Author Archives: garyjamesfootballarchive

Maine Road 100 – Day 36

It’s day 36 of my posts counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game. Yesterday I featured Maine Road’s first derby match and today’s images are a reminder of the last Manchester derby played at Maine Road.

The game, played on 9 November 2002 saw City defeat United 3-1 with goals from Anelka and Goater (2). United’s historic last goal at Maine Road was scored by Solksjaer.

Fan memories of that day in Farewell To Maine Road

These images are taken from Farewell To Maine Road and subscribers can now download a PDF of that book. The feature on Maine Road’s last derby was in chapter one: End of an Era. See below for details of how to get that book.

Goater’s 100th goal, scored v MUFC in November 2002.

For those unfamiliar with Maine Road this photo may help locate the the tunnel image (number 1):

Maine Road aerial 1971 from Farewell To Maine Road

If you’d like to read more on the history of Maine Road, take a look at Farewell To Maine Road, which can be downloaded from this page:

Farewell To Maine Road – Part One

If you enjoy all the free material on my website and would like to support my research and keep this website going (but don’t want to subscribe) then why not make a one-time donation (or buy me a coffee). All support for my research is valued and welcome. It allows me to keep some free material available for all. Thanks.

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Maine Road Features – First 35 All In One Place…

So far there have been 35 days in my 100 day Maine Road countdown series of free to read features. I know some have dipped in and out and not had chance to see them all so, to make life easy, here they are so far in one handy place. Enjoy following the links to read them all. It’s a monumental series of articles on the old stadium and I hope it gives those who attended a nice reminder of the old place and those that didn’t (and it was 20 years ago!) a feel for what it was like.

I start, of course, with Day One:

Maine Road 100 – Day 1
Maine Road 100 – Day 1 Answers
Maine Road 100 – Day 2
Maine Road 100 – Day 3
Maine Road 100 – Day 4
Maine Road 100 – Day 5
Maine Road 100 – Day 6
Maine Road 100 – Day 6 Answer
Maine Road 100 – Day 7
Maine Road 100 – Day 8
Maine Road 100 – Day 9
Maine Road 100 – Day 10
Maine Road 100 – Day 11
Maine Road 100 – Day 12
Maine Road 100 – Day 13
Maine Road 100 – Day 13 Answer
Maine Road 100 – Day 14
Maine Road 100 – Day 15
Maine Road 100 – Day 16
Maine Road 100 – Day 17
Maine Road 100 – Day 18
Maine Road 100 – Day 19
Maine Road 100 – Day 20
Maine Road 100 – Day 21
Maine Road 100 – Day 22
Maine Road 100 – Day 23
Maine Road 100 – Day 24
Maine Road 100 – Day 25
Maine Road 100 – Day 26
Maine Road 100 – Day 27
Maine Road 100 – Day 28
Maine Road 100 – Day 29
Maine Road 100 – Day 30
Maine Road 100 – Day 31

Maine Road 100 – Day 31 Answer
Maine Road 100 – Day 32
Maine Road 100 – Day 33
Maine Road 100 – Day 34
Maine Road 100 – Day 35

There are another 65 articles to come. Check my website every day for the next one. As well as these free articles subscribers to my website can download the entire Farewell To Maine Road book I wrote in 2003. It’s been out of print since 2004 and was originally priced at £25. Subscribers can pay £20 a year to get that and PDFs of my 2010 book Manchester A Football History and 1989 book From Maine Men To Banana Citizens. They also get access to exclusive articles, interviews and content. For details see:

How To Subscribe

If you enjoy all the free material on my website and would like to support my research and keep this website going (but don’t want to subscribe) then why not make a one-time donation (or buy me a coffee). All support for my research is valued and welcome. It allows me to keep some free material available for all. Thanks.

