The Middle Man: who is the most equally Liverpool-ish and Man City-ish player in Premier League history?
In the grand scheme of Premier League rivalries, Liverpool vs Manchester City barely registers. Perhaps that lack of inherent bitterness (usually directed elsewhere in Manchester) lends itself to some decent football spectacles: their last six league meetings have mustered a total of 23 goals.
That lack of traditional antipathy has also perhaps removed any obstacles for players plying their trade at Anfield and the Etihad (or, indeed, Maine Road). In fact, no fewer than fourteen men have played in both the famous red and sky blue shirts since 1992.
So, then, which player sits dead-centre in this curious footballing Venn diagram, with Steven Gerrard one side and Vincent Kompany on the other? Whose statue would have to be built on an equidistant point between Anfield and the Etihad (which is a small farm in the rolling Cheshire countryside, if you really want to know)?
The deliberately nebulous criteria remain the same as the previous editions of the Middle Man. Loyalty to either club plays a part, as does the legacy they left behind (or continue to build) or the manner in which they left either club.
Are we clear? Are you ready to disagree vehemently? Good, because we have a big squad of players to get through.
Nigel Clough
Played an almost identical number of games for Liverpool and City, in a distinctly inauspicious period for both clubs. Was perhaps in the right place at the wrong time when he arrived at Anfield at the age of 27 but, nevertheless, remains overwhelmingly a Nottingham Forest man.
Verdict: Liverpool 18% Man City 3% Playing for his dad at Forest 79%
Steve McManaman
A rare example of an Englishman flourishing abroad, McManaman won the Champions League twice with Real Madrid after his Bosman move from Anfield in 1999, a move that threatened to sour his relations with Liverpool fans. Ultimately, though, the farewell was a fond one after 12 years of mesmerising dribbles. His City years, in contrast, were a one-paced winding down for a player who had already been there and got the T-shirt.
Verdict: Liverpool 87% Man City 13%
Robbie Fowler
A bone fide Liverpool legend, even after embarking on something of a journeyman existence when his services were no longer required at Anfield. By no means a failure at City, though, but a million miles from the electric, shoot-on-sight phenomenon of the mid-1990s.
Verdict: Liverpool 85% Man City 15%
Mario Balotelli
Why always him? Not this time, anyway. Handed a chance on his 20th birthday for a fresh start at Manchester City in 2010, Balotelli certainly left a legacy at the Etihad - and his contribution to Sergio Aguero’s title-winning moment won’t be forgotten in a hurry. His spell with Liverpool, which began with a goal drought and somehow fizzled out into even less, may live less longer in the memory by the time he retires.
Verdict: Liverpool 17% Man City 83%
Mark Kennedy
What do you mean “who’s Mark Kennedy”? Once the most expensive teenager in British football history when he arrived at Anfield from Millwall in 1995, Kennedy’s career meandered towards the upper reaches of the second tier, stopping with moderate success at a yo-yo-ing City along the way.
Verdict: Liverpool 22% Man City 78%
Nicolas Anelka
No stranger to this Middle Man series, having seemingly played for every elite club in the modern era. Still only 22 when he arrived at Liverpool on loan in 2001, Anelka was in no mood to put down some roots. 37 Premier League goals in two-and-a-half seasons with Manchester City, who had paid a club-record £13m to sign him, represents a more memorable chapter in Anelka’s 12-club career.
Verdict: Liverpool 26% Man City 74%
Albert Riera
An underwhelming wide man, who experienced a little more joy at Anfield than in his loan spell with City. Unlikely to be hosting a charity dinner at either club any time soon, though.
Verdict: Liverpool 68% Man City 32%
Dietmar Hamann
Secured his place in Liverpool history with his composed contribution to their 2005 Champions League triumph, and the Scouse twang to his Bavarian accent suggests he can regard Anfield as a second home. Much like Fowler and McManaman, Man City was a comfortable place for Hamann to spend some twilight years.
Verdict: Liverpool 65% Man City 35%
Daniel Sturridge
A highly-regarded City youth prospect, until he was tempted away by the riches of Chelsea in 2009. Having never nailed down a regular place at Stamford Bridge, Liverpool swooped in with a £12m deal and - despite some enduring fitness issues - it remains money very well spent. Those City days seems like an eternity ago.
Verdict: Liverpool 63% Man City 37%
David James
There are perhaps two David Jameses: the error-ridden timebomb of the 1990s and then the colossal - but still slightly dodgy - piece of mid-2000s Premier League furniture. Both vie for real estate in one’s football memory but his City days, sandwiched between Aston Villa, West Ham and Portsmouth, perhaps don’t stand out as much - even allowing for that rather brilliant final-day cameo appearance as a clueless striker thanks to the managerial genius of Stuart Pearce.
Verdict: Liverpool 59% Man City 41%
Craig Bellamy
Like Anelka, Bellamy was never afraid to up sticks for a fresh start, and it’s tricky to pin him down to any one of his 10 clubs. Liverpool were lucky/brave enough to sign him twice, and he perhaps performed most of his characteristic feather-ruffling in a red shirt - but it’s a fairly tight call.
Verdict: Liverpool 58% Man City 42%
Kolo Touré
Ah, Kolo Toure. Sometime in the future, you’ll remember laughing at Kolo Toure for something, but you might not be able to remember which shirt he was wearing at the time. His consistent heart-on-sleeve efforts for Arsenal, City and Liverpool were punctuated with moments of exquisite calamity. In terms of the latter, his Liverpool days edge it - just.
Verdict: Liverpool 54% Man City 46%
Raheem Sterling
Moulded into an elite player at Anfield, and then expensively ferried to Manchester as the finished product. There is plenty more water to pass under the Sterling bridge but, at 22 years old, he has already experienced most of the slings and arrows the Premier League can throw. Pep Guardiola’s tutelage can turn Sterling into a world-class operator but, for now, his Liverpool days remain as much a part of his tapestry as his current employers.
Verdict: Liverpool 53% Man City 47%
THE MIDDLE MAN - James Milner
Well, of course he is. A man so renowned for reliability and does-what-it-says-on-the-tin diligence that even his parody Twitter account has run out of surprises. The 30-year-old has put in the hard yards for five clubs in 15 seasons and, even as he continues to mature at Liverpool, it would be impossible to pick any of them out as Milner’s primary stomping ground.
Verdict: Liverpool 50% Man City 50%