Game#1
Queen’s Park Rangers

CITY: Dibble, Brightwell, McGoldrick, Lomas, Symons, Wassall, Summerbee, Clough, Dickov, Kinkladze, Rosler (Kavelashvili 81) 

City travelled to Loftus Road to kick-off the Steve Coppell era. ..

QPR hadn’t started much better than City and were a point above the Blues in mid-table having played two more games. 

They’d had their own managerial upheaval following the departure of Ray Wilkins just a few weeks before and Stewart Houston had taken over. 

With just over 16,000 in attendance, 3,000 of whom were from Manchester, it was QPR who started the brighter and perhaps typically, it was a boyhood City fan who opened the scoring as Trevor Sinclair collected a wayward Andy Dibble clearance and volleyed it back over his head from more than 40 yards out with 22 minutes played. 

It was the sort of goal you see once every few years and if Coppell was cursing his luck, eight minutes later, it got even worse as Paul Murray doubled the Hoops’ lead. 

Two goals down half an hour into his tenure, the new City boss must have wondered what he’d got himself into, but within a minute, Ian Brightwell thundered home Kinkladze’s cross to halve the deficit. 

As City’s confidence grew, Rangers’ bright opening quickly faded as their own frailties began to show. 

QPR led 2-1 until the 81st minute when Kinkladze worked his way into the box before deftly chipping the ball towards the top corner only to see it clawed away by the hand of a Rangers defender. 

Kinkladze tucked away the resulting penalty and Coppell’s first game ended with a creditable 2-2 draw. 

Ian Brightwell recalls that Coppell was not a particularly hands-on manager.

“Steve came in and brought Phil Neal in with him and he also signed Eddie McGoldrick and Simon Rodger who were both ex-Crystal Palace,” he said.

“We felt it was a good appointment given his record at Palace as a manager and obviously because of his playing career.

“One thing I do recall is that Phil Neal took the training because we didn’t see that much of Steve who wasn’t around that often – but some managers do that, don’t they?

“He played me at left-back in his first game in charge – he’d told me he knew I was right-footed, and it wasn’t my usual position but that he wanted me to play in that role for that game and I was like, ‘yeah, no problem – I’m just happy to be in the team.’

A point on the board and a spirited fight back - it had been a promising start.

Game#2
'New boss can’t spark lacklustre City'

CITY: Dibble, McGoldrick, Wassall, Symons, Brightwell, Summerbee, Clough, Lomas, Kinkladze, Dickov, Rösler Subs: Frontzeck (69), Kavelashvili (72) 

If Steve Coppell didn’t realise the enormity of the task ahead in his opening game, he certainly did by the end of the second.

Reading were struggling in the lower reaches of mid-table going into this encounter, having lost six of their opening 11 games and shipped an average of two per match.

Crystal Palace had left Elm Park with a 6-1 win just a few weeks before and the Royals were in danger of being anchored to the foot of the table, but had rallied with a 1-0 win at Wolves and a 1-1 home draw against Grimsby in their previous two games.

It felt like a game City, with more than a sprinkling of new manager bounce, should win.

Elm Park’s biggest gate of the season were in attendance, with City fans snapping up an allocation of almost 3,000 tickets in a crowd of 11,724.

Coppell’s side were unchanged from the 2-2 draw at QPR – another opponent who played in blue and white hoops – and there were further similarities in this game as City again fell 2-0 behind.

Lee Nogan struck on 35 and 67 minutes to put the hosts in firm command, but there would be no spirited fight back this time and Reading would comfortably see the game out without further scoring.

Steve Lomas was sent off on 82 minutes to complete a miserable 90 minutes in Berkshire for the visitors.

One point from a possible six was not the start City fans, or their new manager, had envisaged, but it was still early days.

Game#3
'Coppell’s City off and running!'

CITY: Dibble, McGoldrick, Wassall, Symons, Brightwell, Clough, Lomas, Kinkladze, Dickov, Rösler, Summerbee

Steve Coppell had been in the manager’s seat for just 12 days when he finally took charge of his first home game.

But it’s fair to say that he would have chosen a side other than Championship leaders Norwich, who had taken 27 points from a possible 36 and arrived at Maine Road with four wins from five games on the road.

And as he took a place in the Main Stand, Coppell was given a warm welcome from a crowd nudging the 30,000-mark – a daunting reminder, if needed, of how big the club he was now managing was, with the pulling power of a Premier League title contender despite floundering in mid-table a division below.

Shy, almost introverted, Coppell acknowledged the reception respectfully and sat down to watch the game unfold.

City - unchanged for a third successive match - were far better than the previous two games and on 31 minutes, Nigel Clough put the Blues ahead.

