Pompey Man City Eleven

David James

The 36-year-old James signed for Pompey from Man City in August 2011 for what proved to be a snip at £1.2m. It was stated at the time he wanted to move dahn sarf to be closer to his fiancée; which is sweet. James was no stranger to the atmosphere created by the Pompey fans at home as Pedro Mendes pinged two past him at the Fratton End the season before.

Paul Ritchie

The Kirkaldy-born defender is the forgotten man of the 2002/03 promotion season during which he played a dozen solid games, including the infamous wet’n’wild home game against Leicester. Ritchie had struggled with injury at Maine Road hence the loan spell. He was sold on to Walsall and eventually found himself coaching the States.

Sylvan Distin

Despite his French origins Sylvan Distin was a Rolls-Royce of a central defender unlike some of the dodgy 2CVs who’ve slotted in at the back in the past. He joined at the start of the 2007/08 season and formed a strong defensive partnership with Sol Campbell. The FA Cup win was his only his first and only major honour in English football.

Tal Ben Haim

Pompey had lost their first four Premier League games and the Israeli international’s signing on deadline day from Man City was a last desperate roll of the dice. It was a gamble that didn’t pay off and the four-year-deal was to bite the club in the arse when the financial strain began to take hold. 

Martin Phillips

Bought from Man City for £100,000 in 1998, Alan Ball once predicted that Martin ‘Buster’ Phillips would be the country’s first £10 million pound player. He was wrong. After 24 appearances and one goal, the erratic winger was sold to Plymouth for the pricely sum of £25,000. Last seen playing 5-a-side in Frome on a Tuesday night at the sports centre.

Michael Brown

The hard-tackling, shin-bruising Brown spent two spells at Fratton Park. The first saw him arrive briefly on loan from Manchester City in 1999, where he played four games before skulking off back to his parent club. The latter saw him sign on full time from Wigan.

Eyal Berkovic

The Israeli schemer had played well under Harry Redknapp at West Ham, and when he found himself out of the Manchester City side in 2004 a reunion was inevitable. Eyal was snapped up for £500,000 and signed on a two-and-a-half year deal. "He can be moody, but the little fella can play and create," said Harry at the time.

Fitzroy Simpson

The Wiltshire-born Jamaican international was signed up from City in 1995 as part of the deal that saw Kit Symons journey the other way.  He stayed four years at Fratton and played 148 times scoring 10 times. He moved from Pompey in 1999 to enthusiastically chase the ball about for Hearts.

Paul Walsh

The little master had two spells at Pompey. He firmly established himself as a terrace legend during his first spell after joining us from Spurs in 1992, but was lured away by Man City after a couple of seasons. His return was a double whammy as not only did we get him back but they also took Gerry Creaney off our hands as part of the deal.

Andy Cole

The formerly prolific marksman swapped Moss Side for the seaside on transfer day back in 2006 on a one-year-deal. His predatory skills had waned by the time he joined us and his goal return of 3 in 18 wasn’t enough to earn him a contract extension.

Carl Griffiths

The Welsh striker was a £200,000 makeweight in the Kit Symons transfer. His Pompey career mirrored his spell at City as he failed to hold down a first team place. He was used sparingly by the manager at the time Terry Fenwick, and was eventually sold to Peterborough. Remarkably we made £25,000 on the deal.