Saturday, September 23, 1978

Manchester City FC

Manchester City 2 Tottenham Hotspur 0 - Football League Division One


In early times, Manchester was a little-known hamlet adjacent to, and belonging to the then noble town of Salford. There is a brief historic reference in the town records of one Edward the Elder, son of King Alfred the Great, taking over the town in 920 AD and making repairs to the "fortifications", (probably based around the present cathedral), which would still have been little more than a wooden palisade. The city of Manchester is located 190 miles north west of the English capital, London. The city lies some 30 miles in land but, when this location became a serious impediment to trade, a canal capable of accommodating ocean-going ships was constructed. The Manchester Ship Canal opened in 1894 and for much of the 20th Century Manchester was an important "sea-port".


When first opened, the stadium was the largest club ground in England, and the second largest in the country after Wembley Stadium. Maine Road's record attendance was set in 1934, when 84,569 people attended an FA Cup tie between Manchester City and Stoke City, a record for an English club ground.


This was my first visit to Maine Road. The train chartered by Spurs Supporters Club took us into Manchester Piccadilly station from where we took a cab to Moss Side where the ground was located.



The crowd of 43,471 witnessed a 2-0 victory for Manchester City. I recall Jimmy Holmes having a particularly decent game for Spurs but his defensive efforts were not enough to prevent Man City from claiming the points.I also recall a lady with a bell behind one of the goals. This lady would ring her bell in an attempt to encourage the team and for many years, even when only watching highlights on TV, she would always be there. I understand she sold flowers at a local cemetery but was selective in that she never stocked red flowers.

 






Attendance: 43,471
Programme: 20p

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Subsequent visits to Maine Road

12 January 1980 - Manchester City 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1 - League Division One - Attendance: 34837
22 October 1980 - Manchester City 3 Tottenham Hotspur 1 - League Division One - Attendance: 28788
26 September 1981 - Manchester City 0 Tottenham Hotspur 1 - League Division One - Attendance: 39085
05 February 1983 - Manchester City 2 Tottenham Hotspur 2 - League Division One - Attendance: 26357
16 August 1984 - Manchester City 0 Tottenham Hotspur 2 - Friendly - Attendance: tbc
31 August 1985 - Manchester City 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1 - League Division One - Attendance: 27789
15 April 1987 - Manchester City 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1 - League Division One - Attendance: 21460
26 August 1989 - Manchester City 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1 - League Division One - Attendance: 32004
15 December 1990 - Manchester City 2 Tottenham Hotspur 1 - League Division One - Attendance: 31236
01 February 1992 - Manchester City 1 Tottenham Hotspur 0 - League Division One - Attendance: 30123
28 October 1992 - Manchester City 0 Tottenham Hotspur 1 - League Cup, 3rd Round - Attendance: 18399
28 November 1992 - Manchester City 0 Tottenham Hotspur 1 - Premier League - Attendance: 25496
07 March 1993 - Manchester City 2 Tottenham Hotspur 4 - FA Cup, 6th Round - Attendance: 34050
11 December 1993 - Manchester City 0 Tottenham Hotspur 2 - Premier League - Attendance: 21566
22 October 1994 - Manchester City 5 Tottenham Hotspur 2 - Premier League - Attendance: 25473
19 August 1995 - Manchester City 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1 - Premier League - Attendance: 30827
10 February 2001 - Manchester City 0 Tottenham Hotspur 1 - Premier League - Attendance: 34399
23 December 2002 - Manchester City 2 Tottenham Hotspur 3 - Premier League - Attendance: 39563 

Total visits to this venue = 19 


 

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