Tag Archives: Maine Road

Maine Road 100 – Day 54

The 54th post in my series counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game is a simple reminder of City fans and players paying their respects. The main image is from the game with Liverpool at the end of the 1995-96 season. That day City fans and the players paid tribute to former chairman Peter Swales. We all knew it would be respected even though many fans had not forgiven Swales for how he and his supporting directros had transformed the club from a major, profitable European trophy winning club into one that was struggling financially and out of touch with its traditional rivals.

There have been many minute’s silences, or two minutes in many cases going back, at Maine Road. This image is from the two minutes silence for King George V in January 1936. That day City faced Luton. Note: back then we did not cancel games the weekend after a monarch’s death.

Here are two photos of King George V in happier times when he visited Hyde Road in 1920:

King George V at Hyde Road 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.

Here’s an image from a film that Will McTaggart and I showed during our Boys In Blue film show. This was from a film profile of the Manchester City chairman Peter Swales.

You can use this 1971 image to work out where the images of fans/players paying their respects were taken. The colour image of City v LFC was taken from the new Platt Lane Stand which was built where numbers 4 & 5 are. I was sat in the stand that day, looking towards the North Stand (10). The King George V silence sees the players lined up in front of the players tunnel (1) with the camera on the pitch looking towards that tunnel.

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

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Maine Road 100 – Day 53

The 53rd post in my series counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game remembers the banana craze.

I’ve written a lot on the banana craze over the years and, like many other areas of football, there are already some myths that have developed. You can read about the craze here:

Bananarama – The Inflatables Craze

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 100 – Day 52

The 52nd post in my series counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game takes a look at the CITY F.C. flag that proudly flew above the Popular Side (Kippax) for decades.

There had been a CITY F.C. flag at Hyde Road and it may well be that this was the same flag. It was often referred to in the media during its life at Maine Road, such as in this 1925 cartoon:

The first derby at Maine Road
The City flag flying at Maine Road’s first Manchester derby

The flag flew proudly over the Popular Side until the stand was roofed in 1957. Then the flag was moved to the Scoreboard End, eventually disappearing in the 1960s when rumour has it that it was taken down by Liverpool fans. I’m not certain if that’s true and I’ve never found any evidence but if you do know more please let me know.

I do know that in the 1930s a disgruntled City fan lowered it during a difficult game and it caused outrage. It was mentioned in the local press and the culprit had to make a formal apology to the club and his fellow City fans.

This 1971 image shows the roofed Kippax Stand. The flag was originally on a flag pole roughly where the number 7 is in the days before the stand had a roof. When the Kippax was roofed it was moved to the back of the Scoreboard End. The North Stand (10) replaced the Scoreboard End in the early 1970s.

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 100 – Day 51

It’s 51 of my posts counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game and today I’m looking at the segregation fence in the old Kippax Stand.

On the main photo above you can see the segregation fence as it looked in the early 1990s. The gap between away fans and home fans had increased compared with the image below from the mid 1980s. The police used to patrol up and down this narrow pathway and on the image below you can see some police within that area.

Kippax Segregation mid 1980s

To help the police control the crowd a few simple platforms were constructed out of scaffolding. It all seems so primitive now but I guess clubs were reacting to increasing violence and needed quick solutions. The following was one of several platforms in the Kippax by the end of the 1980s.

Kippax Segregation police platform early 1990s

Before the segregation fence had an alleyway for the police to walk through there was one fence and scaffolding was erected next to it to separate the fans further (see next two images). Similarly this approach was used to widen the segregation fence at other times in later years.

Kippax Segregation early 1990s

The single fence with scaffolding to separate fans further (below).

Early Kippax Segregation

I explain a lot more about this area in Farewell To Maine Road. Formal segregation started in the mid 1970s but not for every game. By the end of the decade it was permanent and in place game after game.

This 1971 image shows the Kippax Stand and the segregation area was roughly where the number 8 is within the stand.

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 100 – Day 50

We’re half way through our countdown of 100 features for Maine Road’s centenary. For day 50 of my posts counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game I’ve posted three photographs of the view down the same street. These are taken on Wansford Street and look towards Maine Road.

The oldest image (black and white) is from the early 1960s and shows the original floodlights, erected in 1953. The following is one I took in 2003, shortly before Maine Road’s final game, and the one below that is a Google image from this last year or so.

