This is a chronological list of Manchester City managers, comprising all those who have held the position of manager for the first team and its predecessors West Gorton (St. Marks) and Ardwick. In the Football League era the club has appointed 47 managers; including pre-league managers and temporary caretakers more than 40 men have held responsibility for team selection. Nine of them have won major silverware.
The longest serving manager was Wilf Wild, who was in charge from 1932 to 1946, for a total length of 14 years and 9 months. However, as Wild's tenure covered the entire length of the Second World War, in which no competitive football was played, he is not the man with the most games served as manager. Les McDowall, who was in charge from 1950 to 1963, a period of 13 years, managed the club for the most competitive games, a total of 592 matches – a full 240 more than Wild, who recorded the second most.
As of 2024, the most successful manager of Manchester City is incumbent Pep Guardiola, who has won 18 trophies in his eight years in charge, and is the leading manager in terms of games won and % of games won.
In the era before league football, the position of manager involved many secretarial duties, arranging fixtures and the upkeep of the club's ground. Few accounts of the club's off-field affairs in the 1880s survive, and it is unclear who managed the club (then known as West Gorton (St. Marks)) between 1882 and 1884.[1] The club's earliest managers were also players; the first three known managers (Frederick Hopkinson, Edward Kitchen and Walter Chew) all played in West Gorton's first recorded match in 1880.[2] By 1889 the club had moved to Hyde Road and renamed itself Ardwick A.F.C. Under the management of Lawrence Furniss, the club joined the Football League in 1892 as founder members of the Second Division. Furniss became chairman a year later, and he and his successor as secretary-manager Joshua Parlby were responsible for Ardwick reforming as Manchester City F.C. in 1894.[3]
Under Sam Omerod the club achieved promotion to the First Division for the first time,[4] and five years later Tom Maley became the first Manchester City manager to win a major trophy, the 1904 FA Cup.[5] A financial scandal resulted in the Football Association suspending Maley and seventeen players in 1906,[6] leaving Harry Newbould with the task of assembling a makeshift side at short notice. In 1912 Ernest Mangnall joined City from local rivals Manchester United, but was unable to replicate the success he had enjoyed with the Reds. Upon Mangnall's departure in 1924 the roles of secretary and manager were separated, with David Ashworth appointed manager and Wilf Wild as secretary. This arrangement continued during Peter Hodge's time as manager, though the roles merged again when Wild became manager in 1932. Wild became the club's longest serving manager, winning the FA Cup and League Championship during his fourteen-year tenure. By the time Sam Cowan replaced Wild the roles of secretary and manager were separated permanently. Cowan lasted only one season, and was replaced by Jock Thomson. He gained promotion, but did not make a lasting impact at the top level.
Les McDowall became manager in 1950, and managed the Blues for more league seasons than any other manager.[7] Known for his tactical awareness, McDowall's implementation of a system known as the Revie Plan resulted in two FA Cup final appearances, a defeat in 1955 and a victory in 1956.[7] McDowall resigned following relegation in 1963, and his assistant George Poyser became manager. Poyser proved unsuited to the manager's role, and was sacked in 1965. Joe Mercer was appointed, and the club's golden era began. Mercer became the club's most successful manager in terms of trophies won, winning the League Championship, the FA Cup, the League Cup and the European Cup Winners' Cup in his six years at the helm.[8] Over time Mercer's assistant Malcolm Allison sought a progressively larger say in non-coaching matters, and in October 1971 he took sole control of the first team, with Mercer becoming "general manager".[9]
During Peter Swales' time as Manchester City chairman the tenure of managers was frequently brief, as between 1973 and 1994 eleven managers were appointed.[10] The first of these was Ron Saunders, after ill health had forced Johnny Hart to leave the post. Saunders was sacked after only six months, and club stalwart Tony Book took over. Book managed the club for five years, winning the League Cup in 1976. Malcolm Allison, who had rejoined the coaching staff in January 1979, made an ill-fated return to the manager's role later that year, a spell noted more for financial excess than on-pitch success.[11] A further six managers (John Bond, John Benson, Billy McNeill, Jimmy Frizzell, Mel Machin and Howard Kendall) were appointed in the 1980s, with none lasting more than three years amid a series of promotions and relegations. An upturn in results occurred during Peter Reid's management, the club achieving consecutive fifth-place finishes, but a deterioration in Reid's relationship with the board signalled the end of his spell at the club.[12] Brian Horton arrived from Oxford to sceptical newspaper headlines of "Brian Who?",[13] but developed a reputation for attractive football.[14] Swales was replaced as chairman by former City striker Francis Lee. Lee wanted to bring in his own man, and in the 1995 close season he replaced Horton with Alan Ball, whose sole full season resulted in relegation.
In the 1996–97 season, even the turnover rate of the Swales years was surpassed, with five managers (three permanent appointments and two caretakers) taking charge of first team affairs during the course of the season. The third of these was Steve Coppell, the shortest serving manager in the club's history,[15] who resigned on ill health grounds after 32 days as manager.[16] The final of the five, Frank Clark, saw out the season but did not last much longer, losing his job in February 1998 with the club on the brink of relegation to the third tier of English football. Joe Royle was unable to prevent relegation, but subsequently achieved successive promotions to restore top flight status, though relegation a year later resulted in his sacking.
Under Royle's replacement Kevin Keegan the club changed division for a fifth successive season,[17] setting club records for the number of points gained and goals scored in a season.[18] Keegan remained manager for the club's move to the City of Manchester Stadium and beyond, making him the longest serving manager since Tony Book.
