We all like to say we relegated them but the facts don’t bear that out," says Rothband. "We didn’t relegate them. The recruitment of Summerbee, Colin Bell and then Lee to play with the likes of Young, Tony Book and Mike Doyle helped Mercer forge a side described by BBC commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme as "the most exciting team in England". It was pretty brutal on the pitch in those days and I think part of that was because much of the team then were Manchester lads. Mike Doyle, for example, who was City through and through – he bled sky-blue blood. A lot of those players were City fans themselves, from the local area. I think that fuelled an even greater rivalry.

But the world of football moves fast. When we first ran this Survey, Sir Alex Ferguson was still managing United while Sergio Aguero was still two weeks away from winning City their first title in 44 years with that famous, last-minute strike against Queens Park Rangers. It’s always been a contentious topic among football fans in this part of the world. So where exactly do followers of City and United really come from?

'Tis the (events) season

The European crown is one that has yet eluded City, but with the final against Inter Milan in Istanbul coming a week after the FA Cup final, this could be the year that Champions League glory finally arrives for the blue side of Manchester. Gary Neville's mistake for a Shaun Goater goal helped City beat United in the last derby at Maine Road in November 2002 In a one-off game we have a chance against anyone," says Motty. "We beat them at Old Trafford, we’ve beaten Liverpool and Arsenal and Barcelona. We can beat the best teams.

Tevez was an early high-profile example of a player snatched by one from the clutches of another - a capture also subsequently used by one to seek acclaim over the other.

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We also recognise that these things come in cycles. City in the late 60s/early 70s and the success we had. Stretford had the period in the late 80s and 90s. And now for the last 10 years, Manchester City have finished above them in every single league campaign. Aren’t those beautiful words?" It’ll be difficult because we know how good City are and they have hit form at the right stage – in squeaky-bum time, as Ferguson called it. On paper we are the better side. If we play as we did against Arsenal [to beat them 4-1 in the league in April] we will blow them away. But it is a one-off final. It doesn’t work like that. Originally launched among a number of other brands, Manchester stood out among its peers, surpassing them in popularity and quality. This inspired the owner to focus on further developing the brand, ultimately gearing the company’s resources and capital towards the evolution of Manchester, collaborating with the team to run research and studies to produce only the finest of blends. Since then, City have gone on to win five titles in the past six years under Pep Guardiola, while United have endured a period of upheaval, but finally look to be building again under new boss Erik ten Hag.

When Manchester City and Manchester United contest the 2023 FA Cup final, it will be the first time the two have directly faced each other for a major trophy in their long and estimable history. In contrast to how such a situation may be viewed today, the moves were welcomed by many fans as a show of Mancunian solidarity. City return from the international break to face the Merseyside Reds. May not have Harland in this one but it’s bound to be close either way. I’ll take a Doku tally and one more from Foden as the Manc Blues down Liverpool. I got the impression, and I still do a bit, that everything they do they measure it against United. They weren’t in our heads enough while they were thinking ‘we need to do what United is doing and do it better’."

Having beaten United 1-0 on their own turf, City headed to United on 10 February 2008 for a contest overshadowed by the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster four days earlier.

City have traditionally had strongholds in East and North Manchester, while the west of the city has usually seen a large number of United fans. City's return to the top flight under Joe Royle in 2000 not only rekindled the rivalry between the two clubs but acted as a showcase for the culmination of a smaller but no less fierce individual feud.

That just built that hatred I had as a young man and facing all those coins and bottles being thrown across by their fans. To go from those games in the late 60s and early 70s to then a situation where they were riding high – it was painful. I still bear the scars today. Just two of a multitude of sides in the Manchester area at that time, there was no special significance or spite to encounters between them in those early days - the first of which came on 12 November 1881 and saw Newton Heath claim a 3-0 victory. I don’t even mention them [United] by name," Rothband tells BBC Sport. "I hate them with a passion. It does annoy me the myth that is built around that and the narrative that Denis Law and City relegated us. They didn’t," adds Motty. "We could have won that game 10-0 and still gone down. With Ferguson at the helm, United were not only strong but smart in their recruitment. Even in the early years of City's newfound wealth, the Scot was able to successfully sell his project to significant players whom their rivals were also chasing - Dimitar Berbatov and Van Persie being high-profile examples.