20 Questions: Cheadle Town

A chat with County’s non-league neighbours

May 20, 2025

Tuesday 20 May 2025

If you’d like to write an article for The Scarf My Father Wore, share a few snippets or photos, or advertise your business, please email thescarfmyfatherwore@substack.com.

DESMOND’S COMEDY CLUB: Friday 30 May at The Fingerpost. Show starts at 7.30pm. Tickets £15. Line-up includes Freddy Quinne, Kie Carson, Will Smith and Eddie Fortune (pictured below). Drop me an email if you’d like to join us!

Dear County fans, Stopfordians, Cheadle Town supporters, and anyone else from The Football Family joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Tuesday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.

Earlier this month, Cheadle Town featured in the Manchester Evening News. (Click here to read the article.) County’s non-league neighbours have a great story, so I thought it would be interesting to get them in for our next ‘20 Questions’ piece. Club secretary Stuart Crawford tells us more.

Today’s edition is sponsored by Bauhaus Blinds & Shutters. A big thank you to Karmen and Aaron.

Thanks also to Chris and Bradley at The Wooden Floor Store, who sponsor our Cheadle Town content on the website.

Finally, I’m currently walking every street in Stockport to raise money for mental health charity Mentell. If you’d like to make a donation to help me reach my target, please click here.

Total distance so far: 253.75 miles

Total steps so far: 418,084

Total raised so far: £2,312

Total completed streets so far: 474 (Click here for the full list, which includes reports and photos from every day of the walk.)

Further information on the walk can be found by clicking here.

Des Junior

Leave a comment

Cheadle Town currently play in the North West Counties League Premier Division, which is the ninth tier of English football. What’s that like as a division?

It’s a tough division, as are all the tiers in non-league these days. There’s crazy money going around compared to many years ago, and this certainly splits those football clubs that have money and those that don’t. That said, the quality of football has drastically improved over the past few years, with teams actually trying to play football rather than hoofing it down the field.

Describe a typical matchday for yourself in Cheadle.

I normally get to the ground for about 11.30am to start matchday preparations, which include cleaning the changing rooms and preparing the hospitality area for the visiting committee. Then I need to do my secretarial duties: submitting the team sheet, printing team sheets out for spectators, and hosting visiting officials and guests. On a good day I normally get to see the majority of the game before submitting the result to the league and paying the match officials. Then I enjoy a well-earned pint.

Who are your club’s biggest rivals?

To be honest we don’t really have any rivals. Our closest neighbours are Cheadle Heath Nomads who we’ve only actually played a couple of times since they joined the NWCFL. Maybe you could class Stockport Town as rivals, as we always have good games and the crowds are normally decent.

What’s your best memory following Cheadle?

It’s got to be seeing us finally get promoted at the end of the 2022-23 season. We went into the play-offs as underdogs and beat Stockport Town in the semi-final, before beating Sandbach United in front of 1,300 in the final. A truly memorable day for myself as we’d been in that division for over 20 years.

Cheadle Town won the North West Counties League Division One South play-offs in 2022-23 (Photo credit: Cheadle Town FC)

What’s your worst memory following Cheadle?

When you’re as involved with a football club as much as myself, you have highs and lows on almost a weekly basis. I wouldn’t class any results as a bad memory, you just dust yourself down after a thrashing and go again the week after. The football club did have some dark days many years ago when we had no money, and the ground was in disrepair. I honestly thought we’d have to fold. That’s the worst memory.

If Cheadle Town was a TV show, which one would it be?

Maybe The Apprentice as the committee have loads of ideas within the boardroom. Some are great ideas, some are absolutely tragic, and ultimately we have to feed back our results to the chairman each month. At least I’ve not been told “You’re fired” over the past 30 years of involvement.

What’s your ground called, and how would you describe it for someone who’s never visited before?

Following a ground sponsorship deal last season, our old Park Road Stadium has since been renamed the Ground Up Solutions Stadium. It’s quite a historic stadium which was used by Manchester City as their training ground during the Malcolm Allison era. The Main Stand is probably what most people remember about our ground, which has been in situ since the 1960s. Going forward the ground does need updating, and that’s something we’re looking to do over the next couple of years.

What’s your thoughts on Stockport County?

As you know I’ve supported County since the late 80s and have fond memories of the trips to Wembley and promotion at Chesterfield all those years ago. Unfortunately as my involvement with Cheadle Town increased, my attendance at Edgeley Park decreased dramatically about 10 years ago. To be honest, during those dark days in the Conference North I didn’t think I would ever see County back in the Football League. Full credit to Mark Stott and Dave Challinor in reviving the fortunes of County over the past few years and I’m so pleased to see the crowds come back to Edgeley Park again. I hope Championship football can be a reality soon as I think County have a great chance of automatic promotion next season.

Have you ever visited the town of Stockport before?

Born and bred here! Now that I’m wiser and older, most visits to the town centre these days usually involve shopping and taking my wife to Primark.

What colours do you play in, and what’s the best ever kit Cheadle have had?

Since our owner took over in 2018, he’s introduced a new brand which includes our red and white shirts to match his own company branding. Prior to this we never seemed to stick to a colour or brand, I think due to money issues we just went to the cheapest kit supplier (or Stockport Market) to source a kit. We’ve since had Kappa and now Nike producing our kits. I’d probably say the current Nike kit is best we’ve ever had.

Could Jason Manford be persuaded to swap blue for red if Cheadle Town made it to Wembley?

If Cheadle were playing in the next FA Cup final, who’d be at Wembley as your celebrity fan?

