Manchester City

Manchester City FC Overview

Manchester City FC, originally named originally named St Mark's (West Gorton) FC, was founded in 1880 by Anna Connell, William Beastow, and Thomas Goodbehere. The team became professional in 1887, changed it name to Ardwick A.F.C, and eventually they became Manchester City FC to represent where they were from. They played in Main Road for 80 years, before the construction of The City of Manchester Stadium in 2002. The worst years for the team were during the eighties and nineties, and their most successful years were during the fifties, sixties and early eighties.

Club History

Manchester City FC was founded by Anna Connell, and Wardens William Beastow and Thomas Goodbehere, of St. Mark’s Church in 1880, in the district of Gorton, East Manchester. They sought to provide activities for men, in order to reduce the amount of alcoholism and violence in the area. When the club was originally founded it was named St Mark's (West Gorton) FC. Their first match was in November 13 1880 against another Baptist church’s football team from Macclesfield. In 1887 the club turned into a professional football team, moved to the stadium Hyde Road, and was renamed Ardwick A.F.C, in order to reflect their new location in the eastern part of the city.

The team earned its first professional award in 1891 as they defeated Newton Heath 1-0 in order to win the Manchester Cup. This victory led Ardwick into joining the Football Alliance league during the 1891/92 season. That same year the Football League and Football Alliance merged in order to form the Division Two league. A year later Ardwick A.F.C was renamed Manchester City, with Manchester City Football Club Limited formally becoming a registered company on April 16, 1894.

In 1899 Manchester City joined the First Division after winning the Second Division league and had a successful start. The club won its first FA Cup in 1904 after defeating the Bolton Wanderers 1-0 at Crystal Palace. The Blues almost had a double season as they finished runners-up in the First Division League competition.

Following their victorious season, the team went though controversy, as game against Aston Villa resulted in a widespread investigation into the club’s finances. The organization almost got destroyed as the chairman, manager, two directors, and 17 players were suspended and fined. A lot of the players that were suspended started playing for local rivals Manchester United. However, this did not stop the team from winning another championship in 1910.

Ten years after the investigation, in 1920 King George V visited Hype Park, and months after his visit the stadium got burned down. The team opened up a new stadium named Main Road, located in Moss Side, Manchester.

From the 1930’s till 50’s Manchester City became very successful, despite being relegated in 1938. They went to the FA Cup finals four times, and won two of them. Frank Swift, Peter Doherty, and Bert Trautmann became the superstar athletes of that era, as they helped the team to come back from relegation. The team often used a tactic know as the Revie Plan, named after Don Revie, which helped them defeat hard opponents.

During the sixties Manchester City continued its streak of success, despite being relegated in 1963 after a poor winter and many losses. In order to get back up the First Division the club appointed the management team of Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison. In only their first season, Manchester City FC became Division Two Champions ,signed Mike Summerbee and Colin Bell, and got promoted to First Division. In 1968 the team won the First Division, and in 1969 won the FA Cup.

This steak of success continued from the early 1970’ till 1983. They won the League Cup in 1970 and 76 with Peter Barnes and Dennis Tueart becoming the superstars of that era. The Blues went to the one hundredth FA Cup final in 1981. However, despite their success, the team went through several staff changes, as Peter Swales gained control of the company, and Johnny Hart and Ron Saunders took management positions. However, in 1979 Malcolm Allison rejoined the organization for the second time.

A period of failure from the mid 80’s till early 90’s, the followed the success of 70’s and early 80. Their hardships started in 1983 when the team got relegated. Under the management of Billy McNeil, the team got promoted in 1985, but got relegated again in 1987 after a 10-1 defeat by Huddersfield Town. McNeill left the organization, and was, succeeded by Jimmy Frizzell, who eventually got replaced by Mel Machin. Machin got the organization back into the First Division, after they finished runners up in the Second Division in 1989. After only a year, with the organization the Machin got fired because the team was again on the brinks of relegation. Everton FC manager Howard Kendall took over the position, but was shortly replaced by Peter Reid, Under Reid the team finished fifth place in the league and did not qualify for the UEFA Cup, which cause him to lose his job.

Between 1993 and 1998 Manchester City FC went through another period of decline, and changed staff several times. The chairman Peter Swailes handed control of the company over to former player Francis Lee. Brian Horton was appointed to the manager position and under him the team got 17th place, two above being relegated. Andrew Ball took over Horton’s position and was not successful in rebuilding the team despite acquiring new and promising players. Steve Coppell replaces Ball, and after a short time Nottingham Forest manager Frank Clark took over the position. Under Clark the team ended in 14th place, and Everton FC manager Joe Royle soon took over his the position. Despite a 5-2 win over Stoke FC, the team still got relegated to the Second Division at the end of the season

