Maine Road or Etihad

[Gareth Barry Conlon]

tough one this - but for me Maine road ceased to be what it was the day the Kippax went to seats. It was never the same ground again. God i miss that terrace

So if you ask me Maine Road with standing Kippax was the best

Etihad is second

Main road with seated Kippax is third

Agree with this. The kippax was nuts, its hard to describe how nuts it was given we have not had big terraces in football grounds for so long. Maine Rd without it and the gaps and temporary stand at the corners of the new kippax stand was not great. So on the basis we now live in the age of the all seater then Etihad is the best but back in the day you would never have convinced teh average kippax or north stand punter to pay more and have a seat - even in a fantastic modern stadium.

 

[bobbymimms]

Maine RD It was my playground aswell living on Thornton rd. Dont like these new stadiums

 

[bobbymimms]

My son lives at the back of the old Kippax and asked me about a building which appears to be in the far corner of the main park. It's difficult to tell if it was in the car park but it's still there now although worse for wear on the edge of the new housing. Pic from the rear shown plus its in the bottom v of the aerial pic.

That was a family run business called meskis ice cream factory..

 

[blue oli]

I grew up on Edith Ave, so Maine road for me every time. But I’ve seen so much better football at the new stadium even so

 

[Spurs quarter 69]

tough one this - but for me Maine road ceased to be what it was the day the Kippax went to seats. It was never the same ground again. God i miss that terrace

So if you ask me Maine Road with standing Kippax was the best

Etihad is second

Maine road with seated Kippax is third

At a match at Burnley recently and was amused to here teenagers in the Cricket field stand singing "We are the Longside" The Longside was similar to the Kippax and demolished about the same time long before many of the singers were born.

 

[jaseisblue]

Maine road before Kippax conversion gave me some amazing adrenalin rushes. Packed to the rafters and loud as hell. When a goal went in and you went down 20 steps the euphoria was second to none. It wont be replicated in seats. Although the Hamburg game was up there.

 

[Mike Cledford]

That was a family run business called meskis ice cream factory..

Thanks for that. I will let my son know. We had both drawn a blank..
Do you know any more about the family.? The ltalians cornered most if the ice cream trade and my family knew a lot of them in Little Italy in Ancoats.
Ps my son just told me the outside featured in an 80s sit com called the Brothers McGregor.
Never heard of it but l doubt l would have recognised it, coming in on the Welcome/Osborne axis ;)

 

[Indaparkside]

MR off the bus princess parkway 11am in the Claremont on to the beehive then finally the parkside, across the road to Ladbrokes put my footy bet on down the gennel then on to the forecourt of the greatest football stadium in the world, bring on the champions

 

[vicblueman]

The Etihad is superior in looks & quality , but give me maine rd all day for sentimental reasons .
the standing Kippax ,the original Main Stand ,the old Platt Lane Stand & the North Stand , the banter between the stands was comical ,what a great sense of humour ,better than the scousers !
Memories of the 53 match bus ,dickenson rd, nose to nose buses outside the school, the toast rack ,platt lane fields , the smell of liniment when walking near the players dressing room outside the main stand before the match , sound of the crowd of a goal or near miss when outside the stadium , a delivered Kippax season ticket book !
Don't miss the horse shit in the passages & the flooded stinky urinals though
ha!ha!
Happy Days !

 

[mikeosbornphoto]

Hello there, very interesting thread. As a neutral I recently visited the Etihad which of course was very quiet, so hard to imagine what the atmosphere is like on a match day. I like it as a structure, all struts and 'tent pegs' :) If you'd be interested in taking a look at the photos, here they are: https://mikeosbornphoto.com/2021/04/25/etihad-stadium/

Unfortunately this was before the amazing blue skies we've seen lately, which would have really lifted the images. Maine Road was before my time, so it's enlightening to read your reflections.

Best wishes,
Mike