OCCUPIED COUNTRY

Just When I Needed You Most

The local has finally kissed goodbye to H the landlord for the past 15 years. A staunch City fan, H has allowed his pub to be used as the venue for the local City Supporter’s Club for quite a while. We’ve had visits from players, managers and coaches past and present and generally had a good time. It was a bit of a worry when we discovered he was upping sticks as the prospect of a dyed-in-the-wool Red taking over didn’t bear thinking about.

As it turns out the new bloke seems uninterested in football (as far as I can tell anyway), so I guess the prospect of filling the pub with City folk appeals because his takings will be up. The first football night was the Macedonia v England game and he got a sizable crowd in. In return he provided chicken curry, chips and, bizarrely, sausage. It went down a treat – and England won.

“I’m doing a chili for City’s match against Reading” he told us.

Brilliant.

So, Monday arrives and by 7:30 the tap room is packed to the rafters. The tantalising smell of chili fills the room as the ale is quaffed and the tension mounts.

“C’mon you Blues. Allez les Blues…………..”

7:50. Ten minutes to go to KO. Time for a toilet break and another round.

7:55. Sat in front the largest of the three screens discussing what we should be expecting from the game.

7:58. PPPPHHHHHHHHUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!

Every screen in the room goes blank.

And that was that. No matter what the landlord or the rest of the Sky “experts” did the picture never came back.

8:10. One massive pan of chili, three blank screens and an empty pub.

It’s a fine line the line between success and failure, as I suspect Stuart Pearce told his underachieving bunch of overpaid wasters after the game.

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Eeeeeeh aren’t the nights drawing in?