I was 16 and just started earning my own money, i’d never had the money to go until then. We were playing Derby County and i remember the buzz from just walking from the A6, down Dickinson Road and Claremont Road, hearing the fans before i could see Maine Road. Feeling the atmosphere building as i walked up the steps to emerge at the back of the old Kippax. Niall Quinn scored early in the game and it was him that replaced Tony Coton in goal after he brought down Saunders. Quinny saved Saunders penalty and to me became an idol in that moment. We won 2-1 and Derby were relegated on that result.

never missed a home game in 1976 – use to go with my dad & grandma
i remember sitting in the main stand watching newcastle next to a few ‘away fans’ who were quite vocal – me being me (14yrs old at the time)decided to try & out chant them – much to my dad’s distress – not sure who won on the pitch but i certainly won ‘pitch-side’ – happy days!:-)

I remember running away from away fans down Kippax Street!

back in 1994, 2 weeks after being born my first game watchimg man city from the old family stand. At main road the home of my newly blue heros and still continueing on and on, Watching the new superstars playing from eastlands

I cant remember the first game i went to but i remenber my dad taking me to main road,parking in the bus station and buying me sweets from the corner shop next to thr ground.We stood at the rear of the main stand and always watching proper football with my hero Colin Bell.

I remember my first match very clearly!, we parked a little away from the ground and walked to the Kippax, I remember feeling the buzz of the crowd and the anticipation in the air!, we got through the famous turnstiles of the mighty Kippax and went to buy a program, and a burger!, it seemed as if the walk up the steps took ages, but when I got to the top and had my first glimpse of the pitch I knew instantly I was in football heaven!.

The match began and again the buzz was electric & the ground was absolutely packed to the rafters!, it was end to end and every kick of the ball brought batted breath from the crowd, I was so nervous, it was like nothing I had ever experienced before!, I remember united got a penalty (suprise!) and they netted it!, from that moment I knew what it was like to support City, ups and downs, highs and lows!, but to be honest I would not have it any other way!, City till I die!!, we lost 3-0, ok we lost but it left me wanting more, I live for every City game and win,lose or draw City are in my blood!!, I would love to win this seat to give it dad to say thanks for taking me to see the greatest football team!!.

My first game was Manchester City vs Queens Park Rangers at Maine Road when I was 14 years old

My family had travelled to Manchester from Aberdeen
We had been season ticket holders at Pittodrie and enjoyed a succesful period of football under Sir Alex Ferguson – we all loved football but had never experienced a live English football match.

I had never followed Engish football much but as massive football fans my Dad and I decided to take in some matches when we were in Manchester

It was the first live Premier League game on Sky TV (BSkyB) and was on the 17th of August 1992

A buzzing Maine road was the host for Skys first outing with us playing Queens Park Rangers, David White giving us the lead before half time.
This also gave him the honour of being the first Goal For Manchester City In The Premier League
It finished 1-1 with QPR equalising after halftime through Andy Sinton with a strike from outside the box.

It was a great game with Keith Curle, Paul Lake, Steve McMahon and Niall Quinn all playing well; something blue was born in my blood that night!

Oddly it wasn’t only the football that made me become a City fan as for long spells of the match we were outplayed by QPR who looked dangerous with Darren Peacock dominant in the air

it was the fans, we were really loud and I remember bouncing up and down and the singing throughout the game

I’ll always remember there was lots of entertainment with Sky Strikers cheerleaders, a skydiving & parachute display and live music at half time – I had never seen anything like this before.

To make the week even better we went to old trafford on the Wednesday night and watched Everton beat them 3v0 in front of very quiet United supporters
Goals from Beardsley and Mo Johnstone against a United team including Ryan Giggs, Darren Ferguson and Mark Hughes

I travel down from Aberdeen every other week and have a season ticket in the Colin Bell stand Tier 2 – looking forward to many more great games this season and appreciate the effort our new owners have been making

I have to thank my Dad and the atmosphere on the terraces that night for me being a blue.

My first city memory is of the City vs Stockport game in 1998, i was 9 years old and the atmosphere at maine road was amazing. It all seemed quite daunting at first but when Shaun Goater scored the first i was up on my chair screaming from then on i was a blue through and through CTID!

