Fallowfield Red said:
We were the first Manchester team, It says 1878 0n rag merchandise that we were founded 2 years before city. I'm a scruffy rag paedophile with fuck all better to do than come on city forums,truth be told I feel more at home here.RedCafe is full of cockneys and the Irish.
Neither City nor Utd were the first Manchester club, however this myth about Newton Heath playing football before the Blues has to be cleared up.
Newton Heath claim formation as 1878 but no evidence from that period whatsoever exists that they played football until November 1880 - the same month that we have hard evidence that St. Marks (City) played football. In fact the St. Mark's first known game is exactly 1 week prior to the game recognised as Newton Heath's first game.
Prior to 1880 Newton Heath were known as a works sports club but again little evidence exists of actual competitive sport, whereas St Marks are known to have been playing cricket as early as 1875 possibly earlier (again match reports exist).
The Blues evolved into MCFC in 1894 and Newton Heath became MUFC in 1902.
So on what terms do we measure 'oldest'? First known to have played competitive football - City (as St. Mark's). First known to have played competitive sport - City (as St. Mark's). First to have become 'Manchester' - City. First to claim a date in the 1870s - Utd (but in many authorised football books made pre-1990 Utd's formation is bizarrely recorded as 1885 - check out "There's Only One United - the Official Centenary History of MUFC" by Geoffrey Green). Green also states that the History of the Lancs FA says: "the club was founded in 1878,though no evidence seems available as precise proof of this".
All of this hardly matters, but it does prove that 'oldest' has to depend on hard evidence from the period - there are match reports from 1880, but no documentary evidence from the 1870s of football for either club produced pre-1880. For more info on the development of the game in our region (including comparisons on support etc.) check out "Manchester A Football History".