Forty-four years have passed since Manchester City's last top-flight title win. Surprisingly, little has changed since then, as the club smashed its transfer record to land a top striker and tussled with local rivals Manchester United at the top of the table.
Here, Sports Mole takes a look back at the Blues' last domestic success.
Many observers had given City little chance of achieving glory going into the 1967-68 campaign; an understandable assessment considering their 15th-placed finish the previous season.
The critics looked to have been on the money from the off as the Blues, under the guidance of Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison, got off to an unspectacular start with a draw and two defeats.
Despite the stuttering first steps, City soon got their title charge up and running with a galvanising run of six consecutive wins.
The first Manchester derby of the season came at the end of September and was won by United 2-1 at Old Trafford thanks to a Bobby Charlton brace. The defeat came in the middle of a run of three straight losses for the Blues as they made a return to their inconsistent ways.
Soon after came arguably City's defining moment of the season. The club got the chequebook out in early October to lavish the princely sum of £60,000 on Francis Lee, a club record at the time.
The street-wise forward arrived from Bolton Wanderers and made an instant impact as City embarked on an 11-game unbeaten run which included a comprehensive 6-0 win against Leicester City.
Lee began to find the net for fun along with freescoring teammates Colin Bell and Mike Summerbee as City finally had an answer to the Holy Trinity of Best, Law and Charlton acorss the road at title rivals United.
But it wasn't just that trio who pushed their Division One charge forward.
The late Neil Young's unassuming manner off the pitch has often seen him overlooked in the title-winning side. Where Bell, Summerbee and Lee were a visible part of the swinging sixties landscape, Young quietly got his head down to end the season as top scorer with 19 goals.
After back to back defeats against West Bromwich Albion, City went on another unbeaten run of seven games and topped the table for the first time in the season after a 5-1 win against Fulham on March 16. The scorers? A Young brace, Bell, Lee and Summerbee.
A showdown with United at Old Trafford came at the end of March and was won by City 3-1 as Bell and Lee were again amongst the scorers.
As the season reached its climax, both Manchester clubs continued to battle it out at the top of the table. Liverpool kept on the tails of both sides, but it looked as if the local rivals would take it to the wire.
A run of three wins towards the end of the campaign meant that City would go into the final day of the season level on points with United, but top by virtue of goal difference. While the Blues hosted Newcastle United at Maine Road, the Red Devils travelled to Sunderland.
Despite a tenacious display from the Magpies, second-half goals from Young and Lee claimed the Championship for City in a 4-2 win as United went down 2-1 to the Black Cats.
A first title win in 31 years heralded an era of unprecedented success at Maine Road as the side achieved FA Cup glory in 1969 before League Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup successes a year later.
As a typically ironic aside in the story of City's last title win, United cast a shadow over their neighbours' achievement when they beat Benfica 4-1 in the European Cup final two weeks later to become the first English club to lift the trophy.
Jack Prescott
