David Bernstein On The Reality Of Being A Football Chairman And The Rise Of Manchester City

An interview with David Bernstein, by Callum McFadden for WFi.

You have recently published a book titled We Were Really There: The Rebirth of Manchester City. In the book, you reflect on your time with the club, but you also start by sharing your early experiences with football and supporting Manchester City. Could you describe what that was like growing up?

“It was a bit difficult because I was born in the North but lived down South for most of my life. I never went to any of the [games] when I was younger. I only started seeing City when I visited London occasionally. It wasn’t until an FA Cup final against Everton that I first saw City at Maine Road, in front of a massive crowd.

“I remember the scale of the place—it was incredible. It was a bleak, dark northern day, and I must have been about nine or ten years old. I was the only one in my school who supported City; most of the others supported Spurs.

“So, it was certainly an admiration from afar but that FA Cup match was the first time I saw City in that environment, and it left a lasting impression.”

You’ve had significant success in accountancy and business throughout your career. Did you always foresee becoming involved with Manchester City at some stage, or was that something that developed later on?

“No, I didn’t really, no.

“At one time, when City was doing really badly, I contacted Peter Swales, the chairman at the time, and I met him briefly in London. I think it was after we played at Maine Road. But it was a short conversation; he wasn’t very interested. That was really it, as far as I was concerned, until, by chance, someone I was involved with in business—it’s described in the book—who knew Mike Summerbee told me that Francis Lee was thinking of taking over the club as best he could.

“It was a bit out of the blue. I met him in Manchester and worked with him afterwards, gave some detailed financial advice, which he didn’t really take. But we carried on doing what he was doing—taking the controlling stake. They found themselves in difficulty very early on and came back to me, asking if I’d join the board, which of course I was very privileged to do.”

When you joined the board and began working alongside Franny Lee—a childhood hero of yours and an iconic footballer in his own right, who later transitioned into business and became chairman of Manchester City—what was it like to work alongside someone you had idolised growing up?

“Well, I’m probably lucky in that I’ve never been overawed by a celebrity, and I’ve met plenty of them. I take people as they are. So, it wasn’t that sort of hero worship once I got to know him. As far as I was concerned, it was a business relationship. He was the chair, and I obviously respected that.

“We worked very closely and reached a point where he would call me nearly every day. I stayed at his home occasionally when I was in Manchester, and we got on very well.

“Unfortunately, during that period, things gradually went from bad to worse for a variety of reasons. It was very sad, but in the end, he left, and I was asked if I was prepared to take over the club, which was not an easy thing to do.”

I can imagine how challenging that must have been. Today, Manchester City are synonymous with success, boasting multiple Premier League titles, a Champions League trophy, and celebrated managers like Pep Guardiola, Roberto Mancini, and Manuel Pellegrini. However, when you stepped into the chairmanship, the club was in the third tier of English football—a reality that many younger fans might find hard to believe. Could you elaborate on the context in which you took over and what it was like to navigate the club during such a tumultuous time?

“Oh, absolutely.

“We were relegated to the third tier just after I became chair, and we had just appointed Joe Royle as manager. We started implementing a number of really important changes at the club. I was intent on achieving fundamental change, and we began that program. I worked very closely with Joe, and I felt we were doing all the right things, but things started quite poorly. We lost to clubs like York City and Lincoln City, and we lost twice to Wycombe Wanderers—you can hardly comprehend that.

“It wasn’t until Christmas of that year that we started to show some signs of improvement, and then we went on that famous playoff run against Gillingham, which was a crucial moment in the modern history of Manchester City.”

In terms of that game against Gillingham, it was incredibly dramatic. Goals galore with Paul Dickov being the hero for City on that day. Watching that game as chairman, but also as a fan, how were your emotions? How did you manage those?

“Well, I’ve never been so wound up about a football match in all my life. To be in that position, to have gotten to the final, to be playing at Wembley, and to be the chairman of the club—it was really quite something. Then, to play fairly poorly, as we did, and to be two goals down—it was shattering. I’ll never forget looking at the giant Wembley scoreboard and seeing ‘Gillingham 2, Man City 0’ with the Gillingham fans sitting there absolutely delighted. I was thinking, ‘What are we going to do now? This is going to be really hard.’

“The first season in that division was manageable, but I thought a second season down there would be very, very difficult. And then, of course, the two goals came, and we won in the penalty shootout. I’ve never quite recovered from that. Since then, for me personally, no sporting occasion has been quite as exciting and intense as that particular game.”

Reflecting on your journey with Manchester City, you experienced a remarkable ascent from the third tier to the top flight, only to face the disappointment of relegation back to the second tier shortly thereafter. What challenges did you encounter during that time?

“Well, of course, it was frustrating, but somehow, we managed to maintain momentum. We got out of two divisions. By then, we had signed a deal for the Etihad Stadium, which was crucial to everything that has happened since. So, we felt like we had a lot of good things in place.

“Going down, of course, was disappointing. Some of the reasons we went down were unnecessary. Unfortunately, we parted ways with Joe Royle, which was very sad. We had gotten on extremely well during the three years or so we had been together. But we managed to bounce back quickly. We had that fabulous season—100 goals and 100 points—and no playoffs were necessary. It was a very convincing performance.

“To achieve three promotions in four years while also progressing with the new stadium, the new training ground, a proper squad, and a strong management team really transformed the club from top to bottom.”

Hiring Kevin Keegan was a significant coup for the club, especially given his most recent role was managing England. With the new stadium on the horizon and improvements to the academy and training ground, how proud are you of that appointment and its role in propelling the club towards the successful takeover seven years later, which brought steady Premier League football?

“As you mentioned, Kevin had a unique standing in the football world. He was a real character, and securing his appointment was indeed a coup for the club. However, working with Kevin wasn’t always easy. I prefer to conduct matters in a professional and orderly manner. While we had successfully navigated the club out of financial trouble, I was determined not to revert to those issues.

“Kevin’s demands were sometimes insistent and not always reasonable, culminating in the Robbie Fowler situation, which I discuss in detail in the book. We ended up paying a substantial amount for a player who was past his prime, whereas I believed we should have pursued a pay-as-you-play arrangement.

“These circumstances, among others, ultimately led to my decision to walk away from the club—a choice that saddened me greatly. I cherished my role and everything we had accomplished, but I felt that the situation was beginning to unravel.”

Finally, David, how do you reflect on those four years or so as chairman overall?

“I think overall—and this is why I wrote the book, in part—we laid the foundations for the biggest transformation of a football club in English history. The club went from the third tier to Premier League champions, world-class players, and winning European titles.

“It’s been an amazing journey. And I hope the book explains that this journey didn’t start with the Abu Dhabi investment.

“They accelerated the progress beyond belief, and they’ve been tremendous owners, but had we not done what we did in those five years—had we not gotten the stadium, the academy, the infrastructure—we wouldn’t have been attractive to that level of investor.

“So, it’s been a privilege to be part of the transformation of City, and I think the foundations we laid back then are crucial to the club’s success now.”