It’s guest blog time again and today is the return of a familiar voice to all those who frequent MFW – Mr Alex Bain.
I’ll let him explain…
***
As the curtain descends on another all-too-predictable failure to establish ourselves in the Premier League I thought I’d take a personal journey back over my years of actively following NCFC by focussing on one of a couple of areas where we’ve been sadly lacking this season – strikers.
Names come to mind like our all-time leading goalscorer Johnny Gavin, who between 1948-54 and 1955-59, played 338 games and scored 132 goals. He never settled at Spurs and returned when then Tottenham manager Bill Nicholson wanted a centre-half to build his defence around and did a swap for our Maurice Norman.
This list will miss out on many that didn’t reach double figures or weren’t around long enough to really make a mark. As an aside, two of those came from Crewe. Ashley Ward regretted leaving during the Chase firesale but Dean Ashton couldn’t get away quick enough for the bright lights of London Lights – and the megabucks of West Ham.
So here is my list and it’s one to test the collective MFW memory bank and that’s for sure:
- Terry Allcock – 389 games and 127 goals between 1958 and 1969.
- Jimmy Hill – 195 games, 55 goals. 1959 to 1963, Sold to Everton for £25k.
- Tommy Bryceland – 284 games. 55 goals. 1962-69. Released on a free to Oldham.
- Ron Davies -113 games, 58 goals. 1963-65. Sold to Southampton for £55k.
- Hugh Curran – 112 games, 46 goals. 1966-69. Sold to Wolves.
- Peter Silvester – 113 games, 37 goals. 1969-74. Departed on a free to Colchester.
- David Cross – 106 games, 30 goals. 1971-73. Sold to Coventry £150k.
- Ted McDougall – 112 games, 51 goals. 1973-77, Sold to Southampton for £50k. Would Ted have been as prolific without his sidekick also signed from Bournemouth [see below]?
- Phil Boyer – 116 games, 34 goals. 1974-77, sold to Southampton £130k. Surely would have scored many more if he was more greedy. He laid on so many for SuperTed.
- Kevin Reeves – 133 games, 42 goals. 1976-80. Sold to Manchester City for £1m. He never wanted to leave but was told the club needed the money.
- Justin Fashanu – 103 games, 40 goals. 1978-81. Sold to Notts Forest for £1m.
- Keith Bertschin -114 games, 29 goals 1981-85. Went to Stoke on a free. Ex-Ipswich!
- John Deehan – 199 games, 70 goals 1981-86. Later managed City, Milk Cup winner.
- Mick Channon – 112 games, 25 goals 1982-85. Milk Cup winner and racehorse trainer!
- Kevin Drinkell – 150 games, 57 goals 1985-88. Sold to Rangers for £600k.
- Robert Fleck – 299 games, 84 goals 1987-92 and 1995-98. Sold to Chelsea for £2.1m and fell out with the club as he pushed for a move that never worked out but made amends on his return.
- Chris Sutton -127 games, 43 goals 1991-95. Sold to Blackburn £5m. Said he wanted to end his career at City but that didn’t happen.
- Jamie Cureton -108 games, 23 goals 1994-96, 2007-10. Still playing at the age 46 for Enfield!
- Iwan Roberts – 306 games, 96 goals 1996 to 2003. What a warrior! Sadly he was never given the chance to reach the 100 mark after being released by Nigel Worthington. Too early, some might say.
- Paul McVeigh – 246 games, 40 goals 2000-07 and 2009-10 and a great recruit from Spurs.
- Darren Huckerby – 203 games, 48 goals 2003-08. He will always be a supporters’ favourite and another not given the chance to score more and a very bad manager’s choice to let him go. [Hucks wasn’t strictly an out-and-out striker but we weren’t prepared to leave him off the list – Ed].
- Chris Martin – 117 games, 34 goals 2006-13. Often maligned wherever he’s played but always puts in a shift and scores goals.
- Grant Holt – 168 games, 78 goals 2009-13. Bryan Gunn may not be fondly remembered for his short time as manager but he did recruit this icon from Shrewsbury!
- Cameron Jerome – 138 games, 42 goals 2014-18. Still playing at 34. Maybe he was let go too soon and could have been a good partner for the last on my list:
- Teemu Pukki – 142 games 72 goals 2018 to present. Let’s hope there are many more goals to come but however, this wretched season ends he has proved a bargain signing for City.
So that’s the end of my personal list. If I’ve missed anybody, please let me know!
Rob Earnshaw is always overlooked. 27 goals in 47 appearances!
Hi Dave
Earnshaw another that came to regret leaving city but WBA were premiership and he wanted to take his chances while it was on offer like others he might not have got the call a second time.
