Category Archives: Maine Road

The 1990s: Goater’s First Goal

On this day (4 April) in 1998 Shaun Goater scored his first goal for Manchester City. It came when City defeated near neighbours Stockport County 4-1 at Maine Road. As well as Goater’s first goal Richard Jobson also netted his first City goal while Lee Bradbury scored two.

While you’re here why not read this 9,500 word article on that season. It’s available to subscribers, so why not subscribe and relive this season and an extraordinary decade? As with all these 1990s subscriber features it contains material from interviews I’ve performed with key figures from that time.

Here’s the 9500 word article on that season:

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This series of articles and features will run throughout March with indepth articles some days and smaller ‘on this day’ style posts on others. There will be flashbacks to great games, players and more. Every day in March will offer something to enjoy.

Subscribers will get access to everything, while some on this day material will be free for all to view.

If you want to know more on this incredible decade for Manchester City Football Club then why not subscribe and read it all? If you’d like to know more about subscribing then see:

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102 Years of a National Crowd Record for Manchester City!

Today (8 March) marks the 102nd anniversary of a record Manchester City set – the record is the highest attendance on a club ground! The record set in 1924 saw 76,166 attend City v Cardiff. Keep reading all those who think ‘don’t you mean 84,569 in 1934?’ – City already held the record… City had moved to their new Maine Road stadium in August 1923. The capacity of the venue was estimated at around 90,000 but was actually approximately 83,000 when the stadium opened (it was enlarged in 1931 and 1935).

In its first season the capacity was tested and, on this day (8 March) in 1924 the largest attendance for any footballing fixture (including three FA Cup Finals) in Manchester gathered to watch the Blues. This was also, at the time, the record crowd for any game played on an English club ground. It was beaten ten years later when 84,569 watched City v Stoke – so It’s 102 years of this record for the Blues!

You can read about the remarkable day in 1924 below:

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You can read about the attendance that broke this record (again by City at Maine Road) here:

A National Record – 84,569

Other record crowd articles can be seen here:

https://gjfootballarchive.com/tag/record-crowd/

MCFC Away v. NUFC at Maine Rd

Manchester City have drawn Newcastle away in the FA Cup this year and this reminds me of 4 January 1975 when City played ‘away’ at Maine Road against Newcastle United in the FA Cup.  The tie should have been played at Newcastle but the FA ordered that the match be played at Maine Road following crowd disorder at St. James’ Park the previous season.  City lost the match 2-0.

Were you at this match? If so why not leave your memory as a comment or email it to me for possible future use on this website?

You can read a 1500 article on the 1974-75 season here:

The Story of 1974-75

Mr Grimsdale!

The entertainer Norman Wisdom was born on this day (4 feb) in 1915 so a good excuse to remember the day when he larked around on the Maine Rd pitch (and some claimed they thought it was Peter Reid). It’s always worth reminding ourselves of the days when he’d come out on to the pitch, fall over while taking a penalty and similar antics. Often supported by musician Rick Wakeman too! On one of the days in the 90many of us stood on the Kippax saw the elderly entertainer take to the field but didn’t recognise him at first. In fact many of us thought it was Peter Reid wearing a flat cap!

There were lots of odd prematch activities over the decades and you can read about them in this 2000 word article on the history of pre-match entertainment at Manchester City. There are mentions of the St Joseph’s Industrial School and Beswick Prize Bands, various DJs, athletic challenges, Norman Wisdom, Frank Sidebottom & more. Enjoy:

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Manchester City v River Plate at Maine Road

On 2 February 1952 Manchester City were defeated 4-3 by Argentinian football club River Plate in a friendly at Maine Road, watched by a crowd of 34,974. Here are some interesting images from an official record book showing details of entertainment tax paid by City and turnstile records. I’m not certain if anyone has ever researched how much money football clubs paid in entertainment tax over the years but if anyone’s interested then hopefully the following will help.

You can see from the above photo a few match details such as HT/FT scores, weather and referee details. In addition the various admission prices can be seen (not all shown on this image) and the record book also includes details of how many fans attended within these prices per turnstile. A summary of the attendance per price and the amount of tax paid can be seen in the next image:

For the record City’s goals were scored by Don Revie, Jimmy Meadows and Roy Clarke. The two images below show the name of the turnstile operator and the admissions via that turnstile and the second image shows the total attendance and income details.

The series on the 1950s includes some free articles and some subscriber only features. If you’d like to know more on this period then why not subscriber and enjoy the following article on the 1951-52 season.

This is a subscriber article and you can read it by subscribing below.

