Former Manchester City manager Malcolm Allison dies
Manchester City are paying tribute to “perhaps their greatest ever coach” today, with the news that former manager Malcolm Allison has died aged 83.
Allison arrived at City as assistant to Joe Mercer in 1965, and played a huge role in the most successful period in the club’s history, as City won the Second Division title a year later, and followed that up with the League Championship in 1968, FA Cup in 1969 and a European Cup-Winners Cup and League Cup double in 1970. He would later have two separate spells in sole charge of the club.
In a colourful career, Allison played as a centre-half for West Ham United for the majority of the 1950s, before managing 11 different clubs both at home and abroad, leading Sporting Lisbon to a Portuguese League and Cup double in 1982 and also enjoying spells at Bath, Plymouth, Galatasaray, Toronto City, Middlesbrough and Bristol Rovers. But it is at City where he will be most fondly remembered.
A statement on the City website read: “Perhaps City’s greatest ever coach... Flamboyant, brilliant and larger than life, Malcolm will be sorely missed by everyone at the club and beyond.
“The club, whose flags are at half mast, will pay tribute to Malcolm at the forthcoming game against Arsenal. There will also be an appropriate commemoration to his life and work in the memorial garden at the City of Manchester Stadium.”
“Malcolm changed football by making us train like athletes,” said City great Mike Summerbee, “in that respect he was ahead of his time and he was a great tactician as well. He was also one of the lads - in effect he was the twelfth player from the sidelines but he knew how to crack the whip and we respected him.
“He was a great psychologist; he knew how to handle me and how to get more out of me. He did the same for Colin Bell, Francis Lee, Neil Young and all of that great side.
“He was just quite an amazing man. A great personality and a well read man as well, a very intelligent person. He was a character.
“He was the greatest coach this country ever had. And still is, without a shadow of a doubt.”
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