Bristol City and Cardiff City supporters will have differing Nicky Maynard opinions | OneFootball

Nicky Maynard performed exceptionally well for Bristol City, but was unable to produce the same form for Cardiff City

Championship sides Bristol City and Cardiff City are rivals who regularly compete against each other in the Severnside Derby, a game which brings a cross-border dynamic to a local feud.

The Robins and the Bluebirds have played out their fair share of entertaining affairs over the years, such as a clash between the two clubs in January 2022, in which the West Country outfit defeated their Welsh counterparts 3-2 courtesy of a Chris Martin brace, and Andi Weimann's 77th minute goal.

Meanwhile, back in January 2010, it was the Bluebirds who emphatically claimed the bragging rights, with a 6-0 win behind enemy lines at Ashton Gate, which featured a Ross McCormack double.

The two sets of supporters agree on very little, while one player Robins supporters will remember very differently to the Cardiff faithful is striker Nicky Maynard.

Maynard could not emulate Bristol City heroics for Cardiff

The striker joined the Robins during the summer of 2008, after impressing in League One for former club Crewe Alexandra, for whom he scored 15 goals in 27 third tier outings during the 2007/08 campaign, which helped the Cheshire outfit avoid relegation to League Two.

After moving from the North West to the South West, Maynard took to Championship football well, and scored 11 goals in 43 second tier appearances during his first season with the Robins.

But the best was still yet to come for the Englishman, who went on to produce a prolific return of 20 goals and six assists during the 2009/10 Championship season, which helped the Ashton Gate side to a 10th place finish.

Ahead of the following 2010/11 campaign, though, Maynard suffered a knee injury in pre-season, meaning he was limited to just 13 second tier outings that term.

Despite such a setback, the striker still maintained his strong eye for goal, and scored on six occasions during those 13 league appearances.

He would then go on to score eight goals during the first half of the 2011/12 Championship season, which was enough to convince West Ham United, who were then seeking an immediate Premier League return, to snap his services up.

His three goals in 16 West Ham matches during the latter half of that term helped the London club to promotion, as they would go on to defeat Blackpool 2-1 in the play-off final, courtesy of goals from Carlton Cole and Ricardo Vaz Te.

However, Maynard never registered a Premier League appearance for the Hammers, instead joining Cardiff ahead of the 2012/13 Championship campaign.

The Bluebirds will have hoped the striker could provide a similar impact in South Wales to that of his Robins days, but such an eventuality did not occur.

In October 2012, Maynard suffered an ACL injury, which meant that he could only make four appearances during his first season in the Welsh capital.

Despite his absence, the Bluebirds won the 2012/13 Championship title, by winning a strong tally of 87 points, which gave them an eight-point margin over second place Hull City.

Maynard subsequently struggled at Premier League level for Cardiff, failing to yield a single goal contribution in eight top-flight outings for the club, which meant that he joined Wigan Athletic on loan midway through the 2013/14 Championship season.

He was part of a Latics side who reached the second tier play-offs, partly courtesy of his four goals in 17 appearances, while he also made one FA Cup outing, as the Greater Manchester side reached the semi-finals in an attempt to retain their trophy.

The forward returned to the Bluebirds ahead of the 2014/15 campaign, but made just 10 league appearances, in which he scored one goal, ahead of a move to MK Dons during the summer of 2015.

Maynard's career will be remembered by his Bristol City days

The 38-year-old has played for a variety of clubs, including former EFL side Bury, and Scottish Premiership outfit Aberdeen, who he represented in the Europa League.

But the most memorable times of his career arrived with the Robins, for whom he was a constant goal threat for three-and-a-half seasons, while his spell in the West Country will always be at the envy of rivals Cardiff, who never saw the best of him.