I TRIED TO SIGN LUIS FIGO FOR CITY!
Former boss BRIAN HORTON reveals how cash-strapped Blues attempted a transfer coup 25 years ago
Brian Horton has never lost his West Midlands accent but every so often a very slight Mancunian twang squeezes through. normally towards the end of the name Manchester City. a bit like the locals.
He had no affinity to the area before a shock appointment five games into a season almost two decades ago, one that saw the tabloids cry ‘Brian who?’ when he was plucked from Second Division oxford United.
Horton replaced Peter reid at Maine road and unwittingly walked into a club entrenched in a nasty civil war, with mass demonstrations against owner Peter Swales the normality.
Horton (below) only managed City for 20 months, many of them during Franny Lee’s fractious takeover, and learned of his sacking on the back pages.
Usually, he would have been at the Etihad Stadium to witness last Friday’s victory over real Madrid. tonight he will watch the Champions League quarter- final against Lyon on tV.
City finished 16th and 17th in his two campaigns from 1993 to 1995. Horton managed more than 1,000 professional games across seven clubs, but there is a bond between him and this particular one.
‘i was at oxford in the Second Division, the financial side was horrendous,’ Horton says. ‘We were in a relegation battle, selling players. the cars went, the phones went. relegation would have been the end of me.
‘We stayed up and a few games into the next season i was manager of Man City. ‘that is how my life changed in a matter of months. i’m never turning City down, am i? they don’t come much bigger. it was like a dream. i’d gone from being 17 and released by Walsall to becoming a Premier League manager. i was just disappointed i couldn’t do better.’ Supporters still talk fondly of Horton’s time in charge. the team, boasting Paul Walsh, Peter Beagrie and Uwe rosler found from obscurity, attacked with gusto, often in a 4-2-4. as a trade-off, they struggled to defend. it was helter-skelter, one minute slapping tottenham 5-2 and the next a crushing 5- 0 defeat by bitter rivals Manchester United. there remains a feeling of curiosity at how it might have ended if Lee had not taken over. Horton is diplomatic about that, although his captivating new autobiography reveals the pair have not spoken since. Swales, who passed away in 1996, said he had received death threats from fans before relinquishi n g control. ‘it was a nightmare.
You had people shouting “Swales out”, and he was fantastic for me, giving me carte blanche,’ Horton says. ‘ Peter was City through and through. i didn’t understand it but i guess Franny was an icon and they thought it would go to the next level.
‘i knew i was going, so thought to hell with it — i’m going to play as attacking as i can. they loved the style of football. i knew what the City fans wanted. i’d just started to feel we were beginning to flourish.
‘i wish i had a quid for every time someone mentions that tottenham game to me. We beat West Ham 4-0, Everton 4-0, beat Blackburn 3-2 when they won the league.
‘i get respect from City fans for playing the kind of football they want — and they’re getting it now, aren’t they? Blooming heck. i love watching them play.’
alan Mullery and David Pleat were Horton’s managerial inspirations — ‘We never even discussed defending’ — and there is certainly a feeling from him that more backing from Lee could have seen City fly.
‘i got on oK with Franny,’ adds the 71-year-old. ‘But because he’d been such a good player for England and City, he found it hard to accept they weren’t all as good as him, and were earning more than he had. You can’t live like that.
‘i wanted two or three players. He wouldn’t give me the money. With defensive additions, we wouldn’t have been far off being a really outstanding team.’
So, who did Horton want? ‘the big one we talked about was Luis Figo from Sporting Lisbon. Chris Sutton, too. i’m saying defenders but it feels like all attackers!
‘Malcolm allison told me about Figo. He came to games and Franny looked after him great. Malcolm loved a glass of champagne and so do i. David Pleat told me that win or lose, always go and speak to your directors. Don’t just go up if you win.
‘We’d won this game, gone up for a glass with Malcolm. He asked if i’d seen the boy Luis Figo. Portugal were playing in northern ireland so me and tony Book went. Wow, sensational.
‘i told Franny to do whatever he could but it was just too rich. there were lots of agents. We met them but we just couldn’t do it.’
Figo went to Barcelona and City ended up suffering two relegations in three seasons following Horton’s departure.
they had spent money, notably £1.5million on nicky Summerbee, son of City legend Mike. Former kitman Les Chapman caught Summerbee giving instructions to nicky during a match.
Horton was not best pleased in a frank exchange Summerbee now happily regales as the ‘biggest rollocking’ of his life. they remain good friends and the reverence with which City hold Horton was best outlined at Vincent Kompany’s testimonial dinner in February last year.
‘it was my 70th birthday and they mentioned it on stage, asked me to take a little bow,’ Horton beams. ‘then i see someone coming up to the table. it’s Pep. He says, “i just want to say happy birthday”. i was like a blithering idiot, like a fan. a kid! really nice of him. He’s a special person.
‘i want to go and watch them train, to see what he does.’
Horton gently quips. ‘i’ve been waiting for Summerbee to arrange it, actually. Maybe he’s punishing me for that rollocking.’
Two Thousand Games: A Life in Football (Brian Horton with tim rich by Pitch Publishing) is out on august 24, £19.99.