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Winning the 1956 FA Cup would prove to be the high point of Les McDowell’s tenure as manager of Manchester City.  They finished in 4th in the League, that year.  In 1957, they slid all the way down to 18th place, but righted themselves, with a 5th place finish, in 1958.  City would not finish any higher than 12th, in the next 4 seasons, though, as the club failed to adequetely replace their aging squad.  Manchester City was relegated, once again, in 1963, and McDowell left.  His replacement, George Poyser, failed to improve the club’s standing.  The low point of this era had to be an 8,015 attendance, at Maine Road,  in January, ’65.   And so, after an 11th place (2nd Division)  finish, in 1965, Poyser was sacked.  His replacement was Joe Mercer.

Joe Mercer had a successful career as a defensive half-back, at Everton, and Arsenal, from 1932-’55.  He won championships with Everton and Arsenal; as well an FA Cup with Arsenal, in 1950.  After retiring from play, he managed Sheffield United; and Aston Villa, whom he led to victory in the inaugural League Cup, in 1961.  Mercer suffered a stroke in 1964.  He recovered, and went against his doctor’s orders by returning to sidelines.  But the board at Villa sacked him.   He arrived at Manchester City in the summer of 1965.  That first season, Mercer, and assistant manager Malcolm Allison, made two crucial aquisitions.  First, they procured fiery winger Mike Summerbee from Swindon.  Then, early in 1966, midfielder Colin Bell was bought from Bury.  Bell would prove to be Manchester City’s greatest-ever player, scoring 117 goals, in 394 league appearances for the club (1966-’79).  He became known as “the King of the Kippax,” (after the Maine Road stand renowned for it’s boisterous fans).

Mercer’s first season as manager was a success, as City won the Second Division, and returned, once more, to the top tier.  [Note: Manchester City's 7 second division titles is a record.  In Manchester City's entire history, the club has been relegated to the 2nd Level 10 times, and relegated to the 3rd Level once.  They have won promotion to the top flight 11 times.  (The term yo-yo club was pretty much invented for them.)]   The club’s first season back in the First Division (’66-’67) was a struggle, and they finished in 15th place. 
In October 1967, stocky forward Francis Lee made his debut for the club.  Man City paid Bolton 60,000 pounds for him, a club record.  It became money well spent, as Lee became a crucial part of City’s 5-man attacking formation.  With Colin Bell as midfield general, Mike Summerbee and Tony Coleman on wings, and Francis Lee and Neil Young up front, Manchester City played a fluent passing game that got better as the season progressed.  In December, on a frozen Maine road pitch, they schooled Tottenham, 4-1.  It was called “the ballet on ice,” and Spurs legend Jimmy Greaves remarked how the City players “had moved so gracefully in those conditions, while we were falling about like clowns at the circus.” 

In March of ’68, Manchester City faced reigning champs (and local rivals) Manchester United, at Old Trafford.  George Best scored in the first minute for United, but City recovered, dominating the rest of the match, and racking up three unanswered goals.  But Man City had started the season so poorly, it took the full season to make up lost ground, and outldistance Man.United.  City won the Title on the last game, 3-4 away to Newcastle, thus beating United by 2 points.  So in April, 1968, 31 years after their first crown, Manchester City won their second National Title.

To see Nigel’s Webspace Man City trading cards gallery, from 1968-’69, click here. 

The following season (’68-’69), City fared poorly in the League, finishing 13th.  But their fine FA Cup run led them all the way to the final, where they faced Leicester City.  Assistant manager Malcolm Allison had the idea of the club wearing a change strip of black-and-red stripes, like AC Milan, in order to inspire the squad.

.  **Click here, for highlights of Manchester City’s 1969 FA Cup victory**City’s league form for the 8 seasons after their 1968 Championship was mediocre, at best, with an average finish of 9th place.  They did finish in 4th place, in 1972, though.  I have included a Youtube highlights of a Manchester derby from that season, mainly because I enjoyed watching it, and it gives a good portrayal of that era.  **See City v. United, November, 1971, here.**However, Manchester City did win more silverware during this time.  In March, 1970, they won the League Cup, beating West Bromwich Albion, 2-1.  One month later, they won the the now-defunct European Cup Winners’ Cup, 2-1, over Gornik Zabreze, of Poland.  City had to beat Athletic Bilbao, of Spain; and Schalke, of Germany, to get to the final.  **See Man City demolish Schalke, in the 1969-’70 ECWC Semi-Final, 2nd Leg, at Maine Road, here. **   The 2 successful Cup runs help to explain why City finished in 10th place in the League, that season.

