page_title: History of Manchester City F.C. (2001–present)
section_title: Stuart Pearce years (2005–2007)
hierarchical_section_title: History of Manchester City F.C. (2001–present) / Stability (2001–2008) / Stuart Pearce years (2005–2007)
caption_attribution_description: Managers of Manchester City and Liverpool FC, Stuart Pearce and Rafael Benítez
context_page_description: This page chronicles the history of English football team Manchester City Football Club in further detail from 2001 to the present day. See History of Manchester City F.C. for a history overview of Manchester City.
  The 2001 to 2011 history of the club has been marked by stability, with the club establishing itself as a Premier League regular since 2002. The club was taken over in 2007 by Thaksin Shinawatra, who invested a considerable portion of money into the club with Sven-Göran Eriksson. After being arrested for political corruption in the summer of 2008, Shinawatra had to sell the club to an Abu Dhabi Investment Group.
context_section_description: In March 2005, one of Keegan's coaches, Stuart Pearce, was appointed caretaker of City after Keegan left the club. After a successful run of form which put the club close to UEFA Cup qualification, Pearce was given the job on a permanent basis. The final match of the season against Middlesbrough was remembered for Pearce's decision to bring on goalkeeper Nicky Weaver for outfield midfielder Claudio Reyna during the latter stages of the game so that 6 ft 5ins David James could play upfront, despite having £5 million striker Jon Macken on the bench. City even had a David James number 1 outfield shirt ready if such action was deemed necessary. The ploy was somewhat successful, with James proving difficult to deal with. Franck Queudrue eventually committed a handball in his own penalty area to give City a last minute penalty, but Robbie Fowler missed his kick, squandering City's opportunity to reach Europe; the game finished 1–1.
  Despite a successful start to the 2005–06 season, Manchester City finished 15th in the Premiership after losing nine of its last ten games. They were also eliminated from the League Cup by League One side Doncaster Rovers. Pearce developed the reputation as being unusually fair and honest by refusing to criticise referees for mistakes they may have made. He was also touted as a potential successor for England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson in the early stages of the season when City were impressing.
  Pearce failed to bring about an improvement in the 2006–07 season which saw City skirmish with relegation and the season would prove tough for the club. The club were again eliminated from the League Cup by a League One team, Chesterfield, early on in the season. Ben Thatcher's elbow challenge on Pedro Mendes while playing Portsmouth shocked many – a challenge which prompted City to take unprecedented action and banned Thatcher for six matches by the club and a six weeks fine. Pearce called the challenge "indefensible" and The Football Association (FA) banned Thatcher for a further eight matches.
  The side scored just ten goals at home in the league, and none after New Year's Day in 2007, a record low in top-flight English football. Pearce was sacked at the end of the season in May 2007 and another period of transition at the club was about an unravel off the pitch during the summer.
caption: Pearce (left) in 2007 along former Liverpool manager Rafa Benítez
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