Category Archives: Free

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

£2.50
£5.00
£7.50

Or enter a custom amount

£

Your contribution is appreciated.

Donate
How To Subscribe

Maine Road 100 – Day 32

It’s day 32 of my posts counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game. Today – A behind the Kippax image from 1993. This photo has so much going on despite it looking fairly bland. I’ll explain:

When the Kippax was roofed in 1957 the original terracing had to be squared off and so, instead of reducing the terracing City decided to extend it where its started to curve. You can see in this image that the end of the stand is on stilts/stanchions over the original banking where it was extended.

At the time the stand was enlarged in 1957 local residents objected to it. Some claimed they’d lost TV signal and were no longer able to get Granada TV which had started broadcasting in May 1956.

When this photo was taken in 1993 that area was for away fans and if you look carefully you can see the segregation fence to the left of the tunnel and going up the banking.

The tunnel and steps in the foreground of the photo are the original 1923 construction but these steps were no longer in use as an entry point. They were blocked off at the top and tended to be used as a seating area by fans instead. They’d been blocked off after the Ibrox Stadium disaster in 1971 when steps like these had to be remodelled to prevent a build up of fans flowing down at speed. This staircase was not altered but others were and remained in use.

Notice also the paved slope. This had been a simple slope of grass and rubble (as can be seen on the 1971 image lower down this page) for most of the stand’s life but general crowd disorder at football had led to City deciding to pave this section to prevent fans from grabbing stones and lobbing them over the segregation fence at rival fans. When I spoke with Bernard Halford many years ago, he was quite proud of this ‘flagging’ of the slope and said it did prevent some significant issues which could have had repercussions for the club.

This image from 1961 shows this part of the extended/squared off Kippax to the right of the photo.

Here’s a view from 1971 showing the back of the Kippax as it looked. The away staircase is to the left of number 8 and to the left of that you can see the squared off part of the stand on stilts. The staircase that is on the 1993 image is the one between 7 and 8 below.

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

£2.50
£5.00
£7.50

Or enter a custom amount

£

Your contribution is appreciated.

Donate
How To Subscribe

Maine Road 100 – Day 31 Answer

Yesterday I asked you to name the year this aerial view was taken. I gave the following clues:

  • The North Stand had yet to be built
  • The central part of the Main Stand roof is the original one
  • The original floodlights are in the corners
  • The Welcome To Maine Road sign has not yet been erected

The answer was 1961. Here’s a view from ten years later to compare with the above.

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

£2.50
£5.00
£7.50

Or enter a custom amount

£

Your contribution is appreciated.

Donate
How To Subscribe

Season Resumes

Today (17 June) in 2020 the 2019-20 resumed for Manchester City after a pause due to the Covid pandemic with a Premier League game at home to Arsenal. Played without supporters present, the match ended 3-0 with goals from Sterling, De Bruyne and Foden. You can watch highlights here:

https://www.mancity.com/citytv/mens/man-city-3-0-arsenal-long-highlights-63728028

Maine Road 100 – Day 31

It’s day 31 of my posts counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game. Today – An aerial view, but what’s the year?

I’ll give the answer tomorrow but a few clues:

  • The North Stand had yet to be built
  • The central part of the Main Stand roof is the original one
  • The original floodlights are in the corners
  • The Welcome To Maine Road sign has not yet been erected

Most of the above have been discussed on previous Maine Road 100 days so have a look back and see if you can work out the year. Comment below with your guesses. Answer tomorrow. Thanks

Here’s a view from 1971 to compare with the above.

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

£2.50
£5.00
£7.50

Or enter a custom amount

£

Your contribution is appreciated.

Donate
How To Subscribe

Treble Success

I don’t know where to start with this but I wanted to get a few thoughts down ahead of the celebration chat I’ve planned for Wednesday (see link below)… This has been an absolutely incredible few weeks for fans of Manchester City and it’s also be mentally and physically draining too. It will be in the coming weeks that we get to relax and look back on it all but I wanted to get some top of the head thoughts down now while they’re buzzing around. So here goes…

The history of football moves at a frantic pace and there are key moments (Tueart, Dickov, Aguerooooooooooooo for example) that are era defining or represent the beginning or the end of an era. This last week is another of those with Rodri’s goal at Istanbul finally bringing City the Champions League that we’ve all craved for so long (but pretended at times that we didn’t).

Manchester City are now Champions Of Europe and, finally, Villa fans can stop singing their song to us! There were many occasions over the decades since City’s last European trophy that the club had a squad of players that were capable of major European success but sadly circumstances worked against them. There were also times when the club suffered major failures but I’ll forget those for the moment.

Depending on when you were born you tend to fall into three rough categories of City fan (there’s more than this but I hope you get my point):

  • Those who remember City as a major power, winning trophies and being ahead of United, Liverpool & others; then falling apart under bad chairmanship; then resurrected; then takeover and what we have today.
  • Those who remember the failures of the 80s/90s; the lack of chance of competing then the takeover and the glory that’s followed.
  • Those who have only known City as a dominant, trophy winning force.

The media tend to portray City as a failing 3rd tier club that got lucky, but the truth is that that was only one season and it was only in the late 1990s that United overtook City in terms of number of seasons at the highest level (I’ll explain the numbers another day but prior to the late 1990s United had spent more seasons between 1894 and then in the second tier than City had !).

In the 1970s City won three times as many trophies as United and even in the 1990s/2000s the Blues only spent 6 seasons out of the top flight. This was two spells (5 years and 1 year) and that 5 year spell was the longest period the Blues had ever endured out of the top flight.

