aswell as his kicking, but to be fair to him these are things that i'd imagine can be quite easily coached. The raw attributes are all there, and more-often-than-not he's proved able to get himself out of those situations. The £600k we paid for him has already proved a bargain, several times over, and in a sense i don't like seeing him out of the side, but we've got the best in the business now in Given, so i guess we can have no complaints. I don't see why he won't go on to be one of the very best around, whether that will be here i'm not so sure.
To Given, well, as i said, i don't think there's another goalkeeper playing in the country currently who can hold a candle to him, perhaps Jussi Jääskeläinen at a push, but i think Shay's proven himself over the years to be a real top Premier League player. I was surprised he stayed at Newcastle so long, but even when they were at their lower points he shone above anyone else. You don't play nearly 500 games at this level without being extremely competent, and after only seeing him once in our colours i was sure we'd made the correct move. He's the safest pair of hands about, and i think he'll be a huge success here, he's already proving to be, we just need a defence to do him justice. If there's any slight regret it's that we didn't snap him up five years earlier.
Pick: Tony Coton
The Liverpool Five (featuring no Scousers) formed in 1963 as The Steve Laine Combo, playing many major cities in Europe and Asia before achieving their greatest success in the United States between 1965 and 1967, touring with, amongst others, the Beach Boys, the Kinks, and the Rolling Stones.
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