Manchester City's top 13 all-time goalscorers

May 27, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Manchester City forward Sergio Aguero (16) has his shot blocked by Toronto FC defenders Nick Hagglund (6) and Warren Creavalle (3) during the second half of an international club friendly at BMO Field. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Manchester City stands today one of the most elite clubs in the top flight of English football, however, many of the team’s top scorers throughout history are players that have not played for the team in decades. Any casual football fan could name a handful of the top goalscorers, but not even most die-hard fans could name them all.

Almost all of you know that Sergio Aguero will fall somewhere on the list. But what about other big-name strikers of recent years and beyond? Does the Argentine Carlos Tevez make the cut? What about City legend Shaun Goater? We will countdown the top 13 current all-time scorers for Manchester City. Test yourself as you go through, and see how many you recognize!

13) Alec Herd

Manchester City’s 13th All-Time Scorer: Scottish footballer Alec Herd (pictured on the left side, second from the bottom).

Herd started his professional footballing career in the Scottish league for Hamilton, and was a prolific scorer before ever joining City, bagging 41 goals in 85 appearances for the Hamilton in all competitions.

Herd joined Manchester City in 1933, scoring 125 goals for them including cup appearances and the league. In his first year with City, he played in a losing effort in the FA Cup Final against Everton.

His son David Herd was also a footballer, playing for Arsenal and Scotland.

12) Horace Barnes

Horace Barnes was an English footballer who played as a youngster for Wadsley Bridge, before kicking off professionally for Derby County in 1908. Barnes went on to join Manchester City in 1914 for a transfer fee only £2,500. Barnes went on to feature at City for the next decade, scoring 127 times for the club including several great performances in the FA Cup.

Barnes is widely regarded as one of the greatest Manchester City players of all-time, and like many players at the time, he temporarily left football behind during World War II, to assemble munitions and aid the war effort. Horace Barnes had a street named after him 1977 in the greater Manchester area, and his legacy lives on.

11) Frank Roberts

Born in 1893, English footballer Frank Roberts was a scoring machine throughout his footballing career. Roberts began his career at his local side Sandbach Villa, and changed clubs several times before joining City. At one point, Roberts was transferred to Bolton Wanderers for a sum of only £200.

In 1922, Roberts joined Manchester City for £3,400, which isn’t much by today’s standards for even lower tier football clubs, but was an egregious amount at the time. For comparison, an average house in 1922 cost about $7,000.

Roberts was prolific for City, scoring 130 goal over the course of his career for the team, but never lived up to his expectations within the English national team. Roberts appeared promising in the British Home Championship when he scored twice for England, leading them to beat Wales 2-1. However he eventually lost his spot in the squad, and ended his national career with only those 2 goals to his name.

10) Fred Tilson

Fred Tilson was an English footballer born in 1904 and started his scoring career off in Barnsley’s youth team, before moving up to the first team squad. Tilson joined Manchester City in 1928 in a move that was very unique for the time, a double-player swoop by City. Tilson joined the club at the same time as icon Eric Brook, costing the team a combined £6,000.

Tilson joined City with nothing guaranteed, although his transfer was what you would consider “big money” 1928, you could make the argument that the majority of the fee was for securing Eric Brook from Barnsley and not Tilson. Tilson did not let the fairly stacked City depth chart get him down, and after playing only sparsely his first season, he went on to score 132 goals in all appearances for the club over the next 11 years.

Just as several others on this list, Tilson had a road in central Manchester named after him in 1977, and is remembered as a legend to this day.

9) Billie Gillespie

Billie Gillespie has the exact same goal total as Fred Tilson; however, Gillespie did it first, so that edges him ahead of Tilson. Gillespie was born in 1873 (yes, THAT long ago) and started out at Lincoln City in 1895 at age 22. In only about a season and a half there, he scored a total of 16 goals for the club.

In 1897, Gillespie made the change to Manchester. In Gillespie’s first full season for Manchester City, he scored 18 goals, helping the team put on quite a show in the second tier of football. Later in his City career, he scored 30 goals in one season, leading the entire second tier in goalscoring.

