# 1990–91 Manchester City F.C. season

The 1990–91 season was Manchester City's second consecutive season in the top tier of English football, the Football League First Division.

## Season summary

Howard Kendall built a strong Manchester City side that spent the first few months of the season near the top of the table, but left in November, with City in fifth, to return to Everton, justifying his move by claiming that Manchester City was his affair but Everton was his marriage. Midfielder Peter Reid was named as caretaker before being appointed permanent City manager; he led the Mancunians to fifth place. Andy Hill became Peter Reid's first major signing as a manager paying Bury £200,000 for his capture.
Irish striker Niall Quinn was City's top scorer with 21 goals in all competitions. He was named the club's Player of the Year.

## Football League First Division
### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 3 | Crystal Palace | 38 | 20 | 9 | 9 | 50 | 41 | +9 | 69 | |
| 4 | Leeds United | 38 | 19 | 7 | 12 | 65 | 47 | +18 | 64 | |
| 5 | Manchester City | 38 | 17 | 11 | 10 | 64 | 53 | +11 | 62 | |
| 6 | Manchester United | 38 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 58 | 45 | +13 | 59 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 7 | Wimbledon | 38 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 53 | 46 | +7 | 56 | |
* ↑ Arsenal deducted two points; Manchester United deducted one point due to a brawl in a game between both teams.

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source:

### Results

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 24 August 1990 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–3 | 33,501 | Quinn |
| 31 August 1990 | Everton | H | 1–0 | 31,456 | Heath |
| 4 September 1990 | Aston Villa | H | 2–1 | 30,199 | Ward, Pointon |
| 7 September 1990 | Sheffield United | A | 1–1 | 21,895 | White |
| 14 September 1990 | Norwich City | H | 2–1 | 26,247 | Quinn, Brennan |
| 21 September 1990 | Chelsea | A | 1–1 | 20,924 | Ward (pen) |
| 28 September 1990 | Wimbledon | A | 1–1 | 6,158 | Allen |
| 6 October 1990 | Coventry City | H | 2–1 | 26,198 | Harper, Quinn |
| 10 October 1990 | Derby County | A | 1–1 | 17,884 | Ward |
| 27 October 1990 | Manchester United | H | 3–3 | 36,427 | White (2), Hendry |
| 2 November 1990 | Sunderland | A | 1–1 | 23,137 | White |
| 10 November 1990 | Leeds United | H | 2–3 | 27,782 | Ward (pen), White |
| 16 November 1990 | Luton Town | A | 2–2 | 9,564 | White, Redmond |
| 23 November 1990 | Liverpool | A | 2–2 | 37,849 | Ward, Quinn |
| 30 November 1990 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 2–1 | 25,080 | Quinn (2) |
| 14 December 1990 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 2–1 | 31,263 | Redmond, Ward |
| 21 December 1990 | Crystal Palace | H | 0–2 | 25,321 | |
| 25 December 1990 | Southampton | A | 1–2 | 16,029 | Quinn |
| 28 December 1990 | Nottingham Forest | A | 3–1 | 24,937 | Quinn (2), Clarke |
| 31 December 1990 | Arsenal | H | 0–1 | 30,579 | |
| 12 January 1991 | Everton | A | 0–2 | 22,774 | |
| 18 January 1991 | Sheffield United | H | 2–0 | 25,741 | Ward (2) |
| 1 February 1991 | Norwich City | A | 2–1 | 15,194 | Quinn, White |
| 8 February 1991 | Chelsea | H | 2–1 | 25,116 | Megson, White |
| 1 March 1991 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 0–1 | 12,376 | |
| 4 March 1991 | Luton Town | H | 3–0 | 20,404 | Quinn (2), Allen |
| 8 March 1991 | Liverpool | H | 0–3 | 33,150 | |
| 15 March 1991 | Wimbledon | H | 1–1 | 21,089 | Ward |
| 22 March 1991 | Coventry City | A | 1–3 | 13,198 | Allen |
| 29 March 1991 | Southampton | H | 3–3 | 23,163 | Brennan, White, Allen |
| 1 April 1991 | Crystal Palace | A | 3–1 | 18,001 | Quinn (3) |
| 5 April 1991 | Nottingham Forest | H | 3–1 | 25,169 | Ward (pen), Quinn, Redmond |
| 9 April 1991 | Leeds United | A | 2–1 | 28,757 | Hill |
| 16 April 1991 | Arsenal | A | 2–2 | 38,412 | Ward (pen), White |
| 19 April 1991 | Derby County | H | 2–1 | 24,037 | Quinn, White |
| 22 April 1991 | Aston Villa | A | 5–1 | 24,168 | White (4), Brennan |
| 3 May 1991 | Manchester United | A | 0–1 | 45,286 | |
| 10 May 1991 | Sunderland | H | 3–2 | 39,194 | Quinn (2), White |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result |
| R3 | 4 January 1991 | Burnley | A | 0–1 |
| R4 | 25 January 1991 | Port Vale | A | 1–2 |
| R5 | 15 February 1991 | Notts County | A | 1–0 |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result |
| R2 1st leg | 25 September 1990 | Torquay United | A | 0–4 |
| R2 2nd leg | 10 October 1990 | Torquay United | H | 0–0 |
| R3 | 29 October 1990 | Arsenal | H | 2–1 |

## Kit

City's kit was manufactured by English company Umbro and sponsored by Japanese electronics manufacturer Brother.

## Squad

    Squad at end of season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | ENG | Tony Coton |
| — | GK | WAL | Martyn Margetson |
| — | GK | WAL | Andy Dibble |
| — | DF | ENG | Alan Harper |
| — | DF | ENG | Neil Pointon |
| — | DF | ENG | Steve Redmond |
| — | DF | ENG | David Brightwell |
| — | DF | ENG | Ian Brightwell |
| — | DF | SCO | Colin Hendry |
| — | DF | ENG | Andy Hill |
| — | MF | ENG | Mark Brennan |
| — | MF | ENG | Adrian Heath |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Steve McMahon |
| — | MF | ENG | Paul Lake |
| — | MF | ENG | Gary Megson |
| — | MF | ENG | Mike Quigley |
| — | MF | ENG | Peter Reid (player-manager) |
| — | MF | ENG | Mark Ward |
| — | MF | ENG | David White |
| — | FW | ENG | Clive Allen |
| — | FW | ENG | Jason Beckford |
| — | FW | ENG | Wayne Clarke |
| — | FW | ENG | Ashley Ward |
| — | FW | IRL | Niall Quinn |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | ENG | Mark Seagraves (to Bolton Wanderers) |

## Transfers
### Out

* Andy Hinchcliffe - Everton
* Mark Seagraves - Bolton Wanderers

### In

* Andy Hill - Bury