1998–99 Manchester City F.C. season

Manchester City F.C.
1998-99 season
Manager	Joe Royle
Second Division	3rd
FA Cup	Third round
League Cup	Second round
Play-offs	Winners
Top goalscorer	League: Shaun Goater (17); All: Shaun Goater (20)
	← 1997–98 1999–2000 →

Manchester City were able to make an immediate return to Division One, thanks to a play-off final victory over Gillingham in a penalty shootout, having drawn level from 2-0 down with 89 minutes of normal time played. The dramatic victory ensured that City's first season in English football's third tier ended in promotion, bringing some success to the club after two relegations in three seasons.

Team kit

The team kit was produced by Kappa and the shirt sponsor was Brother.

The home shirt for the season was a slightly darker shade of blue than the traditional City sky blue known as 'Laser Blue'. While the home shirt was generally well received, it was the away kit that would take on a special significance to Manchester City fans. While the luminous yellow and navy blue stripes were peculiar, with the yellow in particular somewhat garish and never having even been worn before by City, the shirt took on a whole new meaning when it was worn for the 1999 Football League Second Division play-off Final. Although this game technically marked the lowest ever league finish in Manchester City's history, instead the incredible circumstances by which City were able to win - having conceded the first two goals of the game in the last ten minutes of normal time, before getting two goals of their own in injury time, and then winning a penalty shoot-out - in fact mark this game as one of the proudest moments of the club's history, with many fans describing the victory as feeling as good as winning a top division title, and probably being more important to the club's long-term future. The kit instantly went from being an average if slightly unusual shirt to being one of the most iconic symbols of the club's history. There have been frequent if uncoordinated calls for the shirt to be brought back as an away kit in a future season, though as yet the design has largely been forgotten by the club's successive kit manufacturers.

Home

Away

Squad

Goalkeepers

Defenders

Midfielders

Attackers

Second Division

Matches

8 August 1998 1	Manchester City	3–0	Blackpool	Manchester
	Goater 26' Bradbury 62' Tskhadadze 76'			Stadium: Maine Road

14 August 1998 2	Fulham	3–0	Manchester City	London
	Beardsley 21' Lehmann 32', 38'			Stadium: Craven Cottage

22 August 1998 3	Manchester City	0–0	Wrexham	Manchester
				Stadium: Maine Road

29 August 1998 4	Notts County	1–1	Manchester City	Nottingham
	Hendon 71' (pen.)		Goater 90'	Stadium: Meadow Lane

2 September 1998 5	Manchester City	3–1	Walsall	Manchester
	Goater 30', 71' Dickov 74'		Rammell 79'	Stadium: Maine Road

8 September 1998 6	Manchester City	2–1	Bournemouth	Manchester
	Allsopp 25' Dickov 64'		Fletcher 48'	Stadium: Maine Road

12 September 1998 7	Macclesfield Town	0–1	Manchester City	Macclesfield
			Goater 86'	Stadium: Moss Rose

19 September 1998 8	Manchester City	1–1	Chesterfield	Manchester
	Bradbury 36'		Reeves 28'	Stadium: Maine Road

26 September 1998 9	Northampton Town	2–2	Manchester City	Northampton
	Peer 30' Corazzin 64'		Dickov 54' Goater 88'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium

29 September 1998 10	Millwall	1–1	Manchester City	London
	Harris 46'		Bradbury 90'	Stadium: The Den

3 October 1998 11	Manchester City	2–2	Burnley	Manchester
	Goater 8' Allsopp 85'		Payton 34' Cooke 54'	Stadium: Maine Road

12 October 1998 12	Manchester City	0–1	Preston North End	Manchester
			Parkinson 71' (pen.)	Stadium: Maine Road

17 October 1998 13	Wigan Athletic	0–1	Manchester City	Wigan
			Goater 56'	Stadium: Springfield Park

20 October 1998 14	Lincoln City	2–1	Manchester City	Lincoln
	Battersby 4' Austin 33'		Holmes 83' (o.g.)	Stadium: Sincil Bank

24 October 1998 15	Manchester City	0–1	Reading	Manchester
			Williams 56'	Stadium: Maine Road

31 October 1998 16	Manchester City	2–1	Colchester United	Manchester
	Horlock 49' (pen.) Morrison 53'		Dozzell 58'	Stadium: Maine Road

