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History of Manchester City F.C.

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The history of Manchester City Football Club is an article covering the complete history of a professional football club based in Manchester, England. For general information about the club, see Manchester City F.C.

Manchester City have won 26 major honors throughout their history: 6 league titles, 6 FA Cups, 7 League Cups, 6 FA Charity/Community Shields, and 1 UEFA Cup Winners Cup.

History synopsis

Main article: History of Manchester City F.C. (1880–1928)
The 1898–99 team that promoted to the first division
A group of thirteen men, eleven in association football attire typical of the early twentieth century and two in suits. A trophy sits in front of them
The Manchester City team which won the FA Cup in 1904

Members of St. Mark's Church of England, West Gorton, Manchester, founded the football club that would become known as Manchester City, for largely humanitarian purposes. Two church wardens sought to curb local gang violence and alcoholism by instituting new activities for local men, whilst high unemployment plagued East Manchester, specifically Gorton. All men were welcome to join, regardless of religion.

A church cricket club had been formed in 1875, but no equivalent for the winter months existed.[1] To rectify this, and as part of Rector Arthur Connell's general push to intervene in social ills, church wardens William Beastow and Thomas Goodbehere, who held senior positions at the Union Iron Works,[2] started a church football team called St Mark's (West Gorton) (sometimes written as West Gorton (St Mark's)) in the winter of 1880.[3]

The team's first recorded match occurred on 13 November 1880, against a church team from Macclesfield. St. Marks lost the match 2–1, and only won one match during their inaugural 1880–81 season, with a victory over Stalybridge Clarence in March 1881.[4]

City gained their first honours by winning the Second Division in 1899; with it came promotion to the highest level in English football, the First Division. They went on to claim their first major honour on 23 April 1904, beating Bolton Wanderers 1–0 at Crystal Palace to win the FA Cup; City narrowly missed out on a League and Cup double that season after finishing runners-up in the League but City became the first club in Manchester to win a major honour.[5] In the seasons following the FA Cup triumph, the club was dogged by allegations of financial irregularities, culminating in the suspension of seventeen players in 1906, including captain Billy Meredith, who subsequently moved across town to Manchester United.[6] A fire at Hyde Road destroyed the main stand in 1920, and in 1923 the club moved to their new purpose-built stadium at Maine Road in Moss Side.[7]

Main article: History of Manchester City F.C. (1928–1965)

In the 1930s, Manchester City reached two consecutive FA Cup finals, losing to Everton in 1933, before claiming the Cup by beating Portsmouth in 1934.[8] During the 1934 cup run, Manchester City broke the record for the highest home attendance of any club in English football history, as 84,569 fans packed Maine Road for a sixth round FA Cup tie against Stoke City in 1934—a record which still stands to this day.[9] The club won the First Division title for the first time in 1937, but were relegated the following season, despite scoring more goals than any other team in the division.[10] Twenty years later, a City team inspired by a tactical system known as the Revie Plan reached consecutive FA Cup finals again, in 1955 and 1956; just as in the 1930s, they lost the first one, to Newcastle United, and won the second. The 1956 final, in which Manchester City beat Birmingham City 3–1, is one of the most famous finals of all-time, and is remembered for City goalkeeper Bert Trautmann continuing to play on after unknowingly breaking his neck.[11]

Main article: History of Manchester City F.C. (1965–2001)

After relegation to the Second Division in 1963, the future looked bleak with a record low home attendance of 8,015 against Swindon Town in January 1965.[12] In the summer of 1965, the management team of Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison was appointed. In the first season under Mercer, City won the Second Division title and made important signings in Mike Summerbee and Colin Bell.[13] Two seasons later, in 1967–68, Manchester City claimed the League Championship for the second time, clinching the title on the final day of the season with a 4–3 win at Newcastle United and beating their close neighbours Manchester United into second place.[14] Further trophies followed: City won the FA Cup in 1969, before achieving European success by winning the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1970, beating Górnik Zabrze 2–1 in Vienna.[15] City also won the League Cup that season, becoming the second English team to win a European trophy and a domestic trophy in the same season.

