Manchester City 1 West Brom 2 by Neil Bonnar

MEMORIES are coming flooding back of past City mistakes.

Kevin Keegan's £40 million spending spree in 18 months, with more pledged in the summer, casts minds back to the Peter Swales era when City overspent to such a degree it took them 25 years to recover financially.

The sight of City losing so weakly at home to the Premiership's bottom club with Robbie Fowler making his debut reminded older fans of another much heralded recruit of yesteryear.

Rodney Marsh arrived 30 years ago with an excited anticipation matching that of Fowler but it upset that great City team's rhythm.

Fowler had the same debilitating effect of a Samson haircut on Saturday.

The Blues looked a pale shadow of the side which destroyed Fulham three days earlier as the Fowler effect failed to pay off.

He was never going to take the world by storm on day one, of course. Fowler went into hibernation at Liverpool three years ago and it is going to take the faith of his manager, fans and regular first team football to give him the chance to recapture his old form.

Fowler has lost his edge. He lost it at Anfield and never regained it at Leeds where injuries added to his problems.

He will only get it back by starting games instead of residing indefinitely on the bench as was his life at Leeds.

Keegan can afford to do that. City are already safe so Fowler can have all the games he needs.

His balance and intelligence were there for all to see on his debut despite being woefully off the pace. It is clear he still has class inside him, City need to bring it out.

The one good thing is that Fowler's career record of a goal every two games means he will probably score against United in the Old Trafford derby next Sunday.

Keegan says once his team-mates learn how, when and where the England striker wants the ball, the Fowler effect will start to kick in.

He said: "Robbie has signed for three-and-a-half years, not for 90 minutes. He needs games but he is not going to get fit by sitting on the bench."

City's immediate problem was defending set pieces which cost them both goals, Neil Clement's 18th minute opener and Darren Moore's 71st minute winner. Clement should have had another headed goal from a set piece when he was given the freedon of the City box only to be denied by a super Carlo Nash save while it summed up City's abject performance that their early equaliser came from a Phil Gilchrist own goal.

"We need to look at our defending at set-pieces again," admitted Keegan. "We are all right until somebody comes into the box we don't expect to be there."