A pre-takeover Man City XI who could still do a job in the lower leagues | OneFootball

While relegation to the National League seems very much the nuclear option of punishments, it is still fun for us all to ponder what Manchester City in the fifth step of English football would be like.

The National League may not be the barren wasteland some Premier League fans may think it is but it is still a step down in terms of both glamour and facilities and so it’s hard to see any of City’s current squad sticking around for too long.

Which allows us to play a silly hypothetical game of getting the band back together.

Here are 11 City players signed pre-takeover who we reckon could still do a job.

GK: Joe Hart

Hart has already come out swinging for chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and so looks prepared to help his former club out.

The shot-stopper is a rare pre-takeover signing that managed to stick around and made 348 appearances for the club.

As to how decent he would be now, he’s only 39 and from his punditry work on the BBC, certainly knows his stuff. Plus there’s less tiki-taka in non-league.

RB: Micah Richards

He may have got a Premier League medal out of it but City’s takeover probably actually stunted Richards’ career as the club were suddenly able to afford better replacements.

Pablo Zabaleta would soon come in to replace him but Richards is still only 38.

His knee is gone, as he has admitted, and you’d have to wrestle him away from his many media commitments, but it’s still a great option.

CB: Richard Dunne

Mark this in the category of ‘we would very much like to see’.

Look, Dunne is 47 now and was not exactly a mobile centre back in his peak years so it’s going to be a case of put him in the best spot and hope the ball gets near him but if it does, oh boy.

He’s got the Premier League record of most red cards and you’d back him to add to that if a quick forward gets past him.

CB: Sylvain Distin

If Dunne is the destroyer of the back line, Distin is the more cultured player.

Louis Saha once said Distin is a “superhuman” due to how much he valued fitness and so we reckon he’s still in good nick, even at the age of 48.

LB: Stuart Pearce

Look, we know he’s 64 but are you telling us that if we picked Stuart Pearce, he wouldn’t absolutely give it 100%? You don’t get the nickname Psycho for nothing after all.

Pearce does a lot of media work these days and looks in great nick for a man nearing his pension. He’s also somewhat of a City cult hero given his playing and manager stints. Plus he’s already got non-league experience, having played for Wealdstone at the start of his career.

RM: Shaun Wright-Phillips

Wright-Phillips is currently performing on Strictly so he will have to share his time between the ballroom and Barrow but he’s still an excellent option.

You have to get into good shape for the BBC show and so he’s already probably well ahead of his teammates in that regard and while he may not be able to burst down the wing anymore, you’d back him to have the technical ability to beat full-backs.

CM: Neil Lennon

Every non-league team needs a midfield enforcer and who better than Lennon? The Northern Irishman played for the club from 1987 to 1990 but is currently managing Dunfermline.

He’s got the positives of not being an awful person and not currently being in a jail as well so he beats another former City midfielder.

CM: Steve McManaman

It’s pretty handy having the option of a two-time Champions League winner to call upon.

While mainly known for his spells with Liverpool and Real Madrid, McManaman did play for City from 2003-05.

He also does a lot of charity matches so we reckon he’s still got it. He also played in City’s FA Cup comeback at Tottenham in 2004, one our most favourite games ever.

LM: Georgios Samaras

Celtic cult hero Samaras made the move to Manchester in 2006, his last stop before Glasgow, and is only 41 so could definitely do a job.

The long-haired Greek mainly played as a centre forward but did make 58 appearances at left wing in his career.

ST: Darius Vassell

Vassell is going to have to do a lot of the running given who his strike partner is but we’d still back him.

He wasn’t a prolific finisher by any means but this non-league after all.

ST: Shaun Goater

Feed the goat and he will score.

Goater is 56 but being a bagsman is for life. Get it out to him and he will do the rest, just don’t expect any tracking back.