The day after an independent panel confirmed Manchester City's guilt on more than 100 Premier League rule breaches, a handful of City fans gathered in a Bredbury pub at 4pm, unsure of what was coming. They had been told to expect a surprise from the club.
There were jokes about what it could be, especially given the bombshell news of the previous evening, but there was also unease as fans simply didn't know what to think. Then Paul Dickov walked in, and the chat instantly turned to York and Wycombe away three decades earlier, and a fragile mood became strong again.
A gesture to reconnect with local fans
Dickov was there together with the general secretary of the Official Supporters Club, Kevin Parker, after an idea that the OSC discussed with the club in summer. There was a feeling that as the club have got bigger and bigger in recent years, as Parker put it: "We've lost a little bit of that connection locally with the football club."
The idea was to get signed shirts and deliver them to the 20 biggest supporters club branches in Greater Manchester during a quiet moment in the international break, bringing Dickov along as an extra surprise in a gesture that shows they haven't forgotten their core support. Then came the guilty verdicts, and suddenly all manner of jokes could be made about City visiting their most local fans with one of their heroes from the third division.
It would have been easy for City to cancel the visit, and easier still to uninvite the Manchester Evening News from attending, but everything went ahead as planned. For those Blues present, it was a comfort after the sky fell down on their heads.
Parker's emotional reaction to the verdict
"It has been amazing, to be honest with you," says Parker. "It sort of helps you realise what being a City fan is all about, and running the OSC is all about. These are just normal people who run their branch, for their members, for the local community, or the charities that they raise money for. It's been lovely. It's been a nice escape, shall we say?"
Parker is one of the club's most ardent defenders, never slow in speaking out online against anyone who is critical. In the frenzy of media requests for City fans to comment since last Friday, he hasn't said very much. Some of that was waiting for the official news and details to come on Tuesday evening, but when it did it floored him. He is happy to talk about it in the pub, yet can't help but get emotional as he talks uninterrupted for nearly seven minutes and details just how much it hit him.
"It's a tough read," he said of the decision. "When I'm reading it, I'm thinking, 'Oh, um...The word sham was used, and I'm thinking it's an interesting word. Is that word that they're using a legal term? So I Googled sham."
"If I'm honest, I didn't even want to read that statement to the end. I didn't want to, because it was uncomfortable to read it. But I did. And I'm on the edge of thinking, where do I go from here as a City fan?"
Parker then read the club response, and started weighing up the two sides. He was then sent the video message that Ferran Soriano had produced for staff, and is now "back in the room". The club have delivered on everything they have promised fans, he says, so why should he doubt them now?
But the very fact that someone as loyal as the OSC general secretary had a wobble when he read the 40-page decision cuts to how much this has tortured fans. Every fan's loyalty is to the club first over the owners, but it is the club that has just been plunged into uncertainty rather than the owners.
Dickov's reminder of the club's lowest point
The fans will outlive any changes at the top though, and Dickov's presence is a reminder of the lowest point City have previously dropped - that is still remembered by supporters who were there in their tens of thousands to revel in being rubbish. It is the quirk of a generation of Blues who have seen the club at one of their lowest points and then their highest ever, and the love for the team from the 1998-199 season is as warm as ever.
"It just shows you the commitment that they've got, you know? Well, not just the commitment, but the knowledge and the passion they've got for the club and how much Manchester City is part of their everyday lives," said Dickov. "For me as an ex-player and the club in general to be able to give something back to them and seeing it go in such a long way is amazing."
"When I speak to the lads, and message Shaun Goater or Andy Morrison or Nicky Weaver, we talk a lot about how it is that this is 30 years later and we're still held in this high esteem. It seems the longer it was, the more important it seems looking back."
"I don't believe for one second people saying it was where it all started - we played a small part - but the memories the fans had from that season - when we weren't very good at times to obviously that amazing day at Wembley is something that has stuck forever."
City have to face the future, whatever the consequences of the brutal decision from the last week. All eyes will be on Enzo Maresca when he addresses the media on Friday and the mudslinging from the cheating scandal will follow the team and the fans wherever they go - starting at Anfield next Sunday.
Blues are still coming to terms with how they feel, but a defiance is already setting in and inflatable bananas have already been ordered in bulk ahead of the trip to Liverpool so that fans can celebrate their unique history. Parker is used to being asked for tickets for games, and expects demand to soar following the verdict as all fans put their efforts into getting behind the players.
"The impression I'm getting, and response I'm getting, is that the support for the club remains very, very strong," he added. "There are some City fans out there who have lost faith. That's fine, by the way. But the majority will wait, and listen, I think."
"I think the response from the City fans will be amazing. I guarantee you it will be. You know, what they plan to do in terms of showing their support for the clubs, but not just the current situation, but showing their support for the history of this football club. I know already that the demand for tickets for away games will probably only get worse, not better."
