Manchester has been ranked the fourth best English city for football fans, according to a new study.
Newcastle upon Tyne topped the poll, conducted by Voetbaltravel, with Southampton and Liverpool completing the top three.
The survey took into consideration a range of different categories, including the number of teams the city has, the quality and price of hotels for fans, transport options and stadium reviews.
But Manchester’s ranking of fourth left many fans puzzled.
One fan, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “How can we be worse than Liverpool overall when both our teams in the Premier League are much more successful?”
But unfortunately it wasn’t just the teams’ skills and players that contributed towards this ranking.
Manchesters statistics which contributed to them being ranked fourth in the country took into consideration them having two stadiums and two teams in the Premier League, as well as tram, train and bus travel options to get to the stadiums and 4,953 “excellent” rated reviews on Tripadvisor.
However, this data – unfortunately for Manchester – revealed that they had an average rating of 3.1 out of 10 for the value of their hotels, a shockingly low figure in comparison to Newcastle’s 8.6 at top spot.
Other figures showed Manchester to be unsuccessful in this study as their travel time rating in terms of getting to the stadiums was at an even lower score or 2.3 out of 10.
This was a huge downfall in Manchester’s statistics, as Newcastle scored top marks with a solid 10.
However, Manchester did well when it came to its stadiums, placing joint first with Liverpool for average stadium review rating on Tripadvisor.
One review from a Liverpool fan of Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium said: “There was fans from Liverpool and other clubs and even they agreed it was a tour worth taking.”
This study, possibly for the first time, brought Manchester United and Manchester City fans together, bonding over their hatred for Liverpool.
Another United fan who also asked to remain anonymous said: “I feel like Manchester City and United have some of the best followings in the world, never mind the country.”
Of course, the clubs continue to do battle in the Premier League.
With the season reaching the first quarter of the way through, Liverpool are currently placed tenth in the league, whilst Man City are second and Man United fifth.
Liverpool do, however have the biggest win of the Premier League season so far, with a 9-0 win against Bournemouth.
With it clear that all is still to play for in this intense competition, the results of this study can now however not be changed, and Manchester has to deal with falling short to Liverpool and coming fourth best British city for football fans.
Main image: Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium
