First spell preceded by Richard Shaw, second spell preceded by Russell Slade
First spell followed by Lee Carsley, second spell followed by Rhys Carr
19th September 2012 – 14th February 2013 and 6th March 2017 – 7th November 2024
by Jim Brown
A product of the Manchester United youth system, Mark Robins had a successful playing career with United, Norwich, Leicester, Walsall, Rotherham and Sheffield Wednesday with brief loan sojourns with FC Copenhagen, Reading, CD Ourense, Panionios, Manchester City and Bristol City. In total he made over 400 appearances in English football scoring 124 goals. He has always been credited with saving Alex Ferguson’s career at Manchester United in January 1990 when he scored the winning goal in an FA Cup tie at Nottingham Forest. United went on to reach the FA Cup final and Mark was an extra-time substitute in the 3-3 draw with Crystal Palace but was an unused substitute in the replay. That year he won the first of six England under 21 caps and in only his second game scored five goals in a 7-3 victory over France in the Toulon Tournament. He subsequently played in the final as England beat Czechoslavakia.
He helped Norwich City to third place the Premier League in 1992-93 and victory over Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup the following season.
After retiring in 2005 he became assistant manager at Rotherham and replaced Alan Knill as manager in 2007. Two years later he moved to Barnsley where he had two reasonably successful seasons. In September 2012 he was appointed manager of the Sky Blues who had just been relegated from the Championship. After a slow start he turned them from a bottom four club to play-off contenders but in February 2013 left to join Huddersfield Town, then a division higher than the Sky Blues.
After steering Huddersfield to safety in his first season he struggled the following campaign and was sacked in August 2014. A spell at Scunthorpe United ended with little progress and he was out of work for over a year before the Sky Blues re-appointed him in March 2017 to replace the inept Russell Slade. The Sky Blues were rock bottom of League One, on their way to the fourth tier of English football for the first time in almost sixty years. He somehow managed to motivate his limited squad of players to a EFL (Checkatrade) final victory over Oxford United at Wembley and then started the Herculean task of lifting the team back to higher things. With a virtual rebuild of the squad including the inspired signings of Michael Doyle and Marc McNulty, Mark scrapped into the League Two play-offs before overturning the formbook with famous victories over Notts County and Exeter City.
The team continued to evolve in League One and after a season of consolidation the addition of players like Kyle McFadzean and Matty Godden helped clinch a League One championship in the second, covid-affected 2019-20 season. Robins and the team found the Championship challenging in 2020-21 just keeping their head above water before a final flurry ensured safety. The triumphant return to the CBS Arena in 2021 saw City competing near the top of the division and the fans witnessed some incredible performances with thrilling victories over champions Fulham (twice), Sheffield United and Bristol City. The final position of 12th was then improved on in 2022-23 despite the CBS pitch problems causing the team to play six of their first seven games away from home. A run of 18 games with only one defeat with Gyokeres and Hamer to the fore catapulted the Sky Blues to the play-off final at Wembley where sadly the Premier League dream was extinguished in a cruel penalty shoot-out.
Less than a year later with a much-changed but arguably stronger team a combination of penalty shoot-out misery and VAR wrecked City’s fantasy of an FA Cup final appearance in a classic tie with Manchester United and the mental and physical efforts of reaching the semi final probably cost the club a play-off place.
Seven months later after another slow start Mark Robins paid the price. Many fans felt he had sufficient credit in the bank from his achievements for the club to warrant more time to correct things but in the cruel world of football management the owner had lost patience. Like John Sillett in 1990 – sacrificed for a ‘name’ manager, Terry Butcher – Mark Robins’ accomplishments appeared to have been forgotten in the urge for ‘change’.
Only two managers in the club’s history have managed the club in more games, Harry Storer, who was in charge for 691 games in two spells (1931-45 and 1948-53) and Gordon Milne who sat in the chair for 440 games (1972-81). Only two managers who have managed the club for at least a full season can better Robins’ overall win ratio of 40.7%, Storer and Jimmy Hill (both on 44.4%) with John Sillett close behind Robins on 40.6%.
In conclusion Mark Robins is statistically up there with the magnicent three of Storer, Hill and Sillett.