And there was more to celebrate on 56 minutes when the irrepressible Paul Dickov doubled City’s lead, rendering a goal for the Canaries on 88 minutes nothing more than a consolation.

Three points against the league leaders, a solid performance, and a happy set of supporters.

There was much to be pleased about… except Steve Coppell was already feeling the pressure and expectation of managing a club the size of Manchester City.

And it didn’t sit well at all.

Game#4
'Wolves at the door'

CITY: Dibble, Frontzeck, Wassall, Symons, Jeff Whitley, Clough, Kinkladze, Lomas, Dickov, Rösler, Summerbee

With Ian Brightwell and Eddie McGoldrick unavailable, Michael Frontzeck and 17-year old Jim Whitely deputising, the Blues played host to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The game had been selected for Sky Sports and City were up against an unpredictable Wolves side who had lost their last four games at Molineux but were also the division’s best away side with four wins, two draws and one loss on the road.

In front of another a big Maine Road crowd, City set about the task in hand confidently with Steve Lomas somehow screwing a shot in front of goal past the post after good work by Uwe Rosler.

Then Paul Dickov’s smart turn and low shot was palmed away by Mike Stowell and seconds later the impressive Whitely thundered a 25-yard shot against the crossbar.

If one of those chances had gone in, things might have been very different for Coppell, but instead, a Wolves counter-attack on 77 minutes saw a pass slip through Kit Symons and the prolific Steve Bull raced through and fired a low shot past Andy Dibble for what would prove to be the only goal of the game.

The positivity from the win over Norwich had been replaced by disappointment, with the new manager’s record now reading just four points from a possible 12.

The strain on Coppell was now physically evident as he privately considered whether he should continue to pile pressure and stress on himself - or walk away altogether.

Game#5
'City net The Shrimpers'

CITY: Dibble, Frontzeck, Rodger, Jeff Whitley, Symons, Wassall, Summerbee, Clough, Dickov, Kinkladze, Rosler

Joe Royle would claim in a few years’ time that City were the biggest show in town outside the top tier.

The fallen giant rolling into cities up and down the land, looking to recover lost glories in less than salubrious surroundings, backed by their loyal masses.

Case in point, Southend United away.

In total, City had only met The Shrimpers three times previously, all in cup competitions, but were now taking on the Essex minnows as an equal in the league.

Four points from a possible 27 had seen Southend rooted to the foot of the table, but under former Liverpool legend Ronnie Whelan’s tutelage, he had steadied a sinking ship and by the time City arrived at Roots Hall, they’d lost just one of their previous nine matches, keeping clean sheets in six of their previous 10 games.

Though the game was on a Tuesday evening, the crowd of 8,707 was easily Southend’s best of the season and the hosts’ improved defensive record was evident for 44 minutes with the score remaining 0-0 - until Uwe Rosler’s opener just before the break.

Things got even better for the Blues with Georgi Kinkladze making it 2-0 on 59 and then 3-0 from the penalty spot on 72.

Game over, surely?

Well, not quite.

Paul Williams scored almost straight from kick-off to make it 1-3 in City’s favour and 11 minutes after that, Andy Rammell scored another.

There was the very real possibility of City blowing a 3-0 lead, and the hosts came desperately close to levelling before the referee blew for full-time and Coppell had his second victory in five matches.

Few realised, however, the Blues’ boss would have likely finished his tenure there and then had that lead been lost.

As it was, he would live to fight another day. Just.

Game#6
'Rocking City lose to Robins'

CITY: Dibble, McGoldrick, Rodger, Jeff Whitley, Symons, Wassall, Summerbee, Clough, Dickov, Kinkladze, Rosler

City travelled to face Swindon Town, managed by former Blues’ midfielder Steve McMahon in good spirits.

The Robins were another unpredictable side, having won seven and lost seven of their opening 16 games and the County Ground was packed with its highest gate of the season swelled by 4,000 travelling supporters.

Paul Dickov and Uwe Rosler had chances to put City ahead, but the sides went in goalless at the break.

But it would be the Robins who broke the deadlock as the dangerous Wayne Allison gave the home side the lead six minutes after the re-start, having two nibbles at a cross into the box before looping a shot across Andy Dibble and into the opposite top corner of the net.

City huffed and puffed before a mesmeric run from Georgi Kinkladze - who left four defenders on their backsides before seeing a powerful shot tipped over by Fraser Digby - came close to earning a point.

But the hosts, featuring a young Kevin Horlock, sealed victory on 83 minutes with Allison again on the mark, prodding home from close range.

There would be no game for another 11 days due to an international break, but by the time City faced Oxford United, Steve Coppell had quit Manchester City.

A week passed before he decided, correctly, his mental health was far more important than anything else and he informed Francis Lee that he was resigning his post as Manchester City manager.