As this current decade closes I find myself sitting down looking back at my life and what I have achieved during my 3 decades and 8 years on this planet. And it became apparently clear that one thing has mainly taken over my life, Gods Owns ™ Sky Blues of Manchester.
Personally the last decade as seen me lose my father, who was the main influence in my life in being a City fan and I believe it is thanks to him that I’m called Colin after the one and only “The King of Manchester” Colin Bell. But on a lighter side the naughty noughties as seen the birth of my wonderful niece, Lucy and in the new decade she will be joined by a wonderful little brother or sister. I’m sure by the time the twenty teens are coming to an end I will be visiting Eastland’s with them cheering on the Premiership and European Champions who play in the Sky Blue!!
Getting back to when it all started………
My earliest memories of my childhood heroes goes back to the late Seventies and early Eighties when players such as Corrigan, Ranson, Caton, Booth, Power, Gow, Tueart, Mackenzie and our first ever £1million signing Steve Daley (less said about the latter the better) graced the hollowed turf of Maine Road. Tony Book was manager and the extravagant Big Mal was Chief Scout back then, how things have changed since then. Managers have come and gone along with the players, chairmen. How many?????
According to my collection of match magazines my first visit to Maine Road was on Saturday 8th September 1979 when we entertained Lawrie McMenemy’s Southampton and lost 1-0. This left us rooted to the foot of table on 3 points while our neighbours were topping it with 10 points – things have definitely changed there or we are definitely in the process of catching them!! My second visit to Maine Road, which came a big part of my life during the eighties, came three days later to pay respect to my namesake, Colin “Nijinsky” Bell at his testimonial game against a selected team from Merseyside. As all of us City fans of a certain age know it was a tragedy that a young player with a fantastic talent career was cut short after a tackle in a Manchester Derby at Maine Road.
Reflecting back my first Derby game was a game to remember for me, as it was played on my 8th birthday 10th November 1979. I remember that my name was announced along with many other Junior Blues before the game and we WON that game 2-0 with goals from Tony Henry and Micheal Robinson. Later that day I was told that as my cousin and I was celebrating our win that there were hundreds of United fans behind us. That season we finished 6th from bottom with 37 points.
The 1980/81 season started my real love affair with the beloved blues, with an unexpected visit to Wembley in the One Hundredth FA Cup Final at the old Wembley Stadium against Spurs. But that season I was to become a regular ball boy at Maine Road covering both 1st team and reserve team home fixtures. In total I must have been a ball boy for 3 seasons on and off.
Anyone who has been a ball boy at Maine Road must remember that we had the smallest room in the building to get changed in but we really didn’t care about that. It was the honour to be asked by the club to be a ball boy what was special and the behind the scenes in the dressing room area at the end of tunnel. Many people thought you got paid for being a ball boy but you didn’t, like I’ve just said it was an honour to do it and see players such as Corrigan, Tueart, Caton, Mackenzie and the rest at such close quarters doing what every young boy wanted to do, play for City! But one thing you did get and was very much welcome especially during the winter was a hot cuppa at half time and a glass, yes glass, bottle of Coca Cola at full time along with a match programme. I started the season in front of the then wooden benched Platt Lane stand before halfway through the season moving in front of the daunting Kippax Stand. Does anyone remember that blue perimeter fence which stood in front of Kippax before the obstructive silver one which went round the ground? For me this would be the closest I would get to running out in front of a packed ecstatic Maine Road.
The atmosphere before and during a game was electric, to hear the roar of a capacity crowd as you step out of the tunnel and onto the hallowed turf followed by your heroes is just unbelievable. On more than one occasion I always wanted to give the crowd a wave but never did.
At the beginning of that season who would have dreamt that come May 9th we would travelling down the M6 & M1 towards the famous Twin Towers?
RRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s Saturday 9th May 1981, what’s so special about that day? City are at Wembley!! Its FA Cup Final day and the mighty sky blues of Manchester, now under the stewardship of John Bond.
It’s early morning and I’m dangling outside my bedroom window trying to put out my Wembley Flag, which had been signed by the late Tommy Caton, who was president of our local Junior Blues of which my late father had founded with the help of Jessie Ward down at Maine Road. Once it was secure it was off to Stockport Bus Station to catch the coach to Wembley.
I can only vaguely remember the journey, but it seemed that every radio station didn’t want us to win but that didn’t seem to damper the spirits onboard. I can remember playing with my cousin that game every youngest plays on their first visit to Wembley, “Who will spot the Twin Towers first?”
Like the game, it’s a draw!! We both spot them as the coach turns up Wembley Way and makes its way to the coach park. I can remember thinking, “How the hell are we going to find our coach after the game amongst all the coaches?” The next big task of the day is to get a programme, check (80p- those were the days!!), and then where’s our gate?
After a walk around the perimeter of the stadium we find it! Up some steps then tickets checked, remember turning round a seeing a wonderful sight, a sea of blue and white, into the stadium full of excitement of what lay ahead for the next 90 minutes. Also I can’t wait to see inside this wonderful historic stadium which I had heard about from my father and other family members who had been their previously for our League Cup Final in 1976.
2.50pm approaches quickly and all of a sudden there is a roar from the Spur’s fans gathered at the opposite end as they see the teams in the tunnel making their way to the pitch. We are stood just on top of the tunnel behind the TV cameras and there are 2 very excited boys cheering and screaming down the poor cameraman’s ear as we get our first glance of our heroes coming out of the tunnel.
I think those of the same age as I remember what happened next?
Tommy Hutchinson scores for us and then with minutes left with all of the blue half of Manchester starting to celebrate and thinking of where would be the spot to see the victorious Blues parading the FA Cup in streets of Manchester the following day a Spur’s free-kick takes a deflection off Hutchinson and wrong foots Big Joe. The rest is history.
Those are my early memories of being a Blue and the prevailing years just prove once you’re a City fan you’re a City fan for life! It’s like a marriage, for better and worse, and hopefully now it’s for the better?

My dad got two tickets for the League Cup game and said that I could only go if my cousin Bev would sit with me. I was 12 and she was a couple of years older. The tickets were for the North Stand Block T, while my dad was sat in his usual seat in the Main Stand and therefore thought it would be better to have someone older with me. It was absolutely fantastic and I’ve hardly missed a home game since! Four goals, and I think most of them were at our end! I was hooked. Even though I don’t seem to remember being among a packed block of supporters, the atmosphere was exhilirating. Denis Tueart became our instant hero. The whole night was glorious, from setting off in the car, walking to the ground, going through the turnstiles and cheering the players coming out, watching the football and joining in the songs, the half-time opportunity to tucking into some food, just brilliant. The only disappointing thing was that the final whistle went and it was time to go home! I still feel like that today (mostly). My dad followed up that ticket with several others, but I missed out on Wembley on February 28, 1976. He bought me my first season ticket and thought it was just a phase I was going through. It’s a really long phase which I don’t think has an expiry date. Come on you Blues!