| Formed in 1880,
the club went by few names including West Gorton St. Marks
and Ardwick FC before becoming Manchester City Football
Club in 1894.
From the early days at its Hyde Road ground, City basked
in glory, winning the Division Two title in 1902/03
and then the FA Cup in 1904.
After a few seasons yo-yoing from Division Two to the
top flight and back again, the club went on its first
continental tour in 1910, playing games in Denmark,
Sweden and Germany.
In 1921 City finished runners-up in the first division
and two years later moved to Maine Road, which
would be its home for the next 80 years.
It all looked good from their first game there, when they
beat Sheffield United 2-1. But just a few years later
it seemed the glory days were gone when City lost in the
1926 FA Cup Final against Bolton Wanderers and were relegated
to the second division. However, City is a team that never
gives in to defeat and the following season they went
straight back up to first division after winning Second
Division Championship.
For the next decade City continued to bring home the silverware,
scooping the FA Cup before being crowned Champions
of Division One for the first time in 1936/7. It would
be 31 years until they achieved this feat again (in 1967/68),
although there was plenty of drama, despair and glory
in the years in between.
As for star players... in the early days City didn't have
many. In the 1930s and 40s it was Irish striker Peter
Doherty, who scored many goals for club and country.
The hero of the 50s was goalkeeper Bert Trautman,
who was named Player of the Year in 1956 after
helping his team to FA Cup glory despite breaking his
neck during the final.
One of City’s greatest and most-loved players, Francis
Lee, joined the team from Bolton Wanderers in 1967.
During the 1980s he was touted as the next club chairman
and finally took over the role from Peter Swales in 1994.
However it didn’t work out and Francis gave up the
job after just four years, although he keeps a seat on
the board to this day.
As for achievements, they came in thick and fast at Maine
Road and in the 1969/70 season, City clinched a unique
double, winning the FA Cup and the European Cup.
The seventies saw their luck continue with City twice
scooping the League Cup and winning the Charity Shield.
In the 1980s City continued to jump from the first to
the second division and back again, but the Youth Team proved the club’s success by winning the FA Youth
Cup four years in a row. The 1990’s were also
tough and the club entered its darkest hour in 1998, being
relegated to the second division rather than securing
promotion to the Premier League.
But under the command of former Maine Road hero Joe
Royle, the team went from Division Two to the Premiership
in two consecutive seasons, leaving the fans basking in
glory once more. What a shame then that their triumph
was so short lived as the club slipped straight back down
to the first division at the end of the 2000/01 season.
With Joe Royle gone, City needed another football legend
to take the helm and that came in the form of ex-England
manager Kevin Keegan.
It led to a season of wonderful football, pure Keegan
magic and a bagful of quality goals to send City back
to the top flight where they belong. Keegan also brought
in a new line of football stars including former Leeds
and Liverpool player Robbie Fowler and Bordeaux’s
David Sommeil.
In 2003 a new era dawned when City departed its old stomping
ground at Maine Road and moved into the magnificent City
of Manchester Stadium. The stadium, originally built
to host the 2002 Commonwealth Games, has seats for 48,000
fans, six restaurants as well as conference rooms.
Behind the scenes tours of the stadium are now available
as part of the interactive Experience Manchester
City attraction. Along with the tour you can
also see a collection of Manchester memorabilia, try
your hand at being a commentator and relive your favourite
goals on the Video Jukebox.
After more struggle and strife, City has managed to
hold on to its place in England’s Premiership
and although it may not be as famous as its neighbour
and arch rival Manchester United, it remains one of
the best football clubs in the country.
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