One dark ,wintry night, spent in an endless queue for tickets into the Kippax.My father, brother and me! We were playing Liverpool, my father’s team.We were crammed into the stand, it seemed like everyone was holding each other up.I could hardly see the game. We scored,the crowd surged forwards,a hand tapped my fathers trilby off his head and it flew over rows of heads infront of us.It never came back!!!
Come on, hand it over!

My heroes were coming to town, well Oxford anyway. We lived 20 miles away in Buckinghamshire.

The closest I had got to my idols up till then was walking round the corner to a family friends house to watch Match of the Day on a colour TV. They were City through and through.

My father was not a fan, didn’t understand the game, but he got press ganged into taking me to see my beloved City at Oxford Utd.

So off we went, with a crate for me to stand on, I was only 12!

The only problem was my old man had no idea about fan segregation, ends or violence, so we bought a ticket and proceeded to stand right in the middle of the home supporters (London Rd end).

Well done Dad!

Actually they took pity on us and I was a bit of a star, cheering every goal, and there were plenty. Seven in total, luckily five to City.

I only remember one goal, a Denis Law header. That seals the year, as he only arrived on a free in the summer of 73 and I went to the League Cup final against Wolves later that season, so it must have been 1973.

I saw Colin Bell, Tony Book, Glyn Pardoe, Tommy Booth, Mike Summerbee, Francis Lee, Alan Oakes and Big Joe.

I went back to Oxford many times as I got older, it had a great atmosphere. I remember OPR, Chelsea, Orient, Wolves, Bolton, Sunderland and even the Rags. Needless to say I was an Oxford supporter on all those days, but I never returned to the London Rd end, the memories were to precious, my first City game amongst the yobs.

I did return to Oxford to watch City many years later. I can’t tell you the year, probably about 1986. After getting off the train we were collected by the local constabulary, but we were marched to the London Road turnstiles, at which point we realised this wasn’t the local constabulary as they didn’t know which end was which. Probably brought in for the match. After a few strong words and bottles in the air we ended up in the right place.

I think it was a one nil win.

I live in Western Australia now, so live starved of decent football, but those days on terraces at Oxford, Wycombe, Wimbledon, West Ham, Arsenal, Bristol Rovers, Cardiff, Chelsea, Luton, QPR, Saints, Spurs etc will live with me forever.

Maine Road is the real memory and it’s still home.

The game has changed the passion has subsided, so I hold all those memories dear.

First game in 1973, and I was there at Wembley in 1999, and I am still always there, maybe now not in body, but all the passion remains.

CTID

Ian Spencer

My first match was the FA Cup 5th round tie at Maine road. I was just a kid and my dad sat me up on the wall at the back of the Kippax so that I’d have a good view. The atmosphere was fantastic! We drew 2-2 that day and lost at Sunderland. But some good came of it because we ended up buying the great Denis Tueart, and Dave Watson from the Mackem’s. Iv’e been a blue ever since that day.

My first match was Leicester at Maine Rd in Jan ‘77 – the result a 5 – 0 home win meant I was hooked. But what I remember most was that I tried to climb one of the roof supports at the North Stand end of the Kippax to get a better view of the action and got covered in anti-climb paint which my mum couldn’t get out of my new Wrangler jacket.

My Father had very little interest in football,he was more of a boxing fan(being the landlord of a pub in the Ancoats/New Cross area he had to be !!)so my first baptism to Maine Road was down to my sister Mags and my future brother in law Joe.He had told me all about Mercer and Allison and the City ledgends of yesteryear,and they were going to take me to my first match which was our first home game of the 72-73 season.
I can remember going on the match bus and listening to some of the choice language and good banter!from the fans.Everyone seemed to be talking about this God like figure they called Rodney Marsh!
The admission for the North Stand was 80p and the match programme was 5p.
The first sight of the hallowed turf under floodlights is something i will never forget.
The game itself is a bit of a blur,although i remember we lost 1-0,and the man sat behind me giving the referee a tirade of abuse,and asking him why he had left his handbag at home!!
I was at that moment CTID.
My love for City has stayed with me ever since(probably stronger now than ever)and was a regular visitor to Maine Road in the 70s-80s until i moved to Ireland in 1990.
Saddly Joe is no longer with us,he passed away in November 2000 with cancer, at the very young age of 53.The last time i spoke to him on the phone was just after the 4-1 Blackburn promotion game and he said “typical,City going up,Me going down!”Very sad.
I still get over for 3 or 4 matches a season and often meet up with Joes lad Martin.So if your up there looking down on us from the great North stand in the sky Joe,ask God if he can put some silverware in our direction?

I think 1975 we lost to Sheffield united at home 0 1, geoff Salmond scored direct from a corner. think Asa Hartfords and Dennis Tuerts debuts, may be 1974 any help?

Saturday 29 March 1975 Wolverhampton Wanders v Manchester City 1:0
My very first away game was a trip to Molineux to watch the side that I had supported since 1967-8 season. I attended the game with the Westbrook family (Who were Wolves fans) and their son and I took two wooden Ansells beer crates along to stand on to watch the match. We arrived early and meet some othe friends and us boys waited for the home team to arrive. I managed to get Derek Dougan’s and Willie Carr signatures on my programme. However that year my heart stopped when my star player Mike Summerbee left for Burnley. Colin Bell was my backstop as one of the greatest players that ever lived.

26/11/77 dank winters day was extinguished by the brightly lit green oasis that I witnessed after the exhausting never ending climb to the top of the Kippax steps.Dad, elder brother & I had to leave early to ensure we got the bus. End of the alleyway turning around the back of Platt Lane, I can still hear & feel the noise when Dave Watson headed in the winner in the top of the table 2-1 victory over Ipswich. Being young in the Kippax I couldn’t really see anything all game but that was irrelevant, the emotion of it all was all that mattered. If you’re reading this from up above Dad, thanks for a most wonderful day & for putting me on this specifically challenging path.

City v Liverpool what a dream for your first match – but at aged 4 life was not just about football. Having spent the whole game kicking dust through a hole in the wooden floor of the Platt Lane Stand and seeing City lose 1-0 my Dad (a Burnley fan) said he wouldn’t take me again – but he did and I was hooked. Thanks Dad!

I was an avid man united supporter. my uncle bought me a season ticket every year from age seven to 14. In 1979 my latest boyfriend was a City fan and begged me to come to a game. The next match was v Liverpool and I couldn’t think of anything better than to see them get whooped by City. I arrived at Maine Rd and was amazed at the atmosphere it was electric and something I had never noticed at Old Trafford. I was hooked from then on and changed sides. My kids were brought up in the South but they are Blues. We are now back in the North and we’re City til we die