For the first time since the birth of the Premiership in 1992-93, Manchester United have gone three years without winning the league.
Given that in the last 14 years the Red Devils have won the title eight times, you cannot brand the club as a failure, especially when considering that they have not finished lower than third in the final standings.
Alex Ferguson is still very passionate about his job but the young fans think that United need a new face. The Scot's experience in the game speaks volumes and were it not for that blip at home to Sunderland, United would have given Chelsea a sterner challenge at the finish.
Their neighbours City were led by Stuart Pearce in his first full season as manager. City fans had something to cheer about when they gained four points from their two league clashes with United. The loss of their best player Shaun Wright-Phillips to Chelsea for £21 million at the start of the term was a tremendous blow for City.
Manchester United had already forfeited two matches (in October) before their first meeting with Chelsea at Old Trafford. Yet, United pulled their socks up and took the points to halt the champions in their stride, ending the Blues' fabulous run of 40 Premiership encounters without defeat.
The severest blow United suffered was their early elimination from the Champions League when, for the first time in 12 years, they failed to reach the knock-out phase of the tournament after losing their final group match away to Benfica.
Home points deficit
The loss of 15 points at home is what really let United down in the league as their five overall losses matched those suffered by champions Chelsea.
The Red Devils' enormous following went on to break the Premiership home record attendance on four occasions, the last time when 72,519 flocked into Old Trafford to attend the final home match of the season against Charlton.
City's end of season slide - they lost nine of their last ten league matches - cost them dearly in terms of Premiership prize money. The club had planned for a 12th place finish but ended up 15th.
Pearce has axed no fewer than 10 players, yet City's future is still rosy with the several interesting youngsters appearing in the FA Youth Cup final and the emergence of defender Micah Richards.
The 21-year-old Greek striker Georgios Samaras looks a good capture and he will be working hard to impress the fans at the City of Manchester Stadium.
United will have Wayne Rooney back in trim for the new season and it also seems that Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ferguson have buried the hatchet and the Dutchman will start the pre-season with the Red Devils.
In the domestic cup competitions, United went on to lift the League Cup for the second time in their history, defeating newcomers Wigan 4-0 in the final at Cardiff.
In the FA Cup, they lost to eternal rivals Liverpool 0-1 at Anfield in the fifth round.
City were a depressing lot in the League Cup when they fell at the first hurdle in a penalty shoot-out to Doncaster away. Their performance in the FA Cup was heartening after wins over Wigan and Aston Villa before succumbing 1-2 to West Ham at home in the quarter-finals.