I was 12 years old, and went to see City v Wolves at Maine Road (6th March 1971).

I went with a couple of older boys (Keith Tattersall)also from Woodhouse Park on the 100 bus.

Incredibly for that era, the game itself finished 0-0 and I can remember nothing of it other than standing at the bottom of the Kippax by the wall right next to the Platt Lane stand. The player who made a lasting impression on me was Wolves centre forward Derek Dougan because he had shaved his head Kojak style as some sort of publicity stunt and that had been headline news at the time.

Despite it being a nil nil I was hooked. Hearing that I had gone to Maine Road, my brother in law who was a Utd fan panicked and forced me to go to OT with him and watch them thump someone 4-0. It was all in vain though because I was back at Maine Road for the next home game and never again set foot inside of OT apart from on Derby day’s.

Footnote: I now live in Aylesbury and took my 14 year old son Marcus to his first City game this season, yes you’ve guessed it v Forest!!! Despite that he is hooked and wants more so he’s made of the right stuff.

CTID

my first game was city v spurs and a certain ussie ardeles and ricky villa wasplaying ther 1st game for spurs and iwas on holiday in blackpool and my wife was 8 mths pregnantand my love affair with city was to strong so i was at maine rd for the game the result was fantastic city 2/ spurs nil

I can’t actually remember whether this was in the 71-72 or the 72-73 season. At the time I was a student at Manchester Uni. and was living in a Young Ones style house just off Lloyd St. South. I’d been a follower of Crystal Palace previously but living so close to Maine Rd I thought it might be diplomatic to at least to pretend to be a City fan.City at the time were in the middle of their legendary ‘purple patch’ and were recognised as one of the top clubs in the country. This brilliant match made me a fan on the spot, and subsequent visits to see games against West Brom (3-0 I think) and a spectacularly violent Manchester Derby match which we won 3-1 confirmed my decision. I’ve been a City fan ever since, through thick and (mostly) thin. City will, I’m sure, rise to the heights again, but I feel privileged to have watched them in their great days, and hope that my son will experience them in their Second Golden Age!

my first city game was the league cup 5 round against man u in 1975.the season we went on to win the cup.it had is highs and lows,obviously winng the match 4-1.but The Great Man himself,Colin Bells career was effectivley ended.For me,that game was the beginning of a love affair between myself and the city club who i have followed since.up or down,i have been there with the rest.CTID.XX

Boxing Day, 1977. My Dad takes me into the North Stand to watch City play Newcastle. We won 4-0. But the memory remains dedicated to the return of the Legend Colin Bell. He came on as sub after that injury. Grown men stood around me. Crying. Only Wembley 1999 has come anywhere close to what I experienced that day. Mesmorised and addicted, I am blue forevermore. Thanks Najinsky, and thanks Dad for taking me to Maine Road!

I had been a fan of City as a schoolboy in the 60’s reading their exploits in the newspapers but mainly as a reaction to my dad being a Utd fan but did not actually go to Maine Road till I was about 14yrs when a school friend Steve Garner and his dad took me. We used to always park near Hough End and walk through the park to the ground. I remember with genuine amazement walking into the stand and seeing the size of the pitch, how green it was, and how big Joe Corrigan was, he filled the goal. We got beat of course 2-0 I think but that did not matter I knew then that I was hooked. There really is only one City and once bitten thats it, you are hooked for life, good times and bad.

The sky was grey and it rained throughout the game. But none of this mattered because a 12 year old boy called Paul Cooper was watching his first ever City game. Shaking with anticiapation and expectation and clinging onto my programme I watched my beloved City win 4-0 against Newcatle United on Saturday 12th August 1975. My most vivid memeory was the rain, the noise of the Maine Road crowd, the smell of cigars which made the whole day seem like a special occasion, the contasting brilliant colors of City’s sky blue shirts and the green pitch against the grey clouds of Manchester and my very first programme which I tried to protect from the rain; and like my love of City I shall cherish it till the day I die. I will forward image separately

It would have been 1978 when I attended my first City game, I had just turned 8. I can’t tell you who it was against, but I think we lost – but that was not the point.
Mr Davies, an elderly neighbour who had been watching City since the 1930s offered to take me to my first game. I learned he knew a lot of the staff and some of the past and current players and was given complimentary tickets for home matches. He told my mum to get me ready for the Saturday afternoon early as a special person would be coming to pick us up. Embarrassingly, she made me dress up in my best trousers, shoes and a shirt and tie.
Who should turn up, but Big Joe Corrigan. He was a giant and I hardly said a word to him, being a shy 8 year old, as he drove us to the ground. He was mobbed by fans when he got out of the car and he told us he would see us after the game and he went in the main entrance signing autographs whilst we got our complimentary tickets for the Main Stand.
The thing that struck me about the actual game was the atmosphere and the noise, especially from the Kippax opposite, as it was just a sea of humanity ebbing back and forwards with the game. The other thing that stood out were the smells – huge clouds of cigar smoke drifted across the Main Stand with it’s bitter aroma, accompanied by the smell of alcohol and farts.
After the game we went down the stairs and then back through the Main entrance and up into the players lounge – which was only a relatively small wood panelled room with a bar in the corner. Both home and away players eventually arrived and I stood quietly in the corner just staring at the likes of Paul Power, Willie Donarchie, Peter Barnes, Asa Heartford, Dennis Tueart, Gary Owen and Eddie Large!? whilst I pinched some of the butties and cans of coke that were freely available. Then Big Joe took us home – amazing.
I was sworn to secrecy, so I could tell no one at the time, as my mum said Mr Davies would be badgered for tickets all the time.
I went to at least 10 matches a season like this for the next 5 years, until Joe went off to America. I remember he was a little worse for wear and emotional after his last game.
The infamous Luton game was the last time we had free tickets and access to the players lounge – dodging bottles and bricks going back in the main entrance after the game.
The following season I joined the ranks of the Kippax and have been going ever since and have some amazing memories of following my team!
At the time I didn’t realize how lucky I was! Not bad for some kid from Northern Moor, Wythenshawe!
CTID

Coming from “down south” my first game was at Highbury I think in 1973, I was taken by my Dad and we of course lost but Francis Lee scored. The joy of belonging ids what mattered and it has been passed down to my son and City ganes are “our time” and hopefully it will stay that way when he has children.

I was at the EUFA cup game between city and milan it was the 2nd leg game and we absolutely destroyed them 3-0 after a 2-2 draw in milan in the 1st leg. I’ve supported city for over 40 years and so what if kaka does’nt want to play for us i’ll remember it for ever