The view down Wansford Street towards Maine Road in 2003
The view down Wansford Street towards Maine Road around 2022

Here’s an aerial photo of the ground in 1995 with the North Stand on the left. Wansford Street can just be seen starting almost opposite the club houses to the left of the photo:

This 1971 image shows Wansford Street – it’s the first street to the right of and above the number 2, opposite the North Stand/club houses.

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 100 – Day 49

For day 49 of my posts counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game I’ve posted this plan of what might have been. These were developed in January 1994 shortly after Francis Lee became chairman.

The Kippax needed to be replaced and the plans by former chairman Peter Swales and his supporting directors had been to bolt plastic seats on to the lower part of the original Kippax terracing with a reprofiled second tier behind. Lee ripped up those plans and within days had created a plan which would see the entire ground extended, not simply the building of a new Kippax.

The new Kippax was the first phase of that development but Manchester’s bids for the Olympics changed thinking. Couple that with relegation in 1996 and the wholesale redevelopment of Maine Road was postponed and then dropped completely.

Lee’s plans would have seen the new Kippax followed by a phased development of each of the other three stands. I haven’t got chance to work through every step here but these images might give an indication of how it would have progressed.


1990s Maine Rd redevelopment plans as seen in Farewell To Maine Road

Here’s an aerial photo of the ground in 1995 with the Kippax nearing completion:

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 100 – Day 48

For day 48 of my posts counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game I’ve posted this aerial photo from 1925. People often talk about Maine Road being surrounded by tightly packed housing and it was but there was also quite a bit of green too, as this image shows.

Additional housing was erected in the area towards the top in the years that followed. In fact I think the entire estate was being built at the time this photo was being taken.

Maine Road is of course in the top right of this image. Notice also the sports ground at the top right corner of Platt Fields Park. This had a number of uses over the years and I think it was a police ground at this time. It later became City’s Platt Lane training ground of course.

1925 Aerial photo of Maine Road and Platt Fields Park

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 100 – Day 47

For day 47 of my posts counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game I’ve posted this photo from 1954. Lots changed at the stadium but a few things to look out for…

  • The original Main Stand roof has an advert where the architect Charles Swain had envisaged the club’s name (who says commercialisation of football is a new thing?).
  • The original floodlights can be seen (or at least one in the Platt lane corner). These were switched on for the first time in 1953
  • The Players’ tunnel is still its original size before the seating in the directors box was brought forward above the tunnel.

Here’s an aerial photo of Maine Road from 1971 to help with understanding of what’s what and to compare. So this was only taken 17 years after the main image but so much changed. The main image was taken from the old Scoreboard End (somewhere close to number 10 but obviously from the old terracing) looking towards the Platt Lane. The old floodlight was behind number 4 and you can see the second set of lights there in the image below. The Maine Stand roof had obviously changed between these images.

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 100 – Day 46

It’s 1941 and there are air raids across Manchester… For day 46 of my posts counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game I’ve posted this map. What does it signify? Well, the map shows Maine Road as it looked between 1931 and 1934, before the main part of the Platt Lane Stand was built (and after the corner was erected). But that’s not why I’ve posted it. I’ve posted it because of those pen circles that appear on it.

This is actually a Manchester City Council plan of buildings hit by bombs in the area immediately east of the Maine Road stadium. As you can see a house in Thornton Road was hit but none of the Maine Road stadium itself was hit in those January 1941 raids on Manchester. The stadium had a lucky escape but sadly many residents and Mancunians did not.

1941 Bomb damage near Maine Road

Here’s an aerial photo of Maine Road from 1971 to give a feel for the site. The Platt Lane corner is number 3 and Thornton Road is the street that backs on to Maine Road near number 6.

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 100 – Day 45

It’s a kind of magic! For day 45 of my posts counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game I’ve posted these images of Queen & the Rolling Stones at Maine Road. These images are the copyright of Garry Lippett who attended the Queen concert in July 1986.

Garry loaned his photos to me to be used in features about the concert and I’m eternally grateful. It’s quite often the fan photos that capture moments like these. In the days before mobile phones these type of photos are rare and the person taking the image has no idea how good or bad the image may be until it’s developed. Thankfully Garry managed to capture both acts on stage. Status Quo are on the left image and Queen on the right.

Status Quo (left) & Queen 1986 concert at Maine Road. Copyright Garry Lippett

Here’s an aerial photo of Maine Road from 1971. The Queen stage was placed in front of the Platt Lane Stand (numbers 3 to 5). If you look carefully at Garry Lippett’s images you can see the advertising boards at the front of the Platt Lane roof.

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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