A good call but some had to be missed out.
Funny how his time at City doesn’t really seem to register with many (I’d almost forgotten him too). I can only assume it’s because he wasn’t here very long and was at the club during a particularly turbulent period with some really rotten matches.
Was it not Derby he joined? I’m sure it was under a bit of a cloud too in the manner the transfer happened.
My mistake we signed him from WBA for £2.75m to replace Dean Ashton.
He made a fuss to get the move to Derby for £3.5m which didn’t go down well but now says he made a big error in judgement and should have stayed such is life
Saw all of the list and would say Ron Davies was in a class of his own.
Any of the others on the list win the golden boot twice?
Hi JohnF
It was rumoured at the time Manchester United wanted him but weren’t prepared to pay out big money for a Denis Law understudy who they had paid a world record fee of £110k for just the season before.
Maybe he should have stayed another season or pushed for the United move just how his career would have looked we will never know.
Matt Busby said Ron was the finest centre forward in Europe.
Hi JohnF
Matt Busby Manchester City 11 goals in 204 games Manchester City.
3 goals in 115 games for Liverpool
Not a great record his preferred position was Right Half
Matt Busby was one of the great managers. Built the Busby babes who many consider would have won everything had it not been for the Munich tragedy.
For sure he was the best header of a football I’ve ever seen.
Bought for £35,000 from Luton, sold for £55,000
Somethings never change!!
Robert Rosario, not prolific but got to double figures. Jimmy Bone didn’t quite get to double figures, which I’m quite surprised about. Leroy Lita was only with us on loan, but made his mark and is one I wish had stayed.
People decrying Teemu Pukki should look at his figures. We should do everything we can to keep him.
Leroy Lita is a good shout, Don. He and Robert Earnshaw were both constrained by playing in fairly terrible City teams but still managed to score regularly.
Hi Don
Jimmy Bone didn’t fit into Ron Saunders ideal of a fit footballer with his social life so he got a deal done with Sheff U for their midfield general as part of the deal Trevor Hockey.
Sadly that was a short lived transfer and he was on his way back to Scotland.
Lita did escape me and if memories are right city did try and do a deal but I think he got a better offer from Middlesbrough.
Robert Rosario 18 in 126 sold to Coventry £600k was to be Cyrille Regis replacement, 34 goals in his career played 271 games some would say flattered to deceive could have been better.
Even though I think Teemu has lost a bit of edge, to me he’s still a class player playing in a really poor side. Eight goals in the Premier League with no service is admirable enough (yeah I know he’s scored some pens, but they all count).
You don’t score over 70 goals for Norwich and take your national side to the Euros without having some ability. I hope Smith retains him, uses him and that he reaches the magic century.
Rosario wasn’t prolific, it’s true, but he bugged centre-halves and held the ball up well to make chances for other players to cash in on..
If Super-Teemu wants to go we should let him, he’ll always be remembered well whatever he does though!
OTBC!
Dean Coney didn’t make the list. Can’t believe it! He was definitely in a class of his own.
Nor did Darren Beckford or David Strihavka. Can’t think why 🙂
He was a striker that moved like an island with the same name in America static 1 goal in 17 V Villa off his backside a wasted £350k
Good list Alex. Nicely put together. Efan Ekoku and Mark Robins both conspicuous by their absence though. Both scored lots of goals during Norwich’s peak seasons in the Premier League and Robins particularly as he was top scorer in our best season ever.
Hi Puzzled [love the username changes btw].
Robins will always remain with us for both the effect he had when coming on against Arsenal at H-T when we were 2-0 down and his contributions in the European campaign.
Ekoku was an out-and-out gamble at something like £700k from Bournemouth but by Jeez he was quick and four in a game at Goodison wasn’t too bad!
He also scored our first ever European goal against Vitesse so he will always have that memory to cherish.
Up until that point, many fans were calling him *Efan Useless*.
They were proved wrong.
Efan was great. Never useless in my eyes and scored in that vital match at Ayresome Park which ultimately took us into Europe. His pace was fantastic, but unfortunately he floundered in John Deehan’s negative relegation bound side, before being flogged by Robert Chase along with the rest of the family silver.
Did Mark Robins assist the famous Jerry Goss goal in Munich? I’m also sure that the same assist wrecked his knee for the following six months. Oddly enough, he was jettisoned just weeks after Ekoku (with Rob Newman taking over up front for a time…ouch!)
Ekuko was sold for a good profit to the Crazy Gang at Wimbledon.
Robins was sold to Leicester after a poor season due to injuries and a falling out with John Deehan for a small profit.
