Malcolm Allison was given a fitting send off by hundreds of Manchester City fans at Eastlands.
Hundreds of fans gather to pay respects to former boss
Malcolm Allison was given a fitting send off by Manchester City fans on Wednesday as around 300 fans gathered to pay their respects at Eastlands.
City followers offered a round of applause when their former manager's cortege stopped briefly before his funeral service at Manchester Crematorium.
Flamboyant Allison, known as "Big Mal" and remembered off the pitch for his trademark cigar and fedora, died earlier in October at the age of 83.
He enjoyed a long and colourful career as a football player, coach and manager, and is best remembered for his time at City.
A sky-blue City scarf was draped over Allison's coffin and next to it was an ice bucket containing a bottle of Moet et Chandon champagne.
Working alongside Joe Mercer, Allison helped transform City into one of the most exciting sides in the country.
They won the league title in 1968, the FA Cup in 1969, and in 1970 the League Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup.
He went on to manage Crystal Palace on two separate occasions and returned to City in 1979 for a brief and unsuccessful spell.
His management career also included spells at Bath, Plymouth, Galatasaray, Sporting Lisbon, Toronto City, Middlesbrough and Bristol Rovers.
Ill health was a feature of his later years and he had been living in a nursing home for some time when he died on 14th October.
