Manchester City

The club became West Gorton in 1882 and then Gorton AFC in 1884. In 1887, they moved to Hyde Road, Manchester and became Ardwick FC. In 1891, Ardwick joined the Football Alliance and, a year later, Football League Division Two. In 1894, the club became a limited company and changed their name again, this time to Manchester City.

In 1899, City won promotion to the First Division for the first time, and spent three seasons in the top flight before being relegated. They won promotion again in 1903 and, in 1904, won the FA Cup and finished as runners-up in Division One.

In 1926 City lost to Bolton Wanderers in the Cup Final and were relegated to Division Two. They were promoted again in 1928 and reached another FA Cup final in 1933. The following year they went one better and won the competition for a second time. In 1937, City were League Champions, only to be relegated the following season.

After the war their somewhat erratic form continued. They were promoted in 1947, relegated in 1950 and promoted again in 1951. In 1955 they lost the FA Cup final to Newcastle, and the following year returned to Wembley to beat Birmingham City.

In 1965, with City back in Division Two, Joe Mercer was appointed manager. Mercer won the Second Division title in 1966 and followed that with the League title in 1968. The FA Cup was won in 1969 and both the European Cup Winners Cup and League Cup in 1970. Another League Cup was won in 1976, under Tony Book.

The 1980s brought a return to the inconsistent form of the past. City were relegated twice (1983, 1987) and won promotion twice (1985, 1989).

In 1994 former player, Francis Lee took control of the club, but the optimism around Lee’s appointment soon turned into disaster, as City were relegated from the Premier League to Division One. In 1998, with the club in disarray, Lee resigned. The same year City were relegated to the third tier of English football for the first time in their history.

Despite starting out as firm promotion favourites City struggled in Division Two and in the end just sneaked into the play-offs. They then beat Gillingham (via a penalty shootout) in the play-off final. The following season, City won automatic promotion to return to the Premiership. A year later, they were relegated again and manager Joe Royle was sacked.

The new manager was former England boss, Kevin Keegan, who led the Blues back to the Premiership at the first attempt. The following season, City finished in ninth place. That season they also left Maine Road, their home since 1922, and moved to the brand new City of Manchester Stadium.

In 2007, the club were bought by former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and appointed Sven Goran Eriksson as manager.