Tag Archives: Stretford End

For day 22 of my posts counting down to the centenary of Maine Road’s opening game I want to talk about the photographs of Iain SP Reid who captured this image of the burger sellers at Maine Road during the 1970s.

This photo and others in Iain’s collection were taken circa 1977. Iain believed that photography could improve lives. His work is full of joy. Sadly he died in 2000, leaving his fabulous archive of photographs filed away in boxes unseen until his family rediscovered them. He tried to capture images around Maine Road and at Old Trafford too, but he wasn’t interested particularly in match action. Instead he focused on the crowd, creating a wonderful collection.

“It was the way in which the football supporters of Manchester United and Manchester City used to dress and treat the whole match as if it were a carnival”
– Iain S. P. Reid

In August 1977 Iain was featured in a local newspaper and gave his views on what the project was. This makes interesting reading and for those who have seen any of his images it is worth pausing to have a read and a think about what he captured. This was for a Trafford based newspaper and so they focused on Old Trafford at times, but his comments about the Stretford End are as significant and would have been replicated by his thoughts on the Kippax etc.

If you appeared in this photo or in any of the others Iain took during this period then please get in touch with Paul Sorene and all involved at info@flashbak.com who are hoping to trace as many of the people on Iain’s photos as possible. You can look through this Facebook page of Iain’s work at:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=IainSPReidu0026amp;set=a.2606932862855473

I’m always passionate about the capturing and preservation of footballing images and stories. For me football simply isn’t about the players on the pitch but the thousands who dedicate significant time – and money – to supporting their club. If you’re a Blue or a Red who attended games around 1976-77 then take a look at Iain’s collection at

https://www.facebook.com/IainSPReid

For those unfamiliar with Maine Road the photo was taken from the street corner above and to the right of number two, looking towards the Development Association built into the external wall of the North Stand to the right of number 2.

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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