No on knew it at the time, but City were about to start their long spell as hapless underachievers.  There was one more moment of glory, though,  when the club won their second League Cup, and last trophy, in 1976.  They beat Newcastle, 2-1.  The next season, Man City just missed winning the Title.  Liverpool beat them out, by one point.   The club’s only appearance in a Cup Final since then was an FA Cup replay loss, to Tottenham, in 1981.**Click, here, for a good article about Maine Road.**Here is a 6-part documentary, about the 1980-’81 Manchester City club. ** CITY ! Part One, click here. (time-9:34).    CITY ! Part Two, click here. (time-8:43).    CITY ! Part Three, click here. (time-8:53).    CITY ! Part Four, click here. (time-8:13).   CITY ! Part Five, click here. (time-8:42).   CITY ! Part Six, click here. (time-7:46).    The years from then to now can best be summed up by the fact that since Manchester United hired Alex Ferguson, in November, 1986, Manchester City has fired 13 managers.  Maybe new manager Sven-Goran Erikksen is the one to change Manchester City’s culture of failure. BBC Man City picture gallery, from 2003, click here.Thanks to:  (historicalkits[dot]co[dot]uk)- the 5 kits on the bottom left of the chart are copyrightt Historical Football kits, and reproduced by permission; (colours-of-football[dot]com);  (webbaviation[dot]co[dot]uk);  (happyaxeman[dot]co[dot]uk/mcfc/);  (rtfact[dot]com);  (viewimages[dot]com);  Nigel’s Webspace; bbc; wikipedia; and (uit[dot]no/mancity).

Historical Football Kits, Manchester City page.


In 1879, Anna Connell, daughter of St. Mark’s Church rector Arthur Connell, formed a social association for young men, in Manchester.  After the success of their cricket team, a football club was formed the following year, 1880.  It was named St. Mark’s (West Gorton) FC.  In 1887, the club changed it’s name to Ardwick AFC, and they moved into their new grounds, Hyde Road.  The grounds’ first seating area was built in 1888, for 1,000 spectators.   But the swift rise in popularity of the club would result in numerous upgrades in the facility, and by 1904, Hyde Road could accomodate 40,000.

Ardwick FC  joined the Football Alliance in 1891.  They joined the Football League in 1892, in the newly created Second Division.  After financial troubles, the club was re-formed, in 1894, as Manchester City FC.  They adopted Cambridge Blue (sky blue), and white as their colors.  Five years later, in 1899, Manchester City won the Second Division, and were promoted to the First Division.  Though they finished in 7th place there in 1900, they were relegated back to the second tier in 1902.  They bounced right back to the top flight in 1903, and almost won the national Title in 1904, finishing in 2nd place.  They did, however, win the 1904 FA Cup, beating Bolton Wanderers 1-0, in front of 61,000 at the old Crystal Palace.  This was the first time the Final featured two clubs from Lancashire.  City’s best player, captain Billy Meredith, scored the goal in the 23rd minute. 

The club stayed competitive the following two seasons, with 3rd and 5th place finishes.  But a scandal erupted in 1906, when the League penalized 17 Manchester City players and 3 club officials for financial irregularities.  The club had been found to be paying players a higher wage than was allowed.  All the players were suspended for 18 months, and banned from the club. 

The scandal was a huge blow to the club, made worse by the fact that several of the players (including Meredith) ended up on cross-town rivals Manchester United.       City were relegated in 1910.  But they won the Second Division in 1911, and returned to the top tier.  In 1915, at the onset of the Great War (now known as World War I), Manchester City finished in 5th place.  After the war, Manchester finished 7th in 1920, and in 2nd place in 1921.  There was a fire at their Hyde Road grounds in November, 1920, which destroyed most of the main stand.  The club began planning for a new stadium.  In 1923, Manchester City moved into their new ground, Maine Road, in the Moss Side district of urban Manchester.  Maine Road was the second largest stadium in the country, with a capacity of 84,000.   Center-back Sam Cowan debuted for Manchester City in 1924.  He would make 406 appearances for the club (from 1924-35)  {See Sam Cowan bio, here}.  But the new ground failed to energize the club, and Manchester City were relegated in 1926.

