It's the 70th anniversary of

fbloke

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26 Apr 2009
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OT being bombed, apparently!

And so a shout out goes to Uwe's granddad for a job well done.

Seventy years ago

A dark chapter in the history of Old Trafford unfolded on this day - 11 March - in 1941 when the German airforce, the Luftwaffe, dropped two bombs on the stadium.

One of the explosives caused irreparable damage to the main stand, team changing-rooms and offices while the other left the pitch scorched and shrivelled.

It was the most extensive damage suffered by any league club during the war and left United homeless. Step forward Manchester City with an offer to use Maine Road as a temporary venue. The Reds gratefully accepted and spent the next eight years playing on their local rivals' ground.

The club’s offices were then moved to a nearby building belonging to Reds owner James Gibson, from where he would lobby for government funding to start work on rebuilding Old Trafford.

In November 1944, the War Damage Commission declared the stadium was not a total loss and pledged £4,800 to clear the debris, with a further £17,478 to reconstruct the stands. Although, with the rebuilding of housing and factories understandably prioritised, plans were put on hold.

By the end of the 1947/48 season, United fans delivered a petition to the Ministry of Works for Old Trafford to return to its former glory. Their plea was answered and on Wednesday 24 August 1949, the Reds finally ran out at the reconstructed ground to face Bolton Wanderers in a First Division match. Buoyed by the occasion, Matt Busby's triumphed 3-0. Home sweet home.
 
Thank him for what?

they got a lot of money from the government to rebulit it......better unfortunately.
 
once again we bail them out by loaning our ground...........

and they benefit by having a 1950's style ground built to replace a decrepid early 1900's type ground.............and they get funded to build it.........
 
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;)
 
kismet said:
once again we bail them out by loaning our ground...........

and they benefit by having a 1950's style ground built to replace a decrepid early 1900's type ground.............and they get funded to build it.........


The original council house and don't forget they had a new stand built for them for the 1966 world cup
 
During the First World War, White Hart Lane was taken over for the manufacture of gas masks from 1915, with Tottenham Hotspur playing their 'home' matches at Arsenal's Highbury Stadium and Clapton Orient's Homerton ground.

During the Second World War, the situation was reversed and Highbury was reqesitioned by the Army, resulting in Arsenal playing their 'home' matches at Spurs' White Hart Lane ground.
 

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