Manchester City are in fifth place when it comes to the most ups and downs in their history. Through the years, they’ve been promoted 11 times and suffered 10 relegations between several spells in the top three divisions in England—only Leicester City, Birmingham City, Grimsby Town and Notts County have more changes of tier to their names.
Without the late 1990s and early 2000s, City wouldn’t have been anywhere near the top of that list. They were relegated from the Premier League in 1996 and, while they did manage to survive a season in Division One in the following campaign, they were beginning their descent into freefall.