Man City great in hospital

Malcolm Allison collected a host of trophies with City

Former Manchester City coach Malcolm Allison is in hospital suffering from alcoholism, according to his son.

Allison, 73, was taken to hospital after breaking his collarbone in a fall near his warden-controlled home at Hale, Cheshire.

He can't do anything on the after-dinner speaking circuit because they are drink-associated

  Mark Allison

On the day that City fans were also coming to terms with relegation from the Premiership, his son Mark said: "He is very ill but he's accepted for the first time he is an alcoholic.

"Previously he's been to AA and has been in The Priory. But he has never actually accepted what his biggest problem is.

In a glittering trophy-laden haul in the late 1960s and early 1970s, City not only won the league, but also the European Cup Winners Cup, FA Cup and League Cup.

Allison's son Mark says he has finally admitted his problem

"Now he hopes the doctors can arrange for him to be admitted to a clinic."

With his fedora hat, sheepskin coat and fat cigar, Allison was one of football's most flamboyant characters.

But he was also a first class coach and in tandem with manager Joe Mercer made City a side to be feared in.

"He still has a lot to offer soccer but he does suffer from loneliness," Mark Allison told the Manchester Evening News.

"If he goes into a pub someone there will buy him a drink and then they get one of his great stories.

"He can't do anything on the after-dinner speaking circuit because they are drink-associated."