Returning to Maine Road

Scaring Europe to Death

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31 Oct 2014
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I’ve been umpiring a few cricket matches over the summer, and I’ve been allocated a fixture at Whalley Range this weekend.

I always enjoy visiting new cricket grounds, but this also affords me the opportunity to visit Maine Road for the first time since the Southampton game in 2003

My only issue is a growing sense that I prefer to remember Maine Road as it used to be, and not a featureless housing estate. I might even find it upsetting as I recall my first game in April 1971, and the way the team and stadium changed over the next 32 years: the smell of fresh print on the match programmes: the post match demonstrations: my first appearance on the Kippax: invading the pitch after Charlton (85) and Birmingham (00): Greenalls in a plastic glass: the 86 Youth Cup Final: the 10-1 and 5-1: Colin Bell's comeback..............
On reflection, I might not bother.
Just curious, but does anyone else ever feel like this?
 
Me. I used to live in Broadfield Road and I have had the opportunity to go back many times but never taken it up simply because of what you say. I would rather remember it as it was. Such memories.
 
I visited on one of my trips back and was saddened to see no evidence of our great club ever having been there :-(

I first went to Maine Road in 1967 and was instantly hooked by the atmosphere and yes, the unique footie smells! Plus we really did win something every season it seemed back then, not too shabby for a club with "no istory" ;-)

I moved out to the US in 2000, so nearly all my City memories are of Maine Road as I have only been to the Etihad 5-6 times and have not been able to develop a connection, which I understand is my fault not the club or the grounds.

And The Beehive has gone …………. nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo !!! Had many a pre-match pint in there watching our Caribbean friends playing the most aggressive game of dominoes I ever witnessed :-)
 
I had a good look around a few months ago when I had a couple of hours to kill between appointments at the MRI

Bit of a weird experience but I enjoyed it and it brought back a lot of memories
 
Drive past every now and again. Enjoy pointing out to the kids where things were, like dog shit alley etc. Find it sad how most of the pubs have gone as seemed to spend most of late teens and twenties in them.
 

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