Written by Floris-Jan Keus
Manchester is one of the most important cities in the English football world. The “Greater Manchester” region has no fewer than 4 big football clubs, including the two Premier League top clubs Manchester United and Manchester City. There are also two clubs based in Manchester that play in lower English leagues: Charlton Athletic and Bolton Wanderers.
1. Premier League Clubs
3. League One Clubs
3. League Two Clubs
At the moment there are two football clubs in Manchester that play at the highest level, Manchester United and Manchester City. There is great rivalry between these clubs, the match between Manchester United and Manchester City is called the Manchester Derby. In addition, Manchester has one clubs that act on the third level (League One), and one club, Wigan Athletic, that plays in League Two.
| Club | Founded in | Stadium |
|---|---|---|
| Manchester United | 1878 | Emirates Stadium |
| Manchester City | 1880 | Stamford Bridge |
Manchester United was founded in 1878. However, the club wasn’t founded under the name Manchester United, the clubs first name was Newton Heath LYR FC. Only in 1902 was the club named Manchester United with the nickname “The Red Devils”. Manchester United is currently the most successful club in the history of English football. In the national competitions, United has so far won a total of 20 league titles, 12 FA Cups, 21 Community Shields and 5 League Cups. Also, in Europe Manchester United had some successes over the years. They won the Champions League twice, 1 Europa League, 1 UEFA super cup and several other European prizes.
The most successful season of the club was the season of 1998/99. In that season Manchester United with top players such as Jaap Stam, Peter Schmeichel and David Beckham won the national title, the FA Cup and the Champions League that season.
Manchester City was founded a little later than Manchester United, as Manchester City was founded in 1880. The football club was founded under the name St. Mark’s, in 1887 it was named Ardwick Association Football Club and in 1894 the club was eventually renamed Manchester City. The first big prize the club won was the FA Cup, which was won in the 1903/04 season. The first period that the club was really successful came in the 60s, when Manchester City won the league title, the FA Cup, the League Cup, the Super Cup and the European Cup II. However, the club was unable to continue these successes and Manchester City even relegated to the third division of England. At the beginning of 2000, Manchester City was promoted to the Premier League again. Not much later, in 2008, the club was bought by the Abu Dhabi United Group for £210 million. Since this takeover, a lot of money has been invested in the club, making it one of the most successful clubs in the Premier League.
This season, one club from “Greater Manchester” is active on the third level, The League One. The football club that act in League One is: Wigan Athletic.
| Club | Founded in | Stadium |
|---|---|---|
| Wigan Athletic | 1932 | DW Stadium |
Wigan Athletic is the youngest club in this list, the Greater Manchester club was founded in 1932. The biggest success of Wigan Athletic was the FA Cup win in the 2012/13 season.
In the FA Cup final, Wigan Athletic beat Manchester City with 1-0. The FA Cup win allowed Wigan to make her UEFA Europa League debut in the 2013/14 season. Wigan played in the Premier League between 2005 and 2013 but then relegated to the Championship. In the 2015/16 and 2017/18 seasons, the club even competed in League One (third level) because they relegated from the Championship twice.
This season, one club from “Greater Manchester” is active on the fourth level, The League Two. The football club that act in League Two is: Bolton Wanderes. After 73 seasons in the Premier League, the traditional English club has subsided.
| Club | Founded In | Stadium |
|---|---|---|
| Bolton Wanderers | 1876 | University of Bolton Stadium |
The Bolton Wanderers football club was founded in 1874 under the name Christ Church Football Club. Three years after the establishment, the name of the club was changed to the current Bolton Wanderers. In 1888 the Football League was founded by various English clubs, one of them was Bolton Wanderers. The Football League was the highest division in English football until 1992, after 1992 it became the Premier League. The most successful period of the club took place in the 1920s, between 1922 and 1929 Bolton Wanderers won no less than 3 FA Cups. Although the club played for a long time at the highest level, it never managed to win a national title. In 2012, Bolton Wanderers relegated to the Championship, since then they have been unable to promote to the Premier League.
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