When Shaun Goater scored two goals in the 3-1 demolition of Manchester United on November 9, 2002, the legend was complete.

Not only did it grant Manchester City one of their best moments in the last-ever season at their famous old Maine Road ground, but it also took Goater past the century mark of goals for the club and confirmed his status as a cult hero of unrivalled status.

No, he was never the most gifted player to play for City, far from it. But he had one special knack which would endear him to any supporter ? he scored goals. Not necessarily good goals, I grant you, but goals nonetheless. And lots of them. They went in off his feet, his knees, his head, his ears, his backside. They just went in.

He had something else, though, that enhanced his standing as one of the best-loved players in the history of the great old club. He was one of those rare strikers who overcame fans? disparagement to achieve their total respect and admiration.

And the fact the bloke stayed so humble throughout his rise to ultimate hero says so much more about him.

It was ironic that it had been United, those dastardly arrogant moneymen from across the city, who had brought Goater over to England in the first place. It was destiny, however, that brought him to City.

He arrived from Bristol City in early 1998, a ?400,000 signing by Joe Royle, just as the Citizens were reaching the lowest ebb in their history. Royle had recently taken charge but he, nor Goater?s three goals in seven games, could stop them falling into the third tier of English football for the first time ever.

Goater endured his fair share of supporter wrath to begin with as the City faithful, already exasperated at the club?s predicament, were unconvinced by his sometimes awkward style.

It is the mark of the man that within two years of being the ?lumbering idiot who is never a City player?, the Goat was voted the fans? Player of the Year and was known as a goal-getter supreme, a giant of a man, our favourite player.

Personally I was not one of those fans on his back. I always liked the fact he gave 100 per cent and stayed so dignified throughout those bad times. I also prayed hard that he would score, knowing that each goal would not only get us back up the leagues but also win over more fans.

In the end, I stopped praying for goals ? not because I didn?t want him to score but because I figured he?d score anyway, and that God should perhaps turn his attentions to more important issues around the world.

We were somewhere in mid-table midway through Goater?s first full season at Maine Road, and although we were only that high chiefly thanks to his goals, many fans ? lamenting the good old days of greats like Eric Brook, Franny Lee and Dennis Tueart and, more latterly, City favourites like Niall Quinn and Uwe Rosler ? were still not swayed by the new Bermudian.

By the end of the season, however, he had turned pretty much all of those supporters around. I will never forget seeing him carried from the field on fans? shoulders after his goal against Wigan ? one of those hit-?em-and-go-in goals ? took us to Wembley for the Division Two play-off final, a match which has gone down in the annals of English football.

Two goals down with six seconds to go, City pulled one back through Kevin Horlock and equalised in added-on time through Paul Dickov before going on to win promotion in a penalty shoot-out.

The story goes that little Dickov, another fans? favourite, was the person who first coined the phrase ?Feed the Goat and he will score? ? a phrase which spurned one of the most famous chants throughout football.

It was so famous, in fact, that ?Feed the Goat? had its own regular slot on popular Sky Sports Saturday morning show Soccer AM, where football fans had to kick a ball into the mouth of a giant cardboard cut-out goat.

Chant aside, critics reckoned that, having knocked around the lower leagues for most of his career, the Goat would not be able to hack it in the higher tiers.

But he proved them wrong as he topped the Division One scoring charts, and in the following year maintained an excellent goals-per-games ratio in the Premiership, despite injury and City?s relegation.

The arrival of Kevin Keegan as boss signalled arguably Goater?s best season as he was regularly fed and in turn regularly scored, becoming the first City player to get over 30 goals since Franny Lee in 1971, and topping the charts again as we bounced straight back up.

Then came the ?Goater 3, United 2? season. He didn?t play too often following the arrival of Nicolas Anelka and Robbie Fowler but when called on, he duly obliged.

Not only did he get two in the derby victory at Maine Road but he also came off the bench with five minutes to go in the return fixture at Old Trafford to equalise after just nine seconds with his first touch (apparently, that was the fastest Premiership goal as a sub ? making the Goat a record-breaker along with everything else.) He also had a last-minute winner ruled out for the simple reason the referee did not want poor United to suffer at the Goat?s hands any more.

It was right that he was given the captaincy for the last-ever game at Maine Road, which was also his last game for the Citizens. It was typical City that they lost to Southampton that afternoon, but I hope for the Goat?s sake that did not detract too much from his day.

We said goodbye to not only a grand old stadium that day, but also a player who will remain in City?s hearts forever.

Good luck back home, Shaun. We know you?re a proud Bermudian ? but you?ll always remain a Blue Mancunian too.