In 1998 David Bernstein became the new chairman of the organization and changed it back into a winning team. He helped the team get back to the Premiership as Manchester City FC won the Division Two playoffs in 98, and finished runners up in Division One in 1999-00. However, after a struggling season, the team got relegated once again in the 2000/01 season, and Kevin Keegan replaced Royle for the managing position. He brought in Eyal Berkovic, Ali Benarbia and Stuart Pearce to play for the team. Under Keegan the club won the Division One in 2001/02, and qualified for the UEFA Cup in their first year back in the Premiership League. They relocated from Maine Road to City of Manchester Stadium in 2002 which held a larger amount of people then Maine Road. Unfortunately, Keegan quite in 2005, but was replaced by Stuart Pearce, who after two unsuccessful seasons got replaced by Sven Goran Eriksson, and is currently the manager of Manchester City FC.

Club Rivalries

Manchester United

The rivalry between Manchester United and Manchester City is called the Manchester Derby. It traces back all the way to November 12th 1881, when Manchester City was name St Marks hosted Newton Heath (the future Manchester United). The reason for this rivalry is the close proximity in which the two teams are located in the city of Manchester. Whenever the two teams play it often results in a heated battle. One of the most remembered moments in the rivalry’s history is when former Manchester United player Denis Law kicked the ball into his own goal and sent the team into relegation.

Stars of the Current Squad

Stephen Ireland - Ireland is the starting attacking midfielder for Manchester City, and also plays for Ireland’s national team. He has played with the team since 2005. His biggest accomplishment so far is scoring twice during the FA Cup run against Preston and Sheffield Wednesday.

Darius Vassell - Vassell transferred to Manchester City on July 2005. He has a made a huge impact on the team immediately scoring eight goals in 35 appearances and helping them reach the FA Cup quarterfinals. He also plays for the English national team.

Richard Dunne - Dunne is the captain of Manchester United. He was named captain in the 2006/07 year, when he also earned the OSC Player of the Year award. He also plays for Ireland’s national team.

Club Legends

William Henry "Billy" Meredith

• Position: Forward
• Goals: 151 Appearances: 394
• He has a fan favourite and won the FA Cup with the team in 1909. He allegedly paid Manchester City's Alec Leake £10 to lose a match and in 1904 and was hit with an 18 month ban from playing for City.

Neil Young

• Position: striker
• Goals: 107 Appearances: 412
• He played with The Blues from 1961-72. He scored the only goal of the 1969 FA Cup.

John Paul Hart

• Position: Forward
• Goals: 78 Appearances: 178
• He is the only player to both manage and play for the team. He was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the club.

Most Appearances

Most Goals

Player Recognition & Awards

Team Honours

First Division (old format)

• Champions 1937, 1968
• Runners-up 1904, 1921, 1977

Second Division (old format), First Division/Championship (new format)

• Champions 1899, 1903, 1910, 1928, 1947, 1966, 2002 (7 times, record holders)
• Runners-up 1896, 1951, 1989, 2000

Second Division (new format)

• Play-off winners 1999

FA Cup

• Winners 1904, 1934, 1956, 1969
• Finalists 1926, 1933, 1955, 1981

League Cup

• Winners 1970, 1976
• Runners-up 1974

European Cup Winners' Cup

• Winners 1970

Charity Shield

• Winners 1937, 1968, 1972
• Runners-up 1934, 1956, 1969, 1973

Full Members Cup

• Runners-up 1986

Club Management

Owners - The holding company Manchester City Limited owns Manchester City FC. A company controlled by Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra named UK Sports Investments Limited (UKSIL), bought a major of the stocks from the company in 2007. This deal put Thaksin Shinawatra in the chairman position and his two children on the board of directors.

Manager - Sven-Göran Eriksson is the manager of Manchester City. He agreed to a three year deal with the organization in 2007. He is very experienced in the manager position, as he has working with a variety of different teams including England’s national team.

Uniforms

home colors

away colors

Stadium

The City of Manchester Stadium opened on July 25h 2002 for the Commonwealth Games. It is located in East lands, Manchester England. Manchester City FC started playing there in 2003 after moving from Maine Road, where they played since 1923. The stadium was built and designed by Arup, the same company that built the Millennium Bridge in London. It was a capacity of 47,726 inhabitants.

Sponsors

• Thomas Cook
• Singha Beer
• Digi Bet
• John Smith’s Beer
• Key103
• Williow Water

Important Links

• http://www.mcfc.co.uk/ (official team site)
• http://www.premierleague.com/ (official league website)

References

• http://www.mcfc.co.uk/
• http://www.mcfcosc.com/
• http://www.mcfc.co.uk/default.sps?pagegid={CFE9542C-55A3-4F75-A396-D3C46CC44FC3}
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_City_F.C._statistics
• http://happyaxeman.co.uk/mcfc/?page=5.3
• http://www.mcfcstats.com/
• http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/park/yfh45/mancity.htm#Fans%20Reviews