1998–99 Manchester City F.C. season
Manchester City were able to make an immediate return to Division One, thanks to a play-off final victory over Gillingham in a penalty shootout, having drawn level from 2-0 down with 89 minutes of normal time played. The dramatic victory ensured that City's first season in English football's third tier ended in promotion, bringing some success to the club after two relegations in three seasons.
| 1998–99 season | |
|---|---|
| Manager | Joe Royle |
| Second Division | 3rd (promoted via playoffs) |
| FA Cup | Third round |
| League Cup | Second round |
| Play-offs | Winners |
| Top goalscorer | League: Shaun Goater (17) All: Shaun Goater (20) |
Team kit
The team kit was produced by Kappa and the shirt sponsor was Brother.
The home shirt for the season was a slightly darker shade of blue than the traditional City sky blue known as 'Laser Blue'. While the home shirt was generally well received, it was the away kit that would take on a special significance to Manchester City fans. While the luminous yellow and navy blue stripes were peculiar, with the yellow in particular somewhat garish and never having even been worn before by City, the shirt took on a whole new meaning when it was worn for the 1999 Football League Second Division play-off Final. Although this game technically marked the lowest ever league finish in Manchester City's history, instead the incredible circumstances by which City were able to win - having conceded the first two goals of the game in the last ten minutes of normal time, before getting two goals of their own in injury time, and then winning a penalty shoot-out - in fact mark this game as one of the proudest moments of the club's history, with many fans describing the victory as feeling as good as winning a top division title, and probably being more important to the club's long-term future. The kit instantly went from being an average if slightly unusual shirt to being one of the most iconic symbols of the club's history. There have been frequent if uncoordinated calls for the shirt to be brought back as an away kit in a future season, though as yet the design has largely been forgotten by the club's successive kit manufacturers.
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Second Division
City's first-ever season in the third tier got off to a bright start, the team losing only one of their first six matches and topping the table after a victory over fellow third tier newcomers Macclesfield Town. After that, however, City would only win three more league matches before Christmas, as the heavily-overhauled squad struggled to come together, with injuries only compounding the situation. The club would hit its lowest ebb after an embarrassing 2-1 loss to York City in their final pre-Christmas fixture, a result which left them 13th in the table and resulted in fans calling for the head of manager Joe Royle.
The board kept faith with Royle, however, and were rewarded with only two more losses all season, with the highlight of the season's second half being a 6-0 away win over Burnley. City's poor first half of the season, combined with the form of runaway leaders Fulham and second-placed Walsall meant that an automatic promotion challenge was never seriously on the cards, but they secured third place on the final day of the season, and also exacted revenge on York City for their earlier humiliation by thrashing the Minstermen 4-0, condemning them to relegation.
City faced off against Lancashire rivals Wigan Athletic in the first round of the play-offs, and a pair of tense matches ended with a 1-1 draw in the last competitive fixture at Wigan's Springfield Park ground, followed by a 1-0 victory at Maine Road, setting the stage for a Wembley Stadium showdown with Gillingham.
The play-off final was goalless for 82 minutes, before the Gills struck a pair of late goals that looked to have ensured that City would be spending a second successive season in Division Two. However, City themselves then scored a dramatic pair of injury-time goals (the second of which came in the 95th minute) to take the match to extra time. No further goals resulted in the next half-hour, leading to a penalty shoot-out. The Gills were able to convert only one of their penalties, while City scored three, ensuring that they returned to Division One at the first time of asking.
Table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GS | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fulham | 46 | 31 | 8 | 7 | 79 | 32 | 79 | 101 | Division Champions, promoted |
| 2 | Walsall | 46 | 26 | 9 | 11 | 63 | 47 | 63 | 87 | Promoted |
| 3 | Manchester City | 46 | 22 | 16 | 8 | 69 | 33 | 69 | 82 | Promoted through play-offs |
| 4 | Gillingham | 46 | 22 | 14 | 10 | 75 | 44 | 75 | 80 | Participated in play-offs |
| 5 | Preston North End | 46 | 22 | 13 | 11 | 78 | 50 | 78 | 79 |
Rules for classification: In the Football League goals scored (GF) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).
