November 8 – Coppell Quits City
AS Mark Hughes wonders how many more away-day defeats he’s got left in him before the Abu Dhabi United group get an itchy trigger finger, it’s back to 1996 when the City job saw enough managerial changes to make even Jesus Gil blush.
Steve Coppell was the latest to depart the Maine Road hot-seat, only 33 days after taking charge.
Since injury had prematurely curtailed Coppell’s career at as a Manchester United and England midfielder he had forged a reputation as an excellent young manager at Crystal Palace when he took his place in the dug-out at Selhurst Park as a 28-year-old in 1984.
Coppell gained promotion to the top flight with Palace in 1989 and took them to the 1990 FA Cup Final where they would lose to his former club United. The following season saw him guide Palace to third-place, their highest-ever league position, and their first major trophy, the now-defunct Zenith Data Systems Cup.
City meanwhile, had begun to unravel in the mid-90s. They had been relegated at the end of the 1995/96 season under the stewardship of Alan Ball and a poor start to the next campaign saw Ball get the chop in late August. Next up was Asa Hartford who kept the bench warm for six weeks until Coppell’s arrival.
Soon after he took the job, Coppell gave the look of a man who had the weight of the world on his shoulders. And sure enough, after only six games and 33 days in charge he quit, citing severe stress. His spell in charge was the shortest by any City manager and the club would go through another two managers that season.
Coppell returned to Palace as a scout following his departure from Maine Road and soon found himself back in the dug-out following the resignation of Dave Bassett. After spells at Brentford and Brighton he is now enjoying fifth year in charge of Reading and seems to have found a good way to relax if his story of the signing of Kevin Doyle is to be believed.
“I can’t really remember what it was I particularly liked about Kevin when I watched him in Ireland,” he said. “I had five pints of Guinness in the afternoon and it was all a bit blurred.”
We’ll drink to that. Here’s some retro City footage to marvel at and if you were wondering what else has happened today then click here.
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