The club continued to challenge for honours throughout the 1970s, finishing one point behind the league champions on two occasions and reaching the final of the 1974 League Cup.[16] One of the matches from this period that is most fondly remembered by supporters of Manchester City is the final match of the 1973–74 season against arch-rivals Manchester United, who needed to win to have any hope of avoiding relegation. Former United player Denis Law scored with a backheel to give City a 1–0 win at Old Trafford and confirm the relegation of their rivals.[17][18] The final trophy of the club's most successful period was won in 1976, when Newcastle United were beaten 2–1 in the League Cup final.

A long period of decline followed the success of the 1960s and 1970s. Malcolm Allison rejoined the club to become manager for the second time in 1979, but squandered large sums of money on unsuccessful signings, such as Steve Daley.[19] A succession of managers then followed – seven in the 1980s alone. Under John Bond, City reached the 1981 FA Cup final but lost in a replay to Tottenham Hotspur. The club were twice relegated from the top flight in the 1980s (in 1983 and 1987), but returned to the top flight again in 1989 and finished fifth in 1991 and 1992 under the management of Peter Reid.[20] However, this was only a temporary respite, and following Reid's departure Manchester City's fortunes continued to fade. City were co-founders of the Premier League upon its creation in 1992, but after finishing ninth in its first season they endured three seasons of struggle before being relegated in 1996. After two seasons in Division One, City fell to the lowest point in their history, becoming the second ever European trophy winners to be relegated to their country's third league tier, after 1. FC Magdeburg of Germany.

Main article: History of Manchester City F.C. (2001–present)

After relegation, the club underwent off-the-field upheaval, with new chairman David Bernstein introducing greater fiscal discipline.[21] City were promoted at the first attempt, achieved in dramatic fashion in a play-off against Gillingham. A second successive promotion saw City return to the top division, but this proved to have been a step too far for the recovering club, and in 2001 City were relegated once more. Kevin Keegan arrived as the new manager in the close season, bringing an immediate return to the top division as the club won the 2001–02 Division One championship, breaking club records for the number of points gained and goals scored in a season in the process.[22] The 2002–03 season was the last at Maine Road, and included a 3–1 derby victory over rivals Manchester United, ending a run of 13 years without a derby win.[23] City also qualified for European competition for the first time in 25 years. In the 2003 close season the club moved to the new City of Manchester Stadium. The first four seasons at the stadium all resulted in mid-table finishes. Former England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson became the club's first manager from overseas when appointed in 2007.[24] After a bright start performances faded in the second half of the season, and Eriksson was sacked in June 2008.[25] Eriksson was replaced by Mark Hughes two days later on 4 June 2008.[26]

By 2008, the club was in a financially precarious position. Thaksin Shinawatra had taken control of the club a year before, but his political travails saw his assets frozen.[27] Then, in August 2008, the club was purchased by the Abu Dhabi United Group. The takeover was immediately followed by a flurry of bids for high-profile players; the club broke the British transfer record by signing Brazilian international Robinho from Real Madrid for £32.5 million.[28] Performances were not a huge improvement on the previous season despite the influx of money however, with the team finishing tenth, although they did well to reach the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup. During the summer of 2009, the club took transfer spending to an unprecedented level, with an outlay of over £100 million on players Gareth Barry, Roque Santa Cruz, Kolo Touré, Emmanuel Adebayor, Carlos Tevez and Joleon Lescott.[29] In December 2009, Mark Hughes—who had been hired shortly before the change in ownership but was originally retained by the new board—was replaced as manager by Roberto Mancini.[30] City finished the season in fifth position in the Premier League, narrowly missing out on a place in the Champions League, and competed in the UEFA Europa League in season 2010–11.

