After losing the 1981 FA Cup Final, the club went through a period of decline, culminating in relegation to the third tier of English football for the only time in their history in 1998. Having regained Premier League status, the club was purchased in 2008 by Abu Dhabi United Group and became one of the wealthiest in the world. In 2011, Manchester City qualified for the Champions League and won the FA Cup. In 2012, the club won the Premier League, their first league title for forty-four years.
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.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5]
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.[14] 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.[15][16] 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.[17] 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.[18] However, this was only a temporary respite, and following Reid's departure Manchester City's fortunes continued to fade. City were 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 first ever European trophy winners to be relegated to English football's third tier.
After relegation, the club underwent off-the-field upheaval, with new chairman David Bernstein introducing greater fiscal discipline.[19] 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.[20] 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.[21] 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.[22] After a bright start performances faded in the second half of the season, and Eriksson was sacked in June 2008.[23] Eriksson was replaced by Mark Hughes two days later on 4 June 2008.[24]
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.[25] Then, in August 2008, the club was purchased by 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.[26] City finished tenth, and also reached 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 Tévez and Joleon Lescott.[27] In December 2009, Mark Hughes was replaced as manager by Roberto Mancini.[28] 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.
Prior to the start of the 2010–11 season, the club again invested heavily in new playing staff, and on-field performance continued to improve. City reached the 2011 FA Cup Final, their first major final in over thirty years, defeating derby rivals Manchester United in the semi-final.[29] 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 with a 1–0 Premier League win over Tottenham Hotspur.[30] 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.
For the 2011–12 season, City made a number of high profile signings, including Gaël Clichy, Sergio Agüero and Samir Nasri. City started the season well, and were five points clear at the top of the Premier League after a 6–1 victory at Manchester United in October. Poor form in the middle of the season saw City out of the Champions League and the Europa League, and they fell eight points behind United for the league lead with six matches remaining. City then forged a late-season charage to regain the Premiership lead with two matches to go after defeating United 1–0 at Etihad Stadium in what Alex Ferguson called the most important Manchester derby of his managerial career.[31] Victory in the penultimate game away to Newcastle United left City needing a home win against relegation candidates Queens Park Rangers. In that game, after taking a first-half lead, City were losing 2–1 after 90 minutes but scored twice in added time to win the game and the Premier League title.
In the summer 2012 transfer window, City only made one pre-season signing, Jack Rodwell from Everton, but on deadline day they signed five players, Javi García, Scott Sinclair, Maicon, Matija Nastasic and Richard Wright.[32]
Club badge and colours
Main article: Manchester City F.C. strip
The current club badge was adopted in 1997 as a result of the previous badge being ineligible for registration as a trademark. The badge is based on the arms of the city of Manchester, and consists of a shield in front of a golden eagle. The eagle is an old heraldic symbol of the city of Manchester; a golden eagle was added to the city's badge in 1958 (but has since been removed), representing the growing aviation industry. The shield features a ship on its upper half representing the Manchester Ship Canal, and three diagonal stripes in the lower half symbolise the city's three rivers – the Irwell, the Irk and the Medlock. The bottom of the badge bears the motto Superbia in Proelio, which translates as Pride in Battle in Latin. Above the eagle and shield are three stars, which are purely decorative.
City have previously worn two other badges on their shirts. The first, introduced in 1970, was based on designs which had been used on official club documentation since the mid-1960s. It consisted of a circular badge which used the same shield as the current badge, inside a circle bearing the name of the club. In 1972, this was replaced by a variation which replaced the lower half of the shield with the red rose of Lancashire. On occasions when Manchester City plays in a major cup final, the usual badge has not been used; instead shirts bearing a badge of the arms of the City of Manchester are used, as a symbol of pride in representing the city of Manchester at a major event. This practice originates from a time when the players' shirts did not normally bear a badge of any kind, but has continued throughout the history of the club.[35] For the 2011 FA Cup Final, City used the usual badge with a special legend, but the Manchester coat of arms was included as a small monochrome logo in the numbers on the back of players' shirts.[36]
Players
- As of 2 September.[37]
First team squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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