Yesterday’s plan was to watch the United game in a pub near Boundary Park and then go and watch FC United’s last game against Padiham. Sara and I had a bit of a disagreement about this: she can’t understand why I want to go and watch “Pub League” football, especially when we have so much work to do on the house at the moment. 😕
Eventually she gave in so we jumped in a cab to Oldham and watched the first half in the soulless Litten Tree. At half time, with United already 1-0 down, we decided to move elsewhere. We stuck our noses in Budda and Last Orders but they were equally dire, so we made a beeline towards Boundary Park where the FC United fans would no doubt be gathering.
We made it to The Queens as the second half was starting and it was already standing room only, absolutely packed with FC United fans. It was much more lively in there, with plenty of banter and singing, including a reworked version of the Johnny Cash/Michael Shields song (which I can’t stop humming). :-”
The game didn’t live up to the media build-up. United were very poor on the day and Chelsea fully deserved the result. I’m surprised it took them this long to clinch the title after having it virtually in the bag since October. The other downside to the day was Wayne Rooney – the only reason for watching England – broke a bone in his foot which could mean he will miss the World Cup. 😮
At 2-0 down and fed up of the smell from the toilets in the Queens, we decided to move on again. We arrived at the Old Grey Mare just in time to see Chelsea score the third, so went straight into the beer garden to enjoy the pleasant weather instead of watching the presentations. As kick-off time approached, we moved on the the White Hart but decided not to bother with the FC United game after all; we were enjoying the pub crawl more than the football by now. :”>
So we carried on, in to Royton with a few drinks in the Carter’s Arms and the Railway, then on to the Simla for a curry – Lamb Jale Jhule (extra hot) for me. Stuffed, we decided to call it a day after that, grabbed a taxi back via Turf Pit Lane which dropped us off at the King’s Arms for a nightcap and then stumbled home. :p