+ Results summary – all competitions WinsDrawsLossesWin %Home122 9 52.2%Away4 4 1319.0%Both166 2236.4%
+ Results summary – Premier League WinsDrawsLossesWin %Home9 2 8 47.4%Away4 2 1321.1%Both134 2134.2%
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.
Season review 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. 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.
In the following week, 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.
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. 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.
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.
Despite a promising start to the season, Manchester City's form became increasingly inconsistent as the campaign progressed. The team had begun 2005–06 with three wins from their opening four league matches and briefly moved into second place after the September Manchester derby. However, inconsistent performances against teams including West Bromwich Albion, Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic prevented City from maintaining their early position. The club's domestic cup campaign also suffered an early setback when they were eliminated by League One side Doncaster Rovers in the League Cup.
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.
The January Transfer Window saw Robbie Fowler return to Liverpool, Joey Barton hand-in a transfer request and Stuart Pearce splashing out £6 million on Heerenveen striker Georgios Samaras.
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.
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.
Team kit 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.
Friendly games
Pre-season
Premier League Asia Trophy
Thomas Cook Trophy
Competitive games
Premier League
Position in final standings
Results summary
Points breakdown
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 & smallest 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
Results by round
Individual match reports
League Cup
FA Cup
First-team squad
Left club during season
Goal scorers
All competitions ScorerGoals Andy Cole10 Darius Vassell Joey Barton6 Georgios Samaras5 Robbie Fowler4 Richard Dunne3 Trevor Sinclair Antoine Sibierski2 David Sommeil Lee Croft1 Danny Mills Kiki Musampa Claudio Reyna Micah Richards Albert Riera Bradley Wright-Phillips
Premier League ScorerGoals Andy Cole9 Darius Vassell8 Joey Barton6 Georgios Samaras4 Richard Dunne3 Trevor Sinclair Antoine Sibierski2 David Sommeil Lee Croft1 Robbie Fowler Danny Mills Claudio Reyna Albert Riera Bradley Wright-Phillips
League Cup ScorerGoals Darius Vassell1
FA Cup ScorerGoals Robbie Fowler3 Andy Cole1 Kiki Musampa Micah Richards Georgios Samaras Darius Vassell
Information current as of 7 May 2006 (end of season)
Transfers and loans
Transfers in Date Pos. Player From club Transfer fee 20 July 2005 FW Andy Cole Fulham Free 27 July 2005 FW Darius Vassell Aston Villa £2 million 16 August 2005 MF Hussein Yasser Al-Sadd Club Unattached 1 January 2006 MF Tuomas Haapala MyPa-47 Free 30 January 2006 FW Georgios Samaras Heerenveen £6 million 30 January 2006 DF Matthew Mills Southampton Undisclosed
Transfers out 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 1 January 2006 MF Yasser Hussein Al-Sadd Club Released 23 January 2006 DF Danny Warrender Blackpool Undisc. 27 January 2006 FW Robbie Fowler Liverpool Free 31 January 2006 MF Jonathan D'Laryea Mansfield Town Nominal fee 11 May 2006 MF Tuomas Haapala Sandefjord Fotball Released 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
Loans in Start date End date Pos. Player From club 5 June 2005 11 May 2006 MF Kiki Musampa Atlético Madrid 5 January 2006 11 May 2006 MF Albert Riera Espanyol
Loans out 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
References