Quinn, Niall
Niall Quinn arrived from Arsenal in March 1990 for a fee of £800,000. Seven years with Arsenal had yielded just 94 appearances and 20 goals and ‘the Big Irishman’, as he became universally known, wanted a fresh challenge.
Manager Howard Kendall saw Quinn as a vital piece of his jigsaw and the 6ft 4 inch striker started with a goal on his debut against Chelsea and helped the Blues steer clear of relegation with four goals in the remaining nine games of the 1989/90 campaign.
Despite his height, Quinn had deceptively deft touch on the floor and during his first full campaign at Maine Road he scored 21 league goals and struck up a lethal partnership with David White recorded a season-best of 15 goals. Quinn’s knock-downs or flicks on and White’s pace helped steer City to a first top five finish for 13 years and Quinn was voted Player of the Year – he even went in goal when Tony Coton was sent off against Derby and saved a penalty!
White and Quinn again were easily the Blues’ top scorers during the 1991/92 campaign which again saw City finish in fifth and by this point, Quinn was a firm crowd favourite. Quinn helped White finish top scorer again in 1992/93 but sustained a cruciate ligament injury in November 1993, keeping him out for several months.
He returned to the first team the following campaign, by which time City had purchased Paul Walsh and Uwe Rosler and, on occasion, manager Brian Horton played all three forwards. Quinn stayed for one more season before joining Sunderland in August 1996 having played 247 times for the Blues, scoring 78 goals. And as for those disco pants...
QPR
We couldn’t let the letter Q pass without passing reference to that game. QPR’s recent tussles with City have been fairly dramatic it’s fair to say, but the May 2012 clash will remain in the memories of Blues’ fans for many, many years to come.
Of course, you know the scenario all too well, but any excuse to watch the below again…
Quigley, Mike
Mike Quigley played 13 times for City between 1989 and 1995, mostly as substitute. A product of the Club’s youth scheme, he made his debut off the bench in 1991 during a 3-1 defeat away to Aston Villa and went on to make a further four sub appearances that season.
The following campaign he made his full debut in a 2-1 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday and added four substitute appearances that season, but was never able to force his way into the side on a regular basis and after a brief spell on loan with Wrexham, he moved to Hull City where he enjoyed the most productive period of his career.
He is now assistant manager of Chorley FC, managed by former City favourite Garry Flitcroft.
Tweet us with your suggestions for the letter ‘R’ @MCFC...
A is for Aguero, Argentina and Ardwick
B is for Balotelli, Ballet on Ice and Berkovic
C is for Corrigan, Cricket and Curle
D is for Doyle, Dowd and Dzeko
E for Elano, Elvis the Eagle and Eriksson
F is for Flitcroft, Floodlights and Foe
G is for Goater, Gibson, Golden Goal
H is for Hart, Horlock and Huddersfield
I for Immel, Iheanacho and Ireland
J is for Johnstone, James and Jihai
K is for Kinky, Kippax, Keegan and Kennedy
L is for Lake, Lee and Lescott
N is for Nash, Nicknames and North Stand
P is for Play-offs, Pearce and Poznan
