12 Greatest Manchester City Strikers Of All Time
8. Shaun Goater [1998-2003]
Shaun Goater has a legendary status at Manchester City and for good reasons. Signed in 1998 from Bristol City and spent the next five years at the club. Goater was City’s top goalscorer four seasons in a row from 1998 to 2002. During the 2001/02 season, Goater became the first player since Francis Lee in 1972 to score more than 30 goals in a season.
He overall scored 103 goals in 212 league games across all divisions, including a memorable brace in the last Manchester derby at Maine Road. A remarkable return on City’s £400,000 investment.
7. Carlos Tevez [2009-2013]
Carlos Tevez joined Manchester City in 2009, having spent two years with Manchester United. Tevez’s transfer was the begining of a successful period for the club. He raised expectations, not just those of the fans, but of the other players in the squad who were visibly lifted by his arrival.
He scored 73 goals in 148 games and led the team to the FA Cup in 2011, City’s first piece of major silverware in 35 years. He’d go on to help the club claim the Premier League title the following season, City’s first league trophy in 44 years. After spending four years with the club he moved to Juventus in 2013.
6. Tommy Johnson [1919-1930]
Johnson is the third leading goalscorer in City’s history with 166 goals in 354 matches. He also holds the club record for most goals in a single season with 38 goals in 1928-29. Johnson marked his debut in 1919 with a goal but would take three more years to establish himself fully in the Blues’ starting line-up, forming an impressive partnership with Horace Barnes.
He was an incredibly popular figure with supporters, and his transfer to Everton in 1930 sparked protests and even a boycott on the terraces.
5. Eric Brook [1928-1939]
Brook is regarded as one of Manchester City’s and England’s greatest ever players. Eric Brook was an unorthodox outside-left who often played in the centre-forward position if the occasion demanded.
In 1928, Brook and team-mate Fred Tilson were transferred to Manchester City for a combined fee of £6,000. Brook possessed a thunderous shot and was the natural penalty-taker for the team. He rarely missed a game and, with 178 goals for the Blues, he still remains the club’s second top scorer – an incredible feat for a player who didn’t always play as the main striker.