For most clubs, winning the league title and the League Cup would constitute an extremely satisfying season. But one suspects that when Manchester City look back on recent events they might feel just a little deflated, despite being worthy Premier League champions, a title which they will surely clinch in the coming weeks.
There was always going to be a sense of anti-climax for City concerning the league title owing to the runaway nature of their triumph. We have known for many weeks they will win the league. But there still remained the ultimate and most difficult goal -- the Champions League trophy.
What wasn't foreseen, however, was that after such a great season when at times City have played sublime football, they would lose three games in a row. Not that they played particularly badly, except perhaps in the first leg 3-0 defeat at Anfield which was to prove decisive.
They demolished United in the first half of last week's league derby only to inexplicably squander the advantage after the break. And who knows what the final outcome would have been in Tuesday night's clash with Liverpool had Leroy Sane's scrambled effort just before half-time not been incorrectly disallowed for offside.
Before the game, manager Pep Guardiola had admitted "we have to be perfect'' if they were to overcome Liverpool. But they weren't perfect, including the gaffer who picked up a red card for complaining about Sane's non-goal.
So all that's left for City is the formality of taking the league title. It might take slightly longer than originally anticipated as tonight they take on Tottenham Hotspur away, not the easiest fixture when you've just lost three in a row.
Contrast City's situation now to the drama and excitement when they achieved their first Premier League title (and third overall) six years ago. It featured a Hollywood-style ending with a last-gasp Sergio Aguero goal to snatch the title from United's grasp. How sweet that must have tasted for City after a 44-year drought.
City's win was even more popular because it really upset Sir Alex Ferguson who had already publicly announced his displeasure with the "noisy neighbours". Another moment for City fans to savour in that season was the 6-1 humiliation of United at Old Trafford.
At the helm for City at time of triumph was Roberto Mancini. Exactly a year later he was booted out because he failed to repeat the previous season's heroics.
Their 2012 triumph meant that City had shaken off that unwelcome tag of being one of the biggest underachievers in English football. Over the years, City fans have had to put up with more than their share of disappointment -- even experiencing the embarrassment of a season in the third tier -- and until recently have always lived in the unwelcome shadow of their neighbours at Old Trafford.
Even on the occasions Man City achieved something -- admittedly a rare occurrence -- United always seemed to upstage them.
A classic example came in 1968 when City won the league title, edging United by two points thanks to a dramatic away win at Newcastle on the final day. But then United managed to steal all the glory by going on to win the European Cup for the first time, defeating Benfica 4-1 amid emotional scenes at Wembley. City's league triumph was all but forgotten.
The managers have particularly suffered, and for long periods the club had appeared to have been unmanageable. It took a dreadful toll on many who tried to take the task on.
Among the gaffers who suffered were Asa Hartford, Steve Coppell, Phil Neal, Howard Kendall, Alan Ball, Frank Clarke and Kevin Keegan. And there have been plenty more. Others to fall by the wayside later were Sven-Goran Eriksson and Mark Hughes.
During his time at the club, Neal commented: "Watching City is probably the best laxative you can have."
When Joe Royle was appointed manager in 1998, a letter to the Manchester Evening News read: "May I wish Joe Royle well in a task equivalent to nailing jelly to the ceiling."
At least the crowds at the old Maine Road stadium witnessed plenty of goals. City hold two of the most curious goal-scoring records. In the 1937-38 season, they were top scorers, banging in 80 goals and conceding 77, yet they still succeeded in getting relegated.
Two decades later, in 1957-58, they became the only team in English football to score 100 goals and concede 100 in the same season. The extra digits in the 'goals for' and 'goals against' columns caused huge problems for newspapers with the league table format.
Of course the turnaround in fortunes in the past decade has only been achieved with the huge influx of money injected into the club. They first got a taste of what the good life could be in the unlikely hands of Thailand's Thaksin Shinawatra back in 2007 with Eriksson at the helm. The results were not that great, but it was a start and the Thai owner even learnt how to warble Blue Moon.
Suddenly fantasy became reality for City fans as the oil sheikhs moved in, prompting a Daily Mirror headline "It's Middle Eastlands". City supporters soon got into the spirit of things with fans dressing up a as sheikhs and pantomime camels.
Since the sheikhs arrived at Eastlands in 2008, by the end of this season there will have been three league titles, three league cups and one FA Cup. And no one would rule them out for next season.
That's not a bad return for the gentlemen in Abu Dhabi. But the Holy Grail of European glory has so far eluded them.