I was working the turnstiles at the QPR & W Ham cup games* in the 70s, and while a few people snuck in under the turnstiles or squashed through in a 2-for-1 deal, I don't remember this happening on an industrial scale (you could always see people ducking in, even if you couldn't stop them). And I'd be surprised if 5-10,000 were able to climb the walls unchallenged, there was plenty of old bill around.
The terraces felt crowded for sure, but in part because we were so used to them being wide open! Look at footage from (say) The Kop from that era, and people are squeezed together like crazy.
The club possible fiddled the attendances of course...easy to do and an obvious motive (VAT fiddle). But I always felt at the time that the 66,000 figure was mythical, that we'd never really be able to accommodate that number, at least without some sort of Hillsborough risk.
You could counter that 'at The Who concert there were 80,000', but who knows what the real number was. My job on the turnstiles came about because after the first concert they sacked virtually all the existing turnstile operators for taking their big (unofficial) payday. It was the only 'Saturday job' I was prepared to do.
When I was a kid (the 60's) the capacity was said to be 75k. This was made up of 40k for the east terrace, 10k for the covered end, 5k for the west side, and 20k for the south terrace.
But you need to remember that the south terrace was vast and went back a long, long way. While the areas either side of the concrete walkway may have been full on these big attendance games, the corners - way up by the Sam Bartram entrance and over where Valley Heights tower block (or whatver it's called) is now - may not have been. So there could still have been room for more but just a long way away from the action, and any photographs or newsreel cameras view.
When the south terrace area was sold, it stood empty and abandoned for many years (I'm not actually sure what is there even now), and until the roof went on the Jimmy Seed Stand, you could see all the way to the top.
Until Spurs broke the records this season, Man City had the highest English league attendance I think, though they were playing at Old Trafford (!) at the time (just after the war) - just over 80,000 I think.
Are you sure about that? I always thought Man Ure played at Main Road after the war because of the bomb damage to Old Trafford.
The book I am reading to my son at the moment says 80,000 but they couldn’t prove it as at one game (Villa or Arsenal) the loudspeaker broke and they had to close the gates early.
How olds your son? My daughter prefers me to read peppa pig to her, am I going wrong somewhere, may dig Keith peacocks book put and try it on her!
The Covered End Stand was built in 1935 and had no sides to it back then. Views of the pitch therefore would have hardly been obscured, if at all, from the corner of the East Terrace. See the picture circa 1940 below;
Is he watching the trajectory of the ball from Nicky Baileys penalty kick ?
Or Lawrie Madden's penalty against Newcastle. That went up where that man is standing.
When I was a kid (the 60's) the capacity was said to be 75k. This was made up of 40k for the east terrace, 10k for the covered end, 5k for the west side, and 20k for the south terrace.
But you need to remember that the south terrace was vast and went back a long, long way. While the areas either side of the concrete walkway may have been full on these big attendance games, the corners - way up by the Sam Bartram entrance and over where Valley Heights tower block (or whatver it's called) is now - may not have been. So there could still have been room for more but just a long way away from the action, and any photographs or newsreel cameras view.
When the south terrace area was sold, it stood empty and abandoned for many years (I'm not actually sure what is there even now), and until the roof went on the Jimmy Seed Stand, you could see all the way to the top.
Until Spurs broke the records this season, Man City had the highest English league attendance I think, though they were playing at Old Trafford (!) at the time (just after the war) - just over 80,000 I think.
Are you sure about that? I always thought Man Ure played at Main Road after the war because of the bomb damage to Old Trafford.
Maybe I got it the wrong way round...I'll try to check.
When I was a kid (the 60's) the capacity was said to be 75k. This was made up of 40k for the east terrace, 10k for the covered end, 5k for the west side, and 20k for the south terrace.
But you need to remember that the south terrace was vast and went back a long, long way. While the areas either side of the concrete walkway may have been full on these big attendance games, the corners - way up by the Sam Bartram entrance and over where Valley Heights tower block (or whatver it's called) is now - may not have been. So there could still have been room for more but just a long way away from the action, and any photographs or newsreel cameras view.
When the south terrace area was sold, it stood empty and abandoned for many years (I'm not actually sure what is there even now), and until the roof went on the Jimmy Seed Stand, you could see all the way to the top.
Until Spurs broke the records this season, Man City had the highest English league attendance I think, though they were playing at Old Trafford (!) at the time (just after the war) - just over 80,000 I think.
Are you sure about that? I always thought Man Ure played at Main Road after the war because of the bomb damage to Old Trafford.
This is from the Wiki page on Maine Road:
The stadium was shared by Manchester United after the Second World War as Manchester United's Old Trafford ground had been damaged during the Manchester Blitz. United paid City £5,000 per season, plus a share of gate receipts.[18] The highest attendance for a league game at Maine Road occurred during this period, when 83,260 people watched Manchester United play Arsenal on 17 January 1948. This figure is a national record for a league game.[19] Maine Road was also used by Manchester United to host three of their four home games in the 1956–57 European Cup.
We are about 8th in the largest overall attendance table (above Arsenal) but where are we in the League attendance table (can’t find one, but it’s behind Arsenal).
The old East bank was the largest in European football at least. Pretty sure i read it was the world
It was the biggest terrace in Europe with a capacity of 45000. Pretty sure the Maracana in Brazil held 200,000 in total at one time but as it was circular I'm not sure how things stand with "a terrace"
Comments
The stadium was shared by Manchester United after the Second World War as Manchester United's Old Trafford ground had been damaged during the Manchester Blitz. United paid City £5,000 per season, plus a share of gate receipts.[18] The highest attendance for a league game at Maine Road occurred during this period, when 83,260 people watched Manchester United play Arsenal on 17 January 1948. This figure is a national record for a league game.[19] Maine Road was also used by Manchester United to host three of their four home games in the 1956–57 European Cup.