Back in Manchester for the moment and I will bring you the rest of my trip from Vigo in the next blog, but for the time being i’ve been to 3 matches in a week . Away to Wolverhampton , home to Sparta Prague, and home to Southampton.
First up my trip to Wolverhampton
We’ve struggled in recent fixtures with Wolves , but they have started this season badly so I was rather hoping for a comfortable win. The journey down was far from comfortable though .
Trains with 4 carriages running all morning, the train companies even advertised that the services would be busier than usual. Yet each of the morning services between Manchester and Wolverhampton involved passengers being crammed in like sardines , and most at Stockport , where I boarded, couldn’t board. Thankfully I’d done my research and took the Swansea service and changed at Crewe to board , an 8 carriage train between Crewe and Birmingham , yes you guessed it, an Empty 8 carriage train.
This left no time for my usual food segment in my YouTube vlogs , just a quick pint at the moon under water Wetherspoons in Wolverhampton.
There is a sign saying home fans only, but I went in anyway and filmed a little. I’m very much harmless and unobtrusive , and I even met some Wolves fans who enjoy my content and had a chat with me. And I’m glad I went in Jaipur IPA , my favourite British pale ale at £1.79 !!!!
As for the game itself , Wolves played really well and caught us cold with their first counter attack and could have easily had a second before we got going.
Savinho started well against Ait Nouri but his contribution faded away a bit. Doku saw more of the ball but there was the same issue of never getting to the byline to deliver crosses and our wingers not getting enough support or overlaps. Maybe I don’t fully understand the tactics here but it all seemed a bit sterile with the ball going from side to side and only Ruben Dias and Kovacic getting into positions to shoot, not our best marksmen. It needed a world class strike from Gvardiol , who did provide some extra options on the left flank to get us back into he game, and a second half full of possession and no cutting edge had me thinking that City were going to drop points . Until Johnny Stones leapt to head in a 95th and final minute winner, that’s twice he’s saved us now. There was controversy about Bernardo Silva nudging the keeper before the corner was swung over, but it’s clear he moved and ducked out of the way so couldn’t be interfering with the keepers vision , so not offside.
I decided to film my post match wrap back in Manchester, filming in a home only pub in front of a lot of disgruntled Wolves fans didn’t feel like a good idea. Again I changed at Crewe. The direct service looked like recipe to stand all the way given how many were on the platform , and I filmed at the Salmon of Knowledge pub in the Northern Quarter. I’m really impressed with the range of stouts they serve and my pick at the Salmon is Shandon Stout , from the Franciscan well brewery, Cork. I’d only ever had it in Cork before so it’s great to see it here, and pouring well to boot.
The Armenian Restaurant and Mulligan’s
Having finishing filming I met up with others to go to Manchester’s oldest restaurant , The Armenian Restaurant. As I was running a bit late I was ordered for (usually best if I do it) and unfortunately more the Middle Eastern style items were ordered, as I like to try the Goergian and Armenian specialties that I rarely get to see anywhere else would have been my pick. Anyway the food was tasty ,good portion sizes generally , and was accompanied by an Armenian red wine that was decent without being outstanding.
And finally as is often the case , a Sunday evening if out in the Centre , ends at Mulligan’s of Deansgate , a pub with a remarkably good and consistent pint of Guinness, though my hat proved to be just as popular
Covering Villa v Bologna
One other thing I did during the week which was a first for me, was to cover the atmosphere in pubs for midweek Champions League fixtures for TNT Sports, it is much more fun to watch in the pub, the beer the atmosphere and quality of screens. Villa did play pretty well and it was all in all quite an exciting 2-0 win. I also got to try Brewdog’s black heart stout for the first time which was decent but didn’t overwhelm me. I was covering the game at the Box, Brindley place so that’s maybe not a stout drinking pub. I also popped in to the Wolf, a pub i’d been meaning to try for some time before the last train for a quick pint of London Black, and yes I can recommend it.
Again a change at Crewe on the way back, this time on the last service. I’ve been kind of stranded here before in the past due to missed connections. Back in the days of British Rail, they’d find a train from somewhere to get everyone back , but last time this happened after a Villa City match last season the connecting train didn’t wait the 6 minutes necessary (different rail companies) to allow passengers to connect and we waited an hour for a rail replacement bus. The train to Crewe didn’t leave on time , Ten minutes late , arriving at Crewe giving us 5 minutes from platform 11 to platform one on the other side of the station. Fortunately I know my way around the station and ran up the footbridge immediately. those who didn’t or had to use the lift will have missed the connection as the train to Manchester Piccadilly left a minute early.
