Stretford End

[bayuyuyayu]

The Stretford End, officially named West Stand, is a stand on the west side of Old Trafford, the stadium of Manchester United F.C. It took its name from the nearby town of Stretford, as it is in the direction of Stretford, looking from the centre of the pitch. The stand is divided into two tiers, and in common with the rest of the stadium, it has a cantilever roof.

In the days before all-seater stadia, the Stretford End was the main standing area of the ground, accommodating around 20,000 fans. It was once measured that the roar of the crowd from the Stretford End was louder than a Jumbo Jet taking off. The last game played in front of the famous old terrace was a 3–1 win over Spurs on 2 May 1992 – the final game of the 1991–92 First Division campaign.

The terrace was demolished during the 1992 close-season and replaced with a £10 million all-seater cantilever stand by the end of the 1992–93 season, giving Old Trafford an all-seater stadium to comply with the Taylor Report (which required all Premier League and Division One clubs to have all-seater stadia by the start of the 1994–95 season), and its name was officially changed to "West Stand", although it is still often referred to as the Stretford End and even has white chairs proclaiming it so.

The redevelopment of the Stretford End was first proposed shortly after the Hillsborough disaster in mid-1989, when chairman Martin Edwards was proposing to sell the club and was willing to sell his shares for £10 million and pledge £10 million to any new owner for the redevelopment of the Stretford End.

For the 2000–01 season, a second tier of seating was added. As well as hosting a number of executive boxes, the first tier of the West Stand is now partly taken up by the family seating area. At the corner with the South Stand is the players' tunnel.

Only Denis Law and Eric Cantona have reached the status "King of the Stretford End" among the United faithful. The former for his formidable goal record, the latter for his on-pitch charisma and aura.

Following Manchester United's premature ending with the clubs sponsor Vodafone, the new sponsor, AIG will not be displayed in the seats; the 'Nike Swoosh' has been relocated to the East Stand and the words "Stretford End" have been written on the seats of the West Stand.

Stretford End is also the title of The Website of Dreams (www.stretfordend.co.uk) which is the unrivalled home of Manchester United statistics on the internet with over 12,000 pages of data about the club's match and player history. It has recently (November 2006) become the official supplier of statistics to Manchester United's official club website (www.manutd.com). The Stretford End website raises funds for two Manchester United charities, Manchester United Disabled Supporters' Association (MUDSA) and United for Unicef.

Banners

Once work on the second tier was complete, the club allowed supporters to mount banners on the wall in front of the second tier, and groups of supporters got together to produce and pay for them. The slogans on the banners included:

* 34 Years — a reference to the length of time since United's rivals Manchester City have won a major trophy, the most recent being the 1976 League Cup. The supporters purchased a set of matching numbers with velcro so that the number could be updated each year. The original banner was removed by the owners after the Glazer takeover - Stretford End Flags have created a replica "ticker" banner which can be seen from the Pundit box at half time on tv. Every year on 28 February (the anniversary of the 1976 final) the banner is updated to show another year has passed without success for City; during the season the banner is updated such that the previous number of years (33) appears to revolve in the style of a counter into the next year (34)[1].
* MUFC The Religion — symbolizing fanaticism and loyalty for the club. MUFC stands for Manchester United Football Club.
* Manchester is my Heaven First seen in January 2010, this red banner features Matt Busby and the words "MANCHESTER IS MY HEAVEN". It is a reference to an event in 1956 when Busby turned down an offer made by Santiago Bernabéu Yeste to manage Real Madrid, and was said by Busby in response to Bernabeu comparing managing Madrid to being offered paradise.
* Republik of Mancunia – Red Army — written in faux Cyrillic showcasing the Mancunian pride of the supporters and, for some, their apathy towards the England national football team.
* 2O LEGEND — a reference to the now retired United Legend Ole Gunnar Solskjær who had been injured for over a year when the banner was made. Solskjær wore the number 20 on his shirt.
* One Love – Stretford End – MUFC — One Love is the title of a song by Manchester band the Stone Roses that was played at the 1999 European Cup final, which Manchester United won.
* 6 February 1958 – The Flowers of Manchester — A tribute to the Munich air disaster, in which eight United players died. The Flowers of Manchester is the title of a tribute song by The Spinners.
* Form Is Temporary Class Is Permanent – This banner is a reference to United's history in saying that the Manchester United first team has always had great players. Although anybody can beat anybody else on their day, this does not reflect the quality of the team. The banner incoporated 16 Premier League Trophies and was aimed as a dig at Chelsea.
* ""Sent To Me From Heaven...You Are My World"" — this is in reference to the late George Best and are lyrics taken from the Stone Roses song, Sally Cinnamon. The banner features images of Best, Charlton and Law, Busby and Fergie, Robson, Keane and Cantona. It blends the old Busby era with the Ferguson era.