Gillespie is not as widely known as most other players on this list because his City career was so very long ago. He was on the City squad that won the FA Cup in 1904, but that was to be his swan song. In 1905, City was accused of paying some of its key players extra salary under the table, and suspensions were issued to several players on the team.

Gillespie was suspended for two years and thus ineligible to play football again until 1907. Choosing not to wait, Gillespie instead walked away from the sport, leaving a few years of football on the table. If not for his early retirement, he would likely be a further up the list.

8) Tommy Browell

Born in 1892, Tommy Browell started his professional footballing career purely through his family name – his two brothers played for Hull City at the time and likely helped him earn his chance to play. Browell did not disappoint early on in his career, scoring a hat trick at the inexperienced age of 18.

Browell went on to join Everton a season later, and spent two full seasons there before Manchester City acquired him for a little under £2,000. Browell spent the next 13 years playing for City, and although no major titles to speak of were won during his tenure, he set the bar for many other players in England, scoring 139 goals during his time in Manchester.

After playing in 247 matches for City, Browell was sold to Blackpool to finish out his career at age 34. He remained playing football for Blackpool until turning 38, when he was let go. Browell would go on to be a taxi driver until his death in 1955.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – AUGUST 13: Sergio Aguero of Manchester City shoots at goal during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium on August 13, 2016 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

7) Sergio Aguero

The modern day Manchester City legend that no alive follower of the sport can be unaware of at this point, Sergio Aguero needs no introduction.

Aguero currently has 142 goals in all competitions, three goals more than Tommy Browell. Born in 1988, the Argentine footballer played for Independiente and Atletico Madrid before moving to City in early 2011.

Aguero could retire from football tomorrow, and walk away from the game and still be immortalized as one of the greatest City players of all-time. Aguero is certainly in the conversation for being the most talented footballer ever to grace the team at all. Aguero was immortalized in the 2011-12 season when he scored the 95th minute premier-league winning goal against QPR. That goal made Aguero a Cityzen for life, and brought a new

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – AUGUST 13: Sergio Aguero of Manchester City celebrates after scoring a goal to make it 1-0 during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Sunderland at Etihad Stadium on August 13, 2016 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)

confidence to City and proved that they could compete again at the top of football.

The real question to be asked about Sergio Aguero is not whether he will rise on the list, but whether he will ever top it. He certainly has the capability to do so, and is widely regarded as the Premier League’s most dangerous scorer. At 28, Aguero still has very much left in the tank, and the next few years could see him reach the very top if he commits himself to it.

Francis Lee of Manchester City in action during the Football League Cup Final against West Bromwich Albion at Wembley Stadium in London on 7th March 1970. Manchester City won 2-1. (Photo by Ed Lacey/Popperfoto/Getty Images)

6) Francis Lee

Francis Lee or “Franny” as he was fondly nicknamed was a force for Manchester City during the late 60s and early 70s. I am willing to bet that many older City fans remember him quite well.

Born in 1944 in Lancashire, Francis Lee started his professional career for Bolton Wanderers in 1959 at 15. Lee played for Bolton, working his way up the team sheet until he had made a name for himself. He remained there for eight years, scoring 92 goals in all competitions.

In 1967, Manchester City broke their record to go out and sign Franny Lee for £60,000. In his first season at City, Lee helped guide the team to the league title, and scored 16 goals in doing so. Unlike some other players on this list, Lee has a number accolades on his resume from his time at City, including an FA Cup, Charity Shield, League Cup, and even a UEFA Cup. Franny Lee scored 148 goals for City in total, six more than Sergio Aguero.

In 1974, City sold Lee to Derby County, where he played at a high level for two more years before retiring.

Billy Meredith of Manchester United in action during the first ever FA Charity Shield match against Queens Park Rangers. Following a 1-1 draw, United won 4-0 in the replay. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

5) Billy Meredith

Billy Meredith was a Welsh footballer born in 1874, and was one of the first modern footballing superstars for his national team. Meredith started his career for low level Welsh side Chirk, before transferring to Northwich Victoria. He was not well known until he was signed by Manchester City in 1894.

He remained at City until 1906, when City was hit with punishments for allegedly paying several players extra salary. During his suspension period, a frustrated Meredith moved to rival Manchester United. City had no choice but to let him go, as the club endured the punishments handed down by the league for its actions.

