How Long Could City’s Dominance Last?
There have only been two other clubs who have dominated English football for a long period. So let’s take a quick look at their achievements:
(One-off fixtures such as Super Cups and Charity/Community Shields are not included, nor is the ridiculous Club World Cup. If you think otherwise please leave a comment below. I’ll be delighted to ignore it.)
Liverpool : 21 major trophies in 14 years (1976 to 1990)
10 League titles (1975–76, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1987–88, 1989–90)
4 European Cups (1976–77, 1977–78, 1980–81, 1983–84)
1 Uefa Cup (1975–76)
2 FA Cups (1985–86, 1988–89)
4 League Cups (1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84)
Manchester United: 21 major trophies in 18 years (1993 to 2011)
12 League titles (1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11)
2 Champions Leagues (1998–99, 2007–08)
4 FA Cups (1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04)
3 League Cups (2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10)
There are two common factors in both these eras. Firstly, both clubs had an economic advantage over rivals. During a time when only the League champions qualified, Liverpool’s European Cup runs gave them income not available to others. This, and the fact that the best players move to clubs where they think they’ll win trophies, meant they pretty much had first pick in the transfer market.
Throughout United’s period of dominance, they too had an economic advantage thanks to their giant fanbase and ground enlargements that gave them the League’s biggest capacity.
The other key factor is that both had a continuous footballing philosophy throughout their golden ages. Despite having three managers, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan (1983-85) and Kenny Dalglish, Liverpool’s style of football never changed. Likewise with United, the result of keeping the same manager throughout.
Now let’s see how our current era compares:
Manchester City: 15 major trophies in 9 years (2014 to present)
6 League titles (2013–14, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23)
1 Champions League (2023)
2 FA Cups (2018–19, 2022–23)
6 League Cups (2013–14, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21)
It’s probably petty to point out that City have been averaging 1.7 major trophies per season compared to Liverpool’s 1.5 and United’s sad looking 1.2. But I’ll do it anyway. I could also point out that the current Champions League is a very different type of competition than it was when it was called the European Cup (it wasn’t until 1997-98 that more than one club from each country could enter).
But let’s not downplay Liverpool’s past glories. The four games that they played to win the 1978 European Cup—against Dynamo Dresden, Benfica, Borussia Monchengladbach and Club Brugge—is perfectly comparable to what City had to do to lift the same trophy last season. And it would be churlish to suggest otherwise.
So what brought Liverpool and United’s great eras to a close?
In Liverpool’s case, the ban of English clubs competing in Europe that followed the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985 ended their financial advantage. But it was the appointment of Peter Swales’ former business partner, Noel White, as chairman in 1990 that sealed their fate.
The resignation of manager Dalglish the following year and the arrival of Graeme Souness resulted in a change in the footballing philosophy. The walls of the famous Anfield boot room were knocked down in order to the extend the press room. And the 30-year wait for another title began.
The same two factors were at play at United. After the highly-leveraged takeover by Malcolm Glazer in 2005, money that would otherwise have been spent on players instead serviced debt and was paid in dividends. The appointment of six managers in nine years—David Moyes (2013), Louis van Gaal (2014), Jose Mourinho (2016), Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (2018), Ralf Rangnick (2021) and Erik ten Hag (2022)—resulted in constant changes in the footballing philosophy. That, in turn, left their squad looking like a giant box of misfit toys.
So can City avoid these pitfalls?
I know that some fans are concerned about what happens when Pep leaves, but I just can’t see his departure leading to any change in City’s footballing philosophy. Much more likely, in my view, is that our next manager will be the next Pep. And by that I mean someone who is either already at the club, or has been schooled in Pep’s methods.
Sheikh Mansour taking money out of the club also wouldn’t make any sense. His problem is finding places to park his cash. Nor is it at all likely the club would be sold on. The Sheikh’s older brother would see to that. City’s role as a soft power project for Abu Dhabi is just way too important to jeopardise for a few lousy bucks.
In fact, the only thing I can think of that would bring this level of dominance to an end is a fundamental change in the structure of football. For instance, a breakaway world league that featured the elite European clubs, a couple of Saudi ones and one each from the other continents is not one City would likely be winning regularly.
But then again, maybe it is. We are the best team in the world, after all.
On Saturday I’ll be publishing a story called, Why Did We Wear A Maltese Cross On Our Shirts?
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