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

Billy Meredith secured Manchester City’s initial major trophies over a century ago, faced a ban from the FA – and subsequently accomplished the same feat while playing for the red half of Manchester.

When the Manchester City ruling was eventually announced, the Guardian’s assessment was harsh. “FOOTBALL SENSATION – MANCHESTER CITY’S GRAVE OFFENCES – HEAVY PUNISHMENTS,” the headline declared. “It has been established that for years the club systematically violated Football Association regulations through highly unethical methods.”

Yet these words were not composed last Friday. Rather, they were written more than 120 years ago, at the conclusion of English football’s first major underhand payment controversy.