I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of time thinking about Manchester City. And if you’re reading this, you probably have too.

There’s something about this club that attracts the obsessives. More than other clubs, though perhaps not Liverpool. Their obsessives give off a Church of Scientology vibe. We’re just sad obsessives.

I’m also a former financial reporter at the Daily Mirror and sports journalist at the Sunday Times. In 2003 I planned the launch of a new website called Purely Football. The idea was to have a section dedicated to each Premier League club, then expand it to include other major European leagues. As I was a City fan, I decided to create the City section first before expanding with a team of dedicated writers for other clubs. Within a couple a years I’d forgotten all about the original plan, and became completely immersed in the day-to-day events at City.

I’m pretty sure it’s a medical condition, one that will eventually be listed in the DSM handbook of psychological disorders.

As my finances became as desperate as City’s, I concentrated on other writing—the sort that actually paid the bills. After publishing a book on the origins of City called A Man's Game in 2013 I continued to research the club’s history.

And the more I did the more fascinating it got.

I’ve never been bothered by the ‘no history’ comments. It was just nonsense that people came out with on Twitter. But I appreciate it does bother a lot of City fans.

So here’s the good news: City’s history is more fascinating—and glorious—than you’d ever believe.

Sheikh Mansour’s takeover in 2008 was not the first time someone with money and a vision has transformed the club’s fortunes. Nor is Pep the first City manager to pioneer new football tactics. Sports-washing? We invented that nearly 120 years before we were wrongly accused of it. We are also the first club in world football to be hit with a transfer ban. But I’ll be telling you more over the coming months.

I’ll also be solving some long-standing mysteries. I’m pretty much Shaggy from Scooby Doo. My greatest loves in life are creating giant multi-layered sandwiches and solving mysteries. With a little help from Velma of course, in this case my brilliantly talented life partner and historian Michelle.

The first City mystery I will be attempting to solve is the question of how Peter Swales became chairman in 1973.

It is a story that has never been told…until now.

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