Manchester City Football Club is an English professional
football club based in the city of
Manchester. They are currently members of the
English Premier League.
Originally formed in 1880 as St. Marks (West Gorton), they then became Ardwick A.F.C. in 1887 before changing their name to Manchester City F.C. in 1894. The club has won the League Championship twice, the FA Cup four times, the League Cup twice and the European Cup Winners Cup once. The club's most successful period was during the late 1960s and early 1970s, when they won several major trophies under the management team of Joe Mercer and his assistant Malcolm Allison, and with great players such as Colin Bell and Francis Lee.
However, the club has not won a major honour since 1976. The club's decline led to relegation twice in three years in the 1990s, meaning they spent one year in the third tier of English football. However, the club has since regained top flight status, the level at which they have spent the majority of their history.
Manchester City F.C. was founded as St. Marks (West Gorton) in 1880 by Anna Connell and two wardens of St. Mark's Church, who also worked in the nearby iron factory, in Gorton, a district in east Manchester. In 1887, they moved to a new ground at Hyde Road, in Ardwick just to the east of the city centre, and were renamed Ardwick A.F.C. to reflect their new location.[2] Ardwick joined the Football League as founding members of the Second Division in 1892. Financial troubles in the 1893-94 season led to a reorganisation within the club, and Ardwick were reformed as Manchester City F.C.
