The Blue Moon Years (1967–1972)

Lore & Background

After being relegated to the Second Division in 1963, the future looked bleak with a record low home attendance of 8,015 against Swindon Town in January 1965. 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 Second Division title and made important signings in Mike Summerbee and Colin Bell. Two seasons later, in 1967–68, City claimed the 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. Further trophies followed: City won the FA Cup in 1969 and a year later triumphed in the European Cup Winners' Cup, defeating Górnik Zabrze 2–1 in the 1970 final. This was the club's only European honour until their triumph in the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League. The Blues also won the League Cup that year, becoming one of several English teams to win a European trophy and a domestic trophy in the same season.

In Their Own Story

The air in Vienna was crisp as the Prater Stadium fell silent before the final whistle. Inside the Maine Road dressing room years later, old players would still speak of that night with hushed reverence. Mike Summerbee, the ever-present right-back, remembers the noise of the Polish crowd fading into a roar of blue joy when Peter Osgood's equalizer was overturned by a goal from Colin Bell and Tony Book. It wasn't just a win; it was a statement to Europe. As the trophy was lifted under the floodlights, the 'Blue Moon' had finally risen above the clouds of English football history.

Reader's Guide

The club continued to challenge for honours throughout the 1970s, finishing one point behind the league champions on two occasions and reaching the final of the 1974 League Cup. 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 season against 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. 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 League Cup final.

Did You Know?

• City's 1970 European Cup Winners' Cup victory was the club's only European honour until their 2022–23 UEFA Champions League triumph.
• The 1967–68 league title was decided on the final day with a 4–3 win at Newcastle United, beating Manchester United to the championship.