Chapter 15: (not a) Conclusion

This chapter is a ‘game of two halves’. A ‘game of two halves’ is a renowned and oft-quoted football (soccer) commentator cliché and refers to the idea that in one half of a (soccer) game, one team played better, and in the other half, the other team played better. The result of a game reflects the spirit of the healthy competition. We think. The editors of the current volume know little about football and, indeed, that meaning of the phrase does not apply to this chapter at all. It came to us, however, because until recently, one of the editors thought that it meant that something is never really over. It does not, but that idea does pertain here. We have called this final chapter ‘(not a) Conclusion’ because the work in Manchester is far from over. As we move out of Covid-19 (hopefully) and over a decade of austerity (maybe), Manchester is coming to life again.