| Club: | Manchester City |
| Season: | 2005–06 |
| Owner: | Publicly traded company |
| Chairman: | John Wardle |
| Manager: | Stuart Pearce |
| Captain: | Sylvain Distin |
| Stadium: | City of Manchester Stadium (a.k.a. Eastlands and CoMS) |
| League: | Premier League |
| League Result: | 15th |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Quarter-final |
| Cup2: | League Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Second round |
| League Topscorer: | Andy Cole (9) |
| Season Topscorer: | Andy Cole and Darius Vassell (10 each) |
| Average Attendance: | 42,856 – over 19 PL home games (4th highest in Premier League) |
| Highest Attendance: | 47,192 v Manchester United 14 January 2006 |
| Highest Away Attendance: | 67,839 v Manchester United 10 September 2005 |
| Lowest Attendance: | 27,779 v Scunthorpe United 7 January 2006 |
| Lowest Away Attendance: | 8,228 v Doncaster Rovers 21 September 2005 |
| Pattern B1: | _cityhome05 |
| Pattern So1: | _mcfc_home_2005-06 |
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| Pattern Sh2: | _nikeswooshwhite |
| Pattern So2: | _mcfc_away_2005-06 |
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| Pattern So3: | _mcfc_third_2006-07 |
| Pattern Sh3: | _mcfc_third_2006-07 |
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| Prevseason: | 2004–05 |
| Nextseason: | 2006–07 |
| Results summary – all competitions | |||||
| Wins | Draws | Losses | Win % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 12 | 2 | 9 | 52.2% | |
| Away | 4 | 4 | 13 | 19.0% | |
| Both | 16 | 6 | 22 | 36.4% | |
| Results summary – Premier League | |||||
| Wins | Draws | Losses | Win % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 9 | 2 | 8 | 47.4% | |
| Away | 4 | 2 | 13 | 21.1% | |
| Both | 13 | 4 | 21 | 34.2% | |
The 2005–06 season was Manchester City Football Club's fourth consecutive season playing in the Premier League, the top division of English football, and its ninth season since the Premier League was first created with Manchester City as one of its original 22 founding member clubs. Overall, it was the team's 114th season playing in a division of English football, most of which have been spent in the top flight.
The 2005–06 season proved tough for the club finishing 15th in the Premier League after a turbulent end to the season. The season began with last season's top goalscorer Shaun Wright-Phillips joining Premier League champions Chelsea for a fee of £21 million.[1] Wright-Phillips was a fan favourite having made over 150 appearances for the club and winning Manchester City's Young Player of the Year award four times in succession.[2]
In the following week's Manchester City announced the signings of Andy Cole from Fulham and Darius Vassell from Aston Villa. The Blues ended their preseason with a 3–1 victory against Greek champions Olympiacos in the Thomas Cook Trophy. In this match, City fans were given their first introduction to Yaya Touré who put the visitors ahead.[3]
The club started the season unbeaten in their first five matches, taking 10 points from 12 matches. Manchester City manager Stuart Pearce was subsequently awarded the Barclays Manager of the Month award for August.[4] City then went on to suffer three successive defeats in September, including a 3–0 defeat on penalties to League 1 side Doncaster, which saw them exit the Carling Cup in the Second Round.[5]
The following months saw City's form continue to fluctuate. On December 4, Manchester City beat Charlton Athletic 5-2 at The Valley, setting a then club-record for their largest away win in the Premier League. Going into 2006, Manchester City were placed 9th in the League.
Robbie Fowler started off the new year with a hat-trick in the Third Round of the FA Cup against Scunthorpe. The following weekend, Manchester City won the Manchester Derby 3-1 at home, in a match that saw Cristiano Ronaldo receive a straight red card for a reckless lunge on Andy Cole midway through the second half.[6]
The January Transfer Window saw Robbie Fowler return to Liverpool,[7] Joey Barton hand-in a transfer request[8] and Stuart Pearce splashing out £6 million on Heerenveen striker Georgios Samaras.[9]
Manchester City's final hope of silverware was put to an end after a Dean Ashton brace led West Ham into the semi-finals of the FA Cup, eliminating City in the quarter-finals.[10]
The season ended on disappointing form with losses in 9 of their 10 final matches in the Premier League. A winless City steadily drifted down the league from mid-table to 15th position before the season culminated.
For this season the shirt sponsor for all of the club's kits continued to be the previous season's sponsor, Thomas Cook, while the team kits were produced by the previous season's supplier, Reebok.
See main article: 2005–06 FA Premier League.