Matches
| 8 August 1998 1 | Manchester City | 3–0 | Blackpool | Manchester |
Goater  26'Bradbury 62'Tskhadadze 76' |
Stadium: Maine Road Referee: Graham Frankland |
| 14 August 1998 2 | Fulham | 3–0 | Manchester City | London |
| Beardsley 21' Lehmann 32', 38' |
Stadium: Craven Cottage Referee: Mick Fletcher |
| 22 August 1998 3 | Manchester City | 0–0 | Wrexham | Manchester |
| Stadium: Maine Road Referee: Graham Laws |
| 29 August 1998 4 | Notts County | 1–1 | Manchester City | Nottingham |
| Hendon 71' (pen.) |
Goater 90' |
Stadium: Meadow Lane Referee: Terry Heilbron |
| 2 September 1998 5 | Manchester City | 3–1 | Walsall | Manchester |
| Goater 30', 71' Dickov 74' |
Rammell 79' |
Stadium: Maine Road Referee: David Laws |
| 8 September 1998 6 | Manchester City | 2–1 | Bournemouth | Manchester |
| Allsopp 25' Dickov 64' |
Fletcher 48' |
Stadium: Maine Road Referee: Trevor Jones |
| 12 September 1998 7 | Macclesfield Town | 0–1 | Manchester City | Macclesfield |
| Goater 86' |
Stadium: Moss Rose Referee: Ken Leach |
| 19 September 1998 8 | Manchester City | 1–1 | Chesterfield | Manchester |
| Bradbury 36' |
Reeves 28' |
Stadium: Maine Road Referee: John Brandwood |
| 26 September 1998 9 | Northampton Town | 2–2 | Manchester City | Northampton |
| Peer 30' Corazzin 64' |
Dickov 54' Goater 88' |
Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Referee: Clive Wilkes |
| 29 September 1998 10 | Millwall | 1–1 | Manchester City | London |
| Harris 46' |
Bradbury 90' |
Stadium: The Den Referee: Matt Messias |
| 3 October 1998 11 | Manchester City | 2–2 | Burnley | Manchester |
| Goater 8' Allsopp 85' |
Payton 34' Cooke 54' |
Stadium: Maine Road Referee: Roger Furnandiz |
| 12 October 1998 12 | Manchester City | 0–1 | Preston North End | Manchester |
| Parkinson 71' (pen.) |
Stadium: Maine Road Referee: Mick Fletcher |
| 17 October 1998 13 | Wigan Athletic | 0–1 | Manchester City | Wigan |
| Goater 56' |
Stadium: Springfield Park Referee: David Pugh |
| 20 October 1998 14 | Lincoln City | 2–1 | Manchester City | Lincoln |
| Battersby 4' Austin 33' |
Holmes 83' (o.g.) |
Stadium: Sincil Bank Referee: Paul Rejer |
| 24 October 1998 15 | Manchester City | 0–1 | Reading | Manchester |
| Williams 56' |
Stadium: Maine Road Referee: Phil Richards |
| 31 October 1998 16 | Manchester City | 2–1 | Colchester United | Manchester |
| Horlock 49' (pen.) Morrison 53' |
Dozzell 58' |
Stadium: Maine Road Referee: Michael Pike |
| 7 November 1998 17 | Oldham Athletic | 0–3 | Manchester City | Oldham |
| Horlock 17', 31' Morrison 69' |
Stadium: Boundary Park Referee: Scott Mathieson |
| 10 November 1998 18 | Wycombe Wanderers | 1–0 | Manchester City | High Wycombe |
| Simpson 34' |
Stadium: Adams Park Referee: Paul Taylor |
| 21 November 1998 19 | Manchester City | 0–0 | Gillingham | Manchester |
| Stadium: Maine Road Referee: Gurnam Singh |
| 28 November 1998 20 | Luton Town | 1–1 | Manchester City | Luton |
| Doherty 76' |
Morrison 29' |
Stadium: Kenilworth Road Referee: Anthony Bates |
| 12 December 1998 21 | Manchester City | 0–0 | Bristol Rovers | Manchester |
| Stadium: Maine Road Referee: Roy Pearson |
| 19 December 1998 22 | York City | 2–1 | Manchester City | York |
| Connelly 2' Dawson 86' |
Russell 33' |
Stadium: Bootham Crescent Referee: Bill Burns |
| 26 December 1998 23 | Wrexham | 0–1 | Manchester City | Wrexham |
| Wiekens 56' |
Stadium: Racecourse Ground Referee: Trevor Jones |
| 28 December 1998 24 | Manchester City | 2–1 | Stoke City | Manchester |
| Dickov 67' Taylor 85' |
Sigurðsson 31' |
Stadium: Maine Road Referee: Alan Butler |
| 9 January 1999 25 | Blackpool | 0–0 | Manchester City | Blackpool |
| Stadium: Bloomfield Road Referee: David Laws |
