Salford City

Bolton Wanderers only became a fixture on Salford City's fixture list in 2020, when a promotion put the two clubs in the same division, yet the meetings have already taken on the sharpness of a local grudge. The more pointed rivalry runs the other way, without a ball needing to be kicked: FC United of Manchester was formed by supporters who walked away from Old Trafford in protest at the way it was run, and Salford's own boardroom is stocked with men who once played there. Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Paul Scholes bought into the club together, David Beckham joined them, and for a time the Singaporean businessman Peter Lim held a stake too. FC United fans see in that ownership the very model they rejected.

Salford started out in 1940 as Salford Central, in the amateur leagues that gave the city's works teams somewhere to play. The name changed to Salford Amateurs in 1963, and a merger with Anson Villa followed in 1980. The nickname, the Ammies, has stuck from that spell even though the club turned professional in 1989 and took the name it carries now. Moor Lane has been home throughout, a ground that holds 5,108 and has traded its name with sponsors over the years without ever losing the original.

The five ex-United players took over in 2014, and the club's colours changed with them, from the tangerine shirts and black shorts of the amateur years to red and white. Promotion followed promotion until Salford reached League Two, and in March 2021 the club beat Portsmouth on penalties, after a goalless final, to win the EFL Trophy. It was the sort of afternoon a club assembled from works football and a handful of famous names had no obvious right to expect. Bolton remain the derby that matters on the pitch; FC United remain the one that matters in principle.