Bert Trautmann’s Testimonial
Maine Road, Manchester, April 1964
Photographer unknown, courtesy Manchester City Experience
Published in When Saturday Comes 216, February 2005

Say to any fan the words “Bert Trautmann” and you’ll get the response “German POW who played a Cup final with a broken neck”. That 1956 final may be Trautmann’s defining moment, but on his first appearance for City, at Fulham in 1950, he was initially booed by both sets of fans. By the final whistle he was applauded off the pitch by all the players and this photograph, taken 14 years later, captures the affection City fans had for Trautmann. Thousands were locked out and the attendance was more than 60,000.

Such crowds were once common at Maine Road, but these were heady scenes indeed for a mere testimonial, especially set against the club’s fortunes at that time. Bogged down in Division Two, their attendances averaged below 20,000 for the first time since the start of the century and a record low of 8,053 turned out just a few weeks before against Middlesbrough. A year after this picture was taken, City, consistently one of the ten best supported clubs in the country, were 34th. Supporters began protests against the board, for the first of many times, and one director even suggested the way forward was to merge with Man Utd.

They pulled out of that slump, though a similar pattern would mark later decades. But a unique opportunity arose when the city bid for the 2002 Commonwealth games. The construction of a stadium for a ten-day event was only viable if City agreed to lease it from Manchester council after the games. Cynics suggested the club had “traded their home for a council house”, but the arena was innovatively designed for both purposes. The seating tiers are curved along each touchline, an expensive construction feature that affords outstanding views and, unlike many venues in Europe, the running track was removed and the pitch lowered for further seating.

All the same, City fans may well reflect from their excellent new vantage points on the chaotic scenes at Trautmann’s testimonial. They may have one of the best seats in the Premiership, but it’s unlikely they’ll ever enjoy a relationship like the one they had with a German POW with a cricked neck, or witness euphoric scenes such as these.

Doug Cheeseman
Football Photography Writing