Throughout the 2022/23 season, we had opposition legends tell us their most formidable sky blue team – created from the players they came up against.
Ameobi, who will be on our studio couch on Saturday for the game against Newcastle United, wore the black and white stripes on Tyneside for 13 seasons, becoming a cult hero in the process.
GOALKEEPER: DAVID JAMES
There are some great goalkeepers to select from. It’s not an easy choice.
But I’ll go for David James. If you were looking to create a goalkeeper, he’d be the mould you would use. He had a great physicality.
He commanded his goal well. He had a good character, as well.
RIGHT-BACK: PABLO ZABALETA
He had so much energy down that right hand side. You always knew you were in for a game when he was playing because he was up and down the pitch time after time. He never seemed to run out of energy.
He also had a bit of aggressiveness about him, too, that I really liked.
He helped the club in that transition period going from where they were to where they wanted to get to, which was winning trophies.
CENTRE-BACK: VINCENT KOMPANY
Vinny goes straight in. He did so much for Manchester City.
He was a top, top defender. I always struggled against him. He had physicality, speed, quickness of thought, he could read the game very well and developed into a club legend at the Etihad Stadium.
CENTRE-BACK: JOLEON LESCOTT
I played with Joleon for the England Under-21s. I saw his quality close-up.
He had all the attributes that a centre-half would want. He was great in the air and he could play a pass as well. I always remember those raking diagonals he used to great effect.
LEFT-BACK: ALEKSANDAR KOLAROV
This is another tough one but I’m going to go for Aleksandar Kolarov because, as an attacker, I used to love the way he used the ball.
He was comfortable in any position and was always offensive-minded.
He always caused us issues and the way he could whip that ball in from the left, as well, was dangerous.
Every time we played against City, he was one of the players we felt we had to keep quiet.
He had a lot of attacking qualities you would want in a modern-day full-back.
RIGHT MIDFIELD: SAMIR NASRI
This was a straight choice between James Milner and Samir Nasri. But I’m going to go for Samir.
When he first arrived at City, he was a top, top player. He was unquestionably one of the very best players in the Premier League at that time. That was for a few seasons.
He was always a thorn in our side. He was a top talent. He had great vision. It was something else.
I always remember some of the balls he played. They confounded our defenders.
LEFT MIDFIELD: DAVID SILVA
If you looked at the 10 best Premier League players of all-time, I’d definitely have David Silva in there.
He was one of the lynchpins of the Manchester City revolution. He was one of the big catalysts for City’s elevation on to another level.
He had great style - the way he played the game and the way he saw the game. People don’t realise how agile he was because he was so smooth on the ball.
And he also had a bit about him as well.
CENTRE MIDFIELD: Yaya Toure
Yaya was a colossus. We always struggled to contain him.
You always felt he could do whatever he wanted on the pitch. We didn’t quite have the physicality or ability to stop him.
He was such a wonderful player and wonderful character and he epitomised what Manchester City were when he played.
He had a smile on his face but he could put his foot in. He had wonderful abilities that were hard to match.
CENTRE MIDFIELD: Gareth Barry
I was fortunate to play with Gareth, like I did Joleon, at Under-21 level.
He was very unassuming but, as a fellow player, you could see how much he did for the team. He knitted the team together.
There’s a reason he’s played so many games in the Premier League and why so many managers trusted him.
He did all the right things, never put a foot wrong in any game, could read the game better than most midfielders and always was in the right spot.
He was a gentleman, as well.
He is a choice where some fans might not pick him but as a fellow player, trust me, you need players like Gareth Barry in your team.
CENTRE FORWARD: Sergio Aguero
Sergio goes straight in!
He had great longevity, a brilliant career at Manchester City but also, of course, he’s top scorer at the club.
He could score any type of goal. He had a real tenacity to want to score goals. I think that aspect was unparalleled.
Also, he could drop in as well and become part of the style of football that Manchester City have become renowned for.
For me, he’s Manchester City’s best striker. The fact that he broke the record was testament to that.
CENTRE FORWARD: Edin Dzeko
My final choice was between Nicolas Anelka and Edin Dzeko. I loved Nicolas but I’m not sure he was at the height of his powers at City. So I’ll go for Edin. He’s part of the ‘tall striker’s union!’
I think what he had and what he brought to Manchester City, he just had something different.
Everywhere he’s been, he’s made an impact. Thinking of those early years when Manchester City were winning their first trophies, he scored big goals and he was a loyal servant as well.
I remember him being a handful to deal with when playing against us. Every time he played he seemed to contribute or score.
I think Sergio and Edin work well together. They’d cause defences a lot of headaches.
