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It's been a long time since I wrote my last Players Behind the Shirt article about Arsenal's No. 14 and with the current transfer activity, it feels like the perfect opportunity to look at some of the Summer's biggest signings and who donned the shirt before them.

Today, I'm looking at Manchester City's Number 10 shirt - perhaps not comparable to some of the shirts discussed in previous articles but the news that £100m signing Jack Grealish will be wearing the number next season makes me curious as to who wore it before him.

1993 / 1994 - Garry Flitcroft
1994 / 1995 - Garry Flitcroft
1995 / 1996 - Garry Flitcroft
1996 / 1997 - Vacant
1997 / 1998 - Shaun Goater
1998 / 1999 - Shaun Goater
1999 / 2000 - Shaun Goater
2000 / 2001 - Shaun Goater
2001 / 2002 - Shaun Goater
2002 / 2003 - Shaun Goater
2003 / 2004 - Antoine Sibierski
2004 / 2005 - Antoine Sibierski
2005 / 2006 - Antoine Sibierski
2006 / 2007 - Djamel Abdoun
2007 / 2008 - Rolando Bianchi
2008 / 2009 - Robinho
2009 / 2010 - Robinho
2010 / 2011 - Edin Džeko
2011 / 2012 - Edin Džeko
2012 / 2013 - Edin Džeko
2013 / 2014 - Edin Džeko
2014 / 2015 - Edin Džeko
2015 / 2016 - Sergio Agüero
2016 / 2017 - Sergio Agüero
2017 / 2018 - Sergio Agüero
2018 / 2019 - Sergio Agüero
2019 / 2020 - Sergio Agüero
2020 / 2021 - Sergio Agüero

Being old enough to remember Man City's trip down to Division Two in 1998/99 (now League One), I expected there to be a few ropey players in this list but I'd say that the ropiest of them appear in their Premier League days. But as is customary with my articles, I'll start at the top and work my way down.

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Garry Flitcroft

My memories of Garry Flitcroft mostly revolve around his time at Blackburn Rovers but before his move there, he made 116 appearances for Man City where he'd come through their youth system (source). He was even Man City's player of the season in 1992/93 despite scoring this own goal.

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Interestingly, he's wearing No. 8 so I'm starting to question the source of my information for that season! More importantly, look at that hair cut - that's a proper 90's mop.

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Shaun Goater

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We're in legend territory now. Shaun Goater joined Man City on their way down to Division Two and was their top goalscorer for 4 consecutive seasons at which point Man City signed Nicolas Anelka and Goater found himself surplus to requirements.

He was then signed by Super Reading FC by nob head Alan Pardew (who shortly after buggered of to West Ham where his career went to shit). When Super Stevie Coppell took over, there was no place for Goater who sat around for a couple of years earning an absolute fortune. Man City fans don't care about that. The man's a legend to the blue side of Manchester.

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Antoine Sibierski

Sibierski was an attacking midfielder who I remember more as a Newcastle player than his time at Man City. His key attribute being his shiny head.

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Djamel Abdoun and Rolando Bianchi

This is where we find ourselves in dodgy territory as I have absolutely no idea who Djamel Abdoun is and only vaguely remember Bianchi from his time in Serie A. It's unsurprising that I don't remember Abdoun since he didn't make a single appearance for the cityzens. Bianchi had a bit better time of things but according to his Wikipedia page:

Bianchi criticised English cuisine and alcohol culture, and stated how he could never become a full international unless he returned to Serie A.

Cheerio 👋🍔🍟🍺🍻

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Robinho

On the same day that Man City became the financial powerhouse that we know today, Man City signed Real Madrid superstar Robinho for £32.5m. An astronomical amount of money and with it, incredibly high expectations.

Things didn't start too well in Manchester - he'd been linked with Chelsea and upon signing for Man City said:

"On the last day, Chelsea made a great proposal and I accepted." (Source)

Oops.

Despite his unquestionable talent, Robinho was a big disappointment and only stayed for a couple of seasons. I still remember the expectation that accompanied his signing and the feeling that his heart wasn't in it. Perhaps things would have been different if he'd got his move to Chelsea instead.

Here's a reminder of some of his brilliance though, not enough of which was in a sky blue shirt:

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Edin Džeko

I'm conflicted when it comes to Edin Džeko. There's no doubting his talent and impressive career but in my opinion, he lacked something that I can't quite put my finger on during his time with Man City. Perhaps it was his perceived lack of effort and perhaps my perception can be summarised from this paragraph:

Dzeko is the best goalscorer his country has had, he has won league titles with Wolfsburg and Manchester City, and last season he was the capocannoniere, the top goalscorer in Serie A – yet he seems to be permanently criticised. (Source)

The piece in the Guardian referenced above is an interesting insight into the player and well worth a read. He'll always be popular amongst Man City fans for scoring the equalising goal against QPR in the 92nd minute back in 2012 and there was even a suggestion that he might return but I can't see it happening myself.

Sergio Agüero

If Džeko's equalisier in the 92nd minute made him popular, Agüero's 94 minute winner to clinch the title is the kind of drama that will almost certainly never be seen again.

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"If they win the title from here, I don't think it'll even be topped." - Martin Tyler

I totally agree Martin. That goal still sends a tingle down my spine - the most incredible moment in English Football history (surpassing Michael Thomas' goal in 1989) in my opinion.

Sergio Agüero will without doubt be talked about in Manchester until football no longer exists. His 260 goals is a club record but 259 of them will almost certainly be forgotten, the 30th goal he scored being the one that people will remember. So here's a reminder of all 260 goals...

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I really don't know what else to say about Agüero. It's a shame that injuries curbed his final few years in Manchester as another 40 goals certainly wasn't beyond him.

A true great and an almost impossible task for Jack Grealish to follow...

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Previous Articles:
AC Milan No. 3 and No. 6
Arsenal No. 14
Barcelona No. 10
Liverpool No. 7
Manchester United No. 7
Real Madrid No. 5