13 April
1894
A Memorandum of Association is signed and Manchester City Football Club is officially formed, rising from the ashes that had been previously known as Ardwick FC.
The Club’s initial aim was to promote football, cricket, lacrosse, tennis, hockey and running.
2002
City travel to Gillingham having been crowned Division One champions against Barnsley the previous week and record our 30th league victory of the season against the Kent outfit.
Darren Huckerby scores his 20th goal of the campaign in a 3-1 win at Priestfield Stadium, where Kevin Horlock and Shaun Goater were also on target.
2003
Peter Schmeichel announces he will call time on his 19-year professional career and retire at the end of the season, aged 39.
The Danish goalkeeper arrived at City the previous summer and played 31 times for Kevin Keegan, who had offered him a one-year contract extension.
Having previously enjoyed great success at Manchester United, Schmeichel was unbeaten against the Reds in the derbies he played for City, which meant he ended his career unbeaten in the Manchester derby.
2014
Manchester City women’s first team win our first competitive fixture as a professional outfit, beating Reading 2-1 in the FA Cup.
Toni Duggan etched her name into the history books as the first goal scorer of the competitive era, netting a brace to send City through to the last eight.
Thirty miles down the East Lancs Road, the men’s first team were losing a crucial game against title rivals Liverpool at Anfield.
Manuel Pellegrini’s men had fought back from two goals down as David Silva and Glen Johnson’s own goal cancelled out Raheem Sterling and Martin Skrtel’s goals for the hosts.
However, when Vincent Kompany’s sliced clearance fell kindly for Phillippe Coutinho, the Brazilian rifled past Joe Hart to give Liverpool what looked like a title-deciding win.
It left us seven points adrift of the Reds with six games to play, but City would go on to enjoy a happy end to the campaign…
Birthdays
Men’s and women’s first team keepers Claudio Bravo and Karima Benameur are both celebrating birthdays today.
Bravo turns 37, whilst Benameur is 31.
European Cup Winners Cup winning midfielder Tony Towers is 68 today. Having made his debut as a 17-year-old, he played 165 times for City and also won the 1972 Charity Shield.
Bobby McDonald turns 65. The Scottish full-back joined from Coventry City in October 1980 alongside fellow Scot Tommy Hutchison and helped to galvanise John Bond’s struggling side.
He played in both the original fixture and the replay as City lost the 1981 FA Cup final to Spurs and made 112 appearances in total.
There is a birthday milestone for Gerry Creaney today, as he turns 50. The Scottish striker made 23 appearances for City between 1995 and 1998, but failed to replicate the scoring form he had shown at previous club, Portsmouth.