The sooner the railways can be renationalised the better, Bring Back British Rail!
Sparta Prague at home
Next up football wise, Sparta Prague at home. This time I had time to do a food vlog, and after sending out several Cameo greetings from the Station pub in Didsbury, I went back to Rudy’s Neapolitan pizza restaurant and ordered the same pizza that you might have seen in an earlier blog post, the Margherita with buffalo mozzarella. I don’t like adding too many toppings to pizza and I find if I need them , the basic essential ingredients are as good as they should be. This time I filmed it for my YouTube vlog, and it was equally good , great simple ingredients and a thin base does it for me every time. Then on to Reasons to be Cheerful craft beer bar, my local , for the pre match pint and chat, and another absolute creamer of a pint of London Black.
There was no time to visit the Northern Quarter this time so a cab to the ground . Usually European sides are a lot more canny than domestic opposition but that proved not to be the case here. Phil Foden and Matteus Nunes had great games and City took an early lead thanks to some delicate footwork by Phil Foden. Sparta didn’t threaten much but kept it to 1-0 , but there was an avalanche of goals in the second half. Johnny Stones leaping like a salmon to score again and a Nunes Penalty to compliment his 2 assists. But the evening will again be remembered for Erling Haaland. 2 goals but his first seemed to be an impossible feat of athleticism , or agility or contortionism, whatever you want to call it, I’ve never seen anything like it!
Again a pleasure to meet Muttonistas, I tried the Guinness at half time which was a but average but then again so is the lager.
Again I finished my vlog at The Salmon , I used to go to the Northern Monk in midweek but the Monk often calls last orders at 1030 whereas at the Salmon it’s just before midnight. The Shandon was the pick but the Titanic Stout (I’ve had their Plum Damson and Cherry porters before) was also pretty nice.
And again a pleasure to meet Muttonistas, including a fully kitted out Muttonista!
In Between Games, and a competition to win £100 of my merchandise a week for the next 4 weeks
A lot of you are under the impression that I drink every day or that I’m always filming from the pub. That is far from the truth, When I’m not vlogging or reviewing I tend to stay dry, I don’t want to become an alcoholic. Sure I have fun after the filming stops and sometimes I just go out for a social but except during busy periods I’d say over half my days are dry ones.
Usually I’m hard at working editing, posting , looking after cameo orders or merchandise orders. Indeed this week I’ve been involved in a promotion with www.splittheg.co.uk or @split_the_g page on instagram. check my recent instagram posts for details
I hadn’t been out for my father for a while so made an exception to my rule on Friday , visiting Reasons again and then Chef’s platters, an excellent Indian restaurant just next to Burnage station that offers a lot of authentic dishes such as punjabi samosas (better than the triangular type) chaats, and rich spicy curries. I have vlogged it before a game once.
City v Southampton
This blog is getting to be quite a long one but a 3 hour train journey has been my first opportunity to post for a while , but i’ll keep the Southampton part short.
No time for a pub before the game but it was a pleasure to meet up with Adrian, Andy Brett, and the lads before the game over dim sum or yum cha at the Only Yu restaurant in Manchester’s Chinatown
One is supposed to take tea with dumplings roast meats , vegetables and other dishes , but we went for wine and beer instead.
I was so glads that everyone received the dishes well, I know chickens feet and tripe aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but we all enjoyed them along with roast meats and green veg and dumplings.
In many ways an ideal pre match feed, everything is fresh and tasty, the veg is not overcooked and dishes don’t sit around on hot plates drying out, whenever anything is ready it comes straight out of the kitchen to your table, you don’t wait a long time for your food , which is a good thing given we only sat down at 1330h
As for the Match I thought it would be an easy win , especially after City went 1-0 up after more acrobatics from Erling Haaland after 5 minutes, but Southampton played and especially passed the ball around really well and didn’t play like a team at the bottom of the table. City won 1-0 and we have to be thankful that Southampton didn’t quite have the guile at the business end of the pitch that would have got them a goal
After the game I visited a new venue to finish off the vlog and make an instagram reel , the Reach Hotel, which serves up Camden Stout. I prefer more flavoursome stouts , but it certainly was well kept and it was a pleasant drink . Then on to the Salmon and the Station where again it was such a pleasure to meet so many Muttonistas
The Shandon Stout was yet again a creamer but the Guinness at the Station , after a general dip in quality at all the Manchester venues I frequent, was bang on form , an absolute creamer and a great session was had by all.
Again sorry it’s been such a long blog but I wanted to keep up to date. See you on the next one, and don’t forget,