The banners were temporarily removed in June 2005. Initially, this was caused by building work on the corners of the stadium, but the majority of their owners decided not to put them back up as a protest against Malcolm Glazer's takeover of Manchester United.

More Banners have returned to Stretford End designed by the fans along with the old ones (i.e. the "ONE LOVE STRETFORD END MUFC" banner). The last banner will be voted on by the fans during the end of 2005. All Manchester United Suppporters are encouraged to submit their ideas for banners and information on how to submit can be found at www.stretfordendflags.com

New Banners

* The Phoenix Banner – "MUFC - EST 1878 WE'LL NEVER DIE" (first in place at the Blackburn match)
* Blue Nose Day Banner – "Blue Nose day comic relief for 29 yrs" (in place at the Manchester City match)
* In Memory of Noel Cantwell Banner – "Noel Cantwell 1932-2005 RIP" (in place at the Manchester City match)
* Eusebio I Say Kiddo Banner – "Eusebio and I say Kiddo...Kiddo,Kiddo - Wembley'68" (in place at the Benfica match)
* United > England (in place at the Tottenham match, but has been banned since due to complaints)
* For Everymanc A Religion (in reference to the Ian Brown song "F.E.A.R.")
* European Capital of Trophies - Manchester 08 – A reference to Liverpool being made the European Capital of Culture for 2008, a year in which Manchester United won the Premier League, Champions League and World Club Championship but their rivals Liverpool finished trophyless.

Given the wear and tear on the banners from years of exposure, some of the original banners can now be found in other locations within Old Trafford. The original One Love - Stretford End banner was turning pink, so a new replica stands in its place, the original banner now hangs within the concourse area on Stretford End Tier 2. Many of the other banners are now hanging on the very back wal off the Stretford End Tier Two, above the last row of stadium seats.

---------- Post added at 09:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:22 PM ----------

silahkan para sesepuh berbagi informasi tentang stretford end

[B4YU]

dpt pict dr redcafe

[bayuyuyayu]

nih suasana di stretford end glory2 manutd

[bayuyuyayu]

beberapa pic stretford end

jadulnya

beberapa banner terbaru di stretford end

[bayuyuyayu]

This is a piece written for Red News.

The Birth of the Stretford End

The West Stand – somehow it has a very unfamiliar ring about it. I look at the towering monument which is very much part of the magnificent stadium that is Old Trafford today, but in my heart I feel that it has replaced something that contributed so much to Manchester United’s proud history. In reality, it has replaced something that really was irreplaceable – the Stretford End. It’s like having Roast Beef without Yorkshire Pudding, Morecambe without Wise, Stilton without Port. Something drastically is missing.

I first stood at the Stretford End of the ground in the late 1950’s. Back then, it was just a small insignificant row of terracing. I suppose that its main claim to fame in those days was that before a match started, be it first team or reserves, you could stand at the top of the Stretford End terracing and look down over the surrounding wall of the ground, then out over the Glover’s Cables Sports Ground, and watch their work’s teams playing. It wasn’t unusual before a game to hear and see the crowd at the Stretford End cheering on their adopted team!

Contrary to popular belief, United’s attendances back then were nowhere near as big as has been made out. People were selective in the games that they watched. The average was around 30,000 per game. In the aftermath of Munich, attendances did soar, but they did settle down again in the following years to an average of between 30 – 35,000. People loved to see the goals scored and they would flock to the areas behind the goal. The ground was such in those times that you could walk around it from either side of the old player’s tunnel without hindrance. It used to be fascinating during the half time break, watching fans moving from one end of the ground to the other like an army of marching ants descending on their prey! One end would be sparsely populated and the other end would be bulging!

In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, there was an initial huge surge in home gates, but again, as the ‘57/’58 season came to an end, attendances did tail off. In the 10 home League/Cup/EC games after the tragedy, the average attendance was 48,907. Before the tragedy for 18 League/Cup/EC games, the average attendance was 44,850. In the 1958/59 season, United rode a crest of a wave and finished runners-up in the League – a phenomenal feat given that the season had kicked off just six months after the tragedy. It was reflected in attendances, when for the first time in their history, over a million fans pushed through those old turnstiles. The total figure was some 1,066,425 in League/Cup games giving an average attendance of 50,782.

