An interview with Dave Espley

We’ve got County fanzine royalty joining us today as the former editor of The Tea Party shares loads of great memories from 50 years of following the Hatters

Jun 20, 2024

Thursday 20 June 2024

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

It’s been a while since our last instalment of ‘Meet the Subscribers’ so I thought I’d chuck one of those in your inbox today. It’s a belter, too. Dave Espley, editor of the much-loved County fanzine The Tea Party throughout the 90s (which produced some absolutely fantastic front covers…), recalls Paul Cook’s screamer against City, Eddie Prudham’s overhead kick against Halifax, and a Burnley fan making nuisance calls to his house.

EURO 2024 – DAY 7

2pm: Slovenia v Serbia 🇸🇮🇷🇸

5pm: Denmark v England 🇩🇰🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

8pm: Spain v Italy 🇪🇸🇮🇹

Here’s a list of the best places to watch today’s games…

Bask (SK1). All the action on two 75” screens.

Petersgate Tap (SK1). Table service during the England game. Pies and sausage rolls available to order at half-time.

Crown (SK2). Buy a pint of Helles today and you’ll be in with a chance of winning 52 free pints! There’s also a special menu throughout the Euros.

Armoury (SK3).

Reddish Working Men’s Club (SK5). There’s four screens in the games room, a new projector in the lower games room, and a screen in the middle room where families and children can enjoy the match. Check out the Special Offer Wheel which will be offering a variety of great deals before, during and after each game.

Railway (SK6).

Marple Tavern (SK6). Food served at half-time such as burgers, hot dogs, pizza and chips.

Steelworks (SK6). Games shown downstairs (sound off) and upstairs (sound on).

Shady Oak (SK7). Food served during the games from the matchday menu. Pick up a loyalty card to receive a discount on certain drinks.

Three Tunnes (SK7). Buy a pint of Helles today and you’ll be in with a chance of winning 52 free pints! There’s also a special menu throughout the Euros.

Cross Keys (SK8). Bitter £2.30 a pint all day. Discounts on certain lagers 12pm - 6pm.

Railway (SK9). TVs in every room, and outside. Discounted doubles on spirits and 10% off four pint jugs.

Flute & Firkin (SK12). Call 01625 879181 to book a table, and quote “The Scarf My Father Wore” to receive 10% off your first round of drinks. (Not applicable for walk-ins.)

Friendship Inn (SK13). Five big screen TVs with surround sound, including one outside in the beer garden.

Today’s edition is sponsored Believe Media and DT Plastering Services. A big thank you to both Kerry and David.

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: 148.94 miles

Total steps so far: 237,462

Total raised so far: £1,881

Total completed streets so far: 304 (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

Favourite thing about The Scarf My Father Wore?

Ooh, it’s tricky because it’s all good (and I’m not just being a creep). I’d probably plump for the away team stuff – previews or recaps. It’s good to read about how we’re perceived elsewhere.

Where do you normally read your daily dose of The Scarf My Father Wore?

Usually on a laptop, with a brew during a work break. Occasionally on my phone.

How or why did you become a County fan?

My dad took me, following my grandad taking him. Not sure either wore a scarf, but I’m both grandson and grandfather myself in regard to the song. That’s if my son’s kids become County fans. My daughter’s are already lost to City (although they do come to County fairly often).

What does Stockport County mean to you?

A fair bit, in the sense that it’s a fundamental part of my leisure time. I’m not one of those fans obsessed enough to say County means “everything” (and I’m not judging; each to their own), but let’s say it’s been a fairly significant part of my life for 52 years.

What was your first County match?

County v Crewe on 9October 1972 – the next home game after the West Ham victory. My dad did consider taking me to that, but thought it might be a bit wild for a kid. Pity really, as a famous win against West Ham that’s still sung about over 50 years later would have been a great debut, but in some ways, a boring 0-0 v Crewe seems more appropriate for a County fan. I found the programme for the game on eBay a few years ago. Which was nice.

Where do you sit inside EP?

Cheadle End. I actually prefer a side-on view, but not keen on either of our side-on stands. Maybe when they’re rebuilt.

Who else is in your usual County matchday crew?

