With Kevin Keegan as manager, Manchester City embarked on a fine campaign during the 2002-03 season. City faired worse however in the domestic cup competitions; they reached the third round of both the FA Cup and League Cup. They stumbled out of the League cup, losing 1-0 to Wigan and they were edged out of their FA Cup clash against Liverpool, losing 1-0. Shaun Goater was Manchester city’s top goal scorer once again, netting in 11 goals. The highlight of the season was beating their local rivals, Manchester United 3-1 at Maine Road.
City was awarded a birth into the UEFA Cup as they qualified for the competition via winning the Fair Play award. They were far from impressive in the league; they only managed to finish in a poor 16th position. Their arch rivals, Man United beat them in the fifth round of the FA Cup. Their top goal scorer of the 2003-04 campaign was Nicholas Anelka, scoring 17 goals.
The 2004-05 season was a mighty success for City; their league form had soundly improved as they finished the season off strongly in eighth position. City were poor in the domestic cup competitions, most notably suffering an embarrassing defeat at the hands of Oldham Athletic. Towards the climax of the season, Kevin Keegan randomly quit as manager of Manchester City. Stuart Pearce took over as manager of the club towards the end of the 2004-05 campaign and he did a marvellous job at the club, leading them to victory in six of their last eight matches.
Manchester City started the 2005-06 season in good form, however as the season progressed their league form deteriorated. They embarked on a decent run in the FA Cup, reaching the quarter finals of the competition, losing against West Ham United.