Was the Kippax of the 60s/70's overrated?

.db. said:
It never looked better than when it didn’t have a roof and the the big ‘CITY FC’ flag.



Putting the roof on in 1957 certainly took away from its beautiful aesthetic, but I bet it improved the atmosphere with that huge deep roof right over everyone’s heads.
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The City FC flag:
gjfootballarchive.com

The City FC Flag

Anyone remember seeing the CITY F.C. flag that used to proudly fly above the Popular Side/Kippax. It was there for decades. There had been a CITY F.C. flag at Hyde Road and it may well be that this…
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I’m not sure what the point of the thread is but the comments that “It was cold and windswept” or “The steps up to it were a death trap in winter” could have been levelled at any other terrace at any other ground across the country at the time.

The assertion that the ”paintwork on the metalwork was faded and in need of a refresh” isn’t what I recall. On the contrary, my recollection was that the paintwork on the barriers and the whitewashing of the walls was done every summer.

“The toilets were a disgrace and should have been condemned, the smell was disgusting.” Again, no different to anywhere else.

“The burgers and hot dogs were shit.” I may be wrong here, but I don’t recall anyone selling either on the Kippax. Outside yes, but not inside.

By the standards of the time, the Kippax was as good as, if not better than most other terraces. It always had a safety certificate and Maine Road was often used as a neutral ground for FA Cup Semi-Finals and even for a League Cup Final replay in 1984.

Aesthetically, an expanse of concrete under a low-slung roof that was possibly made of asbestos and propped up by a handful of pillars was never going to win any admiring glances.

However, the Kippax was never really about its hard edges of concrete and steel; it was more about the people who stood together on it. And while its reputation could strike fear into the fans of our opponents, when we were very young we didn’t care about such things. We could get together with our mates on the Kippax steps and watch our team for a mere 40p, plus 15p for a programme.

Make no mistake, the Kippax was the pulsing beat of Maine Road and, by extension, Manchester City Football Club.

I was brought up in Wythenshawe but I grew up on the Kippax.
 
BTH said:
I’m not sure what the point of the thread is but the comments that “It was cold and windswept” or “The steps up to it were a death trap in winter” could have been levelled at any other terrace at any other ground across the country at the time.

The assertion that the ”paintwork on the metalwork was faded and in need of a refresh” isn’t what I recall. On the contrary, my recollection was that the paintwork on the barriers and the whitewashing of the walls was done every summer.

“The toilets were a disgrace and should have been condemned, the smell was disgusting.” Again, no different to anywhere else.

“The burgers and hot dogs were shit.” I may be wrong here, but I don’t recall anyone selling either on the Kippax. Outside yes, but not inside.

By the standards of the time, the Kippax was as good as, if not better than most other terraces. It always had a safety certificate and Maine Road was often used as a neutral ground for FA Cup Semi-Finals and even for a League Cup Final replay in 1984.

Aesthetically, an expanse of concrete under a low-slung roof that was possibly made of asbestos and propped up by a handful of pillars was never going to win any admiring glances.

However, the Kippax was never really about its hard edges of concrete and steel; it was more about the people who stood together on it. And while its reputation could strike fear into the fans of our opponents, when we were very young we didn’t care about such things. We could get together with our mates on the Kippax steps and watch our team for a mere 40p, plus 15p for a programme.

Make no mistake, the Kippax was the pulsing beat of Maine Road and, by extension, Manchester City Football Club.

I was brought up in Wythenshawe but I grew up on the Kippax.
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Spot on! I think there’s some revisionism about Maine Rd often used to say the ground wasn’t that special. It absolutely was and while we can (and I do) criticise Swales & Niven for how the club was run they did tend to try and make the place look decent. Most football clubs treated their terracing poorly and there were lots of areas (like toilets) that were poor in comparison with today, but they were at least on a par with the equivalents.

I remember standing at Wembley in 86 and realising just how poor that terracing and the facilities were in comparison with the Kippax.