Just family. Wife, kids and grandkids.

Who is your favourite ever County player?

Alun Armstrong. Pride myself on watching him at Cheadle Town in pre-season the summer he joined and saying he’d be a good un. As well as being a great player, the goals he scored, the era he represented and the stuff with the two shirts marks him out as an all-time great. Do we have room for another statue?

Worst ever player?

Not sure it’s fair to single one out. I saw all the shite players of the 70s, but every single one of them was good enough to do something I’d never achieve in a million years.

Favourite current player?

Would have been Paddy if he was still current. I agree with those who say Ben should have – yes – a statue at some point.

Who is your favourite ever County manager?

Has to be Danny. Jim has pushed him close with his achievements during his three spells, and he’s another who deserves – yes, I’m going there – a statue, but Danny ushered in the renaissance after the dire 70s and 80s, so for that alone. And the statue’s already sorted.

Best atmosphere you’ve experienced watching County?

There have been a few. Derby at the Baseball Ground after the late equaliser in 93, Southampton in 97, the Scunthorpe promotion clincher in 91. But for sheer absolute ape-shit mentalism, probably Paul Cook’s goal against City in 97. My seat in the Cheadle End was literally behind his shot, so I had the perfect view of its trajectory, from boot to net.

Favourite ever game?

Got to be Southampton away. I’ve written elsewhere why this is, and I won’t bore anyone by directing you to exactly where. If you know, you know. [Des: If you don’t know, you need to click this link.]

Worst ever game?

The 5-0 loss at home to Newport in 79 was a shocker – I’d never seen us lose that heavily before, and as a 15-year-old, I was quite traumatised. Other than that, there are a few candidates, sadly. Probably the worst, though, is Burnley at Wembley, for many reasons.

Favourite ever goal?

Eddie Prudham’s overhead kick on the last day of the 79-80 season, which sealed his hat-trick in a 4-1 win over Halifax. I’d never seen a County player score an overhead kick before; I didn’t think such things were physically possible. Must have shocked the board as well, as they released him a few days later.

If you could play in an exact moment from County’s history, which would it be?

I would make such an absolute arse of myself, it’d have to be as a late substitute with instructions to stay out on the wing and not get involved in any way whatsoever. With that proviso, it’d probably be the Chesterfield promotion clincher because why not?

What’s the funniest thing you’ve seen at the match?

Well here’s a thing. I often tell the story of a game in the late 70s/early 80s where, in front of a sparse crowd, a player shouted something particularly loud, and a fan responded from the Railway End “can you be quiet on the pitch, there are people trying to talk back here!” In the telling, I say that all 22 players, both linesmen and the ref all laughed. That’s not strictly true, but it embellishes the story nicely. And the person who shouted that? I’m sure he won’t remember, but it was your regular correspondent John Snellgrove. Sticks with me because he was my primary school teacher for a couple of years in the early 70s.

Favourite matchday boozer?

Don’t usually drink before games. Sorry. I enjoyed the couple of pints we had in the Boleyn Tavern before the game down there in 96.

Favourite County song?

“Clear Blue Skies.” It’s catchy, unique, and something no other club has. Genius.

Worst County song?

“The Scarf.” Sorry. I get that some people claim its origins are just that it’s a good tune, but I’m not sure I agree. We all know where that song originates, and why it would appeal to a certain County contingent. And in any case people hearing it mostly can’t pick up the words and will just recognise the tune. Too much baggage for me.

What do you like the most about Edgeley Park?

If it’s a specific thing, it’d be the Main Stand frontage, which is not only iconic but aesthetically very pleasing. Don’t get me started on how awful the Cheadle End design is.

Best thing about being a County fan?

Being a member of an elite (both in the sense of being small and uniquely privileged) group.

Worst thing about being a County fan?

Nothing really. I mean, losing important games, but all fans experience that.

Most despised rival club?