7 November 1998 17	Oldham Athletic	0–3	Manchester City	Oldham
			Horlock 17', 31' Morrison 69'	Stadium: Boundary Park

10 November 1998 18	Wycombe Wanderers	1–0	Manchester City	High Wycombe
	Simpson 34'			Stadium: Adams Park

21 November 1998 19	Manchester City	0–0	Gillingham	Manchester
				Stadium: Maine Road

28 November 1998 20	Luton Town	1–1	Manchester City	Luton
	Doherty 76'		Morrison 29'	Stadium: Kenilworth Road

12 December 1998 21	Manchester City	0–0	Bristol Rovers	Manchester
				Stadium: Maine Road

19 December 1998 22	York City	2–1	Manchester City	York
	Connelly 2' Dawson 86'		Russell 33'	Stadium: Bootham Crescent

26 December 1998 23	Wrexham	0–1	Manchester City	Wrexham
			Wiekens 56'	Stadium: Racecourse Ground

28 December 1998 24	Manchester City	2–1	Stoke City	Manchester
	Dickov 67' Taylor 85'		Sigurðsson 31'	Stadium: Maine Road

9 January 1999 25	Blackpool	0–0	Manchester City	Blackpool
				Stadium: Bloomfield Road

16 January 1999 26	Manchester City	3–0	Fulham	Manchester
	Goater 24' Taylor 32' Horlock 54'			Stadium: Maine Road

23 January 1999 27	Walsall	1–1	Manchester City	Walsall
	Watson 67'		Pollock 74'	Stadium: Bescot Stadium

29 January 1999 28	Stoke City	0–1	Manchester City	Stoke-on-Trent
			Wiekens 20'	Stadium: Britannia Stadium

6 February 1999 29	Manchester City	3–0	Millwall	Manchester
	Dickov 61' Cooke 71' Horlock 75'			Stadium: Maine Road

13 February 1999 30	Bournemouth	0–0	Manchester City	Bournemouth
				Stadium: Dean Court

20 February 1999 31	Manchester City	2–0	Macclesfield Town	Manchester
	Goater 14' Taylor 67'			Stadium: Maine Road

27 February 1999 32	Chesterfield	1–1	Manchester City	Chesterfield
	Reeves 32'		Crooks 51'	Stadium: Saltergate

6 March 1999 33	Manchester City	0–0	Northampton Town	Manchester
				Stadium: Maine Road

9 March 1999 34	Burnley	0–6	Manchester City	Burnley
			Horlock 17' Morrison 41' Goater 50', 59', 65' Allsopp 82'	Stadium: Turf Moor

13 March 1999 35	Manchester City	1–2	Oldham Athletic	Manchester
	Taylor 79'		Reid 27' (pen.) Duxbury 56'	Stadium: Maine Road

16 March 1999 36	Manchester City	2–1	Notts County	Manchester
	Brown 16' Cooke 40'		Stallard 72'	Stadium: Maine Road

20 March 1999 37	Colchester United	0–1	Manchester City	Colchester
			Goater 55'	Stadium: Layer Road

27 March 1999 38	Reading	1–3	Manchester City	Reading
	Scott 90'		Cooke 31', 62' Goater 54'	Stadium: Madejski Stadium

3 April 1999 39	Manchester City	1–0	Wigan Athletic	Manchester
	Cooke 52'			Stadium: Maine Road

5 April 1999 40	Preston North End	1–1	Manchester City	Preston
	Basham 1'		Brown 22'	Stadium: Deepdale

10 April 1999 41	Manchester City	4–0	Lincoln City	Manchester
	Dickov 34', 45', 48' Horlock 63'			Stadium: Maine Road

14 April 1999 42	Manchester City	2–0	Luton Town	Manchester
	Dickov 4' Vaughan 10'			Stadium: Maine Road

17 April 1999 43	Gillingham	0–2	Manchester City	Gillingham
			Cooke 31' Horlock 64'	Stadium: Priestfield Stadium

24 April 1999 44	Manchester City	1–2	Wycombe Wanderers	Manchester
	Goater 45'		Baird 15' Devine 30'	Stadium: Maine Road

1 May 1999 45	Bristol Rovers	2–2	Manchester City	Bristol
	Roberts 83' Cureton 88' (pen.)		Goater 27' Cooke 42'	Stadium: Memorial Stadium

8 May 1999 46	Manchester City	4–0	York City	Manchester
	Dickov 23' Horlock 76' Jeff Whitley 84' Allsopp 88'			Stadium: Maine Road

Playoff semi-finals

15 May 1999 1	Wigan Athletic	1–1	Manchester City	Wigan
	Barlow 1'		Dickov 76'	Stadium: Springfield Park

19 May 1999 2	Manchester City	1–0	Wigan Athletic	Manchester
	Goater 27'			Stadium: Maine Road

DOR

Playoff final

30 May 1999	Manchester City	2–2, 3–1 pen.	Gillingham	London
	Horlock 89' Dickov 90'		Asaba 81' R. Taylor 86'	Stadium: Wembley