i would need to disagree with this bit: "The goal that started the journey off" since we'd played almost an entire season by that point and scored a lot of goals by that point.
OK, here are my favourite goals of that decade. Not the best goals (though some of them would qualify for such a list) but my favourites (taking into account how I felt at the time, how I celebrated, what they meant, etc...) 10. Ian Ashbee v Crystal Palace in 2008. A great forgotten goal. But we stayed in it. And it was a great header. It ended up being unimportant in the grand scheme of things in a way, but after the defeat to Sheffield United the week before, beating the form team of the division was vital in the confidence it gave us going into the play-offs. I was in the West Stand that day. Couldn't believe the scenes in there after this goal. 9. Stuart Elliot v Swansea in 2003. Looking back it was maybe wrong that it felt as important as it did. We could have just been early front-runners likely to fall away as we had in those months after Brian Little bought a whole new team. But the crowd... It felt different. And I think it was the first time we knew we had something truly special in Stuart Elliott. 8. Stuart Elliott v Donny in 2004. A brilliant late winner against a hugely irritating opponent who'd used skullduggery to get Barmby sent off. Elliott was just amazing that season and this was the best goal he scored as far as importance went. 7. Nick Barmby's second v Sheffield Wednesday in 2004. That is my favourite City away following ever (just beating Brentford in the Great Escape). And what a goal. We were inspired that evening and to go 3-1 up with a goal like that. City just didn't do things like that. We just didn't. Still sends tingles down my spine. 6. Caleb Folan v West Brom in 2008. A great goal to seal a great game. I'd allowed myself to dream a little before this game. A packed away end made this winner extra special. Something was brewing. We knew it. It was great. 5. Daniel Cousin v Arsenal in 2008. Geo's goal was better but that could just be a blip. A nice consolation to take when Arsenal finally ran out 4-1 winners. We had the perfect view of this and we were beating Arsenal at the Emirates. I never in a million years thought I'd see such a thing. 4. Dean Windass v Bristol City in 2008. Should maybe be higher, but for all I went mental, for all I knew it was a brilliant goal, within seconds my mind was turning to how we could blow this, and how this hope would make it all the harder to take. Weirdly, I celebrated Boaz jumping on Wayne Brown's back more than I did the goal... 3. Manucho v Fulham in 2009. I think we were all feeling like we were going to blow it at that point. We hadn't 'done a Derby' but we were looking likely to do something as bad - stand joint top at one point in the October and still go down. The players felt the pressure and the fans did too. This goal was a valve that released that pressure. Amazing scenes. 2. Ian Ashbee v Yeovil in 2004. I became a regular at BP in the first season back in the old Second Division in the mid-80s. I'd seen nothing but relegation. I'd witnessed a club that resembled a reanimated corpse throughout much of the 90s. I'd seen Little and Molby blow AP's money (and Taylor look like he was going to do the same). Then Ash scored and all of that didn't matter. We were going up. I was stood on a terrace alongside the people who I'd watched the club nearly die with, and we were celebrating going up. 1. Caleb Folan v Watford at KC in 2008 play-offs. Quite simply, we were going to Wembley. We'd got something from a season that deserved something. And we could celebrate in a way that seemed unlikely after that horrible half-hour between Henderson's opener and Barmby's equaliser. No room for Deano's v Cardiff, Folan's v Fulham, Elliott's brace against QPR, Parkin's against Leeds, Delaney's against Rochdale, either of the goals at Watford in the play-offs, John Eyre's goal in the play-off v Orient, Big Kev's against Chesterfield, Geo's v Arsenal or Tottenham...
A lot of mine have been said but I always remember Stuart Green's winner against MK Dons having been 2-1 down. I loved Fryatt scoring against the blunts in the semi-final at wembley as well.
One of my favourites was Leon Cort away at Norwich on a Tuesday night , after just a few minutes - we lost the game in the end but £5.00 at 33/1 softened the blow
My memory isn't the best, but there was a very late goal from Robert Koren against I think Watford who had time wasted from kick off. My love of that goal was all about the justice done. There was barely time to restart. It was just one of those 'Get the **** in, GET THE **** IN' moments.
It's not that one. I may have the wrong game, but Koren made it 1-0 in the dying seconds. It was a very similar goal though.
Koren scored a late goal against Leicester on Pearson's return. Could it be that one? Edit. That made it 2 - 1, though.
Koren also scored a winner in a 1-0 won against Ipswich, but that Watford game above is definitely the one where they were timewasting and the winner brought a feeling of justice.
Another contender is Alton Thelwell against Darlo on the season opener in 2003. That was when I knew we'd make it. A premier league "star" who wasn't "ex Manchester United star" David Brown playing for City and scoring a belting half volley.
I was going to mention Koren's late winner against Leicester - proper justice done after the most negative performance I could remember from an opposing team. But then realised this thread is about goals from 2000-2010.
He was yer fat mate who could play a bit of football, more interested in beer and pies and being one of the boys than striving for being the best player he could be - a talented player who should have done much better. I always thought Neville Southall in his Torquay days was the 'biggest' pro-footballer I'd ever seen, big Nev was nothing compared to the Parkin who turned up for a pre-season friendly at Winterton.