The Mancunian Way: 'Champions again'

They’ve done it again. Manchester City are the Premier League champions for an unprecedented fourth year in a row. Standing outside the Etihad Stadium yesterday, the joy on the faces of Blues supporters was infectious.

As I walked back to town afterwards, I passed the bars around New Islington Marina and Ancoats, which were teeming with City fans celebrating in the sun. It was a joyous sight but I found it hard not to feel a little envious.

My team is Bury - a club that could not have had more contrasting fortunes to City over the last five years. For Blues who were there on the day we beat them 1-0 at Maine Road in 1998, moments like yesterday must have seemed a million miles away.

Before the game, I spoke to Paul Chapman - a Blue since 1968 and one of many who recalls the dark days when being a City supporter was a cause for ridicule.

Despite having seen his club win the lot in recent years, it was clear that Paul does not take days like yesterday for granted. He, like many City fans his age, knows just how lucky he is to be living through this period of dominance.

While City's success may not last forever, the memories being made along the way certainly will.

In today's newsletter, we’ll also be discussing a horrific discovery made in a children’s toy shop. An M.E.N. investigation has revealed just how easy it is for people to get hold of knives and crossbows with lethal potential.

Our reporters were able to purchase a pistol crossbow, capable of firing aluminium pointed bolts at high velocity, at a toy shop in Bury and a machete from a gift shop in Stockport.

While it is not illegal for shops to sell such items to people over the age of 18, it does raise concerns about how easily available they are.

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