Manchester derby overshadows other clubs in region’s football tapestry

Greater Manchester on derby day feels like a place on the cusp of a great awakening. All morning the trains pull into Piccadilly and Oxford Road, spitting their cargo on to the streets. The pubs begin to swell and heave. Everyone seems to have somewhere to be, even the people who don’t. And then the great gathering flood: a wave of red and blue washing through the city, powered along by songs, San Miguel and a skittish nervous energy, picking a careful detour around the half-and-half scarf sellers. For a few restless hours, this city feels like the very centre of the footballing universe.

And by many measures, of course, it is. Come 2pm on Sunday the gaze of the world will be fixed on the latest instalment in the City/United rivalry. No other city in the world – not Milan, not Madrid, not London – can boast two clubs of this size or wealth. The conversation will flow in a dozen languages. The sweeping curves and coiled towers of the Etihad Stadium will be beamed into almost every country on Earth.

Welcome to Manchester. Or at least, a bit of it. For there are other panels in this city’s great tapestry of football. It’s just that they feel a little more peripheral these days, a little less essential to the whole. A few miles away to the east, Oldham are preparing for the visit of Wrexham in the National League. To the west, Bolton are hosting Lincoln City in League One as they try to rebuild along the progressive passing principles of coach Ian Evatt. To the south Stockport County, still high on the thrill of their first Football League campaign since 2011, face Walsall at Edgeley Park.

To a greater or lesser extent, these were once all considerable names in the English game. Bolton, Wigan Athletic and Oldham were Premier