We’ve all heard the songs. They are regularly sung by visiting supporters claiming City didn’t have many fans before we started winning trophies again in 2011.
It goes along the lines of ‘where were you when you weren’t very good?’ – or similar!
The fact is, City fans have always been there, through thick and thin - and often in our not-so-distant past, through thick and even thinner.
And it’s all in the history books in black and white - particularly one attendance figure that might elicit a ‘Ssshhh!’ to any detractors of our fan base.
It’s a national record that has stood for more than 91 years, with no immediate sign of it being broken, and it’s also one every Manchester City is rightly proud of.
In 1934, City hosted an FA Cup tie against Stoke City and on March 3 that year, the record for the biggest crowd in a competitive English club match was set - and remains to this day.
An incredible gate of 84,569 people crammed into Maine Road, with newspaper reports later claiming that fans were “packed in like sardines”.
It’s fair to say cup fever had gripped City fans who queued for up to five hours to watch this sixth-round tie that offered the Blues an opportunity of a semi-final berth and a chance to fulfil captain Sam Cowan’s pledge to take the Blues back to Wembley having lost the 1933 final season a year before – only this time, to win the coveted trophy for what would be only the second time in our history.
Since the Club’s birth as Manchester City Football Club in 1894, our 1904 FA Cup success remained our one significant triumph.
There had been four Division Two titles, but it was the Division One crown and more FA Cup glory that City fans hungered for.
In fact, the FA Cup had become something of a national obsession.
The road to Wembley began in the third round, where the Blues were given a difficult home tie against Blackburn Rovers.
City had already seen off Rovers 3-1 in the league earlier in the campaign and 54,336 fans turned out to see Wilf Wild’s side repeat that scoreline with Ernie Toseland (2) and Eric Brook on target in a 3-1 win.
The fourth round draw paired City with second tier Hull City at Boothferry Park and the Tigers gave as good as they got in a thrilling 2-2 draw with Alec Herd and Brook on target for the visitors.
The midweek replay – played before the hours of darkness due to the introduction of floodlights being several years into the future – drew close to 50,000 at Maine Road and this time the Blues saw off the job, winning 4-1 with goals from Fred Tilson (2), Toseland and Frank Marshall.
The last 16 draw was arguably the toughest yet, with City drawn away to Sheffield Wednesday. The Blues had already lost at home to the Owls on the opening day of the season and drawn 1-1 in the return at Hillsborough, and cup fever had clearly gripped the fans on either side of the Pennines, too, as a record crowd of 72,841 turned out for the tie in South Yorkshire, including thousands of City fans who’d made the short journey over the Snake Pass and Woodhead Pass to the game.
The demand to see this war of the roses was, tragically too great for the capacity and at least one fan was killed in the crush with many more injured – a portent of a much bigger human tragedy that would occur at the same ground some 55 years later when 97 Liverpool fans lost their lives at the same venue.
Herd scored twice as City earned a 2-2 draw - and another midweek replay. Again, the afternoon kick-off didn’t deter Blues’ fans with 68,614 turning out to see Wilf Wild’s team end the Owls’ hopes with Marshall and Tilson’s goals enough to earn a home quarter-final tie with Stoke at Maine Road.
Again. the demand to see the game was incredible and demonstrated City’s enormous pulling power with crowds few could match. But this game would be extra special.
What is known as a provincial attendance record – meaning outside London – would be set on March 3, 1934, as 84,569 people squeezed into Maine Road - ironically once dubbed 'the Wembley of the north' after its opening in 1923.
Some believe the gate would have been closer to 100,000 had the police not wisely closed the turnstiles 20 minutes before kick-off - the safety risks another 15,000 or so fans forcing their way in were incalculable.
Thankfully – and perhaps miraculously - no reports of serious injuries were recorded that day and a spectacular winner by Eric Brook settled the game 1-0 in City’s favour. As the Mancunian hordes dispersed, so the headlines of the record gate and the vastness of the crowd were written about, perhaps more so even than the match itself.
Brook later claimed his goal had been something of a fluke with many witnessing it change direction in mid-flight – but it mattered little as City progressed to the semi-final where we thrashed Aston Villa 6-1 before beating Portsmouth 2–1 at Wembley to lift the trophy and complete an unforgettable FA Cup adventure.
As a footnote to anyone wondering if our national attendance record was something of a fluke, it wasn’t. Huge crowds at Maine Road were nothing new and if anything, a regular occurrence. Just a year after the Stoke game, City set another record – this time in the league – with a huge crowd of 79,491 against Arsenal in February 1935 as the Gunners held out for a 1–1 draw
A decade before that, Maine Road was again full to bursting as 76,166 fans watched a 0–0 draw with Cardiff City – setting a new record for any match in England. As late as 1956, two crowds of 76,129 and 70,640 watched the Blues take on Everton and Liverpool respectively in the FA Cup. City would win the trophy that season, too, having no doubt been buoyed by the tremendous support we were receiving.
Evidence of just what a domestic powerhouse City were all those years ago, if not always on the pitch, certainly off it.
So, in answer to the question visiting fans often pose of where were our fans when we weren’t as good, the response should be ‘setting national attendance records’ – even if it doesn’t roll off the tongue as easily as other comebacks!
Words: David Clayton
*Thanks to Gary James’ ‘The Manchester City Years’ for additional info.
TopBuilt with Shorthand