Not a MAN (or even a UK) resident and it's probably been about 5 years since I even visited the airport so take my comments in that context.
Manchester Rovers and Wanderers both announced new signings in the small hours GMT recently. Local fans in bed, Americans going to bed, so who was this for eh? Asians. With those two and the Merseyside red socks on your doorstep, I actually think MAN could support routes to cities in that part of the world that maybe even LHR could not. Over a hundred cities in China with populations in the millions, Garuda about to be allowed fly to the EU and US with their own crews and metal again...excuse the pun but the sky could really be the limit here.
The airport needs to market these three football clubs for all it's worth.