1st November – Paul Dickov

Paul Dickov might not be the first Manchester City striker that comes to mind but he might just be one of the most important in their history.

Featuring in three different divisions for the club and scoring some important goals for the club means he should be remembered fondly by the fans. Alongside his workrate and determination he was always well liked by his teams fans and not so much by opposition players.

Dickov started his career at Arsenal, but struggled to force his way into the first team regularly, with the likes of Ian Wright in front of him in the pecking order. However, his record wasn’t too bad as he scored six times in just 24 appearances and he was part of the squad that won the Cup Winners Cup in 1994.

In 1996 the striker signed for Manchester City but his first season was a bit of a disaster as the club went through five managers, some of them liking the striker and others leaving him out completely as he contributed just five goals. Again, the following year was poor and despite finishing as the top scorer they were relegated from Divison One.

The 1998-99 season was when Dickov became a City hero, scoring 16 goals in total, including the 95^th minute equaliser in the final of the playoffs against Gillingham which was later voted as City’s Greatest Ever Goal in 2005. The game went to penalties and they would go on to win the game. In the following campaign Man City gained back to back promotions but injuries limited his game time. He did score the fourth goal in a 4-1 win over Blackburn Rovers which clinched promotion.

The Premier League was tough for Dickov as he found himself on the bench a lot and only managed four goals in the league as they were relegated. Lack of first team opportunites led to him leaving for Leicester City in 2002 and at the end of the season he suffered yet another relegation. He and the club would bounce back immediately with the striker hitting a career high 20 goals. Despite 13 goals Leicester were relegated again and he left the club for Blackburn.

He stayed at Blackburn for two seasons, scoring 17 times before returning to Man City. His second spell was less spectacular than his first as he failed to find the back of the net and ended up being loaned to Crystal Palace and Blackpool. While there he was named Player of the Month and scored six times in 11 games in total.

At the end of his contract he resigned for Leicester, helping them to win League One in the process. After promotion he did not play much and was loaned out to Derby County and was released soon after. Leeds United signed him but he only managed one start for the club.

His final playing days were at Oldham were he was player manager.

The final word can go to the man himself, speaking about that Wembley goal, which if he didn’t score who knows where City would be. “I was a lucky little boy to score that goal.”

4th February – Kevin Campbell

Kevin Campbell may not be one of the biggest names to have played during the Premier League era but he was certainly a good striker that could always grab a goal for whoever he was playing for.

The 45 year old has been retired since 2007 but will be fondly remembered by Everton and West Brom in particular. During his career he did a rare thing for an English player and that was play abroad. He also scored 83 Premier League goals which puts him number 40 in the all time list.

Campbell began his career at Arsenal and was prolific for the youth team, scoring 59 goals in a single season and helping the club win the FA Youth Cup. He went on to make his debut on 7^th May 1988 against Everton, unfortunately he could not find his way past Paul Merson and Alan Smith to secure a first team spot. In 1989 he joined Leyton Orient on loan and was a success scoring nine times in 16 games which led to them wanting to sign him permanently, however Arsenal refused to sell.

He went out on loan once more, this time to Leicester City and again showed that he could find the back of the net with five goals in 11 games. In the 1990-91 season he established himself in the Arsenal first team and helped the team win the First Division title after scoring eight times in ten games during the run in. After the signing of Ian Wright, Campbell got less recognition for his work but still chipped in with some important goals. Over the next few seasons he helped the team win the FA Cup, League Cup and the Cup Winners Cup. More signings were made, including John Hartson and Dennis Bergkamp, so Campbell left the club after playing 224 games and scoring 59 goals.

Nottingham Forest signed the striker for £2.5 million in the summer of 1995 but unfortunately he could not stop them from getting relegated in 1997. He stuck with the team and his 23 goals in the following season helped them to an immediate return to the Premier League. Controversy then clouded the next 12 months of his career as he was sold to Turkish side Trabzonspor for £2.5 million and this made Forest striker Pierre van Hooijdonk go on strike. But worse was still to come as after just seven months he was involved in a racist incident with the club president. Campbell was very popular with the fans and the other players so they stood behind him and accompanied him to the press conference announcing his departure and the reasons.

In March 1999, Campbell joined relegation threatened Everton and was arguably one of the greatest loans ever in the Premier League. Despite only playing eight games he finished the season as the club’s top scorer with nine goals and was named April’s Player of the Month. In the summer he made the move permanent and he became even more of a legend at the club by scoring the winner against Liverpool at Anfield. Although Everton were largely disappointing in the Premier League with bottom half finishes, Campbell was a regular scorer.

West Brom then signed Campbell on a free transfer in January 2005 and many had written them off after being bottom of the Premier League at Christmas. But after making Campbell captain there was an upturn in form and he led them to survival, the first time a team had achieved this. Unfortunately he could not repeat the trick in the following season and the club were relegated and was released. He then joined Cardiff City but he could not have as much of an influence as he hoped and played his last professional game on the 20^th February 2007 against former club West Brom.

The final word can go to Bryan Robson. “He’s got vast experience and Premier League know-how. I think he’ll be a success. He’s up for trying to keep us in the Premier League. The way he leads the line is a good example to everybody but the way he gets on with players has been excellent.”