February 2026. East Manchester.
From Timperley, a tram back to Manchester interrupted by the racists in Piccadilly Gardens, and an hour in the Art Gallery, before continuing on the metro to Clayton Hall.
Just beyond the Etihad stop, not many folk get off at Clayton Hall,
but I had two hours before kick-off and it’s my duty to explore the area around the Ashton Canal.
More importantly, Pubmeister had alerted me to a Clayton pub only open on City match day.
Vicky may well look aghast.
Despite a recent Untappd check-in (I think Wolfgang has the wrong Victoria there),
this Victoria lies forlorn, but will it re-open as a craft beer pub.
I guess there’s a problem with only opening City match days when those days are never the same.
So yards away the Grove gets the pre-match trade,
though in truth the busiest venue is the cafe at Asda, full of Geordies at the Greggs counter.
Still full of Hong Kong street food, I have an espresso and flapjack from the van opposite the supermarket run by the lovely City season ticket holder who dashes to the Etihad after closing up.
Saturday night at the Etihad has produced some memorable matches over the years. City’s League Cup final win over the Magpies 50 years ago is my earliest football memory,
and tonight’s end to end classic, edged 2-1 by City, will live long in the memory.
retiredmartin 
The trouble with the Premier League and its tense, nervous run-in to the end of the season is that we all know that Arsenal are going to collapse in a blubbering heap to leave City to stroll to a clear winning margin with three games to go. It’s as inevitable as Wombwell Town getting relegated from the Northern Counties East League (Premier Division) after failing to win for the 23rd time in a row.
I watched their 3-1 defeat at home to Barton Town yesterday without the benefit of a pre-match cask beer, as my intended pub was closed for a refurbishment. Not sure I’ll be able to drag myself back there when it reopens. (You can read about the three (3) halves of Guinness I drank in local pubs here: https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/areas/wombwell/south-yorkshire/ if you can summon up enough interest.)
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