Outside Maine Road...6th November 1971....3-3 Derby Day Pictures

[1978 & still here]

In the first picture, I think someone is having a driving lesson :-):-).

 

[BillCarlisle]

I suspect them two lads(pic4) are reds....they look a bit fish out of water types.
Pic 2 seems to have been taken outside turnstiles which utd fans were congregating in...not sure if there was segregation back in 71,but far too much red on show....

There wasn't any formal segregation then, most fans just went & stood where it felt safe. In practice however the rags tended to gather at the Platt Lane end of the Kippax, encouraged to do so by the police. I well remember that match and as was usual for me & my mates we stood in the Kippax with our rag mates. Same for the return at the Swamp later in the season. That was what we did in those days & we had to take whatever came. Lol.
That November game was MacIlroy's debut for the rags & he was only 17. He scored twice I think, & I couldn't believe what was happening. Fortunately Buzzer scored a late equaliser, in what was a cracking derby (for neutrals !).

 

[Fiftyyearsandcounting]

Ah! the days when you could just turn up and queue at the turnstiles. I moved to the S-West in the late 60's, on a home visit to Hulme, if City were playing, I'd stroll to Maine Road with the old man or a friend.
Life was much simpler then.

 

[Lovebitesandeveryfing]

Ah, it's a whole era! Crombies, Levis, Docs. A bit disappointed that no-one's got a scarf knotted round their belt at the hip.
The start of the seventies. Three or four of the best years of my life.

 

[Cellarite]

The Main Stand exterior looks so much better like that than it did in the final years with all the cladding on it.

 

[blue b4 the moon]

Biggest home crowd I've ever been in and there was still a bit of space created in the open between the Kippax & North Stands....when it kicked off so we could have squeezed a few more in.

 

[Deleted member 77198]

Never wear red on derby day, in fact try to never wear red.

I don’t even have red sauce on my burger on derby day.

I always hate our away kits when they have red on them (stripes or sash). Think we should never see it again.

 

[Lavinda Past]

There wasn't any formal segregation then, most fans just went & stood where it felt safe. In practice however the rags tended to gather at the Platt Lane end of the Kippax, encouraged to do so by the police. I well remember that match and as was usual for me & my mates we stood in the Kippax with our rag mates. Same for the return at the Swamp later in the season. That was what we did in those days & we had to take whatever came. Lol.
That November game was MacIlroy's debut for the rags & he was only 17. He scored twice I think, & I couldn't believe what was happening. Fortunately Buzzer scored a late equaliser, in what was a cracking derby (for neutrals !).

Football was much more fun when you could pay at the gate, before segregation and having to buy tickets months in advance. For a couple of seasons around 1969/1971, three or four of us used to go in the recognised 'home end' at every away game we went to, just for the 'thrill'. The only exceptions were all-ticket games and Upton Park - There was no way we were going in with late 60s West Ham fans!

Very rarely had any serious trouble - Mostly friendly banter and the odd slap off the local yokels. When we were 'thrown out' by the police, we pleaded ignorance of the stadium and were invariably moved into what they advised us the 'away' section of the ground. If they didn't do that (or throw us in a meat wagon), we used to wait until the gates opened 15/20 minutes from the end, and go back in for nowt.

The most intimidating places (other than West Ham) were the Shed at Chelsea, the Shelf at Spurs, and that barrel of laughs that they called the Kop at Leeds - We kept our mouths shut and learned to celebrate internally when City scored. Forest used to be good for running over the bridge to get over the Trent - Proper fun until you got thrown in by the greasers - Hello Billy if you're reading. Billy was thrown in but made the mistake of swimming to the wrong bank and having to cross the bridge again... He made it 2nd time!

Most ejections from a ground..? The Swamp - FA Cup 2nd replay Huddersfield v Stoke. Thrown out three times during the game, walked back in three times through the same door the police were throwing fans out of. Manchester police were'nt employing the brightest buttons in the box at the time when it came to crowd control!

Post-70s fans really have no idea what it was like to go to a football match in the good old days - Segregation and fences just increased the hostility and moved the trouble outside the ground. It was a daft idea.

 

[1stFeb1969]

This was my first derby as well, sat at the back of the Platt Lane, so the two goals scored there were both United's.
Not a bad introduction to derbies.

Talking of the Leeds game, as well as the paddock halfway down the Lowfield Road side, and behind the goal, I was amongst a pocket of Blues in the seating at the corner flag high in the Kop stand, so the frank exchange of views between Harvey and McQueen was right under my nose.
Mum and sister were in the Lowfield Road seats, so we had to see them outside after the game - it was a very rare away trip for both of them!

 

[DTKOAG]

My 1st Derby also.
Remember being able to see sod all for most of the game as we were stood near the back between the Platt Lane & Kippax and my Uncle kept picking me up every 10 minutes to see the game.