On 6 July 2007, Sven-Göran Eriksson became the first non-British Manchester City manager, replacing the sacked Stuart Pearce, who had served for two years following an initial spell as caretaker.[19] After just one season with the club, Eriksson was replaced by Mark Hughes in June 2008. On 19 December 2009, Mark Hughes was sacked and replaced by Italian Roberto Mancini.
Mancini subsequently became one of the most successful managers of the club in the modern era, and the first to win major domestic trophies since the 1970s. However, after seasons in charge, Mancini was sacked on 13 May 2013 following defeat in the FA Cup Final versus Wigan Athletic.[20]
On 14 June 2013, Manuel Pellegrini was confirmed as the new manager of the club after signing a 3-year contract and was the third manager, after Roberto Mancini and Brian Kidd (the latter as caretaker), to take charge of City under the ownership of ADUG.[21]
On 1 February 2016, Pellegrini announced that, despite signing a contract extension at the beginning of the 2015–16 season, he would be leaving upon the conclusion of his third season as manager, with his contract ending as originally planned upon his arrival in 2013.[22] He would depart having won the 2013–14 Premier League & two League Cups, in 2013–14 & 2015–16, and also guiding City to its first-ever Champions League semi-final in 2016.
On the same day that Pellegrini announced his planned departure, City confirmed that Pep Guardiola had agreed to succeed him as manager, with his tenure beginning on 1 July 2016.[23] Despite a trophy-less first season in 2016–17, Guardiola would lead City to unprecedented success in the following six seasons. In 2017–18, City won the Premier League with 100 points, setting countless records along the way whilst also winning the 2017–18 EFL Cup. The following season, the club became the first in the history of English football to complete the domestic treble by winning the Premier League, FA Cup & League Cup. Having won the Community Shield at the start of the season, City became the first team to clinch all four major English domestic honours in one season and to hold all four simultaneously.
In 2022–23, City became only the fifth club to win three successive top-flight titles in England, following Huddersfield Town (1924-26), Arsenal (1933-35), Liverpool (1982-84) and Manchester United, who did it twice under Sir Alex Ferguson (1999-2001 and 2007-09). It was also the third occasion Guardiola had managed to win three league titles in a row, having done so in La Liga with Barcelona from 2009-11 and in the Bundesliga from 2014-16 with Bayern Munich.
On the European stage, Guardiola's first few seasons ended in disappointment with three consecutive quarter-final exits in (2018, 2019, 2020) and the round of 16 elimination in 2017. He then took City to a first Champions League final in 2021, but lost to Chelsea. In 2022, City were dramatically eliminated in the semi-final by Real Madrid, conceding two late goals to lose a 5–3 advantage. Perseverance finally paid off in 2023, as City won their first Champions League title, convincingly beating Real Madrid in the semi-final 5–1 on aggregate and defeating Inter Milan in the final to become only the second English team to complete the continental treble.
Guardiola has become Manchester City's most successful manager in club history, having won 18 major English, continental and worldwide titles to date. He has won more than 300 games and maintains a win percentage in excess of 72%, at least 12% higher than any proceeding manager.
As of match played 18 August 2024. Statistics include competitive matches only, pre-Football League and wartime matches are excluded. Cup losses or wins in a penalty shoot-out are counted as draws. Caretakers are shown in italics.
| Name | Nationality | From | To | M | W | D | L | GF | GA | Win % | Honours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frederick Hopkinson | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| Jack McGee | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| Edward Kitchen | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| Walter Chew | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |||
| – | |||||||||||
| – | |||||||||||
| 1 Second Division title | |||||||||||
| 1 Second Division title 1 FA Cup | |||||||||||
| 1 Second Division title | |||||||||||
| Committee | – | ||||||||||
| – | |||||||||||
| – | |||||||||||
| / Committee | – | ||||||||||
| 1 Second Division title | |||||||||||
| 1 First Division title 1 FA Cup 1 Charity Shield | |||||||||||
| 1 Second Division title | |||||||||||
| – | |||||||||||
| – | |||||||||||
| 1 FA Cup | |||||||||||
| – | |||||||||||
| Committee | – | ||||||||||
| 1 First Division title 1 Second Division title 1 FA Cup 1 League Cup 1 Charity Shield 1 Cup Winners' Cup | |||||||||||
| 1 Charity Shield | |||||||||||
| – | |||||||||||
| – | |||||||||||
| – | |||||||||||
| 1 League Cup | |||||||||||
| – | |||||||||||
| – | |||||||||||
| – | |||||||||||
| – | |||||||||||
| – | |||||||||||
| – | |||||||||||
| – | |||||||||||
| – | |||||||||||
| – | |||||||||||
| – | |||||||||||
| – | |||||||||||
| – | |||||||||||
| – | |||||||||||
| – | |||||||||||
| – | |||||||||||
| – | |||||||||||
| 1 Second Division play-off | |||||||||||
| 1 First Division title | |||||||||||
| [24] | – | ||||||||||
| [25] | [26] | – | |||||||||
| [27] | [28] | – | |||||||||
| 1 Premier League title 1 FA Cup 1 Community Shield | |||||||||||
| – | |||||||||||
| [29] | 1 Premier League title 2 League Cups | ||||||||||
| [30] | [31] | Incumbent | 6 Premier League titles 2 FA Cups 4 League Cups 3 Community Shields 1 UEFA Champions League title 1 UEFA Super Cup 1 FIFA Club World Cup | ||||||||
As of 10 August 2024
| Name | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 18 | ||
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Total | 10 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 36 |