 Many pundits criticised the signing, pointing out that Marsh was a maverick player ill-suited to Allison's well-drilled set-up.He initially replaced Wyn Davies up front in a 4-4-2 formation, before playing alongside Davies, Mike Summerbee and Francis Lee in a 4-2-4 set-up.Marsh became City's top-scorer, scoring 19 goals in 1972–73.