There were people interviewed at the time of the move who claimed to be at the first game but I never interviewed anyone in 2003 who claimed to have actually been present. I did some interviews with fans who had attended games at Hyde Rd who talked about the move to Maine Rd and how they felt (against it saying Maine Rd could never match the atmosphere at Hyde Rd - similar comments to those expressed about COM in 2003).
I remember Fred Eyre talking about someone he’d met at the last game who had been to Hyde Rd and the guy said something like ‘all these ground moves are a bloody nuisance’.
gjfootballarchive.com
most fans on the kippax use to know what the crowd was roughly as we went every home game and you sot of knew how many where there and when they announced the figure for the match there was always a collective laugh at the figure, swales must of had a massive amount of cash at home.
Thank you for this. Its very interesting. Funny that Maine came from the Temperance movement, especially considering the amount of pints consumed at the ground. (maybe the beer was so watered down as a nod to the name's origin!)There’s a few myths out there about where the name Maine Rd came from, so I’ve posted a free article on the latest research. It may be of interest:
Maine Road’s Name
On this day (25 August) in 1923 Manchester City’s Maine Road Stadium opened. In 2003 I wrote “Farewell To Maine Road” and at that time I revealed that the actual street Maine Road had origina…
Cheers (relevant when you look at the reason the name was chosen!).
Yes - I was stood on Kippax from 1983 (after sitting in PL & North Stand with parents from being a baby) and it was exactly as you say. You could feel how packed (or not) the Kippax was and see the 3 seated stands. So when people were sat in the aisles of the Main Stand & North Stand and the Kippax was packed to a level I’d never experienced before for the Charlton 85 game it was so obvious the attendance was closer to 58000 than the 48000 Swales & Halford claimed.
Demesne Rd is now in Whaley Range.There’s a few myths out there about where the name Maine Rd came from, so I’ve posted a free article on the latest research. It may be of interest:
Maine Road’s Name
On this day (25 August) in 1923 Manchester City’s Maine Road Stadium opened. In 2003 I wrote “Farewell To Maine Road” and at that time I revealed that the actual street Maine Road had origina…
Cheers (relevant when you look at the reason the name was chosen!).