Sportsman, Chadderton

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FancyaPint?'s review...

Saturday night at the Sportsman is a good snapshot of local life: lads and lasses dressed up, presumably off elsewhere later, a birthday party in the corner, fellas watching the football extended highlights and a few older people dressed up for a weekend drink. It is probably the archetypal community local. A fair few things let it down, however. The music was pumping out at maximum volume, for the benefit of no-one but at significant detriment to normal conversation. If it was an attempt to generate atmosphere, it was unnecessary - there was plenty of that already. We're also not sure how many people there, young or old, really appreciated choices like 'Invaders Must Die' by hardcore band The Prodigy. We apparently chose a bad week, as there can often be a band in situ, playing classic hits. The beer choice was also generic or just plain terrible (Toby Light, anyone?), while the Guinness had also seen better days. It was also lucky the punters were providing the atmosphere, for the decor certainly didn't help. A regular here in the 80's recalled to us the original Art Deco snugs and dark wood interior, now replaced by a pastel, travel lodge, offensively inoffensive mode of decor. Ultimately not the worst pub in the world, but there are better in the area.