Points at home: 29
Points away from home: 14
Points against "Big Four" teams: 4
Points against promoted teams: 9
6 points: Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Charlton Athletic, Sunderland
4 points: Manchester United
3 points: Everton, Newcastle United, Portsmouth, West Ham United
1 point: Blackburn Rovers, Middlesbrough, West Bromwich Albion
0 points: Arsenal, Bolton Wanderers, Chelsea, Fulham, Liverpool,
Tottenham Hotspur, Wigan Athletic
Biggest home wins: 4–1 vs. Birmingham City, 17 December 2005
3–0 vs. Newcastle United, 1 February 2006
Biggest home defeats: 1–3 vs. Arsenal, 4 May 2006
0–2 vs. Tottenham Hotspur, 4 January 2006
Biggest away win: 2–5 vs. Charlton Athletic, 4 December 2005
Biggest away defeats: 2–0 vs. West Bromwich Albion, 10 December 2005
& vs. Bolton Wanderers, 21 January 2006 & vs. Chelsea, 25 March 2006
& vs. Blackburn Rovers, 7 May 2006
Biggest home attendance: 47,192 vs. Manchester United, 14 January 2006
Smallest home attendance: 40,256 vs. Middlesbrough, 2 April 2006
Biggest away attendance: 67,839 vs. Manchester United, 10 September 2005
Smallest away attendance: 19,556 vs. Portsmouth, 11 March 2006
| Scorer | Goals |
|---|---|
| Robbie Fowler | 3 |
| Andy Cole | 1 |
| Kiki Musampa | |
| Micah Richards | |
| Georgios Samaras | |
| Darius Vassell | |
| Date | Pos. | Player | From club | Transfer fee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 July 2005 | FW | Andy Cole | Free[11] [12] | ||
| 27 July 2005 | FW | Darius Vassell | £2 million[13] [14] | ||
| 16 August 2005 | MF |  Hussein Yasser | Al-Sadd Club | Unattached[15] [16] | |
| 1 January 2006 | MF |  Tuomas Haapala | MyPa-47 | Free[17] [18] | |
| 30 January 2006 | FW |  Georgios Samaras |  Heerenveen | £6 million[19] [20] | |
| 30 January 2006 | DF | Matthew Mills | Southampton | Undisclosed[21] |
| Exit date | Pos. | Player | To club | Transfer fee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 June 2005 | FW | Jon Macken | Crystal Palace | ||
| 11 June 2005 | GK |  Kevin Stuhr-Ellegaard |  Hertha BSC | ||
| 1 July 2005 | MF | Paul Bosvelt | Heerenveen | ||
| 8 July 2005 | MF |  Christian Negouai |  Standard Liège | ||
| 18 July 2005 | MF | Shaun Wright-Phillips | Chelsea | £21 million[22] | |
| 1 January 2006 | MF | Yasser Hussein | Al-Sadd Club | Released | |
| 23 January 2006 | DF | Danny Warrender | Blackpool | Undisc.[23] | |
| 27 January 2006 | FW | Robbie Fowler | Liverpool | Free[24] | |
| 31 January 2006 | MF | Jonathan D'Laryea | Mansfield Town | Nominal fee[25] | |
| 11 May 2006 | MF | Tuomas Haapala |  Sandefjord Fotball | Released[26] | |
| 11 May 2006 | FW | Karl Bermingham | Newry City | Released | |
| 11 May 2006 | Ian Bennett | Released | |||
| 11 May 2006 | Paul Collins | Released | |||
| 11 May 2006 | Michael Ward | Released | |||
| Start date | End date | Pos. | Player | From club | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 June 2005 | 11 May 2006 | MF | Kiki Musampa |  Atlético Madrid[27] [28] | |
| 5 January 2006 | 11 May 2006 | MF | Albert Riera | Espanyol[29] |
| Start date | End date | Pos. | Player | To club | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 August 2005 | 18 October 2005 | FW | Karl Bermingham | Burnley | |
| 17 August 2005 | 18 October 2005 | MF |  Willo Flood | Coventry City | |
| 21 October 2005 | 22 January 2006 | MF | Jonathan D'Laryea | Mansfield Town | |
| 21 October 2005 | 22 January 2006 | DF | Danny Warrender | Blackpool | |
| 4 November 2005 | 26 January 2006 | GK | Nicky Weaver | Sheffield Wednesday | |
| 13 January 2006 | 30 January 2006 | GK | Kasper Schmeichel | Darlington | |
| 23 February 2006 | 30 May 2006 | GK | Kasper Schmeichel | Bury | |
| 10 March 2006 | 30 May 2006 | DF | Mikkel Bischoff | Sheffield Wednesday |
