I can’t remember who we played that day, and I couldn’t tell you who was in the team without ‘Googling’ it! I couldn’t even see much of it, as I was only small so my view was blocked for most of the match. I do remember the atmosphere, the boos, the cheers, smell of food and cigarette smoke, But most of all what made my first City match special was that I had my dad all to myself! It was a warm feeling that I forever associate with City…thanks Dad (you have the best view of all now)….thanks City

in the late sixties me and my dad getting the bus to maine road and parking up in a massive line of buses on great western street.then going to watch the likes of oakes,dowd,pardoe,coleman and all the usual great names.what great memories.many thanks

I was given 2 tickets from a mate at the local butchers but at 12 was too young to go on my own. My elder brother took me and i remember it was Alex Stepney’s it was the first game where banners were banned, we lost 1-0 and Dennis Law and Alan Oakes had a fight on the edge of the box, the report in the pink said that oakes was the more sluggish of the 2 punchers – and that was all that was said! We were in the old score board end which had a white picket fence and if you were at the bottom your head was level with players feet. Can’t remember who scored but the city fans mercilessly chanted about Alex Stepney having big ears, something like, ‘come fly with me Alex Stepeny’ and Charltons a skinhead was another chant. I remember the cup final too when the supporters were asked to curb the bad language and the City fans made some creative adjustments, like he’s here he’s there, we’re not aloud to swear Tommy Booth, and ‘the ref’s a naughty boy the ref’s a naughty boy. But i will never forget that first game… the ground was horrid and I have loved the kippax ever since!!

I suppose it is quite unusual for a fan’s first City match to be away from home. However, for me, that was the case. As it happened I witnessed, what I believe to be, the greatest individual performance ever by any City player.
It was January 1961 and City had drawn Luton Town in the 4th round of the FA Cup. Luton were a decent team in those days and had made it through to the final a couple of years earlier where they were beaten by Nottingham Forest. In those days the FA Cup was really special, and my Dad, a lifelong City fan, asked if I would like to go with him on the train. I didn’t need asking twice.
Earlier that season??? City had signed a skinny 20 year old inside forward from Huddersfield Town for what was then a British record transfer fee of £55,000. His name was Denis Law.
When the day of the game came we set off from our shop on City Road, Hulme to walk to Central Station (now G-Mex). I don’t remember when it started raining but I do remember incessant rain when we arrived in Luton. I recall queuing for ages to get into the ground (this was still in the days when you simply turned up and paid at the turnstile). We had to wait that long that when we eventually got into the ground we were just in time to see Luton score their second goal to take an early 2-0 lead. I remember some of the locals “taking the mickey” and asking us where this Denis Law was.
The rain continued throughout the game, that is until approximately twenty minutes from time when the referee decided to call it off. No, the ref didn’t do us a favour, far from it, because by that time Denis had scored all City’s six goals to leave us cruising at 6-2. I clearly recall Bill Leivers City’s tough tackling full back of that era picking up a handful of mud and hurling it at the ref, so disgusted was he that the match had been abandoned.
Nearly 50 years later it doesn’t matter that the result didn’t stand or even that City went on to lose the replayed match 3-1, with Denis of course scoring our goal. What did matter was that I had seen one of our greatest ever players and from that day on what there was only one team for me.
I live in Perth, Scotland now and cannot get down to as many matches as I would like. I have a son, Calum, who was born and brought up in Scotland. I distinctly recall Calum’s first match – it was the Alan Ball relegation match against Liverpool in May 1996. Calum was just 6 then. He is now 20 and we go to matches whenever we can, we watch live matches in the pub together and chat about the blues every day.
Bill Shankly’s oft quoted comment about football “not being a matter of life and death – but much more important than that” is, of course complete nonsense. Allegiance to a club is however something that transcends generations and helps to form lifelong bonds.

My first City game was at Maine Road and it involved a Bury youngster playing I think his first senior game for Bury ie. Colin Bell and yes he scored to make it 1-0 to Bury. However if my memory serves me well Harry Dowd took a knock and had to play upfield in the second half ie. no substitutes in those days, and yes the City goalie scored the equaliser. Definitely one to remember!

My first city game was on the 28/01/1967 it was the third round of the fa cup at home to leicester city.
I was six and how proud my dad must have been taking his only son to his first city game.
i remember he sat me on the wall in the platt lane near the main stand, i dont remember too much not even the score although my dad tells me it was 2-1. Im sure George Heslop was centre half, he was a favourite of mine.
Thanks Dad for baptising me BLUE, a ritual i gladly passed on to my three sons and daughter.
Brendan Edge CTID

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.

My first game was the 1969 FA Cup Quarter final against Spurs; my Dad took me to the game on a very wet Saturday after noon. We got the 53 special bus from Belle Vue getting off at the end of Dickinson road a journey that I would make hundreds of times in the future. We walked around Platt lane into the side streets and called into the Rusholm Working men’s club sadly no longer there I sat in the corner with a coke and some salt and shake crisps listening to the city fans talking about the coming game. Just walking to the ground through the back alleys was exiting enough with the sound of the crowd and everyone wearing some form of blue, I had never seen so many people. Once inside the walls of Maine Road .I was overwhelmed by magnitude of the ground and the hustle and bustle of fans chanting and cheering.
I sat on the wall close to the half way line with my feet dangling over onto the side of the wet and muddy pitch. When the players came out in their sky blue, my heart missed a beat I was so close that I could have reached out and touched them it was fantastic. The thing that I remember the most was the roar of the crowd and the celebrations when Franny Lee scored the winner; I was nearly pushed on to the pitch
I remember thinking that I would get the chance to go to a semi final. But was told that I was too young.
A game that I will never forget
Colin Greenwood born in Gorton

My Dad took me to a few games in the early 60’s we stood in the Kippax with me at the front on the wall,
My first game I went to on my own was agenst Rotherham, I can’t recall the score ? I must have been about 13 years old, I can also remember seeing Colin Bell play against City for Bury !

Jan 2nd 1960.
Manchester City 4:1 Sheffield Wednesday.
I was 6 and my dad decided as a treat I was old enough to go to my first game. The pitch seems to have shrunk allarmingly as I have become older as I swear it was at least a mile long the first time I saw it.
I stood on the crash barriers in the Kippax stand and held my dad’s neck. My hero was Trautmann and I was dissappointed that he let 5 goals in in the first 3 minutes but then dad told me that they were only warming up!!!
Don’t know who scored (Joe Hayes got one I think?)I remember Trautmann making one good save but little else. Still it must have stirred something because I’m still going 50 years later.