When your own technical director is happy for his twin sons to be firmly embedded in your bitter rivals’ youth set up, it is a firm indication that Manchester United’s decline runs deeper than Premier League failings.
Darren Fletcher is not the first former United player to send his kids to the other end of Mancunian Way as, not only are Manchester City streets ahead of their foes on the pitch, they are operating in a different realm off it, too.
A stroll around the Etihad Campus training facility is an awe-inspiring sight. There is four-star accommodation where City stars stay the night before games, a hypoxic chamber of treadmills where players can run at altitude or in extreme temperatures, and rooms dedicated to cryotherapy and ultra-sound treatment.
United’s Carrington amenities were described as being “on par” with Reading, in the League One relegation zone, by former academy graduate Charlie Savage in a recent interview.
While Old Trafford dwarfs the Etihad in terms of size, City’s facilities - from their incredible Tunnel Club VIP package to the press comforts – put United’s firmly in the shade.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has earmarked £250million for infrastructure projects but, given how far they have fallen behind City and other rivals, that will hardly scratch the surface.
Such is the scale of work needed to renovate Old Trafford, the club appointed architectural firm Populous, who oversaw Wembley’s rebuild and the construction of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, long before any takeover was considered.
One of the options on the table at the time was to build a new stadium on one of the car parks next to the current Old Trafford and knock the old one down when complete.
The cost would be upwards of £1bn, which Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani would reportedly have spent had he been successful with his complete takeover of United.
Ratcliffe, given he is taking only a minority stake, will not do the same, sources say, and plans to make renovations to the current structure, while setting some aside for a Carrington facelift.
Some have called it complacency, while others have blamed the Glazers for neglecting to spend the necessary funds. But having boasted the best stadium and training facilities in the country a decade ago, United have stood still, and let their infrastructure suffer as a result.
It is an attitude that has held the club back in a multitude of areas. During Sir Alex Ferguson’s tenure, United were the best in the world and young players wanted to join because of who they were, the history, the honour.
Now, there is a generation of young players who are not old enough to remember United being England’s standard-setters. As a result they, like everyone else, must use conventional ways to attract the best young talent out there.
And that starts with making the stadium and training facility at least fit for purpose.
