TOASTING CLUB RIVALRY IN WELCOMING PUBS
Football fans will be braced for one of the key matches of the season this Sunday when Manchester City host Premier League leaders Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium after moving just six points behind them in the table.
And when it comes to choosing a pub to watch a match or before a game a combination of location and loyalty usually determine the venue. Yet Joseph Holt pubs are quietly doing the opposite: deliberately encouraging rival fans together on match days.
Nowhere is this more evident than the Halfway House, in Droylsden. For while it may be a “blue pub” and a magnet for Manchester City supporters—especially for big home fixtures— as landlady Ellie Ori points out, it’s also a place where competing fans are not just welcome but actively encouraged.
“We understand that however much you love your club, you can still have a pint with someone who might support a rival,” says Ellie, 34. “It’s about coming together over the atmosphere. Whether people are heading to the match or watching it here, there’s always banter and post-match analysis.”
It’s a philosophy Ellie understands first-hand. She’s a staunch City fan; her partner and co-licensee Peter Scott, 46, supports Leeds United.
“It’s always a talking point,” she laughs. “That friendly rivalry is part of the atmosphere. I even put on sandwiches at half-time so everyone comes together.”
Elsewhere in Manchester, other Joseph Holt pubs following a similar theme include the Frigate in Whitefield which has become a particular favourite with Newcastle United supporters—even though it’s hundreds of miles from Tyneside.
“A few years ago, their supporters’ club rang to ask whether their fans would be welcome when Newcastle were playing Manchester United at Old Trafford,” says landlady Lisa Moran. “Of course the answer was yes. In fact we made them so welcome they nearly missed the match because they were having such a good time. Now they love to come here for United games ”
Pubs and football are deeply connected – often through a shared community roots. Historically, many clubs including Arsenal, Chelsea, and West Ham were founded in or around pubs.
Today, they serve as vital social hubs where fans gather for pre-match countdown and post-match analysis
And for Danielle McIntosh, 42, pub manager of the Bricklayers Arms—within shouting distance of Old Trafford—the secret ingredient of opposing fans drinking together is simple: banter.
The pub has long been a haunt for die-hard United fans without tickets, or those gathering for a pint before and after the game. McIntosh, who has worked there since she was 18 and has been landlady for the past eight years, says the atmosphere is carefully nurtured.
“The banter is brilliant because it’s funny—it’s never aggressive,” she says. “Of course people are tribal about football. But the atmosphere works because we make sure everyone feels welcome, whatever their loyalty. It’s shared ground in our pub, because everyone is sharing the experience of enjoying the football.”
Joseph Holt, which owns 127 pubs across Manchester and the North West has a longstanding connection with football fans with many venues drawing in sports lovers to watch the game.
Said Mark Norbury, director of pubs at Joseph Holt: “Football can be fiercely divisive – loyalties run deep, and that’s understandable. But our pubs are for everyone. Sport sparks passion, yes, but it’s the banter, the atmosphere, and the shared excitement that let everyone enjoy the game together and that’s why our pubs are such welcoming places to watch a match, whichever side you support.”