Ever seen a City non-derby game played at Old Trafford?

Rammyblues said:
went there in the mid/late seventies to see us play Luton in a 2nd replay in the League Cup. Seem to remember their keeper, Milija Aleksic (later played for Spurs), had a blinder. Can't recall the score, but pretty sure we won. The crowd was small, with a lot of the ground closed. I stood in the Stetford End.
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d

Count me in for that game, I am sure Futcher brothers played for them and later signed for us.
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did the Bury one (think we won 2-0?), can remember some Utd 'fans' going as Bury fans trying to kick it off with us outside, stood in the United Road paddock that night.
If my memory serves me right, we beat Luton 3-2 in the game mentioned above, gutted my dad didnt take me at the time. Pretty sure the football league chose a 'neutral' ground at random at the time, as we played and beat Norwich 6-1 in a 2nd replay at Stamford Bridge a couple of years before this, again if my memory isnt playing tricks !
 
watsonshead said:
didn't we play Luton in one of the many cup replays there ?
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Yep, 2 spring to mind, the aforementioned Luton game, & also Alty V Everton in an FA cup replay in the mid 70`s. I`ll have to think about any other times though.
Went to see Rod Stewart ,& also the Eubank & Benn fight as well.
 
Here goes. As well as Bury 85:
Luton L cup 2nd replay 1977
Walsall 2nd replay L C 1973
Halifax town FA cup 2nd replay 1924

Don't think I've missed any but you never know.

From memory City had all scoreboard end and part of main stand while Bury had rest of main stand and maybe Stretford End. Can't remember Utd Road being open. There were some photos in the 2nd leg prog and again from memory they basically show empty seats in the background with busy-ish paddocks.
 
Didsbury Dave said:
liscal said:
I went there in the mid/late seventies to see us play Luton in a 2nd replay in the League Cup. Seem to remember their keeper, Milija Aleksic (later played for Spurs), had a blinder. Can't recall the score, but pretty sure we won. The crowd was small, with a lot of the ground closed. I stood in the Stetford End.
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I don't remember this at all. Anyone remember why it was at Old Trafford? Was it seen as a neutral ground or something?
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Just looked it up:

Wed 9 Nov 1977, League Cup 3rd Round 2nd Replay at Old Trafford

City 3-2 Luton, scorers Channon, Kidd & Tueart (pen)

Crowd 13,043

We had drawn with them 1-1 at Kenilworth Rd and 0-0 at Maine Rd.
 
I was at the Luton game at OT. Seem to recall it was a 2nd replay. I sat in the seats at the top of the Stretford end. it was a V. rainy night, we won but cant remember the score
 
2nd replays were often at neutral grounds (this changed later when sides tossed a coin to determine who would stage the 2nd replay) and they tried to make them equi-distant but I don't think that ever actually worked out. Looking at the opponents for those 70s games it looks like they've just gone for the next nearest ground to City!

The Stamford bridge game v Norwich was in 1975 League cup run and I know City weren't happy with the venue choice - only 6238 attended. The same happened in 1966 when the FA cup replay with Everton went to Wolves - Joe Mercer said he'd have preferred to play again at Goodison because 60,000 would have watched instead of 27k.
 
Gary James said:
2nd replays were often at neutral grounds (this changed later when sides tossed a coin to determine who would stage the 2nd replay) and they tried to make them equi-distant but I don't think that ever actually worked out. Looking at the opponents for those 70s games it looks like they've just gone for the next nearest ground to City!

The Stamford bridge game v Norwich was in 1975 League cup run and I know City weren't happy with the venue choice - only 6238 attended. The same happened in 1966 when the FA cup replay with Everton went to Wolves - Joe Mercer said he'd have preferred to play again at Goodison because 60,000 would have watched instead of 27k.
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Wasn't the rule that the 2nd replay HAD to be at a neutral venue agreed by the teams? I think it changed in the eighties, because when we played Watford in 1986 and drew the first two meetings, there was a toss of coin to determine the second replay venue and it was at Maine Road.

I think I'm right in saying that because the crowds often used to be pitifully small at neutral venues, if both clubs agreed, they used to toss a coin to give one club the choice of venue. The club that won the toss would then pick a venue very close to it so that it effectively became more or less a home fixture for one team. That's what happened with City against Luton, I'm fairly sure, and presumably for the ties against Walsall and Halifax as well).

The Bury game was different, of course, in that it was the first leg of a two-legged tie. IIRC that was switched from Gigg Lane to OT on police advice. This was when hooliganism fears were at their height, remember (it was the year of Heysel, which followed a fan being killed at Brum v Leeds and the infamous Millwall riot at Luton). I seem to recall that GMP didn't want City at Gigg Lane because they weren't satisfied with segregation arrangements at the ground.

I presume with the game against Norwich that Norwich weren't happy with an arrangement that would have given City a game with the entire crowd behind us. In that case, I suppose the only alternative to a London ground would have been playing it at Villa or somewhere in the Midlands. Not sure how much better that would have been.

Not sure why the Everton replay was at Wolves. I'd have thought either Anfield or OT would have been better, or else Bolton. Even Stoke would have been a good 25 miles nearer than Molineux. 27K was quite a respectable crowd for two NW clubs on a midweek night near Brum.
 
Gary James said:
Here goes. As well as Bury 85:
Luton L cup 2nd replay 1977
Walsall 2nd replay L C 1973
Halifax town FA cup 2nd replay 1924

Don't think I've missed any but you never know.

From memory City had all scoreboard end and part of main stand while Bury had rest of main stand and maybe Stretford End. Can't remember Utd Road being open. There were some photos in the 2nd leg prog and again from memory they basically show empty seats in the background with busy-ish paddocks.
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Gary...I think youve overlooked City V Streymour at Oakwell!! Does that count!!
 
Didsbury Dave said:
Has anyone out there seen City play someone who isn't United at Old Trafford?

I know it has happened quite a few times but I only remember one: we drew Bury away in one of the very early rounds of the League/CArling/Rumbelows/whatever it was at the time cup. Bury couldn't cope with the invasion so the game was played at Old Trafford. I don't remember much apart from that we won (1-0?) and I seem to remember the crowd being around 11,000. That was of course a typical crowd for that stage of the cup. At a guess I'd say this was about 1986.

Was anyone there? Did they open all the stands or just some? And can anyone remember any other games where Old Trafford was used?
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Eeeee I remember it as if it were yesterday. I have also read the Gary James' reply and I was there for the youth cup thingy as well.
 
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