Manchester City Football Club was Established in 1880 and the Football Club Nickname is The Citizens.
A Brief History of Manchester City Football Club
Manchester City was founded in 1880, and had several names until 1894, when they were renamed Manchester City. The club has achieved many heights over the course of their illustrious history. Man City is one of the most successful English football clubs of all time, having won the First Division/Premier League titles, FA Cups, and League Cups. Manchester City has had many ups and downs in the past. Although they have spent the most of their time in the Premier League, they did drop to the third tier league as recently as 1999.
Just like their rival Manchester United, City was also founded with a different name. In 1880, Arthur Connell and his daughter Anna Connell took an initiative to create male clubs for sports. He firmly believed that the formation of a men’s sports club would help improve the spirit of society. So, they established a football club under the name of the St. Marks Church football team. In 1884, the club name was changed to the Gorton Association FC. After three years, the club moved to Hyde Road ground and also renamed the club to Ardwick AFC.
Ardwick AFC became a member of the Second Division Football league in 1892-93. Club also brought some changes to the management of the club and hired Joshua Parlby as new manager of the club. In 1894, Parlby suggested that the club should change the name from Ardwick to Manchester City, it would help to grow the club’s popularity. The management committee eventually agreed with Parlby’s suggestion and changed the name of the club to Manchester City. Soon, Man City became the most favorite football club in the city.
Early Success of Manchester City
Manchester City won the Second Division Football league for the first time in 1899, and also earned promotion to the First Division. Just four years later, City won their first major honour in 1904, they defeated Bolton Wanderers by 1 – 0 in the FA Cup final. Man City also performed exceptionally well in the league, finishing second at the table. In the following season, Seventeen players of Manchester City were suspended due to charges of financial misconduct. It had a detrimental effect on the club, exceptional city players including Billy Meredith left the club, and as a result the club was relegated to the Second division.
City was relegated twice in between 1900 to 1910. The club was relegated from the First division at the end of 1901-02 season after finishing 18th on the table, but they earned promotion in the following season. The club was relegated for the second time in the 1908-09 season, although they returned after only one season in Second Division. These fluctuations between the First and Second divisions were very disturbing for the fans. Learn more about new changes at the Club with the Football24-7 Manchester City News reel.
First League Title and more FA Cup wins
City couldn’t win any major title for 30 years. In the 1930s, Man City reached FA Cup finals for two consecutive times in 1933 and 1934. In 1933, City lost the final to Everton, but in the following Year City defeated Portsmouth in the final and claimed its second FA Cup title. The club won their first League title in the 1936-37 season, City was implacable, and scored over 100 goals during the season. After an amazing victory in the league, things didn’t go well for City in the following season. The club was relegated to the Second Division.
Manchester City became the first club in the history of English football to win the First Division league in one season and relegated to the Second Division the following season. City couldn’t win a title for the next 18 years. In the 1950s, the club reached the FA Cup finals for consecutively two times in 1955 and 1956. In 1955, city lost the final to Newcastle United, but in the following season, they defeated Birmingham City 3 -1 in the final to lift their third FA Cup. A dedicated page can be found on the Official Premier League club page for Manchester City.
More league title and European Success
City was again relegated to the Second Division in 1963. It was time to bring change in the management, City hired Joe Mercer as Manager along with Malcolm Allison. The club won the Second Division title in the following season and earned promotion to the First Division. Mercer also made a few important signings for City including Colin Bell and Mike Summerbee. In 1967-68, Manchester City won the First Division League title for the second time under Mercer’s management.
Manchester City won its fourth FA Cup title in 1969, and a year later, The Club achieved their first European success by winning the UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup. City also won the EFL Cup in the same season, becoming the second English club to win a domestic and European title in the same season. Late 1960s was the most successful period of Manchester City, they won the First Division league title, FA Cup, FA Charity Shield, and European trophy in that period.
Decline of the club
After winning the FA Charity Shield in 1972 and the Football League Cup in 1975-76, Manchester City entered its darkest period to date. The club did not win a trophy for the next 35 years. City hired many experienced managers during this period including Tony Book, Ron Saunders, John Bond, John Benson, Jimmy Frizzell, Billy McNeill, and Howard Kendall, and majority of them could survive only one or two seasons in the club.