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Champions League Celebrations

Tonight’s online talk and celebration of Manchester City’s 2023 Champions League success is completely sold out (it was free but you know what I mean!). If all goes to plan I will be posting it as a separate recording here on my website at some point. If you didn’t get tickets but would like to relive the Champions League final I have written several articles on this which you can read here:

From Istanbul to Istanbul

2023 Champions League Final
European Span of Success
Raining on the Parade
Champions League Celebrations Video
Champions League Final: UEFA’s Travel Incompetence
Treble Success

This was the story about tonight’s talk:

Celebrate Manchester City’s 2023 Champions League Success

If you enjoy all the free material on my website and would like to support my research and keep this website going (but don’t want to subscribe) then why not make a one-time donation (or buy me a coffee). All support for my research is valued and welcome. It allows me to keep some free material available for all. Thanks.

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Maine Road 100 – Day 35

It’s day 35 of my posts counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game and today’s images are a reminder of the first Manchester derby played at Maine Road.

The game, played on 12 September 1925 (United had been in the Second Division when City first moved to Maine Road), saw City & United draw 1-1 before 66,000. This was at the time the highest Manchester derby crowd ever. It was later eclipsed with the record on a club ground being 78,000 (Maine Road). There have been higher at Wembley of course.

Sam Cowan scored for City and Clatworthy Rennox for United. Later this season the return derby at Old Trafford saw City win 6-1:

6-1 Old Trafford Derby

These images show Cowan’s goal and a drawing of the game’s highlights. Note the crowd references in the drawing.

Guess which game I’m going to cover tomorrow…. This was the first derby at Maine Road. Maybe it’s time to remember the last one?

For those unfamiliar with Maine Road this photo may help locate the end Cowan’s goal was scored at. In the days before the Popular Side (later Kippax) was roofed this was the goal mouth at the Platt Lane end (number 3/5) with the unroofed terracing beyond the players being located around number 8.

Maine Road aerial 1971 from Farewell To Maine Road

If you’d like to read more on the history of Maine Road, take a look at Farewell To Maine Road, which can be downloaded from this page:

Farewell To Maine Road – Part One

If you enjoy all the free material on my website and would like to support my research and keep this website going (but don’t want to subscribe) then why not make a one-time donation (or buy me a coffee). All support for my research is valued and welcome. It allows me to keep some free material available for all. Thanks.

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Khaldoon’s Annual Message: Part Two

The second part of Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak’s annual message to fans has been posted. In this he talks about the following:

  • The expansion of the North Stand at the Etihad Stadium
  • The Mike Summerbee, Colin Bell and Francis Lee statues
  • The success of the Manchester City Academy
  • The progress of the wider City Football Group

https://www.mancity.com/citytv/mens/chairman-2023-annual-interview-part-two-63822846

If you missed yesterday’s here it is:

https://www.mancity.com/citytv/mens/chairman-2023-annual-interview-part-one-63822759

Maine Road 100 – Day 34

It’s day 34 of my posts counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game. Today – Bert Trautmann’s testimonial scenes.

In 1964 Manchester City staged a testimonial game for legendary City goalkeeper Bert Trautmann. Officially there were less than 48,000 there (in a stadium that could hold in excess of 60,000) yet fans and others there that night know the attendance was much higher. My own dad told me last week how him & my mam were going to the game but when they arrived the turnstiles were closed and thousands were locked out a long time before kick off.

There are stories of some fans trying to climb walls to get in and others talk about the packed terraces and stands.

It was truly the biggest testimonial game ever at Maine Road in terms of numbers, even if officially it was short of capacity. In the 90s I often asked players and officials from that era about this attendance, including Bert. No one actually wanted to say much about the discrepancy between the numbers officially reported and the actual volume of people in attendance, so we can leave all of that to the imagination. What they did all agree on is that there must have been well over 60,000 there that night and that Bert deserved whatever was raised from the match.

This image from 1961 shows how the stadium looked at the time of Trautmann’s testimonial.