League One Manager of the Month December 2012
League One Manager of the Month October 2018
Championship Manager of the Month February 2020
Championship Manager of the Month November 2022
First spell:
Joined: 19th September 2012
First game: 22nd September 2012 v Carlisle United, home, League One, lost 1-2
Left: 14th February 2013
Last game: 9th February 2013 v Yeovil Town, home, League One, lost 0-1
33 games
| Lge | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Win % | Pos | |
| 2012-13 | Lge 1 | 25 | 13 | 5 | 7 | 45 | 25 | 44 | 52.0 | 8th |
League Cup: 1 game (1 loss)
Johnstone’s Paint Trophy: 4 games (2 wins, 1 draw – won on pens, 1 loss)
FA Cup: 3 games (2 wins, 1 loss)
Second spell:
Joined: 6th March 2017
First game: 11th March 2017 v Bradford City, home, League One, lost 0-2
Left: 7th November 2024
Last game: 6th November 2024 v Derby County, home, Championship, lost 1-2
387 games
| Lge | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Win % | Pos | |
| 2016-17 | Lge 1 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 13 | 36.3 | 23rd |
| 2017-18 | Lge 2 | 46 | 22 | 9 | 15 | 64 | 47 | 75 | 47.8 | 6th |
| 2018-19 | Lge 1 | 46 | 18 | 11 | 17 | 54 | 54 | 65 | 39.1 | 8th |
| 2019-20 | Lge 1 | 34 | 18 | 13 | 3 | 48 | 30 | 67 | 52.9 | 1st |
| 2020-21 | Champ | 46 | 14 | 13 | 19 | 49 | 61 | 55 | 30.4 | 16th |
| 2021-22 | Champ | 46 | 17 | 13 | 16 | 60 | 59 | 64 | 36.9 | 12th |
| 2022-23 | Champ | 46 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 58 | 46 | 70 | 39.1 | 5th |
| 2023-24 | Champ | 46 | 17 | 13 | 16 | 70 | 59 | 64 | 36.9 | 9th |
| 2024-25 | Champ | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 18 | 19 | 15 | 28.5 | 17th |
| Totals | 335 | 132 | 92 | 111 | 428 | 389 | 488 | 39.4 |
Checkatrade/Leasing.com Trophy: 11 games (3 wins, 4 draws (3 wins, 1 loss on pens), 4 losses)
Play-offs: 6 games (3 wins, 3 draws – 1 loss on pens)
League Cup: 12 games (4 wins, 1 draw (lost on pens), 7 losses)
FA Cup: 23 games (12 wins, 6 draws (2 losses on pens), 5 losses)
Overall:
420 games
| Lge | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Win % | Pos | |
| 2012-13 | Lge 1 | 25 | 13 | 5 | 7 | 45 | 25 | 44 | 52.0 | 8th |
| 2016-17 | Lge 1 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 13 | 36.3 | 23rd |
| 2017-18 | Lge 2 | 46 | 22 | 9 | 15 | 64 | 47 | 75 | 47.8 | 6th |
| 2018-19 | Lge 1 | 46 | 18 | 11 | 17 | 54 | 54 | 65 | 39.1 | 8th |
| 2019-20 | Lge 1 | 34 | 18 | 13 | 3 | 48 | 30 | 67 | 52.9 | 1st |
| 2020-21 | Champ | 46 | 14 | 13 | 19 | 49 | 61 | 55 | 30.4 | 16th |
| 2021-22 | Champ | 46 | 17 | 13 | 16 | 60 | 59 | 64 | 36.9 | 12th |
| 2022-23 | Champ | 46 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 58 | 46 | 70 | 39.1 | 5th |
| 2023-24 | Champ | 46 | 17 | 13 | 16 | 70 | 59 | 64 | 36.9 | 9th |
| 2024-25 | Champ | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 18 | 19 | 15 | 28.5 | 17th |
| Totals | 360 | 145 | 97 | 118 | 473 | 414 | 532 | 40.2 |
Johnstone’s Paint Trophy/Checkatrade/Leasing.com Trophy: 15 games (5 wins, 5 draws (4 wins, 1 loss on pens), 5 losses)
Play-offs: 6 games (3 wins, 3 draws – 1 loss on pens)
League Cup: 13 games (4 wins, 1 draw (lost on pens), 8 losses)
FA Cup: 26 games (14 wins, 6 draws (2 losses on pens), 6 losses)
First spell preceded by Richard Shaw, second spell preceded by Russell Slade
First spell followed by Lee Carsley, second spell followed by Rhys Carr
