Manchester City – the club that has previously carried the brand of being “everyone’s second favourite club” merely due to having the reputation of one of the most tumultuous and unpredictable clubs in English football, a club the media often referred to as a “soap opera” club. City always seemed to have an innate ability to do things ‘the hard way’. Supporters have infamously labelled this ability, the inconsistent results and unexpected events as “City-itis” or more popularly as “Typical City”
There are many episodes in City’s history that can easily fall under the “Typical City” tag, most notable mentions would be the only team to both score and concede 100 league goals in one season (1957-58), being the only reigning champions in English football to be relegated and of course becoming the second ever European trophy winners to be relegated to their country’s third league tier.
But in August 2008 things seemed as if they would change for the better – possibly on a more permanent basis as the club was purchased by the Abu Dhabi United Group. Even so, “Typical City” wasn’t going anywhere. Despite the money influx performances were not a huge improvement on the previous season as City finished 10th although reaching the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup. During the summer of 2009, the club took transfer spending to unprecedented levels, with an outlay of over £100 million on players such as Roque Santa Cruz, Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Adebayor, Carlos Tevez, Joleon Lescott and Gareth Barry. Things did improve after this ravenous spending spree but after Peter Crouch headed home with 8 minutes to go resulting in a 1-0 loss to Spurs in the penultimate game of the season and City heartbreakingly just missing out on a Champions League spot, it seemed that the “Typical City” tag was never going to go away.
Even in the dying moments vs QPR every City fan was thinking the same, that we had messed up again, typical city. After the first title win, after overcoming a 2-1 deficit to come back and snatch the title in the last minute away from our Manchester rivals, maybe, just maybe “typical city” could be done with? The answer to that came in the following 2012-13 season, that answer unfortunately was no. After finishing 11 points behind United, not winning a single trophy and coming bottom of their Champions League group, training ground bust ups and finally losing the FA Cup Final to Wigan in the final moments of the game, “Typical City” was still well and truly alive.
Then came the 13/14 season; Manuel Pellegrini had just been appointed as Manchester City wanted to take a new “holistic” approach and thought Roberto Mancini would not be the man for the job. Having finished the season PL winners, Capital One Cup winners, progressing in the Champions League, scoring 156 goals and playing some of the most incredible and attractive football in the world. It seems the new approach was working. There is currently a much better feel around the club and squad as many players have said throughout the season. Things are increasingly on the up for Manchester City, from the new youth academy to the ever rising revenue, City are well on their way to becoming a global force in world football, a team everyone fears. So now can we finally say that the true “typical city” days are past us, or rather, has it got a new meaning?
Can the phrase “typical city” now be associated with the growing threat that is Manchester City, the free scoring and no mercy team that any opponent would fear to come up against? Maybe so – it certainly looks an exciting prospect after a wonderful campaign with two trophies successfully under their belt and I’m sure there will be more to come. But, the question is, can we redefine the phrase completely? Only time will tell.
