Norwich City & Manchester City - Managers

There have been plenty of managerial connections between Norwich City and Manchester City. Two men in history have managed both clubs. The first was Ron Saunders. Having guided the Canaries to the top flight of English football and a losing League Cup Final in the early seventies, he moved from Carrow Road to Maine Road in November 1973. Despite another Wembley appearance in the League Cup (and another defeat), the abrasive Saunders never quite settled at Manchester City, and after less than six months in charge he left for Aston Villa. His replacement at Norwich, John Bond, also left for Maine Road, in October 1980. He shored up an ailing side by recruiting some old hands and took them to a losing FA Cup Final in his first season in charge. Bond however, failed to make any headway on the top of the First Division and resigned in February 1983 after 123 games in charge. His old friend, and former Canary player, John Benson moved up from assistant manager for the remainder of the campaign, but Manchester City were ultimately relegated.

Three other ex Norwich players have also led the Sky Blues. Mel Machin cut his managerial teeth at Carrow Road, serving Ken Brown as head coach and then assistant after he finished playing. He took over at Maine Road in May 1987, leading them out of Division Two and back into the big time. He was sacked though in November 1989 with the club sitting bottom of the Division One table. In 1996 Asa Hartford, who had played for both clubs, spent eight matches in charge as caretaker manager after the departure of Alan Ball and before the ill fated appointment of Steve Coppell. And in 1998 Joe Royle, another man to appear for both Norwich City and Manchester City, took over. He was too late to stop relegation down to the third tier but oversaw back to back promotions all the way up to the Premier League. His failure to keep them there led to his sacking however, in May 2001.

Four Norwich City managers had previously had connections with the Maine Road club. The earliest was Frank Buckley (later Major), who was in charge at The Nest immediately after World War One. He had made eleven league appearances for Manchester City in 1907-08. Favourite Canary striker John Deehan teamed up with Mel Machin in the role of player coach, though did not play a league match. Martin O'Neill had two playing spells at Carrow Road between 1981 and 1983, and wedged between them was a thirteen match league career with Manchester City. And perennial journeyman Gary Megson joined the Canaries from the Sky Blues in 1992, and would go on to serve the club as both caretaker and permanent manager.
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