Stuart Pearce has opened up on the moment when he decided to play former England goalkeeper David James outfield and his explanation has led to a hilarious reaction from fans.
The year was 2005 and Man City needed to beat Middlesbrough at home to qualify for the UEFA Cup. The game was level at 1-1 heading into the final stages and Pearce decided to proceed with wild a plan he had cooked up the night before.
Pearce pushed goalkeeper James up front for the final moments of the game but the match still ended tied, with Robbie Fowler missing a crucial penalty late on.
But the former England Under-21s boss has since been criticised for the bizarre move, which he explained in extensive detail during an interview on talkSPORT this morning.
"I was sat at home the night before thinking I've got to win the game. I was thinking about what I could do if the match was a stalemate late on," Pearce explained.
"I thought to myself I'll put James up front. I had that up my sleeve. Jon Macken (who was on the bench) was not scoring and playing well by the way.
"I told the kit man to print me an outfield James number one shirt and I said, 'don't tell him for goodness sake'. He didn't know anything about it.
"My assistant at the time said he didn't want anything to do with it. When it came to 75 minutes he said 'no chance, you're on your own you idiot'.
"James thought I was taking him off but when he realised he loved it. I've got to say I didn't give him any instruction, though.
"I thought he was going to get on the end of things but he ended up playing as a number ten. He ended up tripping over the ball. He had the worst impact of all time.
"If Robbie Fowler had scored the penalty in the 82nd minute it would have been a masterstroke, though."
It's safe to say Man City fans have provided reaction aplenty to these bizarre comments and here is the best of it below.
