Manchester City F.C. seasons

This is a list of seasons played by Manchester City in English and European football, from 1891 (when the club, then known as "Ardwick", joined the Football Alliance) to the present day. It details the club's achievements in senior league and cup competitions, and the top scorers for each season.

Manchester City were formed in 1880 as "West Gorton (St. Marks)". [James, p17.] At this time organised League football did not exist; ordinary matches were arranged on a largely ad-hoc basis and supplemented by cup competitions. No complete record of the club's matches prior to 1891 survives. In 1890, the club entered the FA Cup for the first time, but withdrew in the second qualifying round. The following season they joined the Football Alliance, and in 1892 were elected to the newly-formed Football League Second Division. In 1894 the club restructured, changing name to "Manchester City" in the process.

The club first reached the highest division of English football in 1899. [James, p30.] Since then City have undergone a further 22 promotions and relegations, though the majority of their history has been spent in the top division. They have won the League Championship twice, the FA Cup four times, the League Cup twice and the European Cup Winners' Cup once. As of the end of the 2006–07 season, the club have played 4770 competitive matches in total. [cite web
url=http://www.mcfcstats.com
title=Complete playing record
accessdate=May 26
accessyear=2007 Excludes wartime matches and the abandoned 1939–40 season.] In that time the club have spent 78 seasons in the top division of English football, 25 seasons in the second, and one season in the third.

easons

Key:League:
*P — games played
*W — games won
*D — games drawn
*L — games lost
*F — goals for
*A — goals against
*Pts — points
*Pos — Final positionDivision:
*Alln — Football Alliance
*Div 1 — Football League Division One
*Div 2 — Football League Second Division
*Prem — FA Premier League
*War — War LeagueCup competitions:
*QR — Qualifying round
*R1 — Round 1
*R2 — Round 2
*R3 — Round 3
*R4 — Round 4
*R5 — Round 5
*QF — Quarter-finals
*SF — Semi-finals
*RU — Runners-up

Footnotes

*note label|Scorer|A|AFigures include goals in League, FA Cup, League Cup, European competitions, play-offs/test matches and the Charity Shield.
*note label|ninety-four|B|BAn administrative error meant the club did not enter the FA Cup in 1895. [James, p. 274.]
*note label|ninety-five|C|CFailed to gain promotion after test matches.
*note label|Withdrew|D|DThe club withdrew from the FA Cup during the qualifying rounds in both 1890–91 and 1895–96. The reasons for withdrawal are unclear.
*note label|Subsidiary|E|EThe Subsidiary Tournament was a round-robin competition played following the completion of league fixtures.
*note label|War|F|FThe 1939–40 English football season was abandoned in early September and all results annulled, after only three matches had been played due to the Second World War.
*note label|Unplaced|G|GUnplaced. 18 matches or more were required for a team to be placed.
*note label|FACup|H|HThe FA Cup was contested in 1945–46 but the Football League did not resume until the following season.
*note label|Goals|I|IFour of these goals were scored in the FA Cup.
*note label|Three|J|JThe 1981–82 season saw the introduction of three points for a win.
*note label|Prem|K|KUp until 1992, the top division of English football was the Football League First Division; since then, it has been the FA Premier League. At the same time, the Second Division was renamed the First Division, and the Third Division was renamed the Second Division.
*note label|Playoffs|L|LPromoted via play-offs.

References

;General
*cite book |last=James |first=Gary |title=Manchester City - The Complete Record |publisher=Breedon |location=Derby |date=2006 |id=ISBN 1-85983-512-0
*cite book |last=Baskcomb |first=Julian (ed.) |title=Manchester City F.C. Official Handbook 1997-98 |publisher=Polar |location=Leicester |year=1997
*cite web
url=http://www.fchd.btinternet.co.uk/MANCHESC.HTM
title=Manchester City
work=Football Club History Database
author=Richard Rundle
accessdate=May 26
accessyear=2007
*cite web
url=http://www.mcfcstats.com
title=MCFCStats
accessdate=May 26
accessyear=2007

;Specific