The not-in-their-prime XI

[Tony P]

I was thinking about this during a bored moment today. What would be the strongest City team you can think of that featured players who played for us not in their prime? Either we let them go early and they went on to greatness, or we got them at the fag end o their career. And in terms of strength of team, they would play at their prime.

My early thoughts: (4-4-2)

Schmeichel (either of them, actually)

Can't think of a RB
Demichelis
Van Buyten
Pearce

Bernabia
Lampard
Vieira
Robinho (was he at his prime with us...?)

Beardsley
Weah

[Foreverinbluedreams]

Maicon at right back.

[Tony P]

Maicon at right back.

Good call

[Green & Blue]

Colin Hendry

[Nigels Tackle]

are we allowed to include any last season's starting xi?

[Pretty Boy Lee]

Lampard and pizzaro would probably be in the squad.

[Wooders]

I'd have Fowler over Beardsley

[london blue 2]

Macmanamanananan

We had some real shite over the years

[Alioune DVToure]

It's tough to think of an eleven because nobody really signs past-it wide players (Kanchelskis being the one exception I can think of). From my lifetime, here's a list of players off the top of my head:

Seaman
Schmeichel
Burridge
Maicon
Trabelsi
Van Buyten
Boateng
Jobson
Pearce
Sylvinho
Kanchelskis
Pizarro
Lampard
Gaudino
Bosvelt
Bishop (second coming)
Vieira
Hamann
Benarbia
McManapoorexcuseforaman
Weah
Atkinson
Fowler
Robins
Beardsley

Great idea for a thread, by the way. I love this sort of stuff.

[Foreverinbluedreams]

Had completely forgotten Sylvinho played for us.

Good to see Bosvelt in your list, very under rated player.

[Blackadder]

Trevor Francis
Kazimierz Deyna

[Blue Since 76]

Boateng aside, there's no one we've let go who's gone on to better things, probably because they were about 80 when we signed them. Van Buyten would be the other one, but he was only on loan and not someone we could have had anyway. I suppose Savic makes the list since he will be in a Champions League final this weekend.

[Alioune DVToure]

Boateng aside, there's no one we've let go who's gone on to better things, probably because they were about 80 when we signed them. Van Buyten would be the other one, but he was only on loan and not someone we could have had anyway. I suppose Savic makes the list since he will be in a Champions League final this weekend.

I know Keegan was sheepish about the possibility of keeping Van Buyten. However, I have it on good authority that we could've signed him at the end of 03/04 for a certain price, and that we only didn't because we were reigning in our spending a bit after wasting so much on transfer fees and/or wages in the previous 18 months on signings that didn't really come off (Seaman, Fowler, Sinclair et al).

Sinclair - there you go. Another faded star we signed.

[Alioune DVToure]

Had completely forgotten Sylvinho played for us.

Good to see Bosvelt in your list, very under rated player.

Nice bloke too. I met him at half time at THAT Middlesborough game when Fowler fluffed the penalty and we missed out on Europe. He left that summer.

[Slim]

Mills and Thatcher both left off, you people hang your heads.

[littlebig]

Boateng aside, there's no one we've let go who's gone on to better things

Denis Law.

[Lev Bronstein]

Nigel Clough, Claudio Reyna

[Nigels Tackle]

Mills and Thatcher both left off, you people hang your heads.

they never had a prime though did they?

[Slim]

Mills and Thatcher both left off, you people hang your heads.

they never had a prime though did they?

Well that works with the title of the thread too then I suppose.

[Alioune DVToure]

I could go back and add Alf-Inge Haaland, Steve Howey and Egil Ostenstad to my list above (but I won't).