How Kevin Keegan’s Style Made Football Fun Again at Manchester City

Manchester City are in fifth place when it comes to the most ups and downs in their history. Through the years, they’ve been promoted 11 times and suffered 10 relegations between several spells in the top three divisions in England—only Leicester City, Birmingham City, Grimsby Town and Notts County have more changes of tier to their names.

Without the late 1990s and early 2000s, City wouldn’t have been anywhere near the top of that list. They were relegated from the Premier League in 1996 and, while they did manage to survive a season in Division One in the following campaign, they were beginning their descent into freefall.

From 1997-98 to 2001-02, City moved either up or down; six consecutive seasons ended in promotion or relegation. While some teams, such as Bolton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion would yo-yo between the top two divisions in England, City did it over the less conventional three. If a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.

Joe Royle spent three-and-a-bit seasons in the Maine Road dugout during that time and oversaw two relegations and two promotions. However, he put the groundwork in place for the club to somehow avoiding hitting the self-destruct button—they nearly lost the Division Two play-off final to Gillingham in 1999, saving it only in second-half stoppage time. He also got them close to being ready for the Premier League again, even if he did just fall short of surviving in it in 2000-01.

They were relegated and began 2001-02 in Division One. Again.

City’s return to the top flight, in their final divisional change before some stability finally took hold, is still regarded as one of the most entertaining seasons in the club’s recent history. That’s even after Sheikh Mansour’s investment allowed fans to experience two Premier League titles, two League Cup victories, a successful FA Cup campaign and a trip to the Champions League semi-finals.

It was all down to Kevin Keegan’s “let’s-just-not-bother-defending-that-much” approach—fans went to matches that year knowing full well that there were likely to be goals at both ends of the pitch. What ensured a successful campaign was that City’s attacking players were far and away the best in the league, so what they let in turned to be largely insignificant.

Despite finishing as champions of Division One by 10 points and being just one short of hitting a tally in triple figures, City had the worst defensive record of the top six. They scored 108 …

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