In 1948 on January 17th, a Football League attendance record was set when 83,620 spectators turned up to watch Manchester United play Arsenal at Manchester City's ground, Maine Road (below). Old Trafford was still under reconstruction following bomb damage from a war attack in March 1941 and so ground sharing took place. The match ended 1-1, although Arsenal went on to win the First Division (top one at that time) and United were runners-up. United did win the FA Cup though, some success for Matt Busby's first managership. Old Trafford did not reopen until 1949.
Linked to Man United, on this day in 2000, Eric Cantona beat George Best to be named "Best Player of the 20th Century" in a poll conducted by the club's official website!
As the draw for this season's FA Cup Third Round has happened (this is when the "big guns join in ") United have an interesting draw, away at Newport County! Spurs play Man City; Ipswich host Maidstone United and in the City Derby, Leicester play Birmingham. 4th Round ties will be played on the weekend of Saturday 27th January, with £120,000 from the "Cup Fund" for the winners.
Maine Road was a football stadium in Moss Side Manchester, England, that was home to Manchester City from 1923 to 2003. It hosted FA Cup Semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup Final and England matches. Maine Road's highest attendance of 84,569 was set in 1934 at an FA Cup sixth round match between Manchester City and Stoke City (with Sir Stan), a record for an English club ground.
At the time of its closure in 2003, Maine Road was an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 35,150 and of haphazard design with stands of varying heights due to the ground being renovated several times over its 80-year history. The following season Manchester City moved to the City of Manchester Stadium in east Manchester, a mile from the city centre and near Ardwick, where the club originally formed in 1880.
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