Early years and first trophies

St. Marks (Gorton) in 1884 – the reason for the cross pattée on the shirts is
now unknown.[14]
City gained their first honours by winning the Second Division in 1899; with it came promotion to the
highest level in English football, the First Division. They went on to claim their first major honour on 23
April 1904, beating Bolton Wanderers 1–0 at Crystal Palace to win the FA Cup; the Blues narrowly missed
out on a League and Cup double that season after finishing runners-up in the league campaign, but they
still became the first club in Manchester to win a major honour. [15] In the seasons following the FA Cup
triumph, the club was dogged by allegations of financial irregularities, culminating in the suspension of
seventeen players in 1906, including captain Billy Meredith, who subsequently moved across town
to Manchester United.[16] A fire at Hyde Road destroyed the main stand in 1920, and in 1923 the club
moved to their new purpose-built stadium at Maine Road in Moss Side.[17]
The Manchester City team which won the FA Cup in 1903–04.
In the 1930s, Manchester City reached two consecutive FA Cup finals, losing to Everton in 1933, before
claiming the Cup by beating Portsmouth in 1934.[18] During the 1934 run, the club broke the record for
the highest home attendance of any club in English football history, as 84,569 fans packed Maine Road for
a sixth-round FA Cup tie against Stoke City – a record which stood until 2016. [19][20] The club won the First
Division title for the first time in 1937, but were relegated the following season, despite scoring more goals
than any other team in the division. [21] Twenty years later, a City team inspired by a tactical system known
as the Revie Plan reached consecutive FA Cup finals again, in 1955 and 1956; just as in the 1930s, they
lost the first one, to Newcastle United, and won the second. The 1956 final, in which the Blues
defeated Birmingham City 3–1, saw City goalkeeper Bert Trautmann continuing to play on after
unknowingly breaking his neck.[22]
First golden era and subsequent decline
After being relegated to the Second Division in 1963, the future looked bleak with a record low home
attendance of 8,015 against Swindon Town in January 1965.[23] In the summer of 1965, the management
team of Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison was appointed. In the first season under Mercer, Manchester City
won the Second Division title and made important signings in Mike Summerbee and Colin Bell.[24] Two
seasons later, in 1967–68, City claimed the league championship for the second time, beating their close
neighbours Manchester United to the title on the final day of the season with a 4–3 victory at Newcastle
United.[25] Further trophies followed: City won the FA Cup in 1969 and a year later triumphed in
the European Cup Winners' Cup, defeating Górnik Zabrze 2–1 in the 1970 final. This was the club's only
European honour until their triumph in the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League.[26] The Blues also won
the League Cup that year, becoming the second English team to win a European trophy and a domestic
trophy in the same season.
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.[27] 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. [28][29] The final trophy of the club's most successful period
of the 20th century was won in 1976, when Newcastle United were beaten 2–1 in the League Cup final.
Chart of yearly table positions of City in the Football
League
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 several
unsuccessful signings, such as Steve Daley.[30] 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 under Mel Machin. Howard Kendall guided the club to top flight safety
in 1990 and the club finished fifth in 1991 and 1992 under the management of active player Peter Reid.
[31]
However, this was only a temporary respite, and following Reid's departure Manchester City's fortunes
continued to fade. City were co-founders of the Premier League upon its creation in 1992, but after
finishing ninth in its first season, Peter Swales, club chairman since 1973, was replaced by club
legend Francis Lee in February 1994 in a movement supported by fans. Despite this, they endured three
years of struggle under Brian Horton and Alan Ball Jr. before being relegated in dramatic fashion in 1996.
After two seasons in the First Division [a] and four different permanent managers, Lee resigned from his role
as chairman midway through the 1998 season, although remained as a shareholder, as City fell to the
lowest point in their history, becoming the second ever European trophy winners to be relegated to their
country's third-tier league after 1. FC Magdeburg of Germany.