| 16 January 1999 26 | Manchester City | 3–0 | Fulham | Manchester |
| Goater 24' Taylor 32'Horlock 54' |
Stadium: Maine Road Referee: Andy Hall |
| 23 January 1999 27 | Walsall | 1–1 | Manchester City | Walsall |
| Watson 67' |
Pollock 74' |
Stadium: Bescot Stadium Referee: Mick Pierce |
| 29 January 1999 28 | Stoke City | 0–1 | Manchester City | Stoke-on-Trent |
| Wiekens 20' |
Stadium: Britannia Stadium Referee: Clive Wilkes |
| 6 February 1999 29 | Manchester City | 3–0 | Millwall | Manchester |
| Dickov 61' Cooke 71'Horlock 75' |
Stadium: Maine Road Referee: Terry Heilbron |
| 13 February 1999 30 | Bournemouth | 0–0 | Manchester City | Bournemouth |
| Stadium: Dean Court Referee: Brian Coddington |
| 20 February 1999 31 | Manchester City | 2–0 | Macclesfield Town | Manchester |
| Goater 14' Taylor 67' |
Stadium: Maine Road Referee: Alan Wiley |
| 27 February 1999 32 | Chesterfield | 1–1 | Manchester City | Chesterfield |
| Reeves 32' |
Crooks 51' |
Stadium: Saltergate Referee: Graham Frankland |
| 6 March 1999 33 | Manchester City | 0–0 | Northampton Town | Manchester |
| Stadium: Maine Road Referee: Matt Messias |
| 9 March 1999 34 | Burnley | 0–6 | Manchester City | Burnley |
| Horlock 17' Morrison 41'Goater 50', 59', 65'Allsopp 82' |
Stadium: Turf Moor Referee: John Kirkby |
| 13 March 1999 35 | Manchester City | 1–2 | Oldham Athletic | Manchester |
| Taylor 79' |
Reid 27' (pen.) Duxbury 56' |
Stadium: Maine Road Referee: John Brandwood |
| 16 March 1999 36 | Manchester City | 2–1 | Notts County | Manchester |
| Brown 16' Cooke 40' |
Stallard 72' |
Stadium: Maine Road Referee: Mike Dean |
| 20 March 1999 37 | Colchester United | 0–1 | Manchester City | Colchester |
| Goater 55' |
Stadium: Layer Road Referee: Rob Styles |
| 27 March 1999 38 | Reading | 1–3 | Manchester City | Reading |
| Scott 90' |
Cooke 31', 62' Goater 54' |
Stadium: Madejski Stadium Referee: Paul Rejer |
| 3 April 1999 39 | Manchester City | 1–0 | Wigan Athletic | Manchester |
| Cooke 52' |
Stadium: Maine Road Referee: Steve Baines |
| 5 April 1999 40 | Preston North End | 1–1 | Manchester City | Preston |
| Basham 1' |
Brown 22' |
Stadium: Deepdale Referee: Kevin Lynch |
| 10 April 1999 41 | Manchester City | 4–0 | Lincoln City | Manchester |
| Dickov 34', 45', 48' Horlock 63' |
Stadium: Maine Road Referee: Mark Warren |
| 14 April 1999 42 | Manchester City | 2–0 | Luton Town | Manchester |
| Dickov 4' Vaughan 10' |
Stadium: Maine Road Referee: Phil Richards |
| 17 April 1999 43 | Gillingham | 0–2 | Manchester City | Gillingham |
| Cooke 31' Horlock 64' |
Stadium: Priestfield Stadium Referee: Rob Styles |
| 24 April 1999 44 | Manchester City | 1–2 | Wycombe Wanderers | Manchester |
| Goater 45' |
Baird 15' Devine 30' |
Stadium: Maine Road Referee: Mark Cowburn |
| 1 May 1999 45 | Bristol Rovers | 2–2 | Manchester City | Bristol |
| Roberts 83' Cureton 88' (pen.) |
Goater 27' Cooke 42' |
Stadium: Memorial Stadium Referee: Steve Bennett |
| 8 May 1999 46 | Manchester City | 4–0 | York City | Manchester |
| Dickov 23' Horlock 76'Jeff Whitley 84'Allsopp 88' |
Stadium: Maine Road Referee: Andy D'Urso |
Playoff semi-finals
| 15 May 1999 1 | Wigan Athletic | 1–1 | Manchester City | Wigan |
| Barlow 1' |
Dickov 76' |
Stadium: Springfield Park Referee: Alan Wiley |
| 19 May 1999 2 | Manchester City | 1–0 | Wigan Athletic | Manchester |
| Goater 27' |
Stadium: Maine Road Referee: Terry Heilbron |
DOR
Playoff final
| 30 May 1999 | Manchester City | 2–2, 3–1 pen. | Gillingham | London |
| 15:00 | Horlock 90' Dickov 90+5' |
Asaba 82' R. Taylor 87' |
Stadium: Wembley Attendance: 76,935 Referee: Mark Halsey |
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