That season the club had a good FA Cup run, though.  They made it to the 1926 FA Cup Final, once again playing Bolton.  This time, the Wanderers won, one-nil.  It was a bad spring for Manchester City: losing the Cup, and being sent down. 

Two years later (1928), Manchester City gained promotion back to the First Division.  They finished in 3rd place in 1930, but slipped to 8th place in ’31, and 14th place in ’32.  That year Wilfred Wild became manager {see Wilf Wild bio, here}.  In 1933, the club had another bad season in the league (16th place), but their cup form was good enough to get them to the FA Cup Final.   However, they were defeated handily by a strong Everton side, three goals to nil.   The next season (1934) saw a vast improvement in league form, with a 4th place  finish.  And Manchester City returned to the FA Cup Final (1934), where they faced Portsmouth.  The pitch at Wembley was muddy, and parts of the match were played in a thunderstorm.  Portsmouth forward Septimus Rutherford scored in the 26th minute,  to the consternation of Manchester City’s 19-year old goalkeeper Arthur Swift.  At half-time, City’s forward Fred Tilson famously told Swift “you don’t need to worry, I’ll plonk two in next half.”  Tilson kept his word, scoring a brace: one in the 73rd minute, and the winner in the 87th minute.  At the final whistle, Swift promptly fainted, in relief.  {See this article on Manchester City’s 1934 FA Cup victory.} 

[The four kits above: copyright Historical Football Kits (historicalkits[dot]co[dot]uk), and used by permission.]
Historical Football Kits.co.uk

In 1935, Manchester City finished in 4th place, but slipped to 9th place in 1936.  The following season (1936-37), City won only 2 of it’s first 10 matches, and seemed headed for mid-table obscurity again.  But Fred Tilson came back from injury, and the squad went on a 22 game unbeaten run, from Boxing Day (Dec. 26.) to the end of the season.  In March, Eric Brook (Manchester City’s all-time leading scorer; {see his bio, here}) had a hat-trick, as City beat Liverpool.  On 10 April, they beat giants Arsenal (who won 5 league titles in the 1930′s) 2-0.  A fortnight later, they clinched the league crown with a 4-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday.  So in the spring of 1937, Manchester City FC were Champions of England for the first time.  The following season they were relegated. 

Manchester City has the unwanted distinction of being the only reigning champions in English football history to be relegated.  The 1938 squad is also the only team to have been relegated from the English First Division while leading the league in scoring, or with a positive goal difference (of +3).  Manager Wilfred Wild was not sacked, though.  The next year (1939), City finished 5th, in the Second Division, on the eve of World War II.

Wild decided to step down when league play was resumed after the War, in August, 1946.  That season (1946-47), with former player Sam Cowan as manager, Manchester City won the Second Division, and were promoted.  Cowan decided to step down, and retire.  The new manager was Jock Thomson, who lasted 3 seasons.  He is best remembered for bringing in German goalkeeper Bert Trautman, in 1949.  Initially, it was an extremely unpopular move, as Trautman had fought for the Germans in WWII.  But the goalie spent 15 seasons at City, and was crucial to the club’s later Cup success.  {See this ESPN article about Bert Trautman.}  Thomson was sacked when City were relegated, once again, in 1950. . 

Les McDowell took over as manager that year, and led Manchester City back to the First Division the next season.   McDowell had played for City from 1937-48.  In 1954, influenced by the innovative Hungarian national team, he started tinkering with Manchester City’s formation.  Wing backs were deployed,  with a deep-lying central forward playing behind the strikers.  The ball would be kept on the ground, and attacks were built up in a slow, deliberate way. This would counteract the stodgy W-M formation, with long booming kicks (ie, “Route 1″ football), that was the absolute norm in the British game.  In 1953, at Wembley, the Hungarians had demolished the English national team 6-3.  With their fluid formation,  the “Mighty Magyars” ran circles around the England squad, passing and setting up attacks at will.  The style the Hungarians used was a precursor to the Dutch “total football” of the late ’60′s/early ’70′s.  But in the mid 1950′s, few English coaches at the club level were willing to take the leap and employ it.  

