Old Maine Road photos thread

Lost for words said:
I well remember the embarrassing sight of a small rump of Wimbledon fans having the entire stand to themselves with oceans of space around them.
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I always remember the last home game of the season v bournemouth, 3 nil up at ht and cruising, and us heading back to division 1 ,only for them to come back and draw,then we needed that Morley point at Bradford the week after !
It was a sunny day and MR was packed.30,000 but there were more than that.
Bournemouth had at most about 50 fans in the entire Platt Lane
 
TheGhost said:
Why do you think that is? I’ve got my own theory.
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I have a theory n’all… between City, GMP and MCC, they don’t want to pay for Police or put the Police hours in dealing with football fans around the Etihad before and after games and would rather keep us away from the area pre-game to as late as possible. Then they want to divert us away from the Etihad after a game as soon as possible, dispersing fans to other areas where we’re all split up and easier to deal with any hotspots of trouble.

Not sure how they’ve managed it. Maybe I’m wrong and the fact that around 15 pubs have shut around d the Etihad since we moved there is just a coïncidence?
 
Psychedelic Casual said:
I have a theory n’all… between City, GMP and MCC, they don’t want to pay for Police or put the Police hours in dealing with football fans around the Etihad before and after games and would rather keep us away from the area pre-game to as late as possible. Then they want to divert us away from the Etihad after a game as soon as possible, dispersing fans to other areas where we’re all split up and easier to deal with any hotspots of trouble.

Not sure how they’ve managed it. Maybe I’m wrong and the fact that around 15 pubs have shut around d the Etihad since we moved there is just a coïncidence?
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Not sure if this is wholly correct, at least from a Forest and Villa perspective. I know Notts and West Midlands Police respectively prefer having pubs near the ground as it’s easier to mange home and away fans before a game and they don’t need to deploy resources across as wide an area as GMP do in relation to the Etihad. They like knowing where people are and I know the ‘spotters’ the police deploy in relation to hoolies prefer that too. I’ll imagine policing the city centre is hugely challenging for GMP before a game at the Etihad, especially for games against other North West clubs.

I agree that after games they prefer quick dispersal. Much of that in relation to pubs near a ground depends on the result. People are much less inclined to go for a few drinks afterwards if their team has lost.

In relation to the small number of drinking establishments around the Etihad it’s a combination of factors, lack of available and suitable premises being one but I’d be surprised if an outright objection came in for a new licence near the ground from MCC or GMP, although they’d want some pretty stringent match day restrictions around security and possibly in relation to hours after a game. The Met require some restrictions on hours around the Emirates for example.

I think the club might object though.

I know Mary D’s takes big money on a match day so it’s not a viability issue, I think. I just don’t think there are many suitably large premises located sufficiently close to the ground, which they’d need to be to maximise revenue before a game and concert. iirc none of the empty pubs near the ground are big enough to be suitable. Getting planning permission on a new premises might be an issue as well tbf.

I think if you could just plonk a suitable premises (with planning permission in place) near the ground I reckon it would be commercially viable, but I think the current topography, along with the lack of such premises are the principal restrictions, not GMP or MCC.
 
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blue44 said:
I always remember the last home game of the season v bournemouth, 3 nil up at ht and cruising, and us heading back to division 1 ,only for them to come back and draw,then we needed that Morley point at Bradford the week after !
It was a sunny day and MR was packed.30,000 but there were more than that.
Bournemouth had at most about 50 fans in the entire Platt Lane
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I think the use of the entire Platt Lane for away fans summed up Swales’ lack of ambition (as did the stand that replaced it) and gave certain away teams, especially United and Liverpool a huge leg up when they came to Maine Road as they always filled it. Other than the 5-1 we never won a Derby at Maine Road while that system was in place (1985 to 1993).

It’s been similar for us at Ewood Park on several occasions where we’ve had a pretty good track record over the years.

Agree when clubs like Bournemouth came it looked preposterous and pretty small time.
 
gordondaviesmoustache said:
I think the use of the entire Platt Lane for away fans summed up Swales’ lack of ambition (as did the stand that replaced it) and gave certain away teams, especially United and Liverpool a huge leg up when they came to Maine Road as they always filled it. Other than the 5-1 we never won a Derby at Maine Road while that system was in place (1985 to 1993).

It’s been similar for us at Ewood Park on several occasions where we’ve had a pretty good track record over the years.

Agree when clubs like Bournemouth came it looked preposterous and pretty small time.
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That Bournemouth game was classic Swales.

Declared 30 odd K, had maybe 40k in the ground but had an 8k stand empty apart from a few away fans. J block on the edge of the North Stand would have been too big for them.

I can vividly remember the beach ball going 3/4 around the ground and having to double back on itself.
 
blue b4 the moon said:
Walking up from that angle as a kid with my dad, the proper Kippax always looked much better than the Mark 2 version in the picture.
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Thing is, it was pretty big but given that, the number of seats in it was ridiculously low. More low ambition, this time by Lee. Tragic how one of the great English grounds reduced in force almost by osmosis over around half a decade.

Wonder if the ‘new’ Kippax was taller than the highest point of the Etihad?
 
Gareth Barry Conlon said:
City should buy that and rebuild it brick by brick outside the Etihad. And then do the same with the Clarence next to it. Assuming the Clarence is still standing.
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It’s actually a magnificent looking pub. Not untypical of its period, but still quite distinctive in style. Bet it took some money in the immediate post war years. No surprise it’s no longer a boozer. An old Chester’s pub iirc.
 
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