Manchester City in a league of their own as chasing pack face uphill battle in new season
Forty summers ago, a new order for the top division of English football was celebrated by a middle-aged man in a grey-brown suit dancing awkwardly on the pitch. Luton Town had just saved themselves from relegation to the second tier. Their impish manager, David Pleat, jived with joy at the 1-0 win as, around him, Manchester City’s players, doomed to relegation by the result, held back tears.