Robinson spent just one season at Maine Road – the 1979/80 campaign – after Malcolm Allison paid Preston North End £750,000 for the promising 21-year-old.
One of several lesser known but expensive signings Allison made, Robinson scored in his third appearance for City during a 3-2 win over Brighton & Hove Albion.
A hard-working striker, he was a shade unfortunate to be in a City team on the decline and the pressure to deliver with a huge price tag (at the time) on his shoulders hardly helped his confidence.
But there were real flashes of inspiration and his excellent goal in the 2-0 win over Manchester United bought him a lot of credit with the City fans.
The second-half of the 79/80 season was a miserable affair for City with a run of 18 games without a win threatening relegation.
However, the return of former favourite Dennis Tueart sparked an improvement towards the end of the campaign with just one loss in eight resulting in a 17th-place finish – though Robinson effectively lost his place in the side as a result.
Robinson still ended the top scorer with nine goals from 35 appearances before being sold to Brighton in 1980.
He remained with the Seagulls for three years before spending a season with Liverpool and later had spells with QPR and Osasuna.
Robinson also won 24 caps for Republic of Ireland.
He settled in Spain and became a popular TV pundit, before his untimely death aged just 61.
The thoughts of everyone at Manchester City are with Michael’s family at this difficult time.
