47000 my arse!

[Gary James]

Wonder if @Gary James has more info about the actual attendance that day or in fact anyone?

It’s one I’ve always challenged. The stadium capacitywas over 52k at the time and it was absolutely packed with people sitting on steps in the 3 seated stands. The only place with space was the away terracing. Whenever I challenged Bernard Halford on this he got quite defensive and always tried diverting the conversation on to something else.

 

[kippaxwarrior]

It’s one I’ve always challenged. The stadium capacitywas over 52k at the time and it was absolutely packed with people sitting on steps in the 3 seated stands. The only place with space was the away terracing. Whenever I challenged Bernard Halford on this he got quite defensive and always tried diverting the conversation on to something else.

Thanks for the reply. That's interesting as Bernard was always very open wasn't he? He obviously knew something but was properly told to keep quiet. As I mentioned in my earlier post the windy corner where I use to stand was packed. Never seen it so full and the kippax itself was heaving. Looking at the video I would estimate around 55,000 was there

 

[its a Barm]

More like 60k if not more kippax was rammed, but ha ho cash business who wouldn't take advantage, most chairman did in them days.

 

[Lovebitesandeveryfing]

Great watching that, but it gives rise to a few random thoughts:

Watching Williams play, I found myself wondering how many black goalkeepers have played in the top flight. Either old First Division or Premier League. Not many, I should imagine. For some reason, they just don't seem to go for that position.

The actual quality of the football. I realised how blasé and spoilt we've become about watching the Rolls-Royce football of the last eight or nine years, and especially since Pep's arrival. We really weren't very good at that time, were we? There's a lot of hoofball being played by both sides, frankly. A lot of first balls poorly controlled, and then given away wildly. We just never play football even vaguely like that, now. That City side could barely have got the ball off the current one, I believe.

I'm slightly uneasy about hearing the crowd sing “You'll never walk alone” at one point. Did we really sing that at times? I have no memory of us singing it when I was most regularly on the Kippax, in the late sixties and right through the seventies. (I'm well aware, by the way, that although it seems to have been patented by that lot down the East Lancs Road, it was never exclusively their song. But I have no memory of us having any great affection for it).

 

[ancoats]

It’s one I’ve always challenged. The stadium capacitywas over 52k at the time and it was absolutely packed with people sitting on steps in the 3 seated stands. The only place with space was the away terracing. Whenever I challenged Bernard Halford on this he got quite defensive and always tried diverting the conversation on to something else.

i can 100% say without any doubt the gates at manchester city was being fudged by swales. and working on the gates myself knew the score and it was happening all over country and every club was at it. both workers of the turnstiles and the club accountants knew the line and the amount of fiddle you could get away with ? you always had to sign on and off your turnstiles numbers in pencil and your turnstile cash and tickets taken was added together and bagged before handing it in then again in pencil you would sign off the turnstile you worked on

the trick of a good turnstile operator was the double up or putting the kid over the turnstile gate. it was so easy to bag a few quid for yourself and if you was not greedy you worked on the same turnstiles every game. the head of the turnstiles knew his best workers and if you had any trouble or your turnstile was way off you was demoted to season tickets turnstiles or exit gates. cash turnstiles was the holy grail for the operator and you had to be trusted 100% and it was like a gang of family members running the turnstiles. even little things like a sweetener was handed over by the men working on the cash turnstiles like bottles of whisky or cigs to the head of the turnstiles staff

so from top to bottom the turnstiles and gate figures was being fudged every game and the top of the tree swales was making big money of the gates. and at the bottom was taking a fee quid and everybody was happy

 

[Lovebitesandeveryfing]

I'm glad this business of attendances is being cleared up. I was at the Boxing Day match against Everton ’68. On the History Section of this website, the official attendance is given as 53,549. Now I've never known the Kippax anything like it, not even for derbies. We were crammed in like sardines. It was the Black Hole of Calcutta. Freezing cold day, probably sub zero temperature as I remember it, and it was sweltering on the terraces. It felt as though there were 53,000 odd on the Kippax alone.
I also remember that big Joe Royle led us a merry dance that day, and thinking, “now that's a man I'd like playing for us one day…”

 

[johnnytapia]

I was in mainstand block H I think Kippax looked amazing great day although given what went on at Bristol that day your spot on could have been an issue.

Bristol? Think you mean Bradford.

 

[Boris Becker’s Backhand]

The crowd, the noise, the heat - an unforgettable day. Probably my favourite memory of Maine Road

 

[ganganvince]

Bristol? Think you mean Bradford.

Whoops my bad thanks for pointing that out

Edit original post corrected to not cause offence

 

[citymike1969]

I remember that the bench seated corner between Platt Lane and the Main Stand was absolutely rammed. Whatever the official capacity of the ground was, that corner of the ground wasn't included in it, because it didn't have a safety certificate as cracks were found in the concrete under-structure. It was amply clear that too many people had been let into every part of the ground, hence every aisle down the stands was occupied. I spoke to people who went in the Platt Lane stand and they said there were at least 3 people in there for every space on the benches.

I was in the Kippax, we were 2-nil up by the time I managed to get in the ground and I had to fight my way down the centre tunnel to get within sight of the pitch. Absolutely rammed and way above what the safety licence would have allowed, and hence way above what the official capacity would have stated. I'd estimate there were 60-65 thousand in the ground that day.

It was a fantastic day, but Swales's greed (back pocket funds for him and his trusty henchmen like Mr Manchester City himself, Halford) and disregard for the supporters could easily have led to there being a disaster on both sides of the Pennines that day.