In November 1990, City hired Peter Reid as the new manager of the club. Under his management, Man City not only qualified for the top league, but also performed well and finished fifth in the league. But this success was temporary, Peter Reid left Manchester City to join Southampton in 1993, and the club’s fortunes continued to deteriorate. After struggling for three seasons in English Premier League, City was relegated to Division 1. The club also couldn’t survive in Division 1 and was further relegated to the third league tier in1998.
Man City managed to get promoted to Division 1 in 1999 and the Premier League the following season, but was again relegated in 2001. Manchester City hired Kevin Keegan as their new manager, under his management, city not only came out of relegation but also showed consistent performance in the Premier League for the rest of the seasons. The club has never been relegated from the Premier League ever since.
New ownership and an era of glory
In August 2008, Manchester City was purchased by the Abu Dhabi United Group owner Sheikh Mansour. He invested a huge amount of money to rebuild the club. The club started purchasing the best football players available around the world. They spent over £500 million in a few years to purchase big names in football. This set a new era of glory for the club, City won the Premier League title for the first time in 2011-12.
Between 2010 and 2021, City has won five Premier League titles, 2 FA Cup titles, 6 EFL Cup titles, 3 FA Community Shields, and one UEFA Champions League title. In the 2017-18 season of the Premier League, Man City became the first club in the history of the Premier league to achieve 100 points in a single season. We can call the 2010s the club’s most successful era to date.
Interesting Facts about Manchester City
- Manchester City was initially named as Ardwick Association Football Club. After playing as Ardwick AFC for seven years, the club was renamed Manchester City in 1894.
- City holds the record for the highest home attendance by an English football club. In 1934, over 84,500 football fans attended the match between Man City and Stoke City at the Maine Road stadium.
- City is also the only English club to ever be relegated from the top division with a positive goals difference. During the 1937-38 season, City scored 80 goals and conceded 77 goals and despite a positive goal difference Man City was relegated to the Second Division.
- Former City midfielder Alan Oakes has the highest number of appearances for Manchester City. He played 680 matches for the club between 1959 and 1976.
- City holds a joint record for winning the highest number of EFL Cup. Man City and Liverpool both have won 8 EFL Cup.
- Man City holds the record for the lowest number of goals scored by a club at home in a Premier League season. In the 2006-07 season, the club scored only 10 goals in 19 home games.
- Manchester City is the only English club that was relegated to the Second Division while defending their title. In 1936-37, the club won the First Division title, but was relegated in the following season.
Manchester City FC Honours List
Manchester City has seen many ups and downs in their league journey. In the last few years, Man City emerged as one of the most successful football clubs in English football. The club has won 29 major trophies including 7 Premier League titles. Below is the complete detail of major trophies and titles won by Manchester City FC.
7 Premier League / First Division Football League titles – The club has won five Premier League titles in the last 10 years, making the City the most successful club in the Premier League. The citizens have won 7 League titles including, 1936–37, 1967–68, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2017–18, 2018–19, and 2020–21.
6 FA Cup titles – The club has won 6 FA Cups in 1903–04, 1933–34, 1955–56, 1968–69, 2010–11, and 2018–19.
21 FA Community/Charity Shield –The club has won 6 FA Community Shield titles including, 1937, 1968, 1972, 2012, 2018, and 2019
5 EFL Cup/ Carabao Cup – Man City holds the record for winning the highest number of EFL Cup titles. The club has won 8 EFL Cup titles in 1969–70, 1975–76, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, and 2020–21.
1 UEFA Champions League – Manchester City has won the UEFA Champions league title only once in 2020-21. Find out other Champions League winners with our Archive data.
1 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup – The Citizens also have a UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup title in the list. The club won the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1970.
The Football Club Manager is: Pep Guardiola
The Official Website for Manchester City Supporters is: https://www.mancity.com/
The Contact Details for Manchester City Football Club are as follows:
Manchester City Football Club
Etihad Stadium
Manchester
M11 3FF
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