In July, 1954, McDowell had the Manchester City squad in 2 weeks early, to learn the new system.  The new formation became known as “the Revie Plan,” for the deep center-forward, Don Revie.  In the 1954-55 season, the plan was met with harsh criticism from the fans at Maine Road.  And early on, 3 big losses, giving up 5 or more goals with the with the new formation, didn’t help.  But as the season wore on, City began getting results.  The team would finish in 7th place, an improvement of 10 places from the season before.  And their cup run that season took them all the way to the 1955 FA Cup Final.  However, Manchester City lost to Newcastle United, 1-3. 

[The two kits above, copyright Historical Football Kits (historicalkits[dot]co[dot]uk), and used by permission.]

The following season (1955-56), Manchester City improved 3 places, to 4th in the league.  And they made it back to the FA Cup Final (1956), facing Birmingham City.   Striker Joe Hayes scored for Manchester City in the 3rd minute, from a Don Revie back-heel pass.  But Birmingham equalised in the 15th minute, with a goal by Noel Dyson.  Manchester City’s methodical passing game began to tire out the Brummie squad, and just after the hour mark, City scored twice in three minutes.  In the 65th minute, Jack Dyson scored.  In the 68th minute, Dyson fed a pass to Bobby Johnstone, who scored to give City a 2-goal lead.  But Trautman had to repel a late Birmingham onslaught.  The keeper injured his neck when saving what looked like a sure goal, colliding with Birmingham’s Peter Murphy.  In an era of no substitutions, Trautman played on, though in obvious agony.  The 3-1 score held up, and Manchester City had won it’s third FA Cup.  An X-ray 3 days later revealed that Trautman had broken his neck in the match, and had risked his life remaining on the pitch.     **{Click here, to see newreel footage of Manchester City’s 1956 FA Cup victory.}**                                        {See this article on the match.} 

End, Part 1.

Thanks to: (historicalkits[dot]co[dot]uk);  Sven A. Hanssen’s excellent Manchester City FC Supporter’s Homepage (uit.no/mancity);  (mancityprogrammes[dot]co[dot]uk);  Chirk Colliers AFC site (chirkaaafc[dot]com);  (viewimages[dot]com);  (fa-cupfinals[dot]co[dot]uk);  BBC.   

Alex Ferguson’s first few seasons as manager of Manchester United were not successful, and he was on the verge of being sacked in early 1990.  But a good Cup run kept him from getting the hook.  United went on to win the 1990 FA Cup, over Crystal Palace, in the replay, with Lee Martin scoring the lone goal.  During this period, their goals came primarily from Brian McClair, who was the first player since George Best to score 20 goals in a season for the club (McClair netted 24 in the League in ’88). 

The club finished in 13th place in 1990.  They started heading in the right direction though, with finishes of 6th place, in ’91, and then 2nd place, in ’92.  But a late season slump saw them lose the Title to rivals Leeds United.  There was some consolation in winning their first League Cup that year, though.  They beat Nottingham Forest 1-0, with McClair scoring.  The club aquired striker Eric Cantona from Leeds in November 1992, much to the dismay of Yorkshire fans, but the mercurial Frenchman had butted heads with management there.  Actually, Cantona had butted heads with a lot of people, and had come to England to resurrect his career.  Cantona energized Manchester United, racking up goals, and providing opportunities for the rest of the team.  He formed a formidible partnership with forward Mark Hughes.  **{ See video highlights of Eric Cantona.  The Long version, here.  The one goal that sums up Eric Cantona, here.}**  The squad also featured Danish goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel (who some say was Ferguson’s greatest discovery); defenders Dennis Irwin, Steve Bruce, and Gary Pallister; midfielder Paul Ince; as well as the young midfield prodigy Ryan Giggs.  Manchester United won the Title that season (1992-93), their first League crown since 1967. 

