If the person you're buying for was at Wembley in May 1999, you already know what Dickov means to them. Third tier, play-off final against Gillingham, 2-0 down with the clock gone. Kevin Horlock got one back, Paul Dickov equalised in stoppage time, and City won it on penalties. The same fan was probably at the last game at Maine Road in 2003 too, and still can't believe it was Southampton who spoiled the send-off. Michael Svensson, 1-0.
If they're fifteen, they've never seen City go a whole decade without winning something, and some of what follows will mean nothing to them.
Days out
The Etihad stadium tour
You go behind the scenes, into the dressing room and down the tunnel, and outside there are statues of Kompany, Silva and Agüero. It's the obvious one for a kid, but I'd take an older Blue as well, especially one who moved away and hasn't been back since the old ground. They'll spend the whole time comparing it to Maine Road out loud.
Cityzens membership
Dull to unwrap. Only buy it if you're also going with them.
Manchester City Women at the Joie Stadium
The women's team play at the Joie Stadium on the City Football Academy site, across the road from the Etihad, and tickets are usually far easier to get than for the men. For a child's first match I'd pick this over a full Etihad, where they'll spend ninety minutes looking at the back of someone's coat.
A cup tie or an away day
Home league games are the hard ones to get. An early cup round, or an away ground they've never ticked off, is often easier. Anyone who went to Maine Road in the nineties will enjoy a cramped away end more than a corporate seat, whatever they tell you.
Books
Manchester United Ruined My Life by Colin Shindler
Shindler's 1998 memoir of growing up a Blue in the fifties and sixties, surrounded by United fans. If your dad or grandad was the only City kid in a classroom full of red, this is his book. The football's almost secondary. It's as much about his family as it is about the club.
Richer Than God by David Conn
Conn is a City fan and a serious football journalist. The 2012 book covers his own years following the club, then the 2008 takeover and what came with it. Give it to someone who loves the trophies and also feels a bit uneasy about how they arrived. There are a lot of those.
Pep's City by Pol Ballús and Lu Martín
Out in 2019, after the 100-point season. It's about how Guardiola set the club up, from the training ground to the tactics. If they only really started watching in 2016, this is where I'd start them.
Trautmann, in print or on screen
Catrine Clay's Trautmann's Journey (2010) tells the whole story. A German prisoner of war who stayed in England, signed for City, and finished the 1956 FA Cup final with a broken neck. If they're not big readers, The Keeper (2018) is the film version, with David Kross as Bert. The book is better. The film is easier to wrap.
Watching
The two documentaries
All or Nothing: Manchester City (2018, Amazon) follows the 100-point season from inside the dressing room. Together: Treble Winners (2024, Netflix) covers 2022-23, ending in Istanbul. If they've only got room for one, I'd go All or Nothing. You get Pep's team talks, properly, and that's the bit nobody else ever lets you see. Together has the better ending, obviously, but you know how Istanbul finishes. Neither is new, so check they haven't already seen them.
To wear and keep
A retro shirt from their City
This is the one where knowing their era really pays off, so let it.
For an older fan, the red and black striped away shirt City wore when they beat Leicester in the 1969 FA Cup final. For a Maine Road regular, the 1998-99 shirt from Gillingham. That's the one I'd buy if I could only get them one thing on this list. Plenty of people own a treble shirt. Far fewer own the shirt from the day the club stopped falling, and the ones who were there will know exactly what it means when they open it.
For anyone else, the 2011-12 home shirt. Final day, 13 May 2012, City need to beat ten-man QPR at home to win the league and they're 2-1 down going into stoppage time. Džeko heads one in. Then Balotelli, on the floor, pokes it through to Agüero, who goes past one, shoots, and the clock says 93:20. First title in 44 years, and the shirt still sets them off.
Older shirts come up smaller than modern ones, so check the measurements before you buy. And skip the generic megastore stuff, the scarves and mugs with a crest on. They'll have a drawer of it already.
A programme from a big day
Old City programmes turn up at fairs and on auction sites, and they're easy to find if you're patient. Pick a game they were at, or the season they were born. That's where the fun is, because you have to ask around without giving it away.
If you can't find out, the 1976 League Cup final against Newcastle is a good bet. City won 2-1 and Dennis Tueart scored the winner with an overhead kick, the kind of goal that older fans will describe to you in full whether you asked or not. Look for a clean cover and no rusty staples. A programme in good nick from a game they actually stood at beats anything new you can buy.
A framed team sheet of their City
We make these, so read this one with that in mind. You pick the XI from any era, put it in a formation, choose the kit, pitch, title and a message, and we email a proof before we print. £99 or £149 depending on size, free UK delivery. It works best for the Maine Road fan. Weaver, Dickov, Goater, Kinkladze, the lot, in the sky blue kit with a black frame. Or skip the famous names and put their own Sunday league side on it. If you'd rather not choose, our Manchester City prints start at £69.
Our City XI
This is the side from our all-time City XI post, in a 4-3-3 with Guardiola as manager. Three from the sixties and seventies made it, plus Trautmann.
Bert Trautmann in goal, for 1956 alone. Kyle Walker at right back over Zabaleta, which a lot of you won't like. Vincent Kompany and Rúben Dias in the middle. Willie Donachie at left back, twelve years and well over 300 league games, because the modern side never settled on anyone there.
In midfield, Colin Bell next to Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne. Leaving out Yaya Touré is the call I'm least sure of. Up front, Mike Summerbee on the right, Sergio Agüero through the middle, and David Silva starting on the left and drifting inside, the way he always did.
Leaving out Haaland will look daft in a year. Francis Lee I can defend less.
If that's not their side, make the one that is. The 1968 champions, or the lads who beat Gillingham. Start in the team builder.