Every saint has a past: how man at heart of City’s first scandal became a United hero | Manchester City

When the Manchester City decision finally dropped, the Guardian’s verdict was damning. “FOOTBALL SENSATION – MANCHESTER CITY’S GRAVE OFFENCES – HEAVY PUNISHMENTS”, the headline read. “It is now proved that the club had for years systematically broken the rules of the Football Association by very unscrupulous means.”

But these words weren’t written last Friday. Instead they…