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The last time Manchester United competed in the second round of Tin Pot, the annual cup competition run by the Football League, they were stuffed 3-0 by York City in 1995. Now that was some result. United were the dominant team in the land, the best side in the country by a mile, on their way to becoming champions of England and the first-ever winners of a second Double. An XI featuring David Beckham, Lee Sharpe, Brian McClair, Ryan Giggs, Paul Parker, Denis Irwin, Gary Pallister and Phil Neville were thrashed on their own ground by a relegation-haunted rabble from the third tier, one of the great humiliations. And York City was an actual football club, a morally legitimate concern built from scratch with determination, love and patience, one which hadnt kidnapped the still-twitching carcass of another entity without a single thought for tradition or other peoples feelings simply to save themselves a few years effort and a bit of hard work.

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