This isnt true, i worked in Stretford & then Walkden for about 5 years. The lads & girls in Stretford were all city, i was really shocked and they were ALL hardcore match goers. Stretford. A few man u in Walkden but about even.
This is my experience of Manchester. I've been in my job for 36 years, different roles down the years. I started as a driver late 1988 and did a lot of travel between our various Manchester branches, Trafford Park, Stretford, Openshaw, Ashton, Oldham etc and the massive majority of the lads and women supported Utd. There was the odd City, but very few and far between. When I moved into IT in 2001, I was based in an office just up the road from where I now live, and I honestly do not remember any City fans at all working in there. All the local pubs we used to go to for dinner are 100% Utd pubs. On our road, there are two city families, everyone else is Utd. My kids have 1 mate each who are City fans, a couple of Liverpool, everyone else Utd. For years I hardly saw a City shirt anywhere. Even when we moved our head office to Old Trafford and we filled it with over 300 people, the amount of City fans was negligible, there were a few, but not in great numbers.
Its only in the past 10 years that city shirts started appearing and I now work with a couple of city fans, both Project Managers and both from over Cheadle way. My missus was born here and through her I know two City fans, a Dad and lad, who shes known for years, in total I know about 10 city fans, I've two mates who are locals who are Liverpool fans and everyone else I know who is into footy is Utd.
As Draex and Andy have said, Wythenshawe is a heavy Utd area, I've had abuse when I was in Wythenshawe hospital after heart surgery for wearing Liverpool shorts in the hospital, my missus worked with loads from Wythenshawe, all reds, I've delivered to the likes of Tesco and Iceland in Wythenshawe, staff I chatted to mainly Utd. Worst I had was I was delivering to a Tesco, think it might have been the Stockport one, and Utd won the league as I was being unloaded and all the backdoor staff and people coming in and out of the back were celebrating, its was horrible.