Still dislike Burnley. As some might know, I produced the County fanzine The Tea Party in the 90s. I used my home address for correspondence, as you do. The season following the Wembley loss, and after Burnley’s first away victory, I got a phone call from some c**t in the early hours, gloating at me down the phone. And it happened again after their next win, a week later. Fortunately, there were no more calls, but to phone me up like that, waking my wife too, was despicable. I’ve got a feeling who it might have been as well. No proof, but a few weeks earlier the editor of their rag – which we used to swap with, in the days when fanzines did such things – sent me a load of shitty match reports of the Wembley game, when the result was still raw, ripping into us. I think he genuinely thought he was doing me a favour, thinking I’d be interested. Instead, I saw my arse and wrote back to him telling him, essentially, to fuck off. He wrote back in similar vein, but also having a full-on gloat. A few days later I got the first phone call. Circumstantial, obviously, and it’d never stand up in court, but I’m pretty sure it was that bastard. So, yeah, Burnley – a club admirable in so many ways – can crash and burn as far as I’m concerned.

Most despised rival player?

Who was that arse who gloated as Wrexham went 2-0 up on Boxing Day 96? Martyn Chalk. Yeah, he’ll do, even despite the final score.

Do you collect any County/football related memorabilia?

No, I’m not a collector. In fact, I don’t think I’ve even got a full run of The Tea Party, despite having produced the thing. I got the aforementioned programme from my first game, but I’m not even sure where that is.

Any chance encounters with County players?

Sean Connelly used to buy The Tea Party from me now and again, but that was hardly chance as it was outside EP on a matchday. I once nodded at Lee Todd as we were walking across St Peter’s Square. I know, right?

Have you ever decked an opposing fan?

No. Not only am I a wimp, I hate violence in any context. Sorry, that sounds more po-faced than I intended. It’s true, though – I can’t stand boxing, for example.

If you could invite any five people round for a chippy tea, who would it be?

Glenn Tilbrook, Derek Randall, Jim Gannon, Steve Coogan and Paul McCartney.

Tell us something impressive about yourself without sounding stupid.

I took 5-28 for Stockport Cricket Club 2nd XI in 1982, when I was 18 (and the youngest on the team).

Can you play football to any sort of standard?

Nope. Well, “any” sort of standard? I can kick a ball without falling over – that’s a standard, right?

Describe a perfect day.

Hotel in That London, tube to The Oval to watch England v Australia. Sunny day, early September, stroll back into the city afterwards for a meal and/or a show. I’ve actually done exactly that, but just the once (coz Ashes tickets for the Oval are like hen’s teeth).

Anything you’d like to say to finish?

I think we all agree I’ve said more than enough.

And finally, here’s a few of Dave’s favourite things…

TV programme: Would have to be a comedy, but there are too many to pin down. Python, Partridge, The Day Today, Curb… I could name dozens.

Film: I could be a pretentious bellend and say Bicycle Thieves, but I genuinely can’t ever not watch The Bourne Identity whenever it’s on (which is every other week on ITV2). Seriously, it was on the other night, and I watched the first half hour then taped the rest for the next day because I was too tired.

City: Rome.

Food: Indian.

Drink: Courvoisier brandy.

Book: Billy Liar, or anything by David Lodge or David Nobbs.

Band: The Beatles or Squeeze.

If you’re a small business owner, would you like help with your social media?

There’s so many small business owners that would really benefit from and love to have social media support but can’t afford or justify the cost. It’s become such an expensive industry – Believe Media want to change that! Get in touch for a chat if you feel they could assist you.

If you’d like to discuss how Kerry can help your business, call 07790 134926 or email believemediauk@gmail.com.

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Photo of the day

Somewhere in Frankfurt

Chris Beaumont’s lad Oliver (on the left) enjoying himself in Germany ahead of England’s game against Denmark later today.

Today in SK

🍺 Food and drink

If you find yourself in Stockport today, pop into The Petersgate Tap (SK1) for a pint or two. 12pm - 11pm.

🎶 Free jukebox

The Nelson Tavern (SK1). From 6.30pm.

100 random grounds that County have played at

#43 – King Power Stadium, Leicester

Lasti visit: It’s known as the King Power these days but Leicester’s new place was sponsored by Walkers the last time County were there, back in March 2009. The Foxes were crowned champions of League One that season, but Jim Gannon’s men came away with a point in a 1-1 draw. Both goals came in the opening five minutes, with Chris O’Grady equalising for County after Leicester’s early opener.