Another myth about Maine Rd is that when it closed it was falling apart/well past its sell by date but it wasn’t. The Main Stand facilities weren’t great for a main stand but the three other stands were relatively new and modern. My complaint was (and still is) that Maine Rd’s capacity was far too small but in terms of seating, toilets etc. it was better than most (and much of Maine Rd in 2003 would still be better than modern day OT!). The North Stand was only 30 years old; the new Platt Lane was 10 (but woefully small) and the Kippax was 8 years old. Most of our current stadium is 23 years old.

We should all be proud of our grounds and history. The Kippax was the heart of Maine Rd in its final decades and was better than most, if not all, equivalent terraces. Tastes change but things like the huge entry tunnels were a wonderful design feature that another terraces simply couldn’t match.
 
Loved the Kippax, miss it and Maine Rd like mad. 106 bus from Peel Hall, into the Kippax when it opened to get a good spot as we were only kids. Oh- I miss it.
Went there the other week, took a walk through dog shit alley etc. very emotional.
 
As a 13 year old and attending with my mate and his Dad, we would sit in the Platt Lane seats.
Roll on a year later and we would travel by ourselves, via the train into Oxford Road and we ventured onto the Kippax.
The atmosphere was brilliant compared to the old Platt Lane area and just loved standing with all the "nutters" on that right hand side as you walked up those bloody steps ;)
Nostalgia at its greatest and the midweek cup games for the League Cup and Europe was something too behold as it rocked with the noise and just something about midweek night games that made the atmosphere even better.
 
JH City said:
Loved the Kippax, miss it and Maine Rd like mad. 106 bus from Peel Hall, into the Kippax when it opened to get a good spot as we were only kids. Oh- I miss it.
Went there the other week, took a walk through dog shit alley etc. very emotional.
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I miss Peel Hall, I was brought up there. Pity both pubs were shut down also.
 
Some poshuns on here buses and taxis to the games as a kid, I started going in 1968 and walked from Burnage to the games and jibbed in when possible also jibbed the buses home, if I got caught on a bus I just gave a sad story and false address to the conductor.
Great times on the Kippax which was a shithole but it was our shithole and I loved it.
 
Best atmosphere for me, Newcastle FA cup replay 1969, 60,000 more like 70 it was packed. Athletico bilboa, Schalke 04 . Anytime we smashed United, Charlton 85.
 
I don't think it was overrated. It was a fcking huge stand...24K I believe and so it took some games to get it rocking. But when it got going it was as good as it gets. OK it could be a bit quiet during the bad times but the one thing that never changed was the fans. Good or bad they were always there and you could always find your mates at the usual spot on the Kippax. That's what makes grounds and stands special...fans not the soulless TV social media bollocks that we get nowadays.
 
It was just a concrete and metal structure like every other ground. It was the people, occasions, sounds, smells etc that made it special. About 12 years old I got the 148 bus from Cheadle Hulme with mates and walked down toward the floodlights. Like a Mecca to us all. Started off near the halfway line but as we got bigger and braver moved towards the tunnel and away fans. Fucking loved it. I'd have it back in an instant. None of this Health and Safety crap and sanitised viewing.
People mentioned the Charlton game....47k? Bullshit. The Kippax that day was mental. Other favourite for me Everton F A cup 6th round replay in 81. What a night.
I first stood on Kippax late 70s so can't comment on before that but anyone who says it was overrated wasn't there!!
 
All grounds in the 70s/80s were of a similar standard. Most were shit holes.
We were one off the only grounds where you had a standing up stand that run the length of the pitch. On its day it was untouchable for atmosphere, unfortunately for us those days were few and far between.
Not like now.
 
One thing for sure, , it was bloody big, most clubs had "an end" we had the whole side. Pointing out all the short-comings is basically just hindsight/nostalgia, at the time it barely mattered, although the bogs were dire and exiting was often a proper crush. Those who never experienced it are bound to wonder what all the fuss is about, and in the grand scheme of things, it matters not a jot.
 
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