Manchester City F.C.
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| Full name | Manchester City Football Club | |||
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| Nickname(s) | City, The Citizens, The Sky Blues, The Blues | |||
| Founded | 1880 as St Mark's (West Gorton). On 16 April 1894, the name was changed to Manchester City. |
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| Ground | City of Manchester Stadium, (capacity: 47,726[1]) |
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| Owner | Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan | |||
| Chairman | Khaldoon Al Mubarak | |||
| Manager | Roberto Mancini | |||
| League | Premier League | |||
| 2011–12 | Premier League, 1st | |||
| Website | Club home page | |||
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 Current season |
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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.
History
Main article: History of Manchester City F.C.
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
Manchester City's home colours are sky blue and white. Traditional away kit
colours have been either maroon or (from the 1960s) red and black;
however, in recent years several different colours have been used. The
origins of the club's home colours are unclear, but there is evidence
that the club has worn blue since 1892 or earlier. A booklet entitled Famous Football Clubs – Manchester City
published in the 1940s indicates that West Gorton (St. Marks)
originally played in scarlet and black, and reports dating from 1884
describe the team wearing black jerseys bearing a white cross, showing
the club's origins as a church side.[33] The red and black away colours come from former assistant manager Malcolm Allison, who believed that adopting the colours of AC Milan would inspire City to glory.[34] Allison's theory worked, with City winning the 1969 FA Cup Final, 1970 League Cup Final and the 1970 European Cup Winners' Cup Final in red and black stripes as opposed to the club's home kit of sky blue.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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Welsh Sports Hall of Fame
The following former Manchester City players are inductees in the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame and are listed according to the year of their induction:| [show]Inductees in SFM Hall of Fame |
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Hierarchy
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Chairman |  Khaldoon Al Mubarak |
| CEO |  Ferran Soriano |
| COO |  Tom Glick |
| Director | Marty Edelman |
| Director |  Simon Pearce |
| Director of Football | Txiki Begiristain |
| Football administration officer | John Williams |
| Managing Director of the City Football Academy | Brian Marwood |
| Football Development Executive |  Patrick Vieira |
| Manager |  Roberto Mancini |
| Assistant Manager | Brian Kidd |
| First Team coach | David Platt |
| First Team coach | Fausto Salsano |
| Goalkeeping coach | Massimo Battara |
| Fitness coach | Ivan Carminati |
| International Academy Director | Jim Cassell |
| Under-21 Elite Development Manager | Attilio Lombardo |
| Head of Platt Lane Academy | Mark Allen |
| Academy Team Manager | Scott Sellars |
Notable managers
Main article: List of Manchester City F.C. managers
The following managers have all won at least one major trophy (excluding Community Shields) with Manchester City (totals include competitive matches only):[45]- Table correct as of 13 May 2012
Supporters
Main article: Manchester City F.C. supporters
Manchester City has a large fanbase in relation to its comparative
lack of success on the pitch. Since moving to the City of Manchester
Stadium, Manchester City's average attendances have been in the top six
in England,[46]
usually in excess of 40,000. Even in the late 1990s, when the club were
relegated twice in three seasons and playing in the third tier of
English football (then Division Two, now Football League One), home attendances were in the region of 30,000, compared to an average for the division of fewer than 8,000.[47]
Research carried out by Manchester City in 2005 estimates a fanbase of
886,000 in the United Kingdom and a total in excess of 2 million
worldwide.[48]Manchester City's officially recognised supporters club is the Manchester City FC Supporters Club (1949), formed from a merger of two existing organisations in 2010: the Official Supporters Club (OSC) and the Centenary Supporters Association (CSA).[49] There have been several fanzines published by supporters; the longest running is King of the Kippax and it is the only one still published.[50] The City fans' song of choice is a rendition of "Blue Moon", which despite its melancholic theme is belted out with gusto as though it were a heroic anthem. City supporters tend to believe that unpredictability is an inherent trait of their team, and label unexpected results "typical City".[51][52] Events that fans regard as "typical City" include City's being the only reigning English champions ever to be relegated (in 1938), the only team to score and concede over 100 goals in the same season (1957–58),[53] or the more recent example that City were the only team to beat Chelsea in the 2004–05 Premier League, yet in the same season City were knocked out of the FA Cup by Oldham Athletic, a team two divisions lower.
Manchester City's biggest rivalry is with neighbours Manchester United, against whom they contest the Manchester derby. Before the Second World War, when travel to away games was rare, many Mancunian football fans regularly watched both teams even if considering themselves "supporters" of only one. This practice continued into the early 1960s but as travel became easier, and the cost of entry to matches rose, watching both teams became unusual and the rivalry intensified. A common stereotype is that City fans come from Manchester proper, while United fans come from elsewhere. A 2002 report by a researcher at Manchester Metropolitan University found that while it was true that a higher proportion of City season ticket holders came from Manchester postcode areas (40% compared to United's 29%), there were more United season ticket holders, the lower percentage being due to United's higher overall number of season ticket holders (27,667 compared to City's 16,481); not highlighted in the report was that within the City of Manchester itself, there were more City season ticket holders (approximately 4 for every 3 United). The report noted that since the compiling of data in 2001, the number of both City and United season ticket holders had risen; expansion of United's ground and City's move to the City of Manchester Stadium have caused season ticket sales to increase further.[54]
In the late 1980s, City fans started a craze of bringing inflatable objects to matches, primarily oversized bananas. One disputed explanation for the craze is that in a match against West Bromwich Albion chants from fans calling for the introduction of Imre Varadi as a substitute mutated into "Imre Banana". Terraces packed with inflatable-waving supporters became a frequent sight in the 1988–89 season as the craze spread to other clubs (inflatable fish were seen at Grimsby Town), with the phenomenon reaching a peak at City's match at Stoke City on 26 December 1988, a match declared by fanzines as a fancy dress party.[55] In August 2006, the club became the first to be officially recognised as a "gay-friendly" employer by campaign group Stonewall (UK).[56] In 2010, City supporters adopted an exuberant dance, dubbed The Poznań, from fans of Polish club Lech Poznań.[57][58]
Stadium
Main article: City of Manchester stadium
See also: Hyde Road and Maine Road
Manchester City's stadium is the City of Manchester Stadium, also known as Eastlands and the Etihad Stadium
since July 2011 because of sponsorship commitments. The stadium is
situated in East Manchester and is part of a 200-year operating lease from Manchester City Council after the 2002 Commonwealth Games. The stadium has been City's home since the end of the 2002–03 season, when the club moved from Maine Road.[69]
Before moving to the stadium, Manchester City spent in excess of
£30 million to convert it to football use. The field of play was lowered
by several metres, adding an additional tier of seating around the
entire pitch. A new North Stand was also built.[70] The inaugural match at the new stadium was a 2–1 win over FC Barcelona in a friendly match.[71] The current capacity as of summer 2011 stands at 47,726 after various stadium renovations under the new owners since 2008.Manchester City have used several grounds during their history: after playing home matches at five different stadia between 1880 and 1887, the club settled at Hyde Road, its home for 36 years.[72] After a fire destroyed the Main Stand in 1920, the club started to seek a new site and moved to the 84-000 capacity Maine Road three years later. Maine Road, nicknamed the "Wembley of the North" by its designers, hosted the largest-ever crowd at an English club ground when 84,569 attended an FA Cup tie against Stoke City on 3 March 1934.[73] Though Maine Road was redeveloped several times over its 80-year lifespan, by 1995 its capacity was restricted to 32,000, prompting the search for a new ground which culminated in the move to the City of Manchester Stadium in 2003.
