The Wigan fans were factually incorrect when they sang "you're getting sacked in the morning" at their crestfallen manager, Ryan Lowe, who was standing only yards away from the Latics following, at Peterborough United's London Road ground. He was in fact sacked in the evening, just hours after the 6-1 shellacking. Wigan supporters drown their sorrows on the 5.30 pm Norwich to Liverpool train. I bump into a Blackburn Rovers fan on his way back from a lunchtime kick off at Carrow Road. He bravely displays gallows humour at a club that has been in freefall for a number of years now.
I was excited for some Tuesday night action at either Carlton Town v Anstey Town or Gedling Miners' Welfare versus Big Glenn's Radford FC. A deluge of rain puts paid to that. I scan the screen listings at Broadway Cinema, where I clock a 5.45pm showing of Saipan. That'll do for me.
The film is about the epic spat and long-running feud between Ireland manager Mick McCarthy and skipper Roy Keane. It all comes to a head in the Western Pacific island of Saipan, prior to the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The film, which includes a masterclass in acting from Steve Coogan and Eanna Hardwicke, does not shed McCarthy nor Keane in a particularly good light.
The final set-to, during a team meeting, is a gripping watch. Keane is asked to pack his bags after a number of tantrums. It's the first time during the film that there has been a show of strength from Big Mick. He comes across as weak and anxious. He won't be happy to have been portrayed that way. All I remember from that time ago was Keane being chased by a pack of Press reporters and photographers whilst walking his Labrador dog, Trigger, close to his home in Cheshire.
I'm back in town on Wednesday, with my backpack on, as I'm on a three day roadtrip. Ms Moon is working down in Brighton, so I'm making hay whilst the sun shines. Actually it's raining again as I push open the door of Slice 'n Brew. Only outside tables are available. Sod that for a game of soldiers. I get lucky at Rudy's where I grab a bar table and a salami pizza with a hot honey dip.
I jump on the 6.45 train to Grantham after a last minute platform change. East Midlands Train staff are utter buffoons - how the chuff didn't I manage to land a job there? I suppose only having one eye might have been a hindrance. I arrive in York bang on time thanks to LNER. The rest of the evening is spent at the Lord Collingwood pub, in Upper Poppleton, where my brother and sister-in-law win the quiz.
One of my hobbies is to visit Good Pub Guide entries. The inclement weather curtails any chance of a walk to a nearby National Trust property. My brother, Mark, and I, head in the car towards the West Yorkshire village of Otley, where former England rugby union player, Mike Tindall, was born. He is married to Zara Phillips, daughter of Anne, Princess Royal.
Otley is a thriving market town that lies on the River Wharfe. It is said to have the greatest number of pubs per head of population. Three will do today for Our Mark and Sticky. The Black Horse Hotel is the pick of the bunch. It has a Victorian interior and a wooden floor. I enjoy a pint of Porter accompanied by a steak and kidney pie that's soaked in gravy.
I'm up and away, the following day, after a hearty breakfast that's rustled up expertly by Our Kid. I change trains at Leeds and jump on a Northern towards the town of Skipton. I alight at Bingley where I'm met with drizzle and snow that has settled up in the hills. I mentioned to my niece's fella last night that I was visiting Bingley as in the Bradford and Bingley Building Society - he said he'd never heard of them. They became part of the Santander Group in 2008. I tick off three boozers before heading down to Saltaire.
Saltaire is a UNESCO-listed Victorian industrial village. If you love your history it's well worth a visit. It was founded by the industrialist Sir Titus Salt, who built housing for his mill workers. The English painter, David Hockney, exhibits many of his paintings at a gallery in Salts Mill.
I enjoy a few drinks, including a visit to SALT Beer factory, before wandering down to Shipley where I chance upon the pub of the day The Beehive. After a period of closure it reopened in 2023. It's a proper local with a vast range of cask ales available.
I finish the night up in Doncaster, as I wanted to stay somewhere cheap and cheerful on my way to Lincoln, where hotel prices are sky high for a Friday night stay. I check-in at a Premier Inn before making the short walk to Doncaster Brewery Tap House. The room is welcoming and warm. I down a 5.3% pale ale that is a collaboration with a USA brewery. I'm tucked up in bed by 9 pm.
The unlimited breakfast ain't the best folks, but the staff are so attentive and courteous. I change trains at Retford having spoken briefly to a groundhopper from Grimsby who was on his way down south to watch Romford FC versus Great Wakering Rovers in the Essex Senior League.
I chat to an Imps fan from Newcastle on the train station platform. He says he is enjoying the ride and not nervous about today's game. I mention that I've watched Bolton quite a few times in recent seasons, and that they have been poor on each occasion.
I can confirm that Steep Hill is still a bastard to walk up. I'm sweating cobs by the time I reach the summit - well actually it's the newly opened Organ Grinder, a Blue Monkey taphouse that has taken over the former premises of BeerHeadZ on Eastgate. I quaff a pint of Chocolate Orange stout. On my way back down the hill I smirk at kids having tantrums and folk gasping for air as they ascend towards Lincoln Cathedral, that's shining like a beacon in the early afternoon sunshine.
I grab a baseball cap at the superstore. I'm plonked in my seat above the tunnel an hour before kick off. The best track the DJ plays is Turn the Page by The Streets. The Red Imps are on a long unbeaten run. They were bloody awful the last time I saw them at Rotherham United's New York City Stadium. They were missing a few that day and are at full strength today.
The game is a sell out and the atmosphere is electric. Lincoln come out of the traps the quickest. Jack 'Magic Man' Moylan megs a defender, who he then runs around on the inside of, before unleashing a ferocious shot that crashes off the woodwork. Moments later he goes close again. Bolton are rapid on the break. Moylan opens the scoring after a breathtaking move, he nonchalantly guides his first time shot home. Bolton are on the ropes but somehow hang in there. Freddie Draper is strong as an ox and putting a solid shift in, Bolton can't cope with him. Their coach Steven Schumacher spends most of the first half bleating in the ear of the fourth official. To be fair the referee has dished out a few soft yellow cards.
The second half follows a similar pattern. Lincoln are first to every ball and physical in the challenge. It's only when they sub off three exhausted players that we see a change in the pattern of play. Former Imp Ethan Erhahon has a wand of a left peg. He curls in a cross with pace, Sam Dalby does the rest. 22 shots, with 10 on target, count for nothing. Bolton have got out of jail. Their large following will breathe a huge sigh of relief that they have nicked a point.
Attendance: 10,235
Player of the Match: Jack Moylan
Best Song Heard on the Radio This Week: Arlo Parks, 2SIDED
Best Real Ale Supped: Black Forest Gateaux, Sunbeam, from Leeds, in The Beehive, Shipley
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