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England’s 1st World Cup Qualifier: Maine Rd Selected Above Wembley

Here’s a report, image and film from the first World Cup qualifying match played in England (from this date, 16 November, in 1949). It saw England thrash Ireland 9-2 at Maine Road. This was a historic game for obvious reasons and the match programme explained how the World Cup operated as this was the first time England had participated in the tournament.

Here’s film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktdSk-o6YNA

Here’s a newspaper report:

Manchester City’s Three Royal Boxes!

Last Saturday (25 October 2025) I was fortunate to be invited to the England v Brazil women’s international as a guest of the FA. My seat was in the Royal Box at the Etihad (City of Manchester Stadium as it was named on the night due to sponsorship reasons). On social media someone commented that the Royal Box was a bit of a stretch in terms of its name but the truth is that the Directors Box (as it’s more commonly known) has housed members of the British royal family, including the late Queen Elizabeth II. In fact it was originally named the Royal Box for the Commonwealth Games in 2002. Back then I remember suggesting it should retain the name and now, maybe, the original name should return?

Other royals, including the former King of Spain, have sat there for Manchester City games and other events, so the name would be quite apt. Funnily enough, the Etihad’s ‘Royal Box’ isn’t the first part of a City ground to be given that name. It’s not even the second but the third! Both Maine Road and before that Hyde Road, had visits from senior members of the British Royal Family and on each occasion the Directors Box was spruced up and renamed the Royal Box for the game. Here’s the current King’s great grandad at Hyde Road’s Royal Box in 1920:

The King with the Mayor in Hyde Road’s ‘Royal Box’. Notice Lawrence Furniss stood, behind the King. Furniss was a major figure from the 1880s to the 1940s at City.

So, City, how about renaming the Directors Box the Royal Box again?

The following subscriber article talks about all of that, but in essence the current King’s dad, grandad and great grandad have all attended City matches at one of City’s home grounds. You can read about those visits here:

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“Stanley’s Match” – England 8 Scotland 0 16th October 1943

“When I heard the team I said two prayers.  One of thanks to the Scots for leaving me out, and one on behalf of Adam Little who had taken my place.  I knew then we’d do well to get away with less than five goals against.”  So said Bill Shankly referring to the selection of the England team to face Scotland at Maine Road in October 1943. You can read the story of this incredible game here:

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Maine Road & Temperance

This map shows the Maine Road area, where Manchester City’s former ground was, before any of the terraced housing was built. The dark blue shape I’ve placed on the map is approximately where the stadium was built. Maine Road was initially known as Dog Kennel Lane and was renamed in stages as terraced housing was built on it. The lane originally had a bend where the current Maine Road ends and the old lane veered off towards modern day Princess Parkway.

I explain a lot more about this in Farewell To Maine Road and in the Big Book of City. In the MCFC match programme a few years back I explained:

Maine Road itself was a relatively insignificant street in 1923, but in the previous century the road had the name ‘Dog Kennel Lane’ and it had for many decades been a fairly significant but meandering route south of the city. The street was renamed in stages when the area was developed during the late 1800s. For years the reason Maine Road was picked was not clear, but in 2009 I discovered the truth.

The Maine Road name came indirectly from the US State of Maine but this was a compromise. The following newspaper article explains: ‘Dog Kennel Lane took its name from the kennel where hounds were kept. It stood on the right-hand side at the bend about a thousand yards from Moss Lane, opposite to the road which tracked off to the left and led to Demesne Farm. The common name of this lane is so common and unattractive that when the Temperance Company bought the Trafford land they asked the local board to change the name to Demesne Road, and the subject was compromised by calling it Maine Road out of compliment to the Temperance principles of the petitioners.’

The idea of the Temperance movement was to discourage people from drinking alcohol. On 2 June 1851 the State of Maine passed the first recognised prohibition law, and two years later the United Kingdom Alliance was founded in Manchester, pledging to badger Parliament to outlaw liquor in England.

The ‘Temperance Company’ mentioned in the article was actually part of the movement and had bought some land at the top of Dog Kennel Lane – this area is close to the junction with Moss Lane East. They wanted to create a better standard of living and within that area they erected buildings in keeping with their approach to life, such as the Temperance Billiard Hall. However, the ‘Dog Kennel Lane’ name was clearly an issue and so the selection of the name ‘Maine Road’ was made. So the name Maine Road refers to the US State and the part that Maine played in the Temperance movement.

An early 20th century interpretation of an older map, showing modern streets (dotted) with the original roads.

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

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The 1920s: First Maine Road Derby

100 years ago today (12 September) Manchester City and Manchester United met in the first Manchester Derby to be played at Maine Road (United had been in the second tier for the first couple of seasons of Maine Road’s existence). Here’s the background, report and stats from that game (this is all from the book I wrote with Steve Cawley called The Pride of Manchester – the history of the Manchester Derby). Enjoy!

