Dark clouds in Mancunian skies aren’t normally newsworthy…
On Sunday, however, this wasn’t the case as Twitter
responded to reports that part of Manchester City’s brand new Etihad Campus had apparently caught fire, causing a whopping great cloud of black smoke.
Dramatic pictures show how flames tore through chemical plant near Etihad Campus http://t.co/MRJ9Mo7vkZ pic.twitter.com/qr7RSrxacH
— Simon Coyle (@simon_coyle) April 6, 2015
The flames could be seen across Manchester and Salford, even reaching the area surrounding Old Trafford.
Speculation was rife about the cause of the blaze.
Had Sheikh Mansour used too many £50 notes to fire up his bank holiday barbeque? Was it Yaya Toure kicking off because Manuel Pellegrini had forgotten to buy him an Easter egg? Had Eliaquim Mangala tried to make a cup of tea?
Be great when Mangala burns down City's new training complex whilst trying to make himself a cup of tea.
— J (@jackejc8_7) December 8, 2014
Despite the conspiracy theories, the blaze stemmed from a nearby chemical plant, and not the Etihad Campus.
Thankfully nobody was injured, but it was a busy afternoon for local emergency services.
And City certainly didn’t need the metaphor to remind them how their title hopes have gone up in smoke.
