Carlisle, the north’s forgotten city, can be a good day out depending on the mood of the locals. Despite the well earned reputation of a naughty minority I have always found Carlisle to be a welcoming away trip, even more so now that visitors are housed in the new East Stand rather than the exposed open terrace behind the goal. The new stand boats a bar amongst its excellent facilities, and there are plenty of other options for those in search of pre and post-match refreshment.

Carlisle “Citadel” station opens onto a modern café infested crescent which leads you up to the junction of several main roads, including Warwick Road where some twenty minutes walk later one catches first sight of arguably the most striking floodlights in the league, resembling outsized toothbrushes.

The immediate “beside the station” option comes in the shape of the half-decent Griffin, although colours are not to be advised. This bar does real ale and food and is large and bustling with decent service.

Heading into the town, on the splendidly named “Botchergate” – which is the main town centre street for pubs - Wetherspoons/Lloyds provide The Woodrow Wilson, and I have to concede this is one of the best Wetherspoons establishments I’ve come across, well worth a visit. Even better just a little further down the same street there is now another Lloyds outlet that is a bit more upmarket.

The Border Rambler (formerly The Albion) on the same street is probably one to tuck in those colours, though in my experience it’s usually a decent place for a bit of banter more than anything. A more traditional offering comes in the shape of The Cumberland Arms if you like wood panelling and real ale.

After trekking down Warwick Road The Beehive takes an age to appear on the right hand side of the road. This Theakstons establishment is probably the nearest pub to the ground and is very much a home pub, although again I’ve always found it welcoming to visitors.

Also near the stadium there is a bar at the adjacent rugby ground that is open on football match-days and again provides a pretty warm welcome.

Richard Money has strengthened his options before the end of the transfer window by taking Bristol City’s winger/striker Kevin Betsy on loan.

Betsy started his career at Woking before moving to Fulham during the 1998/99 season for £150,000. He went on to have loan spells at Bournemouth and Hull City before moving to Barnsley in March 2002 for a fee of £200,000. He made over 90 appearances for the club and scored 17 goals before moving to Oldham Athletic on a free transfer in September 2004. He them moved to Wycombe in July 2005, signing a two year contract.

Betsy was a regular in the Wycombe team during the 2005/06 season; playing on the right side of midfield and occasionally as a striker. He was also a regular goalscorer for the club; most notably with a hat-trick against Mansfield Town in September 2005.

In April 2006, Betsy was honoured by his fellow professionals by being named in the Professional Footballers’s Association (PFA) “Team Of The Year” for League Two.
In January 2007, Betsy joined then League One Bristol City for an initial fee of £150,000. He joined Yeovil Town on loan in October 2007. He returned to Bristol City on 7 November.

He has a grand total of 259 League games, with 46 goals for his various clubs.