Manchester United and Spurs come back to reality as City saga offers brief distraction | John Brewin

Manchester City’s rule breaches have dominated headlines and shifted focus from both clubs’ self-inflicted wounds

Turning back the clock is impossible. Up in the Stretford End’s middle tier, the ticker had returned, a retouching job to “51 years” invoiced for the pertinent sum of £114. The Manchester City that existed before the Abu Dhabi project won their last trophy in 1976. Questionable maths is perhaps not confined to the Etihad’s accounts department, though Manchester United’s support must get their kicks where they can.

Should City’s fall from grace be fully confirmed by the appeals and sanctions process, there is nothing in the way of irrefutable evidence of United’s former supremacy being restored. How United fans would love to return to 2008, when Michael Carrick was a key cog in Sir Alex Ferguson’s team of European champions. Instead, the autumn of 2026 brings a familiar swell of doubt, another manager dragged towards the meat grinder. It will be 40 years next month since Ferguson was appointed. A draw made United’s start to their league campaign the worst since then. The Carrick bounce has come to a standstill.

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