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

[deano ou812]

You mean we had another ground/stadium before the Etihad,sure we only started when Sheikh Mansour took over in 2008 ;-)

 

[Gingers Dad]

The 2-1 win against liverpool doesnt get talked about enough in terms of great maine road nights.

Balmy august evening. Home debut for the new record signing(ooh curley wurley) and a thrilling win against the perennial champions.

Theres a brilliant shot of whitey running away after the second goal with the full length kippax going mental behind him. Limbs and then some.

Obviously it was another false dawn but what a night.

Great night but not as good as the 2-1 win over Liverpool at the Etihad, when Leroy scored the winner. Now that was an atmosphere

 

[Marvin.]

Maine Rd was built in the 20's and was good until the terraces were taken out. That severely damaged football.

 

[PragueBlue]

Maine Rd was built in the 20's and was good until the terraces were taken out. That severely damaged football.

I agree.

I have fond memories of Maine Road and the Kippax but those days are long gone and not just at City. Football and Stadia have changed, mainly for the better but it has had an impact on the crowd demographic, pricing and atmosphere.

I guess, like many have already said, the thing I miss the most are the pubs around the ground. The Osbourne was always my favourite.

 

[stockportblue]

Parking was easier. Miss the old Kippax atmosphere at its best.

 

[willipp]

I remember my dad taking me in the early 80’s and we used to sit in the family stand just below where the security / cctv booth was and you had the main stand pillar covering half the pitch. I don’t miss that.

As I got a bit older I got promoted to the Kippax and it changed my world and how I wanted to watch football. It was probably late 80’s early 90’s and it was incredible. The people, smells, celebrations, songs and language I used to hear as my dad covered my ears. The smell of tobacco will always stay with me and when i get that smell even today it takes me straight back there. The toilets you entered at your peril and food was an absolute no go. It was so special and just glad I’m old enough to have been able to experience it.

Once the Kippax got knocked down it was never the same. The ground was a mess, a crappy hotch potch of stands and totally outdated. Moving to the etihad was absolutely the right move for me. Maybe we didn’t know it at the time, but it changed everything.

 

[Eaststander1]

Don't worry City will make up for the lack of pubs with the new fan zone. Poorly paid, unskilled workers treating each order like it's their first time. Queues and queues of blues waiting because some cunts ordering a smashed avocado and a lactose free mocha chockafucking latte

Lol, had me laughing that did, but you can definitely see it happening !

 

[Eaststander1]

Great night but not as good as the 2-1 win over Liverpool at the Etihad, when Leroy scored the winner. Now that was an atmosphere

I've pointed this game, when 'Whitey' scored, out in an earlier post .... the sheer noise and passion at Maine Road that night was as good as ANY you'd experience at ANY ground in the country, including Anfield !

The travelling scouse contingent could barely get a song in edgeways, the Kippax blew them apart !

And the game when Aguero and Sane scored was fantastic too ....

 

[chaddblue]

Imagine if 93:20 had happened in front of the original kippax packed to the rafters

It would have been carnage

 

[GOULDYBOBS]

Lol, had me laughing that did, but you can definitely see it happening !

How i felt on Wednesday night. Why cant we have a stall that just serves Guinness? I get they want to upsell food but I spend less because I can't get what I want when I want it

 

[Sky Blue Thinking]

Visiting Maine Road was part of growing up for me. As others have said the pub situation was much better than the Etihad, said to see all but the Claremont gone. At the time we moved we had 2 stands built in the previous 10 years but nothing matched and there were gaps in the corners with temporary stands. Offer to move to the Etihad was too good to turn down, we've had 3 last day PL winning games there. Last day dramas at Maine Road involved relegation or promotion battles, we've come a long way from those.

 

[ONTHERUNWITHTHAKSIN]

Miss the old Maine road massively

When they had to change to all seater then it got fucked up

My twin boys always complain about the atmosphere at the Etihad and if I could just take them back onto the standing on the kippax they would truly be part of something special

So glad I experienced it all.

The smells, the banter the dark humour the feeling as one with like minded people

God do I miss it

 

[BringBackSwales]

Parking was easier. Miss the old Kippax atmosphere at its best.

Yeah it was, sometimes you didn’t even need to take your car home cos someone else had taken it for you

 

[BringBackSwales]

Still refer to the Etihad as the new ground, 22 years after we moved. Tbf it became a bit more like home for me when Sergio scored v qpr

 

[ONTHERUNWITHTHAKSIN]

Yeah it was, sometimes you didn’t even need to take your car home cos someone else had taken it for you

Well worth paying 50p protection money

 

[Eaststander1]

You used to get 35k in the Kippax (standing) and North Stand on a good day.

I dread to think how many people were actually packed into that Kippax on the day we set that 84,000 crowd record .... they must have packed in like sardines, couldn't even move to get your hand in your trouser pocket to jangle your loose change about!

 

[Wayneclarkemunchescarrots]

Some of the best memories of my life centred around Maine road and following city in general , especially the decade from 1985 onwards .
This is partly down to being young and attending matches with people who are now deceased .
I think some people forget how toxic the atmosphere was and how shit the attendances were in general around then .
The toxicity was more a positive experience perversely for a young lad .
Miss the chippies , pubs , the kippax and characters from that period .
Enjoyed seeing us become one of the best club sides ever in world football and that was worth the trade .

 

[Eaststander1]

Something died in me when we left Moss Side and I can't seem to get it back.

I know the feeling !

 

[East Level 2]

I missed Maine Road from May 2003 until August 2003 when I first saw inside the City of Manchester Stadium.
Great memories of the old place but the redevelopments were a hotch-potch of designs and all-seater regulations (which had been in place for a while) meant we could never increase capacity without knocking down half of Thornton Road.
Someone mentioned the Wigan S/F and Brum games earlier. I was in the lower Kippax for both but when I think back to those games I picture myself watching watching from the old Kippax terraces.
I don't think the team helped with final memories as we lost our last two home games 1-0.

 

[Stephen230]

Yes because despite now being nearer to the city centre the Etihad is 10X harder to get to and from on public transport or by driving. Maine road was a breeze to get to and from

Everything is a breeze when you're young.

I can absolutely guarantee that if we were still at Maine Road, the same people whinging on a weekly basis about the public transport to the new ground, would be doing the same about getting to and from Maine Road.