With 9 PL clubs under American control, English football is BOOMING in the US

It is 5.50am in San Francisco’s historic North Beach district and all is quiet. This is the place made famous by giants of American literature, where Jack Kerouac and his pals would party until the early hours picking up inspiration for novels and poetry that would inspire generations.

On this Sunday morning nobody is raising hell and the almost-vertical streets lay silent in darkness. Shutters are down at the bars and bohemian clothes stores, as they are at the City Lights bookstore, familiar to millions. But a short stroll up Grant Avenue takes you to Maggie McGarry’s pub, where the light is on and the door is open.

Inside, a group of around half a dozen huddle at barstools in front of a television.

Mick Graham, the owner, is pouring Irish coffees. He is wearing a maroon-coloured Manchester City jersey from 2008 with the name of former hero Elano on the back. On the screen, the current-day version of City are about to take on Luton Town and while the rest of town may be asleep, this hardy group would not miss it for the world.

‘I’ve been here since 1989 and there was no chance of watching City back then - which is probably a good thing given how rubbish we were,’ says Dave Humphreys, who moved here to work during the tech boom and stayed on.

Dave is 60. He is on the board of San Francisco Vikings, a local youth soccer club, and so is well-placed to comment on the Premier League’s incredible growth in America - which he relays through an enduring Salfordian accent.

‘The tsunami of the Premier League in the US is coming,’ he says. ‘My daughter is 15 and she plays. Every single girl on her team has a Premier League team. Every game is on television now, on YouTube.

'We have 800 families at the club. If you talk to