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.