Harold Hardman, the then Chairman was a shrewd old fellow and with that increase in attendances he saw the potential for increased revenue for the Club. At the beginning of 1959, at a Board meeting, it was decided to improve the facilities in the stadium. The dilemma was, which part of the ground would they improve? It was decided to increase the capacity at the Stretford End by taking the terracing a little higher and also putting in 1500 seats and building a covered stand. At the Scoreboard End, they decided to rebuild the old Scoreboard by demolishing the old wooden/corrugated structure and erecting a purpose built brick structure.

Work began immediately the ‘58/’59 season ended and continued throughout that summer. When the ‘59/’60 season began, the work had been completed and the ground had a completely new look to it. United opened that season away to West Brom at the Hawthorns, on Saturday August 22nd, losing 3-2 in a terrific game which I recall attending, mainly for Bill Foulkes scoring a wonderful goal with a diving header which flew like a rocket into the back of the net. Unfortunately for United fans, Harry Gregg never saw it and it happening in the last few minutes of the game, proved to be the winner for Albion!

The following Wednesday evening, August 22nd, the first home game of the season was played against Chelsea and 57, 674 fans poured into the ground to watch United lose 1-0. The team that night was; Gregg; Greaves, Carolan; Goodwin, Foulkes, McGuinness; Bradley, Quixall, Charlton, Viollet and Scanlon.

The Streford End in those early days was no more vocal than the Scoreboard End, and most of the noise during matches used to come from the Popular Side or Glover’s Side as it was then known, and which is now where the North Stand is situated. It was like that until the 1962 World Cup Final competition which had taken place in Chile, was over. During that World Cup, apart from Brazil retaining the trophy which they had won in Stockholm in 1958, and the rough play the competition had witnessed, the thing which is remembered most is the chanting which came from the Brazilian fans. They would clap their hands in rapid succession and finish by chanting “Braaaaa- zilllllllll” Chanting was unheard of on British grounds up until then but at the start of the ‘62/’63 season, British fans started to copy the Brazilian chant.

At the start of that season, the Stretford End started to come into it’s own, and it was the area where most of the young fans began to congregate. It was also no coincidence that the emergence of the Streford End began with the arrival of a certain lithe, athletic, blonde, inside forward from Torino by the name of Denis Law! He’d been signed by Sir Matt during that close season and on August 18th, 1962 in the first game of the season, against West Bromwich Albion, he played his first game for Manchester United. 51,685 fans turned up and the United team that sunny afternoon was; Gaskell; Brennan, Dunne; Stiles, Foulkes, Setters; Giles, Quixall, Herd, Law and Moir. United attacked the Stretford End in the first half, and in the eighth minute of the game, Giles had the ball out wide on the right. He was hemmed in by Graham Williams (the same full back George Best was to face a little over a year later on making his debut for United) the Albion full back.

As Williams jockeyed Giles, the United man feinted to go outside but then suddenly checked back and made half a yard of space for himself. He hit a hopeful cross into the area designed to land around the penalty spot. It seemed a “nothing” ball until that is, there was a blur of red and white, sprinting into the penalty area at full pace. A prodigious leap, and the body seemed to hang in the air for an eternity. The timing had been perfect, and there was a quick turn of the blonde head as the ball was met full on with the forehead. The ball absolutely rocketed into the back of the Albion net to give United the early lead. It was a classic goal, and it mattered not one iota to those United fans who were stood on the Stretford End that afternoon, that just over eighteen months previously, the scorer had been turning out in the sky blue of Manchester City! T

he scorer had fallen as he landed and picking himself up he wheeled away in front of the Stretford End, his right arm raised in the air, his finger pointing to the heavens, and his face aglow with that wonderful smile. The roars of approval rolled down that Stretford End terracing and the fans came tumbling down in waves to greet their new hero. We were beginning the dawn of a new era – we had a our first “king” – and the Stretford End had been born. The sight of Denis Law wheeling away in that classic pose after scoring was to become a familiar sight in the years that followed. For those of us stood there that day, little did we know the pleasures in store for us all during those coming years. The

Stretford End grew in stature from that moment on and the chants became more discernable and voiciferous. It was the start of an era that we became to know as “Best, Busby and Bachus” – but it was also the beginning of the “Stretty End” and the start of some wonderful, memorable experiences to come!

[the real united]

Originally Posted by bayuyuyayu

nih suasana di stretford end glory2 manutd

oh.. wish i could be there someday....

[bang_zak]

someday i will stand and chant at stretford end...ameenn..

[adie_7]

kapan ya gua berdiri tegak sambil ngechats buat united

[adie_7]

maksudnya ngechants

[bayuyuyayu]

pinjem tiket terusannya beckham aja hahhaah gak dipake ini kan ama die