Maine Event

From the Kippax to the corporate boxes, watching from every stand of Manchester City’s old ground left one fan with lifelong memories.

- Tony Curran

The first – and only – occasion that I ever watched a game from a corporate box was above the Umbro Stand at Manchester City’s Maine Road in late 1995, allowing my integrity to be swayed by an invitation to a buffet with stadium parking access.

Almost inevitably, the afternoon in business class was as unsavoury as I had anticipated. Here were men who clearly knew very little about football holding court with great authority on the ills of the modern game; while seeing free booze as a challenge rather than an invitation. It also seemed that a great percentage of those watching from up top wouldn’t normally be seen dead in a football ground but simply took an opportunity for some drink-fuelled business schmoozing, along with a condescending view of regular fans which made it seem like an exercise in poverty tourism.

The match itself was a shocker. Niall Quinn’s very late winner against an uncompromising Wimbledon viewed only by a vastly reduced number of the 23,000 crowd (the lowest of the season) who were there at kick-off. Normally it would have been the least memorable of games, just another round of drudgery on the way to an inevitable relegation under Alan Ball, but my experience in the corporate sector made me reflect on it for some time afterwards.