Today in 2003 - Film of Maine Road's last league game

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Gary James

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Today in 2003: Maine Rd's final league game and here for the 1st time online the North West Film Archive have made Chris Hanson's footage of the historic day available to view. Filmed from the new Kippax here it is

Look out for some interesting scenes. Thanks to Chris for filming it originally and to Will McTaggart for making it viewable. Films like this seem ordinary moments at the time but now, 17 years later there's stuff here that would be forgotten or lost forever if it wasn't captured by fans. Film by TV companies and clubs usually focus on match action without really capturing the fans, so this stuff is precious. If you've got anything similar please get in touch with the NW Film Archive. Will & I have worked on a number of City film shows over the years and thanks to people who have got involved film from Platt Lane in the early 60s, the Kippax on its last day in 1994, the ECWC in colour in 1970 and much more has been found and preserved.
 
denislawsbackheel said:
Am I missing something?
All I saw were crowd scenes.
Click to expand...

That's the point. This film is about the last day at Maine Road and the fans (the game itself was filmed by TV companies who focused on the match action not the fans) and their experiences. The stadium has gone but this sort of film gives a feel for what the stadium and the fan experience was like. A generation of fans have grown up who never went to Maine Road. I wish we had stuff like this from Hyde Road or the 1920s, 30s etc. so that we can see what the facilities were like for fans; how we got into grounds; how the tannoy system drowned out the fans singing - one of the things that irritates me most about modern football is how the atmosphere is manufactured. In this clip you can hear the North Stand chanting then the PA system blasts out Elvis and kills the mood. It's only 17 years ago but, as fans, so much has changed. Give it another decade or so and this entire experience may be completely alien to fans.

EDIT: There's even film of the Gene Kelly from both outside and inside the stadium showing how desperate the club was to increase capacity too.
 
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Nice video. I showed it to a lad from work, he's been a supporter for years but never got the chance to see Maine Road and was probably a bit too young. He found it fascinating.

If I recall correctly there might be a similar video to this on Youtube, taken from Main Stand/North Stand corner.
 
It was a dreadful anticlimax. Poor game and then 2 blokes doing a blues brothers tribute was the cue to leave early and took a few signs with me. Then a steward collared us, he was just showing is the way out as the normal exits weren't open. The Milestone has better entertainment on a Tuesday afternoon than the club put on that day.
 
Corky said:
It was a dreadful anticlimax. Poor game and then 2 blokes doing a blues brothers tribute was the cue to leave early and took a few signs with me. Then a steward collared us, he was just showing is the way out as the normal exits weren't open. The Milestone has better entertainment on a Tuesday afternoon than the club put on that day.
Click to expand...

You are not kidding. Absolute shambles of a day but very much in keeping with the typical city tag.
 
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