Manchester City Football Club: A Journey Through Success And Ambition

• September 18,2024
• -
• Derick Lori

Manchester City Football Club: A Journey Through Success And Ambition

Manchester City Football Club is a top-flight English club with a long history and an even more successful recent past. The club was formed in 1880 and has been in existence for over 140 years. The club has always played in a sky or very light blue or various iterations of the colors as their home colors. All home games are played at the City of Manchester Stadium. The stadium is also called the Etihad Stadium (as sponsors). Their local rivals and derby matches are against Manchester United or the red devils. The club won its first trophy in 1904 when the team lifted the FA Cup. Since then, the club has stayed in the top two tiers of football except for once when the team was relegated to the third division in 1998. The team managed to gain promotion 4 seasons later and managed to stay in the top league since. Manchester City Football Club was bought by Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008 and invested heavily in the club. The club brought in new players, staff, and management before cementing itself as a new top team breaking up the established top-4 in England at the time. Some of the other teams that operate under the Abu Dhabi United Group include Melbourne City, Yokohama Marinos, New York City, Montevideo Torque, Girona, Sichuan Jiuniu, Mumbai City, etc.

For all of the struggles they’ve faced in the past, the club’s takeover by the tycoon Sheikh Mansour, proved to be a major turning point for the team. His massive investment has put them in a place where they’ve become a powerful force to be reckoned with.

Not only has he significantly contributed to making them a top team in the world, but he has also ensured that they maintain this highly-coveted status.

Here’s a concise analysis of how the club managed to before and after the takeover that turned things around for them.

Manchester City Football Club’s Past

Manchester City won their first Premiership title in 1937 and didn’t win it again for another 30 years in 1967. Following this, City took another 40+ years to lift the Premier League title which they did in 2011. The club has also lifted the FA Cup 6 times, the League Cup 7 times, and the Community Shield 6 times as well. Man City is the only English Champions to get relegated the following season after winning a title. They’re also the only team to manage to score and concede 100 or more goals in the same season. During the 90s, City kept fluctuating between the League and second division. City won the Second Division 7 times (joint highest with Leicester) between 1999 and 2002. Manchester City Football Club has won the top division (the Premier League) on 6 occasions, and 4 times in the last 10 seasons (2012, 2014, 2018, and 2019). Some of the former legends of the club include David Silva, Toure, Zabaleta, Kompany, Tevez, Ireland, Dunne, Clements, etc. In 2003, the club loaned Foe from Lyon and the player suffered from a cardiac arrest in the middle of the pitch during an international game. Ever since Manchester City has retired the number 23.

Manchester City’s Present

The 2019 season for Manchester City Football Club was the club’s most successful as the club lifted 4 major trophies in a single season. The team won the Premier League, the FA Cup, the League Cup, and the Community Shield. Sergio Aguero was the highest scorer for the season. He is also the highest all-time goalscorer for the club with over 255 goals and counting.

Some of the key stars at the club include De Bruyne, Sterling, Jesus, Aguero, Laporte, Rodrigo, Silva, Ferran Torres, Mendy. Fernandinho, Mahrez, Ederson, etc. The club is managed by Pep Guardiola, one of the greatest managers currently managing the game. He’s been at the club for 4 seasons and has another 2 more seasons on his contract. He’s also been the club’s most successful manager in terms of wins, win rates (a whopping 72%), and trophies won for the club.

While the coach has made his fair share of mistakes (and readily admits to more than a few of these), it’s clear that, second to the club’s takeover by high-rollers, he’s arguably the best thing that could’ve happened Man City.

His playstyle and keen ability to choose the best teams for the club have ensured that this manager hasn’t signed any significant flops in all his years.

The direct implication of this on the team’s overall performance is that he’s made them a well-oiled machine where every player is integral to the whole yet has backups and substituents if an injury or unforeseen circumstance comes into the mix.

It is visibly seen that even though the central frontman of the club, Kun Aguero, had an injury-filled season in 21/22. The team’s overall output didn’t diminish as they could cover his absence skillfully across the board and put out an excellent display of football.

At the moment, Pep is the most successful manager in the EPL and has managed to carve out a spot for himself in the club’s history.

Manchester City’s Future

Manchester City Football Club has established themselves as a top team at the end of the 2010 decade. The team was consistent for the following decade as well. Without the takeover, it would be impossible for Manchester City to finance buying several top-class players on high wages.

This has helped the club on many levels. However, according to FFP, it’s not really a sustainable way of playing in the top league. As all clubs do, even City must operate as a profitable business through buying and selling within the club’s means. Man City need to spend 100 million to 200 million Pounds each season. Without it, it would be hard for City to compete in the top-7, let alone competing for a top-4 Champions League spots. The club will now have an eye on the Champions League, a trophy they’re yet to win.

Playing as they are, it’s safe to say that it’s only a matter of time before they get their hands on continental silverware.

Setting aside the fact that the top-flight club has something to prove by winning this highly-coveted trophy, the argument can also be made that the manager of Man City, Pep Guardiola, has something to prove here as well.

For the major part of his career so far, there has been talk that the only reason that Barcelona, one of the high profile clubs he coached before coming to Man City won the Champions League was thanks to the efforts of star man Lionel Messi, not his (Pep’s) ability to make timely and well-thought out tactical decisions.

As anyone would imagine, this is a tough pill to swallow and he’ll be looking to prove a lot of pundits wrong this season.

But beyond this, the future of this club is something everyone should look forward to as they’re one of the precious few in the league who have been able to successfully position themselves for glory both short-term and long-term.

The stunning blend of experience and youth that the team carries means that they’re going to be stronger contenders for any competition they find themselves in for years to come.