The Cliff (training ground)

Last updated

The Cliff
The Cliff.jpg
The Cliff (training ground)
Former namesCliff Point
Location Broughton, Salford, Greater Manchester, England
Coordinates 53°30′13″N02°16′07″W / 53.50361°N 2.26861°W / 53.50361; -2.26861
Owner Manchester United
Operator Manchester United
Capacity 1,500 [1]
SurfaceGrass
Tenants
Cricket
Manchester Jewish Cricket Club (c.1900)
Rugby league
Broughton (1869–1898)
Broughton Rangers (1913–1933)
Football
Manchester United (1938–present)

The Cliff is a sports ground in Broughton, Salford, England, on the banks of the River Irwell, that was rugby league club Broughton Rangers' home ground until 1933. It was purchased by association football club Manchester United for use as their training ground. It was used as the club's primary training facility until 1999, [2] when it was replaced by the Trafford Training Centre in Carrington, though it continues to host some Manchester United academy matches. It is also sometimes used by Salford rugby league side as a training venue.

Contents

Rugby league

The Cliff, on Lower Broughton Road in Broughton, Salford, started out as a cricket and tennis ground. The now-defunct Broughton Rangers rugby league club moved to The Cliff in 1913 and played there until 1933, when they moved to Belle Vue Stadium in Gorton, Manchester.

The ground was host to the 1920–21 Challenge Cup final seeing Leigh defeat Halifax to lift the trophy. [3]

Association football

Manchester United players warm up at The Cliff, 1992 The Cliff (oppvarming).JPG
Manchester United players warm up at The Cliff, 1992

In May 1938, the site was earmarked by Manchester United chairman James W. Gibson as a potential site for practice matches and as a regular venue for the Manchester United Junior Athletic Club (MUJAC) A team's matches. By the end of June 1938, a tenancy had been agreed. [4] Manchester United purchased the ground in 1951. Until the late 1950s, Manchester United's first team trained on the pitch at their Old Trafford stadium, but the club's management had decided that using The Cliff training ground was necessary to avoid doing needless damage to the Old Trafford pitch.

Floodlights were soon erected at The Cliff – an improvement that Old Trafford did not receive until March 1957 – and a rugby league amateur international match was held there in 1952. [5] That same year, Manchester United entered their youth team in the FA Youth Cup for the first time. Matches were played at night, meaning that the team had to play under the floodlights at The Cliff. In the second round of the competition, the Manchester United youth team recorded the biggest win in the history of the FA Youth Cup; David Pegg, John Doherty and Duncan Edwards scored five goals each and Eddie Lewis scored four in a 23–0 victory over Nantwich Town's youth team. [6]

At the end of the 20th century, Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson came to feel that The Cliff had become too open to the press and the public for him to successfully run the training of the club's first team players, with journalists and opposition spies able to get a look at his tactics all too easily and supporters holding the players up for hours after training with requests for autographs. The club, therefore, decided to construct a new training facility in Carrington, away from prying eyes. [7] First team, reserve and academy training is now carried out at the Trafford Training Centre, but The Cliff is still retained for the training of the club's youngest players. [8] The England national team has also used the Cliff as a training base ahead of international matches at Old Trafford. [9]

In 2003, plans were put forward by Manchester United for a set of 16-metre-tall (17 yd) floodlights at The Cliff, but this was met with opposition from local residents. The club had originally planned to install 19-metre-tall (21 yd) lights, but this was later reduced. [10]

On their establishment ahead of the 2018–19 season, it was announced Manchester United Women would train and play their home games at The Cliff, subject to redevelopment. [11] In lieu of these renovations, the team has been based at Leigh Sports Village since inception. With no progress three years after the initial announcement, tensions surrounding the lack of backing and resources from the club, particularly training facilities, led to the resignation of Casey Stoney in May 2021. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manchester United F.C.</span> Association football club in Manchester, England

Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United, or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division in the English football league system. Nicknamed the Red Devils, they were founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, but changed their name to Manchester United in 1902. After a spell playing in Clayton, Manchester, the club moved to their current stadium, Old Trafford, in 1910.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Scholes</span> English footballer (born 1974)

Paul Scholes is an English football coach, pundit, former player, and co-owner of Salford City. He spent his entire professional playing career with Manchester United, for whom he scored over 150 goals in more than 700 appearances between 1993 and 2013. He won 25 trophies, including 11 Premier League titles, three FA Cups and two UEFA Champions League titles. He is widely regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation and one of the greatest Manchester United players of all-time, renowned for his technical skills, accurate passing, intelligent movement, powerful shooting from long range and goal-scoring ability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Trafford</span> Football stadium in Manchester, England

Old Trafford is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium in the United Kingdom, and the twelfth-largest in Europe. It is about 0.5 miles (800 m) from Old Trafford Cricket Ground and the adjacent tram stop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salford Red Devils</span> British professional rugby league football club

The Salford Red Devils are a professional rugby league club in Barton-upon-Irwell, Greater Manchester, England. They play home games at Salford Community Stadium and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swinton Lions</span> English professional rugby league club

Swinton Lions are a professional rugby league club based in Swinton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the Championship. The club has won the Championship six times and three Challenge Cups. Before 1996, the club was known simply as Swinton RLFC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Manchester United F.C. (1945–1969)</span>

Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, they changed their name to Manchester United in 1902.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manchester derby</span> Football match between Manchester United and Manchester City

The Manchester derby refers to football matches between Manchester City and Manchester United, first contested in 1881. City play at the Etihad Stadium in Bradford, east Manchester, while United play at Old Trafford in the borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester; the two grounds are separated by approximately 4 miles (6.4 km). The teams have played 193 matches in all competitions, United winning 79, City 61, and the remaining 53 having been drawn. Amongst the most successful clubs in England, they have won a combined 103 honours: 68 for Manchester United and 35 for Manchester City. They are also the first two English clubs and first cross-city rivals to have won the treble; United's success came first in 1999, while City's own happened 24 years later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broughton, Salford</span> Suburb of Salford, Greater Manchester, England

Broughton is a suburb and district of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. Located on the east bank of the River Irwell, it is 1 mile (1.6 km) northwest of Manchester and 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Prestwich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bank Street (football ground)</span> Stadium in Clayton, Manchester, England

Bank Street, also known as Bank Lane, was a multi-purpose stadium in Clayton, Manchester, England. It was mostly used for football matches and was the second home ground of Manchester United Football Club, after North Road, which they left in 1893. The stadium had a capacity of around 50,000, but the club moved to Old Trafford in 1910 because club owner John Henry Davies believed he could not sufficiently expand the ground.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casey Stoney</span> English professional football manager (born 1982)

Casey Jean Stoney is an English professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of San Diego Wave.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manchester United F.C. Under-21s and Academy</span> Youth team of Manchester United F.C.

Manchester United Football Club Under-21s is the most senior of Manchester United's youth teams and the club's former reserve team. They play in the Premier League 2, the highest tier of the Professional Development League. The team is effectively Manchester United's second-string side, but is limited to five outfield players and one goalkeeper over the age of 21 per game following the introduction of new regulations from the 2022–23 season, a change from three outfield players over age 23 introduced in 2016–17. The age limit previously was again 21, from 2012–13. The team's current manager is Travis Binnion, who took over from Mark Dempsey in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leigh Sports Village</span> Stadium in Leigh, Greater Manchester

Leigh Sports Village is a multi-use sports, retail and housing development in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England. The centrepiece of the development is a 12,000-capacity stadium which is home to professional rugby league team Leigh Leopards, Manchester United's Under-21 and Academy teams, and Manchester United W.F.C. The complex also plays host to amateur rugby league club Leigh East and amateur athletics club Leigh Harriers, who both occupy dedicated facilities on the site. Other facilities on site include the Leigh campus of Wigan and Leigh College, Leigh Sports Centre, which includes a gym, multi-use sports hall and swimming pool, a Holiday Inn Express hotel, a Morrisons supermarket and the Whistling Wren pub. During 2022, it hosted matches in the UEFA Women's Euro 2022.

