I was flicking through a book on the history of Manchester City there yesterday and this was a subject that was dealt with at some length. The sniffy comment of Man U fans, that Man City have no history has no real basis. In terms of foundation, Man U were founded 22 years after Manchester City in 1902. If success if the barometer of history, its really only after the Second World War, with Sir Matt Busby at the helm, that Man U started to dominate.
In the 14 seasons from Man U’s foundation in 1902 up to the cessation of football for the Great War after the 1914/15 season, there was a 7-7 split as regards achieving the highest league finish. In the 20 seasons from 1919-20 up to the cessation of football for the Second World War after the 1938-39 season, Manchester City were the dominant force in the city of Manchester and finished higher in 16 of the 20 seasons.
Post Second World War with Matt Busby at the helm, Man U were the dominant force and in the 23 seasons prior to 1967/68 finished higher in the league in 21 of those seasons. In 1967/68 Man U capitulated on the league run in, losing 6-3 at West Brom in the third last game of the season and 2-1 at home to Sunderland on the last day, to hand Man City the league title.
With the post Busby decline and relegation in 1973/74, Man City were the dominant side in Manchester during the early and mid 70’s, narrowly missing out on league titles by 1 point in 1971/72 and 1976/77. After losing out to the all conquering Liverpool side in 1976/77, Man City went into a long period of decline and didn’t finish ahead of Man U for 35 seasons until the league title win of 2011/12 and with chaos reigning in the boardroom were relegated on 5 occasions between 1982/83 and 2000/01.