MANCHESTER CITY 1 (Cowan)

MANCHESTER UNITED 1 (Rennox)

Manchester City: Jim MITCHELL, Sam COOKSON, Philip McCLOY, Sammy SHARP, Sam COWAN, Charlie PRINGLE, Billy AUSTIN, John (known as Jack) WARNER, Frank ROBERTS, Tom JOHNSON, George HICKS. Manager: David Ashworth

Manchester United: Alf STEWARD, Charlie MOORE, Jack SILCOCK, Ray BENNION, Frank BARSON, Frank MANN, Joe SPENCE, Thomas SMITH, Jimmy HANSON, Clatworthy ’Clat’ RENNOX, Frank MCPHERSON. Manager: John Chapman

BACKGROUND

United had spent three seasons in the Second Division and returned as runners-up to Leicester City. Some of the old faithfuls remained, notably Silcock and Spence, but inevitably team strengthening and transitions had occurred, in particular, with the acquisition of club captain Frank Barson. Signed in 1922 for the huge sum of £5,000, United promised Barson a pub if they were promoted within three years – and he just made it! A former blacksmith, Barson was an attacking centre-half of international standard but also carried a notorious reputation as a traditional ‘hard man’ who was quick to exact retribution if a team-mate was fouled. Another useful signing was Frank McPherson, a man with reputedly the hardest shot in football. The Reds made a quite promising start to the new campaign and had looked impressive in a 3-0 home victory against Aston Villa.

City’s playing squad had changed considerably since the last derby, while manager Ernest Mangnall who had joined the Blues from United in September 1912 and played such a major role in the development of both clubs had left City in May 1924, and was replaced by David Ashworth. Meredith had also finally retired in 1924, bowing out in an FA Cup semi-final against Newcastle, although he retained a connection through his son-in-law Charlie Pringle who now played for the Blues. A number of fresh signings had been made; Frank Roberts for £3,400, Billy Austin for£2,000 and Philip McCloy for £3,000. City also had great hopes that Sam Cowan, a centre-half signed from Doncaster Rovers in December 1924 would develop into a quality player. City had moved to their magnificent purpose-built stadium at Maine Road in August 1923 and had established a provincial record crowd of 76,166 in the stadium’s first season. Now, with the derby imminent, its capacity was viewed at a possible 85,000!

BEFORE THE GAME

            P          W         D          L           F          A          Pts

UNITED 4          1          1          2          5          4          3

CITY      3          1          0          2          3          4          2

MATCH VERDICT

The derby rivalry resumed in front of what was, at the time, City’s record League gate. City were deemed the better side in what was a rousing contest. Local born ‘keeper Alf Steward had an outstanding game keeping the lively City forwards at bay with a string of fine saves, before ’Clat’ Rennox then went down to the other end and gave the Reds the lead with a smart shot.

Sam Cowan capped a wonderful display by scoring the equaliser with a powerful far post header from a left wing corner (see photo). It was a fitting reward for Cowan, who besides being the man of the match, looked to be a player the Blues could build a future around.

“The Athletic News” reported on the resumption of the derby match after a four year break: ”The first meeting of the Manchester rivals after a lapse of four years brought the City club the largest League gate they have ever enjoyed. It was not so great as that recorded at the Cup-tie with Cardiff City in March 1924, when 76,166 spectators paid for admission, but over 62,000 people passed through the turnstiles, and, with ticket-holders, the attendance was officially returned at nearly 66,000. It was a magnificent spectacle and a game fought in a splendid spirit. That the City did not defeat their rivals was due primarily to the brilliant goal-keeping of Steward, a Manchester-born player, to whose rich promise the Athletic News referred last Monday.

It was fitting that on the only occasion he was beaten the success fell to Samuel Cowan, for these players were the outstanding figures in the contest. Cowan’s headwork was a feature of the match. More, he tackled with grim determination and effectiveness, and distributed the ball with discrimination and accuracy.

Cowan promises to be all that the City club expected when they brought him from Doncaster Rovers last season. He has all the physical requirements for a centre half-back, and, judging by his display in this match, he has the temperament for the big event. His equalising goal was a masterpiece in headwork and judgement”.

If you’d like to know more about this season for Manchester City why not read the following 4,900 word subscriber article on the 1925-26 season. If you subscribe (see below) I hope you enjoy it. If you are not currently a subscriber then why not try it for a month (£3 per month or sign up for a year at a discounted £20 per year)?

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