It’s day 89 of my posts counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game. Today – Pitch invasions! There were lots of celebratory (and some not so celebratory!) pitch invasions at Maine Road over the years. The League title in 1937 saw one, as did promotion games and other matches, such as the 1970 ECWC semi-final victory over Schalke.
The photographs on this post are all from City’s promotion match with Birmingham in 2000 and were taken by me from the Platt Lane Stand.
Promotion pitch invasion v Birmingham 2000Promotion pitch invasion v Birmingham 2000Promotion pitch invasion v Birmingham 2000, looking towards the players in the Main Stand
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:
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It’s day 88 in my 100 day countdown to the centenary of Maine Road. For today here’s an image that needs you to take a good look at. Is this Maine Road or is this a stadium inspired by City’s old ground?
This is an image from the 1920s but it’s not Maine Rd, so why have I included it in a Maine Road centenary piece and where is it?
Well, the answer is…
This is Murrayfield Stadium and believe it or not the stadium was modelled on Manchester City’s Maine Rd stadium. Maine Rd was opened in 1923 and the architects of Murrayfield visited Maine Rd while designing their new stadium, which opened in 1925.
Obviously, there are differences but the general look and style of the place is similar – one huge main stand which didn’t quite go the full length of the pitch (both stands ran about 3/4 of the length of the pitch with a terraced section from stand to corners); a huge, banked terracing opposite which curves down to the corners and two similar sized terraces behind the ends. Have a look at these images from inside Murrayfield in 1925 and see:
Here’s a Maine Rd image from that year too.
1925 Aerial photo of Maine Road and Platt Fields Park
Roberto Mancini has left his role as Italy’s men’s football manager. Hopefully, he’ll be back in club management soon and maybe in the Premier League too. His contribution to Manchester City’s history is huge and so I think it’s worth reposting this audio special I did a couple of years ago. It’s a special audio recording talking about the years building up to the 2011 FA Cup success brought to City by Mancini. It includes some audio I did with him back in 2011 too. Enjoy this reminder of a time when Mancini helped transform City’s fortunes.
Restored 2011: The All-Manchester FA Cup Semi Final is a special 1 hour audio recording looks at the game and the years between the 1976 League Cup success and the FA Cup glory of 2011. The 2011 semi-final was a crucial step in City’s journey since the 2008 takeover and I felt it was vital to do a special marking this.
So what’s in this special recording? Well, I’ve included exclusive material from interviews and recordings I’ve done over the years with Garry Cook, Brian Marwood, Roberto Mancini, Peter Barnes and Peter Swales. Why Swales? Well, have a listen and you’ll hear why. Basically though I’m trying to set the tone for why the 2011 FA Cup semi final victory and overcoming Manchester United was so significant.
On Mancini… I include a few words from him recorded in 2011 and at one point he talks about the view that was then being expressed that City were ‘trying’ to buy success (now they say City ‘have’ bought success!). His words are a reminder that City have been having that particular criticism thrown at them for over a decade! Oh well, I wonder how long those criticisms were laid at other clubs who had seen major investment which propelled them forward?
Anyway, get yourself a brew and be prepared to be transported back in time. Here’s the recording:
If you enjoy the recording then please let me know, comment or subscribe to the site. I’ve produced videos/talks like this highlighting key points in Manchester City’s footballing history which subscribers can watch.
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It’s time for post 87 of my Maine Rd 100 countdown and this is a reminder of the day (4 January) in 1975 when Manchester 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:
Today’s game with Burnley provides a great opportunity to remember some key games and stories from years gone by featuring the two clubs. I’ve written a lot about City & Burnley games over the years so sit back and get yourself in the mood for tonight’s game by having a look at these articles:
One of my quests to find missing objects involves the 1904 FA Cup final ball. I know it was in Burnley for over 40 years and was still there in the 1950s but where is it today? Can you help find it? Have a read of this:
For post 86 of my Maine Rd 100 a photo of Tony Book, Peter Swales and Kaz Deyna. They were photographed at Deyna’s signing in the Maine Rd boardroom. Swales was the City chairman for what became a quarter of Maine Road’s existence, but who were the other chairmen? For the benefit of subscribers to my website I decided to compile for the first time ever a full list of Manchester City’s chairmen since the club’s earliest known game in 1880 through to today. Here goes:
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Post 85 of my Maine Road 100 countdown is a FA Cup reminder of a day that I know I loved as a kid. It was the day (24 January) in 1981 when John Bond’s Manchester City defeated his former club Norwich 6-0 in the FA Cup fourth round tie. I was sat in that uncovered bit between the Main Stand and the North Stand (it was cheaper but if it rained it was somewhat unpleasant, especially when the rain blew off the Main Stand roof on to us!).
This 1971 image shows the area I was sat in (number 2) that day:
Maine Road aerial 1971 from Farewell To Maine Road
Subscribers can read a report and watch highlights of the game here:
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Post 84 of my 100 Maine Rd countdown remembers the day in 1987 when Manchester City defeated Huddersfield Town 10-1. It was one of the most memorable days at the old ground for fans of my age. I was stood in the Kippax that day. Notice the newspaper cutting includes Maine Road in its headline. The old stadium name often appeared in headlines in a way that doesn’t seem to happen so much these days.
Paul Stewart, Tony Adcock, and David White each scored a hat-trick while the goal spree was started by Neil McNab. You can read the full story of the game; watch highlights and more here….
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Read more of this content when you subscribe today. You can subscribe at either £20 per year (above) or at £3 per month here (cancel any time). For those subscribing £3 per month you will be able to access all content from October 2022 onwards for as long as you are a subscriber. Those subscribing £20 a year have access to everything posted since December 2020.
Post 83 of my 100 Maine Road countdown is a reminder of the first game under floodlights at Maine Rd. There were floodlit games at Hyde Road (seriously – decades before Maine Rd was built) but the first at Maine Rd wasn’t until 14 October 1953. That was still several years before Old Trafford of course!
The first game under floodlights at Maine Road took place saw City beat Hearts 6-3. Here’s an article about that period and City’s first floodlighting system, including a photo from the actual game and another report.
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If you’d like to read this article then why not subscribe? The £20 annual subscription works out about £1.67 per month. Every subscription directly helps support my research and provides annual subscribers with access to everything posted on this site, including the entire Manchester A Football History and From Maine Men To Banana Citizens books, plus interviews, articles and more. I am not employed by anyone and all my research is self funded or comes from subscriptions to this site.
Read more of this content when you subscribe today. You can subscribe at either £20 per year (above) or at £3 per month here (cancel any time). For those subscribing £3 per month you will be able to access all content from October 2022 onwards for as long as you are a subscriber. Those subscribing £20 a year have access to everything posted since December 2020.
It’s post 82 of my 100 Maine Road countdown and today a reminder of the largest ever Manchester derby crowd for a game at City or United. On 20 September 1947 a crowd of approximately 78,000 witnessed the first post-war Manchester derby. A tense match ended goalless before the derby’s record crowd on a club ground. This attendance remained the highest for a Manchester derby until the 2011 FA Cup semi-final at Wembley Stadium. The return fixture, also played at Maine Road, was watched by 71,690.
Subscribers can read the story of the 1947 game (background, match report, statistics etc.) below:
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Gary James' Football Archive 