"It was the best of times; it was the worst of times," Charles Dickens wrote in his opening for A Tale of Two Cities
The author was actually describing the differences between London and Paris during the French Revolution—but it's almost a perfect foreshadowing of Manchester City's 2007-08 campaign, nearly 150 years before it happened.
That season was perhaps one of the biggest false dawns to which City have ever treated—if that's the right word—their fans. After an awful finale to Stuart Pearce's tenure in charge, where the club managed just 10 home goals in the top flight and didn't win at Eastlands in the league after New Year's Day, supporters were filled with hope and optimism.