Continued investment in players followed in successive seasons, and results began to match the upturn in player quality. City reached the 2011 FA Cup Final, their first major final in over thirty years, after defeating derby rivals Manchester United in the semi-final,[31] the first time they had knocked their rival out of a cup competition since 1975. They defeated Stoke City 1–0 in the final, securing their fifth FA Cup, the club's first major trophy since winning the 1976 League Cup. In the same week, the club qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 1968 with a 1–0 Premier League win over Tottenham Hotspur.[32] On the last day of the 2010–11 season, City passed Arsenal for third place in the Premier League, thereby securing qualification directly into the Champions League group stage. Strong performances continued to follow in the 2011–12 season, with the club beginning the following season in commanding form, including beating Tottenham 5–1 at White Hart Lane and humbling Manchester United by a 6–1 scoreline in United's own stadium. Although the strong form waned half-way through the season, and City at one point fell eight points behind their bitter rivals with only six games left to play, an unprecedented slump by the previous champions allowed the blue side of Manchester to draw back level with two games to go, setting up a thrilling finale to the season with both teams going into the last day equal on points. Despite City only needing a home win against a team in the relegation zone, they still managed to fall a goal behind by the end of normal time, leading some of United's players to finish their game celebrating in the belief that they had won the league. Two goals in injury time—including one scored almost five minutes after normal time had elapsed—resulted in an almost-literal last-minute title victory, City's first in 44 years, and became only the fifth team to win the Premier League since its creation in 1992. In the aftermath that followed, the event was described by media sources from the UK and around the world as the greatest moment in Premier League history.[33][34]

After an end to the season which many believed would only spur City on, however, the following season failed to capitalise on any of the gains made in the first two full seasons of Mancini's reign. The transfer window saw virtually no players join the club until the last day of the season, when a last-minute burst of activity saw four different players all join in the space of around 10 hours. The free-flowing football of the previous season was suddenly rare to behold, and while City rarely seemed likely to drop below second in the table, they posed little title challenge all season. In the UEFA Champions League, the club was eliminated at the group stage for a second successive season, in a result which seemed to confirm Mancini's reputation as far better at managing in domestic games than European, while a second FA Cup final in three seasons ended in a 1–0 defeat to relegated Wigan Athletic.[35] The loss resulted in Mancini's dismissal, ostensibly as he had failed to reach his targets for the season[36] but with many in the press suggesting a break-down of relations between Mancini and his players[37] but also between the Italian and his board-level superiors,[38] while a refusal to promote young players was also cited.[39] In his place was appointed the Chilean Manuel Pellegrini,[40] who boasted a far more impressive Champions League record but less of a reputation for trophy-winning.

In the 2017–2018 season, City remained unbeaten through mid-December. They set a new record for the most consecutive league wins after 18 victories in a row, including a victory in Manchester Derby, which helped them widen the gap between them and second-placed Manchester United in the Premier League. City broke plenty of Premier League records this season, including, the most points (100), the most goals scored (106), the most wins (32), the most away wins (16), most away points (50), highest goal differential (+79), and highest gap between the top 2 teams (19), while equalling Manchester United 2000/01's record for games to play with title won (5).

In 2020, Manchester City were fined 10 million euros by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, for failing to produce significant amounts of evidence to UEFA's Club Financial Control Body, which had been investigating whether the club had breached the UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations. CAS found that some allegations were "time-barred" from being investigated, as they were above the five-years-old limit for such UEFA investigations, while the other allegations were unproven.[41][42]

Sexual abuse scandal

Main article: United Kingdom football sexual abuse scandal

In late 2016, allegations of sexual abuse of young players at Manchester City were made due to the club's association with Barry Bennell (also at Crewe Alexandra and previously convicted of sexual abuse offences in the UK and US). On 23 November, former Manchester City players David White and Paul Stewart made allegations about Bennell,[43] and about another coach[44] (later named as Frank Roper) at the Nova feeder club.[45] On 25 November, two further youth players, Jason Dunford[46] and Chris Unsworth, also alleged sexual abuse by Bennell, initially at a Manchester City nursery team;[47] Dunford also later spoke of abuse by Frank Roper.[45] (In February 2018, it was revealed that three former Manchester City players had lodged civil cases against the club in March 2016 after allegedly becoming victims of Bennell.)[48]

