Editing Manchester City F.C. (section)

===First golden era and subsequent decline===
After being relegated to the Second Division in [[1962–63 Football League First Division|1963]], the future looked bleak with a record low home attendance of 8,015 against [[Swindon Town F.C.|Swindon Town]] in January 1965.<ref>Ward, ''The Manchester City Story'', p. 57</ref> In the summer of 1965, the management team of [[Joe Mercer]] and [[Malcolm Allison]] was appointed. In the first season under Mercer, Manchester City won the [[1965–66 Football League#Second Division|Second Division title]] and made important signings in [[Mike Summerbee]] and [[Colin Bell (footballer, born 1946)|Colin Bell]].<ref>Penney, ''Manchester City – The Mercer-Allison Years'', pp. 27–36</ref> Two seasons later, in [[1967–68 Manchester City F.C. season|1967–68]], City claimed the [[1967–68 Football League First Division|league championship]] for the second time, beating their close neighbours Manchester United to the title on the final day of the season with a 4–3 victory at Newcastle United.<ref>Penney, ''Manchester City – The Mercer-Allison Years'', pp. 37–56</ref> Further trophies followed: City won the FA Cup in [[1969 FA Cup final|1969]] and a year later triumphed in the [[1969–70 European Cup Winners' Cup|European Cup Winners' Cup]], defeating [[Górnik Zabrze]] 2–1 in the [[1970 European Cup Winners' Cup final|1970 final]]. This was the club's only European honour until their triumph in the [[2022–23 UEFA Champions League]].<ref>Gardner, ''The Manchester City Football Book No. 2'', pp. 13–22</ref> The Blues also won the [[1969–70 Football League Cup|League Cup]] that year, becoming the second English team to win a European trophy and a domestic trophy in the same season.

The club continued to challenge for honours throughout the 1970s, finishing one point behind the league champions on two occasions and reaching the [[1974 Football League Cup final|final]] of the [[1973–74 Football League Cup|1974 League Cup]].<ref>James, ''Manchester City – The Complete Record'', pp. 410–420</ref> One of the matches from this period that is most fondly remembered by supporters of Manchester City is the final match of the [[1973–74 Football League First Division|1973–74 season]] against [[Manchester derby|arch-rivals]] Manchester United, who needed to win to have any hope of avoiding relegation. Former United player [[Denis Law]] scored with a backheel to give City a 1–0 win at Old Trafford and confirm the relegation of their rivals.<ref>Other results meant United would have been relegated even if they had won or drawn, but neither team knew this at the time.</ref><ref>Ward, ''The Manchester City Story'', p. 70</ref> The final trophy of the club's most successful period of the 20th century was won in 1976, when Newcastle United were beaten 2–1 in the [[1976 Football League Cup final|League Cup final]].

[[File:ManchesterCityFC League Performance.svg|thumb|left|380px|Chart of yearly table positions of City in the Football League]]
A long period of decline followed the success of the 1960s and 1970s. Malcolm Allison rejoined the club to become manager for the second time in 1979, but squandered large sums of money on several unsuccessful signings, such as [[Steve Daley]].<ref>Tossell, ''Big Mal'', Chapter 18</ref> A succession of managers then followed – seven in the 1980s alone. Under [[John Bond (footballer)|John Bond]], City reached the [[1981 FA Cup final]] but lost in a replay to [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]]. The club were twice relegated from the top flight in the 1980s (in [[1982–83 Football League#First Division|1983]] and [[1986–87 Football League#First Division|1987]]), but returned to the top flight again in [[1988–89 Football League#Second Division|1989]] under [[Mel Machin]]. [[Howard Kendall]] guided the club to top flight safety in [[1989–90 Football League First Division|1990]] and the club finished fifth in [[1990–91 Football League First Division|1991]] and [[1991–92 Football League First Division|1992]] under the management of active player [[Peter Reid]].<ref>James, ''Manchester City – The Complete Record'', p. 68</ref> However, this was only a temporary respite, and following Reid's departure Manchester City's fortunes continued to fade. City were co-founders of the [[Premier League]] upon its creation in [[1992–93 FA Premier League|1992]], but after finishing ninth in its first season, [[Peter Swales]], club chairman since 1973, was replaced by club legend [[Francis Lee (footballer)|Francis Lee]] in February 1994 in a movement supported by fans. Despite this, they endured three years of struggle under [[Brian Horton]] and [[Alan Ball Jr.]] before being relegated in dramatic fashion in [[1995–96 FA Premier League|1996]]. After two seasons in the First Division{{efn|name=Prem|Until [[1992–93 FA Premier League|1992]], the top division of English football was the [[Football League First Division]]; since then, it has been the [[Premier League|FA Premier League]]. At the same time, the [[Football League Second Division|Second Division]] was renamed the First Division, and the [[Football League Third Division|Third Division]] was renamed the Second Division.}} and four different permanent managers, Lee resigned from his role as chairman midway through the [[1997–98 Football League First Division|1998]] season, although remained as a shareholder, as City fell to the lowest point in their history, becoming the second ever European trophy winners to be relegated to their country's third-tier league after [[1. FC Magdeburg]] of Germany.