Tag Archives: Dave Watson

The 1970s Maine Road treatment room… It’s day 18 of my posts counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game. A photograph can say so much about the era.

This photo shows the treatment room at Maine Road with physio Roy Bailey working on Tommy Booth’s leg. On the bed to the left is Gary Owen and the other players are Dave Watson (on bed to the right either hiding his face or making a secret gesture with his fingers!), Kenny Clements and Tony Henry (with magazine).

What else can we spot? The telephone on the wall (and one on the trolley) and the ‘modern’ equipment. The closed off window, which shows that this room backed on to the main external frontage of the stadium. Years earlier that window would have been glazed with small glass blocks like the others were. There’s the fake wood panelling popular in the 70s – maybe Peter Swales got a job lot from somewhere and had the boardroom, offices and other spaces fitted out in it – the tiled ceiling and the wall heater. All very 1970s.

I’m pretty certain the equivalent facilities at the Etihad & CFA are somewhat more extensive than this but, at the time, City did claim they were ahead of most rivals in this area. Obviously, Roy Bailey would be able to talk more about support (or lack of it) from above, while the players could also talk about how they were treated overall.

For those unfamiliar with Maine Road this photo may help locate where the photo was taken from. It was taken in a room inside the Main Stand, in the lower level, somewhere behind and to the left of number 1.

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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