Fergie sees off City rivals

Last updated at 18:25 14 May 2007

Manchester City have gone through a succession of bosses since Sir Alex Ferguson launched what is recognised as the most successful managerial career in English football with their neighbours Manchester United.

The departed Stuart Pearce is the latest in a lengthy list of coaches who have

tried and failed to re-establish City as genuine contenders, here PA Sport

assesses those who came before him.

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Jimmy Frizzell 1986/87

The Scotsman had enjoyed a distinguished playing career with Oldham and joined

City as assistant manager to Billy McNeil after cutting his managerial teeth

with the Latics.

After McNeil moved on, Frizzell was handed the top job but was sacked after

only seven months when he took the financially troubled side into Division Two.

Mel Machin 1987/89

After consolidating the club's position in the second tier, Machin hauled them

back into the top flight where they recorded a memorable 5-1 win over Ferguson's

United on their return.

Despite that result the league campaign was faltering and he was relieved of

his duties by chairman Peter Swales.

Howard Kendall - 1989/90

Kendall arrived at Maine Road after a highly successful spell with Everton,

followed by a less triumphant stint in Spain with Athletic Bilbao.

His stock remained high when he returned to England and although he lasted

just under a year before returning to Goodison Park, his legacy - keeping the

Blues in the division against considerable odds - is an impressive one.

Peter Reid 1990/93

Mentored by Kendall, Reid made the transition from on-field leader to

player-manager with seeming ease.

His first season ended in a highly-respectable fifth-placed finish - one ahead

of the Red Devils - but after one more fifth he was shown the door after

slipping to ninth in his third year.

Tony Book (caretaker)

Brian Horton 1993/95

An admired lower league manager, Horton was a surprise appointment to succeed

Reid. In retrospect it can be seen as the first sign of the financial

restrictions on the club and, with limited resources, Horton's tenure saw City

gradually become minor players in the Premiership.

Alan Ball 1995/96

His decorated playing career was celebrated at length after his recent death

and as a World Cup winner, Ball will always command respect. But he was at the

helm when City were bundled into the second tier for the first time in the

Premier League era and when he resigned three games into the following season,

City fans fairly judged his stint as a failure.

Asa Hartford (caretaker)

Steve Coppell 1996

A former Manchester United player, Coppell did little to ingratiate the City

faithful when he resigned his post after little more than a month in charge,

claiming the job was a bigger one than he realised when he agreed to join. A low

point in City's chequered recent history.

Phil Neal (caretaker)

Frank Clark 1996/98

Clark was the fifth manager, including caretakers to preside over the Maine

Road club in one of its most farcical seasons ever.

Clark's 15-month stay seemed gargantuan after the previous revolving door

policy but the job was becoming an increasingly poisoned chalice when he left,

never to return to management, with the club on the cusp of an historic

relegation to the third tier.

Joe Royle 1998/01

Royle initially had a positive impact on the team and although fans complained

that his style was too defensive for the club, he can be deemed unlucky to be

the man in charge when City sunk to their lowest ever ebb and the first European

champions to fall so low in the domestic ladder.

Royle stayed on to see them

back to successive promotions - and a return to Premiership football but their

comeback was short-lived and they were relegated again before Royle was shown

the door.

Kevin Keegan 2001/05

A high-profile incumbent, Keegan's efforts at the club were largely positive -

winning promotion to the top table again with some astute signings and

establishing the club as a sustained presence once there.

Keegan was backed

heavily in the transfer market and while the club did not always see their

money's worth it was an exciting time, decorated by an ultimately failed UEFA

Cup campaign and some big-name signings.

One purchase was Pearce, the man who took over after Keegan eventually

resigned. Pearce started brightly and signalled another false dawn in the new

Eastlands stadium.