Manchester City

Manchester City always seemed to play second-fiddle to United since the formation of the 
Premiership and the club’s record that is amongst the poorest of all the clubs who have 
been in the top division since it began. There have been just two top 10 finishes, ninth in 
1993 and again 10 years later, two relegations, 1996 and 2001, and the other three finishes 
were just above relegation.

City had high hopes when returning to the Premiership, under Kevin Keegan, in 2002, and, 
with a new stadium to look forward to, the future looked bright for the blue half of 
Manchester but it proved to be another false-dawn. Despite investing large sums of money 
in the likes of the ex-Anfield quartet, Nicolas Anelka, Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman and 
David James, Kevin Keegan only just managed to prevent a third relegation, in 2004, after a 
very disappointing season which was highlighted by one disastrous run of 14 games without 
a win that plunged the team into trouble at the foot of the table.

With alarm bells ringing City arrested the run with victory at Bolton, in late February, but 
the season that had started so well with three wins out of four was in danger of ending 
with the best stadium in Division One. But, for once, Manchester United provided the crutch, 
however unwillingly, in the derby win at the City of Manchester Stadium, City’s best for two 
decades. Even then the team proceeded to heap more misery on their long-suffering fans 
by keeping them guessing which division the club would operate in come the following 
campaign.

After thrashing United, and ending their chase of Arsenal for the title, which was one small 
crumb of comfort, City then lost two and drew four games before a goal from Paulo 
Wanchope ended Newcastle’s Champions’ League aspirations and injected much-needed 
belief into an underachieving City side, that still faced the drop. Survival hopes were then 
hit by defeat at Middlesbrough but, in typical enigmatic fashion City ended the campaign 
with a crushing defeat of Everton, to finish eight points above the last relegated club but 
only two places higher in 16th.

It was an unfortunately familiar tale for City who, as a club or team, never really established 
acceptable credentials in the Premiership and who suffered by comparison with their more 
successful neighbours and yet they had a respectable first campaign finishing 1992–93 in 
ninth place that, had they won their final game instead of getting thrashed, would have 
been fifth.

Ironically, fifth was the highest that the team managed during that initial season, a position 
they managed after losing just twice in the opening seven fixtures but five games without a 
win plunged City to 14th before four wins in a row took City sixth. Unfortunately the team 
couldn’t string together more than four unbeaten games and the 5–2 defeat at Everton, on 
the final day of the season, was a sign of things to come.

Under Brian Horton City fared even worse and finished 16th then 17th before Alan Ball took 
over at Maine Road for 1995–96. And with City fans telling themselves ‘it couldn’t get any 
worse’, it did. City were relegated, on goal difference, having conceded seven more goals 
than Coventry and Southampton, who survived.

After a draw City lost eight games in a row to sit very uncomfortably secure at the bottom 
of the Premier League and to rub salt in the last defeat of that run was at Old Trafford. 
Amazingly City then produced their best run of the season to climb to 15th. But erratic 
form meant City went into the final game as one of the three clubs facing the drop and 
when the team came back from 2–0 down to Liverpool, at half-time, Alan Ball instructed his 
team to retain possession because he had heard one of the other threatened sides was 
losing. They were not and if City had gained a winner they would have been safe but down 
they went. Scoring wasn’t really City’s strong suit in the campaign and 33 was a poor total 
that was a big factor in relegation by goal difference.

City then endured a ‘blue’ period dropping as far as the lower reaches of Division Two 
before beginning their slow climb back to the top flight but that took five years and when 
they recovered a Premiership place they lost it immediately and the club, in sacking Joe 
Royle, pettily argued that he was dismissed as a First Division manager and therefore 
entitled to less compensation.

Kevin Keegan took City back into the Premiership as First Division champions and in that 
first campaign back, with some quality players, the highest the team got was eighth in 
what was a roller-coaster season. But there was an improvement from lower half of the 
table, up to Christmas, but it took an unbeaten run of three games in April to help secure 
a top ten finish, just, in ninth.

Then came that brush with relegation in 2004 that doesn’t augur well for the immediate 
future. Once the campaign ended speculation was rife about the future of Keegan as a 
worried City board considered the potential disaster relegation would inflict on a club that 
need Premiership football to survive.

It’s one of the truisms of football that in the city of Manchester support for City is more 
local than those who follow United but that is no longer enough to prosper in the top flight.

Managers

Peter Reid             1990–1993

Brian Horton          1993–1995

Alan Ball               1995–1996

Frank Clark           1996–1998

Joe Royle             1998–2001

Kevin Keegan        May 2001–