With the opening game almost upon us, it is time to announce mcfcUAE's new venue for the first few games of the 2009/10 season: The Crown & Lion at the Byblos Hotel in Al Barsha (Tecom).
The Crown is a large, bright, English-themed pub equipped with eight plasma screens, a tournament-standard American pool table and two dart boards. The food is excellent (and reasonably priced), whilst a bucket of six beers will set you back Dh120.
The pub's manager, Mr. Craig Leader, has guaranteed us the main screen with full English commentary for the opening game against Blackburn, and we hope it will be the start of a fruitful relationship with The Crown & Lion. It is unlikely that Craig can offer us sound for every game, so we can discuss our plans for future fixtures in more detail on the day.
Depsite being in the midst of a building site, the Byblos Hotel is fairly easy to find, and an increasing number of taxi drivers now know where it is. If yours doesn't, tell him to head towards the Media Rotana Hotel at Tecom. Instead of turning right into the Media Rotana, go straight on to the first roundabout and follow the sign posts from there. For a map, please see http://www.bybloshoteldubai.com/uc.php
The match kicks off at 6.00pm (UAE time), but the more thirsty of us will start arriving from 3.00pm onwards. The day's other fixtures include Chelsea Vs Hull at 3.45pm and the battle of City's feeder clubs (Everton Vs Arsenal) at 8.30pm. I look forward to seeing you all there.
Mark
