I rode to Maine Road on the pillion of my Dads BSA motorbike. I watched the floodlights as we went down Princess Parkway and was really excited. The smells, my Dads Brylcreem, cigarette smoke, Bovril etc. It was a night match against Bury Fc [friendly] I was about 12 at the time and wanted to swear like the grown ups did at the players but my Dad was a Royal Marine during the war and would have none of that. It was a dark cold night and then it happened……The City mascot ran around the pitch and the most wonderful sight, the City players came out of the tunnel in the most bluest of blue kits and most of them seemed to have blonde hair a light in all this gloom. I,ve been hooked ever since. They even brought Malcolm Allison on as a sub and he scored but the ref disallowed it so I muttered “bloody” or some other swear word under my breath. Thanks Dad. What I would give to be at the game with you watching our lads today play now. RIP.
Alan Cafferky [53]

One year after the world cup triumph and I was going to my first game with my best friend John Anderson and his Dad. I can remember the excitement of going up the steps leading to the crescent of the scoreboard end, and the anticipation of what was then a 9 year olds dream.
Not wanting to be rude and run up the steps I slowly mounted the top and there my breath was taken away by the green of the pitch ( no colour television It had never occurred to me that a pitch would of course be green) , something my son was to copy some 30 years later. I don’t remember the game at all except that Mike Doyle got two or maybe all three goals on that evening. I don’t really want to check if my memory of who scored is correct. Like longer and warmer summers that’s how I like to remember that result. And at the beginning of the season he turned out to be a defender, if that’s what a defender can do what our attack must be like.
I was and still am hooked

Walking up to Old Trafford 2 hours before kick off at the end of March 1968 hoping to see City take another step towards the championship as a 10 year old. City fans everywhere, excitment incredible. The ground filling up, just before Kick off a drunken United fan stood blocking my view, gently moved on by my Dad. The teams came out , the tension unbearable “we were going to win the league” George Best scored after 36 seconds, my Dad just said never mind this is City we had to give United a chance. Thet never had another George Heslop, Colin Bell and Frannie Lee 3 – 1 to City. We will be champions.

My abiding memory was that the pitch was so green and everything was perfect. August games are full of optimism and hope. I was with my Dad and my big brother and City won 6-0. I thought it was always going to be like this. I didn’t know what I was letting myself in for but my timing was great. The next 12 years were fabulous.

My late dad took me to my first City match v Arsenal in February 1968. Team: Mulhearn, Book, Pardoe, Doyle, Heslop, Oakes, Lee, Bell, Summerbee, Young, Coleman. Sub: Connor. The game finished 1-1. I was 8-years-old at the time. He took me on the 53x match bus from where we lived near Belle Vue. We got off on the corner of Dickenson Road and Wilmslow Road just by Roy Clarke’s sports shop. I remember cutting through the back entries watching fans park their bikes in back yards. My dad lifted me over the turnstile and in we went. (Those full length turnstiles would painfully catch my ankles as I would go in in later years!) We stood in the corner between the Kippax and the old Scoreboard end. To get a better view my dad lifted me on to the whitewashed sloping wall leading from the tunnel. Being February, the cold wall froze my legs as I was only wearing short trousers and I walked back to Belle Vue like John Wayne. My dad bought me my first pair of long trousers for the next game against Coventry which we won 2-1. I remember Colin Bell going up for an aerial challenge with Coventry’s German centre half Dietar Bruck. The top of the King’s head collided with Bruck’s chin and both were spark out for several minutes. There was silence around the ground until both players got up and continued to play to huge applause. Wouldn’t happen today – that’s for sure!

The Holy Trinity of Bell,Summerbee & Lee, Lake what a player that we lossed, 1999 Wembley, we had to win there was no escape plan, Dicky,Horlock Weaves and of course the man for the moment, often forgotten but we see our Dunnie as a colosuss, well I can tell you the one guy guy that dragged us through those dark times and the manager that we owe oh so much to, Joe Royle and Andy Morrison, the toughest pair of City player and manager ever, they had to be. Div 2 nothing to look forward to but blood, sweat toil and tears, ‘we are not we’re not really here’ Rain, wind and standing in a tatty old stand with no roof as such(sorry Macc) Macclesfield Town FC in 1998/99 season. That brought a lot of realities home, what was gods club doing here, well he was bringing us down to earth just so we could appreciate what we now have. To City I raise my glass, you know how to entertain in life never fully up and never fully down but never far away from either. You are my City, my only City from Maine Road. CTID all my family and me. Gary Williams

My younger sister had been in Pendlebury Hospital for a couple of months and one saturday in February My dad said “Come on son, we are going to see Josephine” I couldn’t understand all this because I didn’t really want to visit my sister (being only 7 years of age at the time) but Dad insisted and then he explained to me on the bus into town that e were going to see CITY after the hospital. Excited or what I couldn’t believe it. When we arrived outside the ground I had to stand outside the pub opposite (King george iv, I think) while my dad had a swift half, then into the ground, main stand seats. I must have been an embarassment to my dad by asking him why they were playing with a plastic ball, because it was white and I had got for christmas a leather case ball which was brown, and at that time all plastic balls were white.
All I really remember about the afternoon was that the pie at half time was cold and horrible a CITY player had a clash of heads and had to carry on with his head bandaged, and CITY won 2-0. I was the first in my class to go to a match and 47 years later I am still going and still get emotional about certain games.

Had nothing to do decided to walk to Maine Rd (no money) 4 miles. Sneaked into the ground under the turnstiles. Spent most of the time climbing on the stantions holding the Kippax up Finally went to see what all the shouting was have been silly eversince.

my grandad was a postie from hyde and a true blue all his life. my dad the same from stockport and they took me and my twin brother to see our first city game at maine road against spurs in 1967, as far as i can remember we won 1-0. i can remember the noise was intense but everyone seemed safe, the kids were passed forward to the front and at the end of the game they were passed back again.ive been a blue all my life (48yrs)have been up and down and high(wembley finals) and low (beaten at home when kinky crashed his car), but once a blue always a blue, city till i die.

It was either in January or February and the match was a 3 o’clock kick off on a Wednesday afternoon. I was with Neil Goddard and we should have had sport that afternoon at Xaverian College but it was postponed. We think City’s match was in the afternoon because there were power problems. City won 2-0 I think, it wasn’t a great match and City’s kit was the old cotton sky blue shirt and socks with white shorts, but because they had been washed many times it was almost like a Leeds strip. The weather was very gloomy and we were in the Kippax. I have to be honest it I wasn’t thinking this is great, I’ll come here again, ‘cos I was used to watching Glossop North End! But – happy days. Now let’s shoot up the League.