2. Billy Meredith
As mentioned previously, Meredith was a central figure in the 1905 scandal when he exposed Citys financial irregularities. This all emerged off the back of an incident in an end of season fixture, when the Blues were up against Aston Villa and needed a victory to stand any chance of winning the league. Villa captain, Alex Leake was allegedly offered £10 to throw the game. He declined and Villa subsequently won the match, which ended in him exchanging blows with believe-it-or-not, Sandy Turnbull. The F.A. inevitably investigated the scrap, which gave Leake the opportunity to report the discrepancy regarding the bribe. The fall-guy in the ensuing disciplinary was Billy Meredith, the City captain, as it was apparently he who approached Leake. Meredith wasnt asked to supply evidence and despite consistently protesting his innocence, he was fined and suspended by the governing body. City now found themselves in a sticky situation, and in an effort to keep the F.A. on-side, they stopped paying Merediths salary during his ban. This happened to open an even bigger can of worms and led to the player, now disgruntled at being cast-out by the club, publishing the newspaper report exposing the scandal. City then agreed to a free transfer to United in May 1906, whilst he was still suspended. Like Turnbull, the Welsh Wizard wrote himself in the United history books, being credited on the official club website as their first ever footballing legend. He made his debut once his ban was lifted in January 1907, at which point five of his former City colleagues had also joined him. And it was this year that he left his legacy on the sport as a whole, when he organised the first ever meeting of what is now the Professional Footballer's Association. He continued at United until 1921, when he returned to City to see out his career. He was reunited with the manager who took him to the Reds in the first place, Ernest Mangnall, who had crossed the divide back in 1912 and remains the only person to manage both sides. A tee-total lifestyle meant that the winger went on to set the records for oldest ever player for Wales and for both of the Manchester clubs. He turned out at 45 years & 229 days for his national side, 46 years & 281 days for the Reds and 49 years & 245 days for the Blues. However, had City kept the player on-side during the 1905 investigation, he might never have donned the red of United in the first place.