When Coppell had first arrived, he’d told journalists at his unveiling, “I'm an animal who tends to roost wherever he stays. I was at United and Palace for nine years apiece, and I hope that City is a long-term rather than a short-term move."

However, 33 days into his tenure, he’d had enough and with City floundering in 17^th position in the Championship, the Blues were again looking for a new manager.

Coppell released a statement saying: “I'm not ashamed to admit that I have suffered for some time from huge pressure I have imposed upon myself, and since my appointment this has completely overwhelmed me to such an extent that I cannot function in the job the way I would like to.

"As this situation is affecting my well-being, I have asked Francis Lee to relieve me of my obligation to manage the club on medical advice. I am therefore resigning for personal reasons. I'm extremely embarrassed by the situation and I would like to apologise first and foremost to Francis Lee and his board, who have done everything in their power to help me."

On reflection, Ian Brightwell had noticed one or two warning signs during Coppell’s stay: He said: “If we were playing away, Steve never travelled with us and made his own way there.

“Against Swindon, I was injured but travelled down with the lads, and I remember after the game seeing Steve drive past us in his car – as I say, it wasn’t that unusual because he always made his own way – but then by the Monday morning there were rumours that something might be brewing.

“Maybe a week later, Francis Lee asked us all to meet in the old head tennis gym under the Main Stand at Maine Road and he said, ‘Listen, Steve’s gone, I’m not sure why and I can’t really give you much more detail than that.’

“Francis looked shocked when he was telling us and he wasn’t one to be easily stuck for words, but he looked baffled.”

Francis Lee was indeed stunned by the resignation, and it was clear he couldn’t understand why he was again looking for a new manager, saying: "There is pressure in managing anything, but that sort of pressure doesn't come along in three or four weeks.”

Kit Symons believes that signs had been there for all to see throughout Coppell’s tenure and admits feeling relieved the manager had taken the decision he had.

“If I’m honest, I was glad he did what he did,” he said.

“Not because I thought he wasn’t a good manager – far from it – but he had looked unwell, pale and like he’d lost weight, and he didn’t really have the physique to lose too much weight.

“He did the right thing, and it must have been a huge relief to talk about his mental health and take that pressure off his shoulders.”

Ian Brightwell added: “Steve was always pretty slim anyway, so I didn’t think anything about his physical appearance, but then again, I didn’t see him that much.”

Michael Brown was a teenager just making his way in the game at the time and his memories are sketchy. However, he recalled: “I was such a young lad and it seemed like there were only a few training sessions and he’d gone. There were various rumours about why, the main one being on medical grounds, but I don’t know for sure. It was a bit mad, really.

“He occasionally watched training from the sidelines – he was quite a reserved and quiet, but I was just really starting out in many ways. I only played in one game, coming on for Georgi in the 3-2 win over Southend United, but that was it.”

Ron Noades, Coppell’s former chairman at Crystal Palace added: "I was surprised at how much it took out of him. I think he found the club too enormous, but he weathered it initially."

Today, mental health experts would applaud Steve Coppell’s decision, and rightly so.

Managers are often seen as hard-nosed, disciplined, and focused, but Coppell’s brave admission that taking on a task the size of Manchester City had been making him ill came at a time when stress and depression were often buried away, frowned upon even more so in men, and his honesty no doubt paved the way for others to speak out and ask for help in years to come.

A talented manager, but a quiet, private and pensive man who just might have been a fantastic manager for Manchester City had the circumstances been different.

Coach Phil Neal took over, but his stay would only last 49 days.

“Phil took over after that and was keen to get the job, but the results weren’t good, and he didn’t last that much longer before he was sacked,” said Brightwell.

“I felt sorry for him because he was a nice fellah and he was a good coach as well, but we’d heard so many voices in such a short space of time that it was never going to be easy to turn things around.

“I recall Phil calling me and was angry that one of the senior players had been talking to the chairman and had a lot to say about the Phil’s management style – I’ll not say who it was – but they had a lot of influence.

“It was a case of here we go again for me, but we weren’t doing too badly, and we had a good group of lads, so I don’t think it was anything to do with the players.”

Thankfully, Coppell would recover.

He returned to Crystal Palace just a couple of months later and managed off and on for the next 20 years or so, including spells at Brighton, Brentford, Reading, Bristol City, Crawley Town, and Portsmouth.

His 33 days at City, a distant memory, as was his win ratio, which coincidentally was 33.33%...

Manchester City were recently proud to announce a collaboration with Andy's Man Club - a support group offering advice and help to men suffering from mental stress and other pressures. Find out more here: https://andysmanclub.co.uk/

Written by David Clayton

Designed by Simon Thorley

Thanks to Kit Symons, Michael Brown and Ian Brightwell.