Manchester City have only had three permanent managers in the last 15 years, with Roberto Mancini, Mauricio Pellegrini and now Pep Guardiola all successful in their own right.
Prior to the Abu Dhabi-based Abu Dhabi United Group Investment and Development Limited’s (now City Football Group) takeover of the club in 2008, though, things were a lot different at Manchester City, with the club battling relegations and financial issues.
Frank Clark experienced that first-hand nearly 30 years ago. Brian Clough’s replacement at the City Ground in 1993, he managed to get Nottingham Forest promoted back to the Premier League at the first time of asking in 1994 before leading them to third in the 1994/95 season. A UEFA Cup quarter-final followed the next season, but by December 1996 Forest were back at the foot of the top tier and Clark departed.
Manchester City the wrong move for Frank Clark
Just 10 days later he took over as Manchester City manager, with the club in danger of successive relegations, following their 18th place finish in the Premier League the season before.
He eventually managed to help them come 14th in the second tier, but departed in February 1998 as they struggled in Division One.
The club’s millions of pounds of debt certainly didn’t help Clark, a key difference between what he had to deal with and the riches available to Pep Guardiola now, with the European Cup winner recognising now that he made a mistake in taking over at Maine Road in the first place.
“You can say that again,” Clark tells FourFourTwo when suggesting the difference nearly 30 years has made at the club.
“In hindsight, it was a mistake to become Manchester City boss – I should have taken six months off after leaving Forest, to get myself together.
“But Francis Lee offered me a fantastic contract even though they were bottom of the second tier, so it felt like too good an opportunity to turn down. It wasn’t a very nice club at the time, and I didn’t do a particularly good job.”
That job at Manchester City proved Clark’s last as a manager, though he later replaced Nigel Doughty at Nottingham Forest as the club’s chairman in October 2011.
He lasted less than a year before Omar Al-Hasawi – cousin of new owner Fawaz Al-Hasawi – took over those responsibilities.