A 17-year old David Beckham made his debut for the club that season.  That summer, Roy Keane joined the club, from Nottingham Forest, for a then-record 3.75 million pound fee.   Ferguson pegged Keane to replace long-serving field general Bryan Robson, who was nearing the end of his career.  Notable players who would make their debuts for Manchester United in the next couple years included fullback Gary Neville, in 1992; defensive midfielder Nicky Butt, in 1993; unassuming midfield wizard Paul Scholes, in 1994; and fullback Phil Neville, in 1994.  Together with Keane, Giggs, and Beckham, these players would form the core of Ferguson’s championship-winning squads for years to come.   As with legendary manager Matt Busby, Ferguson would build his dynasty on a foundation of home-grown talent and youth.  **{See video highlights of : David Beckham, here.  Ryan Giggs, here.  Roy Keane, here.  Paul Scholes, here.}**

1992-93 season had been the inaugural season for the Premier League.  In a few years, it would be as if Manchester United owned the new league.  They repeated as champions the next year (1994).  They were pipped by surprise Blackburn Rovers on the final day, in 1995, but then won back-to-back Titles in ’96 and ’97.   They finished second to Arsenal in ’98, and then won the Title three straight years: 1999, 2000, and 2001.  They finished third in 2002, but bounced back to re-claim the crown in 2003.  That made it 8 championships in 11 years, an unprecedented feat in English football history.  During this period, Manchester United also made it to 4 FA Cup Finals, winning 3.  In 1994, they beat Chelsea 4-0, with Cantona scoring twice from the penalty spot, and Mark Hughes and Brian McClair also tallying.  The next year (’95), they lost the Cup Final to Everton, 0-1, but the following year (’96), the club won their 9th FA Cup, beating Liverpool 1-0, with Cantona winning it in the 85th minute.  They won their 10th FA Cup in 1999, beating Newcastle 2-0, with Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes scoring.

1999 was Manchester United’s greatest season.  After winning the League, and  the FA Cup, they made it to the European Cup Final, at the Nou Camp, in Barcelona, Spain.  Their opponent was Bayern Munich, the biggest club in Germany.  An early goal by Bayern’s Mario Basler seemed to be about to hold up, as stoppage-time began.  German fans had already begun celebrating, lighting flares.  Manchester United won a corner, and Teddy Sheringham re-directed a Ryan Giggs mis-hit into the net to even the score.  About 2 minutes later, as time was almost up, another corner as won by the Red Devils.  David Beckham arced the ball in, which was head-flicked by Sheringham right into the path of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in front of the goal.  The Norwegian instinctively stabbed the ball into the net.  In virtually the last play of the game, Manchester United had won it.  It was one of the greatest comebacks in the history of cup football.  Manchester United had won the Treble.  **{See the highlights of Manchester United’s 1999 European Cup victory, here.}   {See a tribute to the 1999 Treble.}**  

By this time, Manchester United had become one of the biggest sports clubs on the planet.  The club began ambitious plans to expand Old Trafford.  The stadium reached a 68,000 all-seating capacity in 2000.  And in 2006-07, the upper-tier quadrants were filled in, making the present capacity 76,000.  (Further plans for expansion are being hampered by railway tracks, and residential housing, behind the South Stand.)

Manchester United was the object of a successful takeover bid, by American tycoon Malcolm Glazer, in 2005 {see this article}.  The club failed to win the Title for a 3-year spell, from 2004-06.  But they won the FA Cup, in 2004, beating Milwall 3-1, with goals by Ruud van Nistelrooy (twice), and Christiano Ronaldo; and the League Cup, in 2006.  By this time, Alex Ferguson had re-built the squad.  Wayne Rooney (the best young player in England); and Christiano Ronaldo (the Portuguese phenom who was voted FIFA 3rd best Footballer of the Year for 2007) led the squad to their 16th League Title in 2007. 

Alex Ferguson had planned on retiring in 2002.  He doesn’t talk about that too much these days, but he is getting on in years (he will be 66 on New Year’s Eve).  He has recently said that the current squad, bolstered by new additions like Argentine sensation Carlos Tevez, midfielder Owen Hargreaves, and the young Portuguese winger Nani, is the best he has ever assembled.

Frequently Asked Question: Why are Manchester United called “the Red Devils” ? {Click, for answer.}

Thanks to: Historical Football Kits (historicalkits[dot]co[dot]uk): the 5 older kits on the chart are copyright Historical Football kits, and used by kind permission:;  Colours Of Football (colours-of-football[dot]com): the newer kits on the chart are from this fine site;  BBC (bbc[dot]co[dot]uk);  Man. United Zone (manutszone[dot]com);  Bob’s 1970-71 Footballers (bob7071[dot]co[dot]uk).