Below is a view of Maine Road from 1971. The main image of fans on the pitch (above) is taken from near the Main Stand (number 2) looking across to the Kippax (7/8).

Maine Road aerial 1971 from Farewell To Maine Road

If you’d like to read more on the history of Maine Road, take a look at Farewell To Maine Road, which can be downloaded from this page:

Farewell To Maine Road – Part One

If you enjoy all the free material on my website and would like to support my research and keep this website going (but don’t want to subscribe) then why not make a one-time donation (or buy me a coffee). All support for my research is valued and welcome. It allows me to keep some free material available for all. Thanks.

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Last Few Places: Celebrate Manchester City’s 2023 Champions League Success

On Wednesday 21 June at 6pm (UK time) come and join me for one hour of discussion on Manchester City FC’s 2023 Champions League final. Let’s celebrate and remember the positives of this remarkable achievement. Lots have already reserved their place and there are only a few more places left, so register now if you want to attend.

As with previous Manchester City history talks I’ll spend a bit of time discussing the significance of the success and will then open the session up. I’m keen to hear your experiences of the night and what this meant to you as a City fan, whether you travelled to Istanbul or watched from home. Every Blue is welcome! 

Come and celebrate this incredible and historic achievement. 

Sign up to join this free online event where I will discuss the significance of this momentous night in Mancunian history. This hour will include the opportunity to share your stories and memories as I am keen to hear your thoughts.

Lots suffered horrendous conditions both before and after the match BUT this night won’t be discussing those (maybe we’ll do that another day?). You can add your comments/experiences here:

Champions League Final: UEFA’s Travel Incompetence

Instead the idea is to celebrate and remember the stuff that might get lost along the way. Make no mistake this was a truly significant occasion and one we should celebrate for the rest of our lives.

To ensure we have enough opportunity to hear from each other the capacity is restricted to the first 40 people who register. This is free to join but there’s also the opportunity to pay a donation if you’d like to support my website, work and research. No obligation though – this is about celebrating a wonderful event!

The event will be live on Zoom on 21/6/23 at 6pm and a link will be sent to all those who have registered for the event beforehand (probably earlier that day). THIS WILL BE EMAILED OUT SEPARATELY – NOT VIA EVENTBRITE.

The session will be recorded and a recording will appear on my website at a later date. There is the possibility that everyone who speaks will be recorded and included in the video. 

You can find out more about previous talks here:

https://gjfootballarchive.com/tag/history-talks/

You can register for Wednesday’s celebration here:

Register on Eventbrite

Maine Road 100 – Day 33

It’s day 33 of my posts counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game. Today – Notice anything odd about this image? Look at the Main Stand roof….

This photo was taken shortly after World War Two at a time when the adverts and notices on the Main Stand roof had been blacked out to avoid being picked up by enemy bombers during the war.

We all know about Old Trafford being bombed and while the Maine Road stadium did not suffer major damage houses on Thornton Road and other streets around the ground were bombed during the war.

The semi-circular gable on the roof of the stand carried adverts for much of its existence, though initial plans had been to have the club’s name proudly displayed there. I’ve yet to find an image showing any MCFC wording painted on to it but I do believe it did have this early in the stadium’s life, before adverts took over.

This photo shows the gable from the back/air:

This 1971 view shows the second Main Stand roof (actually just the middle section was replaced) and the original gable would have appeared where number 1 is.

Maine Road aerial 1971 from Farewell To Maine Road

If you’d like to read more on the history of Maine Road, take a look at Farewell To Maine Road, which can be downloaded from this page:

Farewell To Maine Road – Part One

If you enjoy all the free material on my website and would like to support my research and keep this website going (but don’t want to subscribe) then why not make a one-time donation (or buy me a coffee). All support for my research is valued and welcome. It allows me to keep some free material available for all. Thanks.

Choose an amount

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£5.00
£7.50

Or enter a custom amount

£

Your contribution is appreciated.

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