Manchester City and Manchester United are popular Premier League football clubs in Greater Manchester. United's ground is in Old Trafford; Manchester City's home ground is the City of Manchester Stadium in east Manchester. Fixtures between the clubs are referred to as the Manchester Derby. Manchester United are historically the second most successful football club in England with 67 elite honours won and was the first team in England to achieve the Continental treble. Manchester United's revenue was the fifth highest of a football club in the world in the 2022–23 season at €745.8 million. In 2023, Forbes estimated the club was the second most valuable in the world at $6 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trafford Training Centre</span> Football training ground in England

Trafford Training Centre is the training ground and academy headquarters of English football club Manchester United. It is near the village of Carrington, Greater Manchester, England, and replaced The Cliff as the club's training ground in 2000. Construction on the complex began in 1999, the main building was opened and the first team moved in in 2000, followed in 2002 by the Academy facility, home to the club's renowned youth system. In 2013, major additions were completed at the complex, including a medical centre and sports science department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manchester Football Association</span> Governing body of association football in Manchester, England

The Manchester Football Association is the governing body for association football in the centre of the city of Manchester, England. They are responsible for the governance and development of football at all levels in the area.

The 1931–32 Lancashire Cup was the twenty-fourth occasion on which the Lancashire Cup competition had been held. Once again a new name was to be added to the trophy this year as it was the turn of Salford, who won the trophy for the first time by beating neighbours and close rivals Swinton in the final by 10–8.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manchester United W.F.C.</span> Professional football club

Manchester United Women Football Club is a professional football club based in Leigh, Greater Manchester, England, that competes in the Women's Super League (WSL), the top tier of English women's football, after gaining promotion from the Championship at the end of the 2018–19 season.

The 2020–21 season was Manchester United Women's third season since they were founded and their second in the FA Women's Super League, the professional top-flight women's league in England. The club also competed in the FA Cup and League Cup.

The 2021 Old Trafford protests were a series of protests against the Glazer ownership of Manchester United following the clubs announcement it had joined the European Super League project that subsequently collapsed. On 2 May, fans organised protests outside Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium and the Lowry Hotel prior to the club's Premier League fixture against Liverpool.

The 2021–22 season was Manchester United Women's fourth season since they were founded and their third in the FA Women's Super League, the professional top-flight women's league in England. The club also competed in the FA Cup and League Cup.

References

Bibliography

Specific

  1. "The Cliff Training Ground - Women Soccerway". Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  2. "Man Utd Zone: "The Cliff" under "C"". Archived from the original on 28 January 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2007.
  3. "Club Records". LeighRL.co.uk. Leigh Centurions Rugby League Club. Archived from the original on 14 February 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  4. Harrington, Peter (1994). The Gibson Guarantee - The Saving of Manchester United: 1931-1951. Questions Answered. p. 94. ISBN   0-9515972-4-8.
  5. Inglis, Simon (1996) [1985]. Football Grounds of Britain (3rd ed.). London: CollinsWillow. p. 235. ISBN   0-00-218426-5.
  6. White (2008), p. 95
  7. White (2008), p. 360
  8. White (2008), p. 361
  9. White, John (2007). The United Miscellany. London: Carlton Books. p. 54. ISBN   978-1-84442-745-1.
  10. Osuh, Christopher (19 November 2003). "Cliff hit by 'own goal'". Manchester Evening News. MEN Media. Archived from the original on 12 November 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  11. "Manchester United to join FA Women's Championship". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 28 May 2018. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  12. "Casey Stoney resigns as Manchester United Women manager amid tensions". The Guardian. 12 May 2021.