Couldn’t stop Leicester getting relegated
Hi Jason
I haven’t got time to watch it back right now but I think the Robins assist might have been for Mark Bowen?
I’ll have to watch it again. I’m ashamed it’s not imprinted on my brain after all these years!
Mark Robins
20 goals in 68 games over 3 years not a bad rate
Efan Ekuko 16 goals in 38 games 1 season
Both good calls sadly not everyone could be listed
I don’t recall Tommy Bryceland being a striker – more of an inside forward in the parlance of the day – I think he wore the no. 8 shirt when shirt numbers still meant something. But a very fine , tricky player – one of my favourites from the mid-60’s. He was short too – probably the most similar player I can think of who also played for us would be Wes which is another way of paying him a big compliment.
He score enough to be added but as you say a good player in his day
absolutey right: he was what we all called a schemer> But fed the immaculate Ron Davies for who no praise is too high, and the , absent from the list . Gordon Bolland
Going back a bit, there was a “man-mountain” called John Manning. He never seemed very quick to a very young me – until it was pointed out that he only needed one stride to everybody else’s 3.
Laurie Sheffield – a guy with thighs like tree trunks who I think hit his high point in his first game with a hat-trick.
Oh; and Peter Crouch…….just for being there (and we did give him a Championship winner’s medal)!
O T B C
John Manning 21 goals in 60 games 1967 to 69 sold to Bolton Wanderers
Laurie Sheffied 16 goals in 27 games 1966 to 67 sold to Rotherham
Peter Crouch 4 goals into games loaned from Aston Villa
How did Bellars miss the list.
Graig was a huge talent. For £5m he was sold to………..hard to believe it Coventry.
How times have changed for them.
By the end of his career he had more clubs than Tiger Woods.
Hi Ken
Bellamy the lad who use to get locked in the bus loo on away games as he could never stop taking on the way home.
32 goals in 84 games sold to Coventry for £6m, Newcastle had offered £5.5m but needed to sell big Duncan Ferguson back to Everton to finance the deal.
This2as the player that Delia announced wouldn’t be sold and if he was she would sell the club so much for broken promises
To my relief, no one has mentioned Ross Jack. I wonder why?
Jimmy Hill was my favourite player at the time. His intelligent play led to many goals for Terry Alcock and Terry Bly, not to mention Errol Crossan.
Martin Peters? In the days when it was possible to get former England players for a reasonable price in their twilight years, he stood out, along with Joe Royle and Mick Channon.
Hi Jim
Tried to list ones that many youngsters of today might have heard of Jimmy Hill without the Chin had a good career at Everton after leaving City
A friend once called the retirement home for the ex England players that wanted one last Hooray and they mostly had a good one at that Martin Chivers was one that came to city after a stint in Switzerland but never really did much.
Yes, that’s why I didn’t include Chivers – always thought he was a bit lazy, and couldn’t really be bothered.
He might have had altitude sickness Alex, and I’ll bet he yodelled well when he scored his four goals!
Also, no doubt chocolate flavoured yoghurt featured very highly on Carrow Road’s matchday menu, plus 3-cheese pizzas featuring Gruyere, Appenzeller and Emmentaler cheeses!
I think he was so good at Spurs was he had Alan Gilzean up front with him and he made so many goals for him
Sutton was for my money the best striker we ever had. Not the most naturally gifted – far from it – but what a grafter and could play in any position. You actually wanted 2 Sutton’s, one up front and one at the back. It’s a shame the Chelsea move never worked out and an even further shame he couldn’t en this career where it started.
Drinkell was my favourite however. Liked him when he played for Grimsby and couldn’t understand why he hadn’t been snapped up earlier. Reminded me of the great Bob Latchford. We bought him for a mere £90K. Old School ‘Fags and Booze’ player, who realised that life didn’t begin and end with football.
Was sold to Rangers in what I was told at the time in ‘less than great’ condition – wouldn’t happen today – for nearly 9 times what we paid for him.
Totally agree about drinkell very good player turned down man u to stay with us too love that attitude 😉
He saw sold for £600k and only had a short career there then a few lower league Scottish clubs.
As for Sutton he caused himself lots of problems just like now has a big mouth, the story about him and his England career sums him up Hoodle asked him to play in an England B game to 0rove his fitness and he is supposed to have replied unless you pick me to player in the first team don’t call me up for any squad.
No other England manager picked him either, he was suppose to have told Chase that if he didn’t sell him to Blackburn he would refuse to play for city again so not sure he would have been welcome back.
Ashley Ward – 53 appearances and 18 goals