I’m not too sure we have any celebrity fans! Perhaps I could tempt Stockport comedian Jason Manford to tag along. Otherwise it’d be former Republic of Ireland keeper Kieran Westwood and former County defender Stephen O’Halloran who are best mates with our owner.

What’s the most interesting fact about Cheadle Town we might not know?

We’re the most travelled non-league football club abroad, having played 96 games on foreign soil during the 80s and 90s.

Who’s your all time Cheadle hero?

You don’t tend to get many heroes at non-league level as players are not as loyal as they used to be. So if you get a player doing three seasons with a club then you’re doing well. That said, Pat Davin would be up there as one of my Cheadle Town heroes. Pat was a tall striker who was very much in the mould of Kevin Francis. He was a nuisance to opposition defenders and during his time with us scored over 80 goals in three seasons.

What sort of attendances do you get, and how would you describe Cheadle’s fanbase?

Our attendances have definitely increased over the past few seasons, and I think we’re now averaging around 120. I’ve certainly noticed more regulars coming to games in recent years, which is good to see.

What’s your manager like?

In my role, managers come and go unfortunately. But our current manager Jake Davies is great to work with. He’s a young up and coming manager, who puts so many hours into the job from scouting teams and players to coaching and preparing for games, so he has my utmost respect.

Cheadle Town boss Jake Davies (Photo credit: Si Cook)

What’s your chairman like?

We had a boardroom reshuffle at the start of last season. Our owner and previous chairman Craig stepped down to concentrate on his business and spend more time with his family. Coming in was Steve Taylor, a financial advisor by trade. Steve has brought fresh ideas to the football club, as well as strengthening the board by bringing in expertise in commercial, marketing, finance and legal. So it’s certainly been a lot more structured in the background these past 12 months.

What’s it like for a night out in Cheadle?

Cheadle is a good night out, with plenty of pubs and restaurants along the High Street. Some decent Turkish and Indian restaurants to sample.

What’s the best thing about being Cheadle Town secretary?

The pride and being directly involved with a football club like Cheadle Town. Then the highs of seeing success both on and off the field make it all worthwhile.

What’s the worst thing about being Cheadle Town secretary?

The lack of time to do everything you want to do. Secretarial duties and media duties etc can sometimes be too much when you consider this is a volunteer role and I have my 9-5 job to do throughout the week. The positives certainly outweigh the negatives, although I do moan a lot at board meetings!

What are your hopes for next season?

With a few additions to the squad, I’m hopeful for a top eight position and a chance to sneak into the play-offs.

➡️ Enjoyed today’s article? Click here for all of the other ‘20 Questions’ features we’ve published.

If you’re looking for some new blinds or shutters, have a look inside the Bauhaus showroom on the A6

Bauhaus Blinds & Shutters is a family run business, based in Poynton. They have a long and distinguished track record of happy customers, providing high quality blinds and shutters which are expertly fitted.

They specialise in turning your house into a home, having a solution to suit every room and window. Your blinds are provided and installed by their expert team of fitters. If you have any custom requests, let them know and they’ll find a solution.

You can pop along and have a chat with Karmen and Aaron in person if you’d like some more information, in their new showroom on Buxton Road..

➡️ Visit bauhausblindsandshutters.co.uk for further details.

Photo credit: Mike Petch

Photo of the day

Edgeley Park, Stockport

Kyle Knoyle scores his first goal for County during our 3-2 victory over Tranmere Rovers in February 2023. We’d like to wish Kyle all the best for the future after being released by County yesterday.

5 questions with Bradley Evans from The Wooden Floor Store

What’s been the best moment with your business so far?

The best moments for me personally are seeing customers after they’ve had their floors installed. I love when customers return for accessories and show me pictures of the completed project. Nothing better than seeing the final finish and the smile on their faces!

What’s your plans for the business in the future?

We currently have nine stores, and we’re not planning on stopping there. Over the next few years, we’re aiming to expand further – in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland – with a particular interest in adding another location within the Manchester area. We’re actively working on the next opening and hope to have some exciting news to share in the coming weeks. We’re also looking forward to building more of a connection with The Scarf My Father Wore and its readers along the way!

What would you like to promote to The Scarf My Father Wore readers?

All of our amazing products. Although we specialise in wooden floors, we cover vinyl and laminate as well. We don’t stop there though: we’re able to supply wall panels and our matching stair kits which are a real big feature piece in my opinion. We have customers come to view these from all over the north!

What’s your favourite type of floor?

Engineered Herringbone. Although vinyl and laminate are great and practical, it has to be the real thing! Every plank will be completely different to the next and nothing beats a natural material.

What’s the best thing about working in Cheadle.

We’re central to everything, we see customers from all over the Manchester region. From Hale and Altrincham, through to Manchester and Salford, and all the way through the Stockport boroughs and over into Macclesfield.

➡️ The Wooden Store Floor is located at Unit 4A Duke Avenue, Stanley Green Trading Estate, Cheadle, Stockport, SK8 6RX. For further details visit thewoodenfloorstore.com.

Today in SK

🥃 Food and drink

The Nelson Tavern (SK1) have a great range of offers throughout the week, including £5.50 for drinks off the Doubles Bar, a comprehensive range of shots for £1.50, and 3 for £7 on Jägerbombs. Also, double up for £2 on premium spirits.

Bitter £2.30 a pint all day at The Cross Keys (SK8). Plus, discounts on certain lagers till 6pm.

A number of venues are featured on The Scarf My Father Wore such as The Crown (SK2), The Dog & Partridge (SK2), The Alexandra (SK3), The Crown Inn (SK6), The Steelworks (SK6), The Three Tunnes (SK7), Flute & Firkin (SK12) and The Ram’s Head (SK12). Support them this month by popping in for a few drinks or a bite to eat.