Meredith did well at United but was not nearly as prolific in front of goal. He scored only 35 goals for them from 1906 to 1921. In 1921, he moved back to City, where he was welcomed with open arms. When he retired in 1924, he had scored a total of 152 goals for City.

4) Joe Hayes

Born in 1936 in Kearsley, Hayes began his professional footballing career with Manchester City. Hayes walked onto the City team in 1953 after having a trial that impressed the team enough to sign him. Before signing for City, Hayes had held several jobs – including working in a coal mine like Billy Meredith.

Hayes had an excellent career with City, scoring 152 goals in all competitions. He was apart of the squad that made it to the FA Cup final in 1955 and lost. Not done, City made it to the final stage of the FA Cup again the next year, where they beat Birmingham City. Hayes scored a crucial goal in the match that helped City hoist the trophy.

During his tenure at City, Hayes made a monstrous 331 appearances in the league alone, 363 in total and is more than deserving to hold the number four spot on this list. After 12 years at City, Hayes moved to Barnsley in 1965, and then Wigan Athletic the following year before eventually retiring at the end of the 1967 season.

4th October 1975: Arsenal play Manchester City at Highbury; Mike Doyle, Brian Kidd and Colin Bell at close quarters. (Photo by David Ashdown/Keystone/Getty Images)

3) Colin Bell

Colin Bell is an English footballer born in 1946. Bell started his professional career our at Bury in 1963 at 17. He stayed at Bury until 20, scoring 25 goals during that time.

In 1966 Bell signed for Manchester City and was considered a steal by City at the time because of just how a talented a youngster he was. Just two years after joining the club, he helped City to win a league title in 1968.

Bell is widely regarded as one of the greatest City players of all-time, rivaling the likes of Sergio Aguero. His City career included many accolades: the FA Cup, Reserve League Champion, Charity Shield, two league cups and a European Cup.

Bell played for City until 1979, a 13-year career for City, scoring 153 goals. Although it should be noted that he spent nearly a year and a half off the field due to a knee injury. After leaving City, he signed for the NASL San Jose Earthquakes, where he played only five games before deciding to hang up his cleats. Aside from his City experience, Bell was also capped 48 times for England scoring nine goals for the national squad during his career.

2) Tommy Johnson

Born in 1900 in Lancashire, Tommy Johnson started his footballing days at Dalton Athletic, a semi-professional club at the time. At 19, he was given a trial by Manchester City in 1919 on the advice of City defender Eli Fletcher, a lifelong friend of Johnson’s.

Johnson’s career at City started off slow, as he was not trusted with an excess of first team opportunities for the club early on due to his age. After his first three seasons, he became a fixture in the starting line up and began to thoroughly flourish for City.

In 1928, Johnson set the City record for most goals in a single season with 38. To this day, 88 years later, no City player has eclipsed Johnson’s record in doing so. Sergio Aguero, as a point of comparison, has scored 26 at most in a single season.

Leaving City in 1930 after a decade at the club, Johnson had scored an incredible 166 goals in all competitions making 354 appearances. Johnson went on to play 9 more years of professional football, jumping about from Liverpool, Everton, and Darwen. Internationally, Johnson was capped five times for England and scored five goals to match.

1) Eric Brook

Eric Brook is thought of by many to be one of the greatest English players of all-time, much less one of the greatest Manchester City players.

Brook was born in 1907 and started his footballing career out at Barnsley, where he played for three seasons, scoring 18 goals. In 1928, Brook and Fred Tilson moved to City in the aforementioned famous double transfer deal.

Brook sets himself apart from others in that unlike most of the other players on this list, he was not always an out-and-out striker. Brook was more of a left-side winger who could play centrally in a similar fashion like Cristiano Ronaldo.

Brook won the FA Cup with City in 1934, and the league in 1936. Internationally, he was capped 18 times for England, scoring 10 times.

Brook played 11 years for City from 1928 until 1939 making an outrageous 494 appearances in all competitions. Brook’s final goal count: 177 goals. Nobody on the current City team has the possibility of catching him, save for Sergio Aguero, and even he would have to have an excellent next few seasons to do so.

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