Manchester United supporter group The Red Army will bring back their iconic ticket banner to the Stretford End, showing the last time Manchester City won a trophy.
The group will display ’50 years’ since the Citizens last lifted silverware, referring to the 1976 League Cup, deeming every trophy since City’s takeover in 2008 void.
Stretford End Flags sold the original banner to a Kuwaiti collector for £7,000 in 2013 and is trying to get it back.
The banner will be shown at United’s match against Tottenham on Saturday, ticking up from 50 to 51 with the season underway.
City boss Enzo Maresca spoke definitely ahead of his side’s clash against Liverpool, saying he has “complete trust” in the club after they were found guilty of more than 100 breaches of Premier League financial rules.
Maresca said: “There is a process ongoing and in this moment I completely trust the club. This is what I can say about that.
“I trust the club because I trust the people, and this is also the reason why I joined the club. There is not another club in the world where I would like to be.
“I spoke with the club, for sure, and we all trust, and the right moment to speak about that is when we win the appeal.”
Manchester United supporter group the Red Army will bring back their iconic ticket banner to the Stretford End, showing the last time Manchester City won a trophy.
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GETTY
When asked if he would have taken the job in the summer had the independent commission’s decision been published, Maresca stated: “100 per cent.
“I know the organisation from years ago, and I know how serious they are; I know they do the right things.
“We didn’t speak about that (the charges) because I don’t think that was a problem for the club at the time, as they were thinking in an honest way, and they are convinced at the end we will win the appeal.”
The Italian admitted he did not read the findings of the commission, which said City recorded close to £950million in sponsorship revenue from Abu Dhabi-based companies, while around £830m of the funding had come from the Abu Dhabi United Group, which owns the club.
Enzo Maresca spoke definitely ahead of his side’s clash against Liverpool
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PA
Maresca continued: “Again, I trust the club. I promise you my focus is just about football so I’m not thinking about different things because, first of all, I don’t understand about many things.
“For me, for the players, we can control just the football side.
“We are focused on that and that is what we can control, we can’t control anything different.
“We just try to manage the noise. We understand the seriousness of the situation, the noise. We just need to manage that. We have to go to Anfield and win the game.”
Manchester City were found guilty by an independent commission for breaching Premier League financial rules
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PAThe Italian welcomed some respite after an onslaught of questions about the charges when asked how Erling Haaland’s doing after limping off early while playing for Norway.
Maresca said: “Finally! He’s good. He went to Marbella, two, three days off.
“He played golf, recovery and ready for Anfield. He’s good. Thank you.”
City play Liverpool on Sunday in a blockbuster clash scheduled for 4:30pm.
