The 14 Man City managers to outlasted by Alex Ferguson Jimmy Frizzell: Oct 1986 - May 1987. Former Oldham player Frizzell joined Manchester City as an assistant to Billy McNeill in 1986, and became manager after the exit of his fellow Scot later that year. Frizzell was sacked in May 1987 as the team was relegated to the Division Two under a serious financial crisis. He returned to the club in 1994 to work as chief scout but left in 1998.