Street pedlars now ply not only the traditional red shirts and scarves of one of the world's best-known clubs but also the green and gold colours of the Newton Heath works team.
Newton Heath, United's predecessors, were founded by railway workers in 1878, a decade before the world's first football league was instituted in Manchester's Royal Hotel.
Their colours are now increasingly prominent on match days at Old Trafford in a direct protest against the Florida-based Glazer family who bought the club in 2005.
After United's sweeping 4-0 Champions League win over AC Milan last month, they also dominated the newspapers and TV news bulletins when returning hero David Beckham stooped to pick up a green and gold scarf and wrapped it around his neck.
Beckham, who had come on as a substitute for the Italian side, had lingered on the pitch to acknowledge the applause from supporters of the club he left seven years ago.
The Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) is behind the green-and-gold protest and chief executive Duncan Drasdo told Reuters that Beckham's gesture had been a superb piece of public relations.
"Fantastic," he said. "It was really just an emotional response for him, reaching out to supporters and showing them he was with them.
"The green-and-gold thing has been tremendous for the atmosphere in the ground. It's made people feel reinvigorated about what it is to support a football team.
"I think people were feeling pretty disillusioned, supporters were feeling exploited about the loyalty they once felt towards their club."
Drasdo said MUST, which has just under 150,000 members, up from 36,000 two months ago, had been partially responsible for an announcement last month that the club had frozen ticket prices after a series of bitterly resented hikes.
PEOPLE POWER
"This clearly demonstrates the power supporters have when they come together as a unified group," he said.
"We know from sources inside the club the Glazers are very concerned about the growing green and gold campaign. I think that was a major step forward for us.
"It could be a combination of things of course, the campaign that has been going on inside the ground, the growing membership of a serious organisation, obviously that has created the uncertainty whether they could push through another price rise.
"I think they judged they couldn't," added Drasdo.
The reclusive Glazers have also angered fans by increasing the club's debt burden.
In response, a group of financiers calling themselves the Red Knights have met to discuss buying the club from the Glazers even though the Americans have steadfastly maintained United are not for sale.
Last week the Red Knights said they would continue to work on proposals but ruled out any approach to the Glazers before the end of the season.
Two years ago there was another reminder of Manchester's reputation as a spawning ground