In February 2018, Bennell was sentenced for a total of 50 offences against 12 boys,[49] and jailed for 31 years.[50][51] After the guilty verdicts, Unsworth read a statement outside Liverpool Crown Court;[49][52] another victim, Gary Cliffe, waived his anonymity to speak about the abuse he had experienced, aged 11 to 15, from Bennell while at Manchester City.[53] The club offered its "heartfelt sympathy to all victims for the unimaginably traumatic experiences they have endured", and said an internal review had identified serious allegations of child sex abuse in respect of a second man, John Broome[54] (now dead), with "potential historic connections to the club".[49]

Manchester City said it had opened an investigation regarding Bennell's association with the club in the 1980s;[47] in May 2017, it was reported this was being led by Jane Mulcahy QC.[55] In March 2019, a year after Bennell was convicted and jailed, and with the Mulcahy review still ongoing, Manchester City announced it had created a compensation fund for victims of historical child sexual abuse at the club. It was aware of 40 potential claimants (with more expected to come forward), and regarded the civil redress scheme as a preferable alternative to victims pursuing civil claims through the courts.[56] In May 2020, it was reported that eight men sexually abused by Barry Bennell were pursuing damages claims against Manchester City (two were also bringing claims against Crewe Alexandra), and all eight claims are set to be heard together at an eight-week trial listed to start in October 2021.[57]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Manchester City FC.

