The rules are that these are my favourite players, which doesn't mean they are the best or most valuable. I also didn't choose any current players (TEEMU!) because their City careers haven't ended yet so their story is only half-told.
Goalkeeper: Robert Green
Now, I'm a little young to have seen Gunny at his best, Fraser Forster and John Ruddy were both great for us but Robert Green was our scruffy, academy-bred young keeper who took us to Cardiff, won the Championship, was loyal and represented England with us. He would save shots he had no right to and proved our saviour over and over again. Would we have experienced those seasons of success without him? I doubt it.
Rightback: Russell Martin
Russ played a massive part in the success of the Lambert years. He joined us in League One and went on to play 4 years in the Premiership with us, becoming Captain along the way and lifting a trophy at Wembley for us. He faced the press after defeats with honesty and good humour and was just brilliant for us.
Leftback: Adam Drury
Now, Mark Bowen was a huge hero of mine and Martin Olsson was brilliant for us but Adam has to get the nod because of the time he spent at the club and the multiple promotions he played a part in. He was there in Cardiff, winning the Championship, League One and promotion back to the Premiership and never looked out of his depth regardless of who he was facing. His goal against Boro is an absolute classic. His testimonial game against Celtic was a proper party at the end of the Lambert era.
Centreback: Dion Dublin
Always played the game like he was having the time of his life. He was a colossus for City when we badly needed one. He was just absolute class.
Centreback: Craig Fleming
Spent a decade at the club and in that time he was absolutely pivotal. When the club needed a calm reassuring figure on the pitch, Craig was absolutely vital and was a great captain.
Defensive Midfielder: Gary Holt
Gary Holt was the busiest midfielder in the land, he had to keep things tight defensively while the rest of the midfield around him were fairly exclusively attacking minded players. He covered every blade of grass and was a tenacious tackler. A story that tells you about the man; when a school party visited Colney, Gary rebuked his teammates for swearing in front of the children. He was always acutely aware of his surroundings and the dangers around them.
Attacking Midfielder: Wes Hoolahan
I was never a fan of people calling Wessi a magician, because magicians are frauds and charlatans who fool the crowds...Wes genuinely was magic, there was no fakery with the wee man. He tied defenders in knots, bamboozled goalkeepers and kept the crowds on the edge of their seats. He wasn't a typical footballer, he'd take time to win over every sceptical new manager but once his value was obvious to them, he was vital to them. Over a ten year period he produced sublime moments of skill and creativity and took us from League One to a sustained period in the Premier League and then to Wembley glory. Legend.
Right Winger: Darren Eadie
Absolute legend. See previous Eadie post for shameless eulogising about him. He had that "fud-fud" effect. Huh? Oh sorry I should explain; "fud-fud" is the sound that the chairs make in Carrow Road when they flip up because the crowd have stood up to watch something particularly awesome.
Left Winger: Darren Huckerby
See Darren Eadie. Hucks was a similar player except his Canary career worked in reverse really. Hucks was at Premier League Man City and could have made a good living by joining various clubs on loan for the duration of his contract there, but he decided to take a pay-cut and join Norwich permanently to help propel us up the league and into the promised land. He then stayed with us as the club around him was slowly dismantled and was eventually Roedered out the club unceremoniously. He was an absolute wizard with a ball.
Striker: Grant Holt
Grant Fucking Holt! Captain. Leader. Legend.
His new autobiography is excellent FYI.
Striker: Robert Fleck
Tricky and incredibly talented. He scurried about the pitch like a kid and played with a smile on his face. He LOVED scoring goals and did it a LOT. He loved the club so much that he returned to try and help the club back up and he scored some great goals. Works locally with young children with learning difficulties nowadays. When I see him about it's like seeing a superhero...but without a cape.
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