Before Manchester City were taken over by the Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008, the club’s fans were forced to endure a succession of mid-table finishes in the top flight.
The last of them came under Sven-Göran Eriksson, fresh off his five-year spell as England manager. The Swede struggled at City, sacked at the end of his first season having guided the team to a ninth-placed finish.
His dismissal came, according to then owner Thaksin Shinawatra, after an "avalanche of very poor results which is unacceptable at this level".
Everything would change a few months after Eriksson’s departure, including the personnel at the club. But some of the players he brought in made it into the new era under Mark Hughes.
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