My old man grew up in Northenden. Born 1930, he often talked about when out in the Mcr pubs in the 1950, both the City and Utd players would be around and would just be another bloke in the pub, no special treatment though they did have a bit more cash than most. He said the first time he ever saw a fiver put on a dog at Belle Vue was by a player. My fave tale of his was when in a pub on the Sunday following the FA Cup final, he saw one of the players (can’t recall name) with a cut on the face and when asked if he picked up during the game, player said no, coming down the steps after collecting medal and someone whacked him in the face with one of those old football rattles!
RIP Dad