Template:Wikipedia books

References

  1. ^ Devlin, Mike (15 April 2015). Manchester City: The Secret History of a Club That Has No History. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 9781445648118.
  2. ^ "History of Manchester City". Spartacus Educational. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  3. ^ 1967-, James, Gary (2006). Manchester City : the complete record : every game, every scorer, every player and every attendance, memorable matches, complete history, pen pictures, manager profiles, appearance records. Derby: Breedon. ISBN 1859835120. OCLC 156890195. {{cite book}}: |last= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Tongue, Steve (7 September 2018). Lancashire Turf Wars: A Football History. Pitch Publishing. ISBN 9781785314704.
  5. ^ James, Manchester City – The Complete Record, p32
  6. ^ James, Manchester:The Greatest City, pp 59–65.
  7. ^ Bevan, Chris (11 May 2003). "Maine Road through the ages". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
  8. ^ Ward, The Manchester City Story, pp. 31–33
  9. ^ James, Gary (22 April 2011). "FA Cup special: Thrills, spills and a cast of thousands at Maine Road". menmedia.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 November 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  10. ^ "England 1937/38". league table from RSSSF. Retrieved 29 December 2005.
  11. ^ Rowlands, Trautmann – The Biography, pp. 178–184
  12. ^ Ward, The Manchester City Story, p. 57
  13. ^ Penney, Manchester City – The Mercer-Allison Years, pp. 27–36
  14. ^ Penney, Manchester City – The Mercer-Allison Years, pp. 37–56
  15. ^ Gardner, The Manchester City Football Book No. 2, pp. 13–22
  16. ^ James, Manchester City – The Complete Record, pp. 410–420
  17. ^ Other results meant United would have been relegated even if they had won or drawn, but neither team knew this at the time.
  18. ^ Ward, The Manchester City Story, p. 70
  19. ^ Tossell, Big Mal, Chapter 18
  20. ^ James, Manchester City – The Complete Record, p. 68
  21. ^ Buckley, Andy; Burgess, Richard (2000). Blue Moon Rising: The Fall and Rise of Manchester City. Bury: Milo. ISBN 0-9530847-4-4. p. 177
  22. ^ Manchester City – The Complete Record, p. 265
  23. ^ "Goater double gives City derby win". RTÉ. Archived from the original on 19 December 2007. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
  24. ^ "Eriksson named Man City manager". BBC Sport. 6 July 2007. Retrieved 20 July 2007.
  25. ^ "Eriksson's reign at Man City ends". BBC Sport. 2 June 2008. Retrieved 2 June 2008.
  26. ^ "Manchester City appoint Mark Hughes". Manchester City FC. 4 June 2008. Retrieved 21 October 2009.
  27. ^ Winrow, Ian (12 August 2008). "Thaksin Shinawatra's crisis ends Manchester City's European dream". London: Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
  28. ^ "Man City beat Chelsea to Robinho". BBC. 1 September 2008. Retrieved 19 September 2009.
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  30. ^ "Mark Hughes sacked as Man City appoint Mancini manager". BBC Sport. 19 December 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
  31. ^ "Man City 1 – 0 Man Utd". BBC Sport. 16 April 2011.
  32. ^ "Man City 1 – 0 Tottenham". BBC Sport. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  33. ^ "Is Man City's title win really the best Premier League moment ever? See the Top 50 here.. and then tell us yours". The Mirror (UK). 9 August 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  34. ^ "Reconstructing The Most Exciting Day In The History Of Soccer (And Maybe Sports, Period)". deadspin.com. 16 May 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  35. ^ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/22409634
  36. ^ "Club Statement". mcfc.co.uk. 13 May 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  37. ^ "Player power: Kompany, Hart and Silva threatened to quit Manchester City if Mancini didn't leave". The Mirror (UK). 18 May 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  38. ^ "Ex-City boss Mancini reveals Soriano rift". Manchester Evening News. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  39. ^ "Roberto Mancini: Man City exit because of poor relationships". BBC Sport. 14 May 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  40. ^ "Manuel Pellegrini: Manchester City appoint Chilean as manager". BBC Sport. 12 June 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  41. ^ "Manchester City showed 'blatant disregard' in Uefa FFP case, but didn't breach FFP says Cas". BBC News. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  42. ^ Conn, David (29 July 2020). "Mansour's payments and a U-turn by Uefa: key Manchester City findings". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  43. ^ "Football sex abuse claims: David White latest ex-player to come forward". BBC Sport. BBC. 23 November 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
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  45. ^ a b "Former youth footballer says abuser's death has cheated justice". Football.co.uk. 1 December 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  46. ^ Dunford, Jason (25 November 2016). "Football abuse: 'I fought off Barry Bennell. Then he tried to destroy me'". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  47. ^ a b Cacciottolo, Mario (25 November 2016). "Football sex abuse claims: Two more ex-players speak out". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  48. ^ Keeling, Neal (7 February 2018). "Three Manchester City players taking legal action in wake of Barry Bennell child sex abuse case". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  49. ^ a b c "Ex-football coach Barry Bennell guilty of further sex abuse". BBC News. BBC. 15 February 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  50. ^ "'Devil incarnate' Barry Bennell sentenced to 31 years". BBC News. BBC. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  51. ^ Taylor, Daniel (19 February 2018). "Barry Bennell branded 'sheer evil' as he is sentenced to 31 years". Guardian. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  52. ^ Guardian staff (15 February 2018). "'We are no longer afraid of you': Barry Bennell's victims speak out". Guardian. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  53. ^ Taylor, Daniel (15 February 2018). "Manchester City 'ignored warnings' and kept Barry Bennell in youth set-up". Guardian. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  54. ^ "Manchester City name second man linked with sexual abuse". BBC News. BBC. 15 February 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  55. ^ Taylor, Daniel (15 May 2017). "Football abuse scandal: eight clubs could face sanctions after missing deadlines". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  56. ^ Roan, Dan (12 March 2019). "Manchester City launch child sexual abuse victim payment scheme". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  57. ^ "Barry Bennell sex abuse: Eight men sue Man City". BBC News. 5 May 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
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