Complex sentence: City's previous three seasons in the top flight had yielded top-ten finishes but Horton strugged due to injuries-key striker Niall Quinn was missing through a cruciate ligament injury-and City were 20th and bottom in mid-February.
Split into simpler sentences: City's previous three seasons in the top flight had yielded top-ten finishes, but their fortunes declined under Horton. With key striker Niall Quinn missing through a cruciate ligament injury, they were 20th and bottom in mid-February.