Gary James
Well-Known Member
One game that was absolutely definitely above the official figure reported was the FA Cup tie with Sunderland in 1973. This was Bernard's first game as MCFC secretary and he told me the true story of why it's more than that reported. I have it on tape but basically the crowd was reported as about 54,000 at a time when Maine Road's official capacity was about 52,600. The real attendance was more like 58,000 according to Bernard but if that figure had been officially announced the stadium would have failed its safety certificate! I'll type the full story up one day.I am saying it was around 75% of the Chelsea game where the Kippax was crushed and the Platt lane was at full capacity compared to a hand full or Bournemouth fans.
If all gates where fiddled how do people estimate the gates, there isn't actually a bench mark? It may have been fiddled but the fans wouldn't be able to give accurate estimates, and fans of all clubs in the 80s claimed they got more than the official gates. Which stopped overnight will all seaters.