This season finding European success has lifted everything in a global sense. I’ve talked previously (way back in 2012) about City being the club for the new generation and that is absolutely how it is panning out. Add to the Champions League the FA Cup – where City’s traditional rivals United were vanquished – and the Premier League (where City’s old rival from the 1930s looked certain to win the League for much of the season) and this has been a truly brilliant season.

https://gjfootballarchive.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/2023-champions-league-final-sd-480p.mov

City and United are now the only clubs ever to have achieved THE treble – a truly great achievement that many thought impossible. Add to that that Guardiola’s Blues have previously become the ONLY team to win a domestic treble and you get to see that this isn’t simply the greatest ever Manchester City side but one of, if not THE, greatest ever side in English football.

We’ve had the Viking Call (the best team in the land and all the world) chant for almost 50 years now but, for the first time, the words are absolutely true (though we haven’t yet had a competitive fixture to determine the best world team of course – that will come!).

If you’d like to come and join me for an online celebration then please do:

Celebrate Manchester City’s 2023 Champions League Success

These are truly great times to be a Blue. Enjoy!

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.

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 30

It’s day 30 of my posts counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game. Today – The first time seats were installed on the Kippax. Anyone want to guess when this was? This was actually 62 years ago this week!

Maine Road staged one of the religious events where American evangelist Billy Graham came to preach to thousands in 1961. I cover the story in detail in Farewell To Maine Road but these images show that temporary seating was installed on the Kippax for the event, which took place between 29 May and 17 June 1961.

At this time there were no gates in the Kippax’ perimeter wall leading to the pitch and so special scaffolding steps were erected to allow attendees to climb over the wall and on to the pitch for blessings etc.

Were you at one of these religious events? If so leave your comments about the day below.

For those unfamiliar with Maine Road’s layout at the time, the photo was taken from about a third of the way up the Kippax between number & and 8 on this photo.

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

£2.50
£5.00
£7.50

Or enter a custom amount

£

Your contribution is appreciated.

Donate
How To Subscribe

Maine Road 100 – Day 29

It’s day 29 of my posts counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game. Today – it’s a simple photo of the floodlights being dismantled in 1990.

Crosland Ward senior just happened to have his camera with him while at Maine Road one day and caught sight of the floodlights being dismantled. He took several photos that day (I’m sure I have others somewhere) and asked the men dismantling the lights if they were okay with him taking the photos. This was in 1990.

These were the second set of lights at the ground and these were the ones that could be seen for miles around. I remember getting on the 53 at Belle Vue and seeing the lights from the top deck straight away.

The lights were replaced roof roof lights on the Main Stand and Kippax roofs. You can see a couple of the floodlights on these images from the late 1970s/early 1980s.

1981 City v United Maine Road
The Main Stand’s benches with the Platt Lane Stand’s maroon and yellow benches in the background
1990 Floodlight being dismantled behind the North Stand. Photo by Crosland Ward senior.

The floodlight being dismantled is the one that stood in between the North Stand and Kippax on this 1971 photo (near number 9) and the men are dismantling it behind the North Stand (number 10).

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

£2.50
£5.00
£7.50

Or enter a custom amount

£

Your contribution is appreciated.

Donate
How To Subscribe

Manchester United Fixtures 2023-24

The Premier League fixtures have been released for League Cup winning Manchester United. As always some of these will change due to TV and potential FA Cup clashes etc. Key fixtures to look out for are the Manchester derbies on 28/10 at Old Trafford and 2/3 at the Etihad. Here they are:

14/8/2023 – Wolverhampton Wanderers (H) – 20.00

19/8/2023 – Tottenham Hotspur (A) – 15:00

26/8/2023 – Nottingham Forest (H) – 15:00

SEPTEMBER:

2/9/2023 – Arsenal (A) – 15:00

16/9/2023 – Brighton & Hove Albion (H) – 15:00

23/9/2023 – Burnley (A) – 15:00

30/9/2023 – Crystal Palace – (H) – 15:00

OCTOBER:

7/10/2023 – Brentford (H) – 15:00

21/10/2023 – Sheffield United (A) – 15:00

28/10/2023 – Manchester City (H) – 15:00

NOVEMBER:

4/11/2023 – Fulham (A) – 15:00

11/11/2023 – Luton Town (H) – 15:00

25/11/2023 – Everton (A) – 15:00

DECEMBER:

2/12/2023 – Newcastle United (A) – 15:00

6/12/2023 – Chelsea (H) – 20:00

9/12/2023 – Bournemouth (H) – 15:00

16/12/2023 – Liverpool (A) – 15:00

23/12/2023 – West Ham United (A) – 15:00

26/12/2023 – Aston Villa (H) – 15:00

30/12/2023 – Nottingham Forest (A) – 15:00

JANUARY:

13/1/2024 – Tottenham Hotspur (H) – 15.00

30/1/2024 – Wolverhampton Wanderers (A) – 19.45

FEBRUARY:

3/2/2024 – West Ham United – (H) – 15:00

10/2/2024 – Aston Villa (A) – 15:00

17/2/2024 – Luton Town (A) – 15:00

24/2/2024 – Fulham (H) – 15:00

MARCH:

2/3/2024 – Manchester City (A) – 15:00

9/3/2024 – Everton (H) – 15:00

16/3/2024 – Sheffield United (H) – 15:00

30/3/2024 – Brentford (A) – 15:00

APRIL:

3/4/2024 – Chelsea (A) – 19:45

6/4/2024 – Liverpool (H) – 15:00

13/4/2024 – Bournemouth (A) – 15:00

20/4/2024 – Newcastle United (H) – 15:00

27/4/2024 – Burnley (H) – 15:00

MAY:

4/5/2024 – Crystal Palace (A) – 15:00

11/5/2024 – Arsenal (H) – 15:00

19/5/2024 – Brighton & HA (A) – 16.00