Does anyone wish we still played at Maine Road and why?

Gray said:
If Maine Road had been developed into a modern stadium with proper facilities then I would have been happy to remain there.

Unfortunately the place had become a dump with poor facilities and mismatched stands right in the middle of a crime ridden part of the city.

The Etihad is far superior in every way.
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The Etihad is a superior stadium. Maine Rd (especially standing Kippax) was a superior match day experience for the non corporate
 
I loved the place and everything about it. Even the shit football I watched there. I’d love to have seen how it could have been developed by the sheikh should we have stayed there and he’d bought the club. Miles easier to get to and park at, better pubs and all of the history that went with it.
 
Man_City_Loyal said:
i thought one of the main reasons they took over city was down to the ground?
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The Commonwealth games stadium (or was it City of Manchester?) had a big say in the Sheikhs interest, but so did the surrounding area .... he part owns (with the council) half the apartment blocks near me, and being able to build the large training complex would have appealed to him too ..... his financial help and input into the regeneration of local areas such as Beswick, Ancoats etc has been a 'godsend' to Manchester City council.

The 'City Football Group' also have part ownership of things like the Co-op live Arena .....
 
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David White said:
I loved the place and everything about it. Even the shit football I watched there. I’d love to have seen how it could have been developed by the sheikh should we have stayed there and he’d bought the club. Miles easier to get to and park at, better pubs and all of the history that went with it.
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Would he have bought the club if still at maine road?
 
Eaststander1 said:
The Commonwealth games stadium (or was it City of Manchester?) had a big say in the Sheikhs interest, but so did the surrounding area .... he part owns (with the council) half the apartment blocks near me, and being able to build the large training complex would have appealed to him too ..... his financial help and input into the regeneration of local areas such as Beswick, Ancoats etc has been a 'godsend' to Manchester City council.

The 'City Football Group' also have part ownership of things like the Co-op live Arena .....
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Oh I Know the CFG has a major investment in the area, was just about the ground being a big part of his interest in us.

Appreciate your commenting though! the whole area looks so different now, and will again in 10 years
 
Silva Citizen said:
The Etihad is a superior stadium. Maine Rd (especially standing Kippax) was a superior match day experience for the non corporate
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Ah, the Kippax match=day experience! Pissing into a channel in the ground with a brick wall behind with some bitumen painted on and a sign that (ought to have) said 'Now wash your boots'.

That's before we get around to the high steps that made it difficult for anyone under six-feet tall to see much of the action.

My last experience of the Kippax was in September 1993. I was working away from Edinburgh at the time and was staying in a hotel near Manchester Airport and went to the match. I was a little late leaving and by the time I had parked the car there was around 5 minutes before kick-off when I arrived at the stadium.

The only option seemed to be the Kippax so I queued at the turnstiles. It was 25-minutes before I was able to get into the ground and watch any football. The attendance recorded was 16,713!
 
Depends on which version of Maine Road;-
  1. The one we ended up with, with its two awful new stands
  2. The original mostly all standing 80,000 version
  3. The three sides seating (old Platt Lane) with the glorious all standing Kippax.
I go option 3 but only because I didn't get to experience option 2
 
I miss it a lot. We moved to Eastlands when I was 23, so almost half my life playing there (eek!). But Maine Road will also be home to me. First game, first City goal, first win, first promotions, first standing, first chants, first pints at the ground. Etc. And you never forget your firsts.
 
How was it easier to get to? from town it's not is it? Oxford road is/was always mad busy... maybe if you're coming from south Manchester it was but anywhere else it wasn't
 
Im 55 years old - starting going to City games in 1977 with my parents who are both sadly deceased but both were City daft. The memories of being at games at Maine Road with them are what I cherish but as for missing the ground - nope, not one bit.

I watched us play there for 26 years and we were largely shite for those years and didnt win anything tangible in terms of a major pot. I get that you dont follow your team just to win things but having sat through the nonsense of Ball, Clark, Mal's 2nd coming etc we were served up some right tripe.

Since moving to the Etihad Ive watched games here with my children and the standard of football has been beyond my wildest dreams; Ive seen City win the lot here and been lucky enough to see at least 8 of THE greatest players ever to wear our shirt - Vinny, KDB, Sergio, Rodri, Ya Ya, David Silva, Bernardo, Erling to name them. The new stadium has seen us clinch the league on the final day on 4 occasions, and also the finest diplay Ive ever seen from any City team (4-0 vs Real Madrid, May 2023).

In short, the memories are fond of Maine Road but the memories of the Etihad are the stuff football fans of other clubs would die for. I appreciate how lucky Ive been and what Ive seen over the past 15 years.
 
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Lee the Blue said:
Im 55 years old - starting going to City games in 1977 with my parents who are both sadly deceased but both were City daft. The memories of being at games at Maine Road with them are what I cherish but as for missing the ground - nope, not one bit.

I watched us play there for 26 years and we were largely shite for those years and didnt win anything tangible in terms of a major pot. I get that you dont follow your team just to win things but having sat through the nonsens of Ball, Clark, Mal's 2nd coming etc we were served up some right tipe.

Since moving to the Etihad Ive watched games here with my children and the standard of football has been beyond my wildest dreams; Ive seen City win the lot here and been lucky enough to see at least 8 of THE greatest players ever to wear our shirt - Vinny, KDB, Sergio, Rodri, Ya Ya, David Silva, Bernardo, Erling to name them. The new stadium has seen us clinch the league on the final day on 4 occasions, and also the finest diplay Ive ever seen from any City team (4-0 vs Real Madrid, May 2023).

In short, the memories are fond of Maine Road but the memories of the Etihad are the stuff football fans of other clubs would die for. I appreciate how lucky Ive been and what Ive seen over the past 15 years.
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1964 was my first game to watch City. Clearly at Maine Road and I completely agree with you
 
The redeveloped Maine Road under Lee and Swales was an embarrassment so in some ways was glad to see the back of it.
 
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