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Did you ever take a real dislike to a City manager very early in his tenure?

To the point where you felt there was absolutely nothing you liked or admired about him and felt there was no way he could possibly be successful?

Until Mancini, I can't think of another City manager who I have felt so negative about so very early on. I have always been one to defend managers to the hilt almost without exception in their early days and have despaired of people who have got on their backs straight away without giving them a chance. Like I find myself now forced to do with Mancini.

This is very much a first for me.
~SPIKE~

George Poyser: Dire non-entity. Brought in as a scout under McDowell and over-promoted to manager. The Rags had Busby, we appointed (errr...) Poyser, the man with a pipe who never came out from under it's shadow, and City played the worst football I ever saw.

Why?: City's lowest ever League attendance of 8,015 record against Swindon in January 1965 says it all. My dad and I watched from the scoreboard end. So bad we stopped going until he went at Easter. That summer, Mercer and Allison arrived. The rest is history.
~SPINY~

I too started following City under George Poyser, who was followed by our best, Sir Joe.
Since then, we have had so many, I never got the chance to hate them, as the majority didn't last long enough.

We've had good ones,who played attractive football; Book, Horton, Kendall, Keegan, Bond
We've had a whole load who were victims of the times -Billy Mac, Hart, Machin, Coppell, Neal, Clarke, no money available.
We've also had managers whose style of football was not to my taste; Reid, Pearce, Sven and the present incumbent.

There were two, in my view, who started our demise, Ron Saunders and Malcolm Allison, the first was a Sergeant major, who wanted to do it his way without any thought to man management, the second destroyed this club financially with the help of the chairman.

But through it all they did and will always have my support, I might not agree with them, but it ain't my head on the chopping block!
~WIGLEY~

Ron Saunders and Alan Ball, The Lulu in the Tutu.
The biggest disappointment was actually Jimmy Frizzell who I thought, with his background, would have been making signing after signing of the best talent around. Imre Varadi left me distinctly underwhelmed and I can't think of anyone else he signed.
~WIGAN BLUE~

Alan Ball. And I was right. A serial managerial failure just like his old man. I knew it would end in tears from day one. Poyser is a good shout too.

At least his departure paved the way for Joe Mercer
~BLUESKY

Looking back, I believe Howard Kendall's decision to go back to Everton was a huge turning point in City's history. If he had stayed I believe we would have gone on to great things and possibly even have matched United.
We certainly wouldn't have suffered the ignominies we have and yo-yo'd the way we have in the last two decades. He made some unpopular decisions when he first came, (yes, Ian Bishop was a strange one,) but he managed to keep up a ship that was sinking fast by shoring up the defence and playing with a sweeper. (Alan Harper was much maligned, but he was a very underrated footballer).

It wasn't pretty at first, but it gave us much needed stability. He then built on that and really got us playing some great football. There was a point in our history under him where I felt we'd managed to claw back to the point where we were United's equal again. I particularly remember that 3-3 derby at Maine Road (I think David White scored a brace but McClair scored late on) there wasn't much between us at all that year and I think we finished quite well in the league. It was before United became a real force again.

Kendall had done that for us, he'd transformed us. But soon after that it all slipped through our fingers as he deserted us for a second go at the toffees. United went on to great things winning major pots year after year and we eventually ended up in the third division.

I hated him for ditching us at the time, but I can say now that he was far and away the best manager we've had since Joe Mercer in my opinion.

I met him a few times at social functions. A very private man. And Jesus could he drink! I can sink a few myself, but I couldn't keep up with him. I was in the same hotel with him once at a function and he drank everyone under the table, pint after pint, then he was up with the lark next morning bright as a button.

Great manager though.
~SPIKE~