What Happened to Manchester City's Maine Road

[JGL07]

I used to get the train to Belle Vue and then catch the 53x bus from there straight to the ground. Same in reverse after the match. There were always a dozen or so buses lined up and ready to go. Does anyone remember the Minimax fares on the buses. It cost three pence no matter how far you travelled.
That's three old pence, which would be just over one penny in today's money.

I don’t know why they aren’t used throughout Manchester. Edinburgh and London both have flat fares for the buses and both are far more efficient than Manchester. Edinburgh buses are council owned and London buses are regulated.

Hopefully Manchester’s buses will be regulated as Burnham is working on this at the moment.

 

[kippaxkid74]

Excellent video. I've been there and didnt know the grass was from the original pitch. Seen the estate and the regeneration around the site.

I used to work at Maine Road for security, a firm called Shorrocks, we were supposed to watch the crowd, stuff that.

It isn't, the voice in the video is wrong. It was 2006 iirc that that part of the rebuild was done.

I used to go down once a week and have a look from when demolition started in Feb 2004. They would have to have stored a load of the pitch in turf rolls, for 3 years, and then put it back. I've never read anywhere say that happened, and i followed the demolition (and rebuild) in the way JRB does the the Etihad now! Not been on the forum for a few months now, but had a browse today and saw this Maine Road post, so had to join in!

 

[DontLookBackInAnger]

Here you go

That's the picture, its spooky how close they came with that! Out of interest can you tell me what match programme was this in(or was it in a few)?

 

[Three_Hat-tricks]

Takes me back to being a kid again. Dad parks the car up on Claremont Road, pay a lad to mind the car who'll f**k off the moment we turn the corner, buy some snacks from the corner shop, dodge the dogsh*it down the alley, hoping for a good performance and a win, come back with a loss and another gutless display, get back in car freezing f**king cold, Radio 5, James Alexander Gordon, Manchester City niiiiiiiil, Cov-EN-TRY CITY 3, Sports Report, traffic jam, Jimmy Wagg phone-in, home, Mum's meat and potato pie.

 

[Irlamblue]

not the greatest looking stadiums .. but.. still much better than goodison park.

 

[kashmir]

Was a total mismatch if a stadium
But it was our miss match of a stadium
And yes I still miss her

 

[Bluesince1979]

My memories as a kid ..

Early/mid 80s onwards , dad would drive to what was the junction pub , now P5, in cheadle hulme.
At the time it was a proper ale house, full of ‘characters’ , and id sit with my coke n crisps mesmerised by the goings on. Somebody walked a horse in to the pub once and no one batted an eye lid.
From there we’d go with my uncle and his mate mick to maine road , making the treck up princess parkway.
We used to park on the forecourt next to swales’s jag, no car park ticket required when you drop the guy in the yellow coat a quid to turn a blind eye.
Because we parked a yard from our turnstyle we could leave the Junction late, the record was leaving at 2.45 and being sat in our seats for 3pm ko.

Grab a programme off my dads mate who had a pitch just inside.

Watch the game, usually get beat.
No matter how crap we were , as a ten year old i thought city were by far the greatest team , the world has ever seen.
Walking down with ‘the men’ at half time whilst they had a pint of greenhalls which would produced the smelliest farts in the second half.

Back in the car sharpish after the game and back on the park way for the 5pm der dum der dum der dum sports report.
Stuart hall usually getting the city gig. Whatever happened to him?

Back to cheadle hulme, maybe another pint in the Junc before going to frank clarkes newsagents and waiting for the pink, feeling grown up waiting with the other blokes.
When the van dumped the piles of pinks outside id go and get them and bring them in and earn a flake off george, the newsagent.

Home with dreams of jim tolmie, the best player on the planet.

Seems a MILLION years ago now

 

[DontLookBackInAnger]

It looks, er, "massive" in that aerial shot. I miss the old place, but it was a bit of a mess at the end, wasn't it? 4 totally different stands.

It was indeed a "Massive" stand.....

 

[JGL07]

My memories as a kid ..

Early/mid 80s onwards , dad would drive to what was the junction pub, now P5, in cheadle hulme.
At the time it was a proper ale house, full of ‘characters’ , and id sit with my coke n crisps mesmerised by the goings on. Somebody walked a horse in to the pub once and no one batted an eye lid.

We always drank in the Junction until I moved to Birmingham in 1977. The landlord was a right miserable git but he kept a good pint.

One of my pals was involved in theatrical education and would often bring high profile people to the Junction with him. One time Paula Wilcox, who was a big TV star at the time, came along. The landlady, a bit worse for the wear through drinking, picked up on this and burst into the bar shouting "Where's this Waula Pilcox, then?"

 

[The_Maverick]

I don’t know why they aren’t used throughout Manchester. Edinburgh and London both have flat fares for the buses and both are far more efficient than Manchester. Edinburgh buses are council owned and London buses are regulated.

Hopefully Manchester’s buses will be regulated as Burnham is working on this at the moment.

BC Transit, which is the name of the Bus service also has a flat fee of $2.50 per journey. Also when my and Mrs Mav’s car was off the road we also get a free transfer ticket to another bus. I didn’t need one as the terminus was about a 5 min walk but she did.

To put it in perspective it would be the equivalent of getting a bus from Moston into City centre then catching a connecting bus to Salford Quays.

As we live in a rural community there are a limited number of services but they are so punctual you could set your Swiss watch by them.

Also on the return journey there were a couple of times that the drivers were talking over the radio to see if they had any incoming transfers.

The only downside is you have to pay cash. So it’s $2.50 each way. Or £1.60

The kicker out of all this. BC Transit is operated by First, yep the same company based out of Edinburgh that runs First Manchester, First…. Wherever