Can Micky Mellon lead Oldham to their first promotion since 1991?

Latics fan Will Holdaway answers that question, and more, ahead of County’s friendly at Boundary Park tomorrow

Jul 12, 2024

Friday 12 July 2024

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STOCKPORT COUNTY PREDICTION GAME 2024-25: Predict County’s top scorer, final league position, cup performances etc. £10 to enter. 40% of the pot to the winner, 30% to second, 20% to third, and 10% to Mentell. If you’d like to enter, drop us a message or an email.

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

It’s 33 years since Oldham Athletic last celebrated a promotion (the same year County went up against Scunny). Perhaps this season could finally be their time to celebrate. The Latics are currently joint second favourites to win the National League, as they prepare for their third season in non-league. Will Holdaway talks us through Oldham’s chances, along with loads of other bits and bobs to keep you entertained on the final day of your working week.

Today’s edition is sponsored by C J Motors Stockport. A big thank you to Connor.

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: 176.31 miles

Total steps so far: 284,130

Total raised so far: £1,931

Total completed streets so far: 347 (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

Micky Mellon (Photo credit: Oldham Athletic FC)

How’s your summer been so far?

Up to now, terrific, and we’ve only made four or five signings, which has to be the fewest number of signings we’ve made over a summer in our history.

Since about 2013, we’ve had extremely busy summers because we went part-time without telling anyone. We had season-long contracts all over the shop so we didn’t have to pay a full squad for the whole year. Come July, we’d wait for everyone else to sign the players they wanted, then rummage around in the bargain bin until we had a squad. A few seasons ago, we didn’t have enough players on the books on the first day of pre-season for a five-a-side team. Not a five-a-side game. A team.

Today’s squad is much better than we had last season primarily because it’s smaller. I think we had 37 players on the books at the end of last season. With only a few ins and plenty of outs, we’ve got something that looks like a National League squad rather than a National League squad assembled by an idiot with access to the league’s biggest budget. We’re settling in well to life in the National League. Maybe too well.

We haven’t had a promotion since 1991. Think about that. 33 years and counting. It’s conceivable that the kids of kids born in the year when we last got promoted just voted in the general election.

Is Micky Mellon going to be the man to get you back in the Football League?

This is the 64p question. Micky, Gary Brabin, Luke Rothwell and Darren Royle fronted a fans forum a few weeks ago and Mellon was entirely forthcoming about the problems we face. He did not seem at all optimistic, but when was the last time anyone saw a Scotsman shine a ray of light into the darkness? My strong impression is that our problem is not personnel but morale.

That’s what we saw last season. It wasn’t necessarily that a collapse in morale caused us not to win a game in the last two months of the season. It was more that, when every team was playing for something, our lack of togetherness was hopelessly exposed. We’re not going anywhere till that is fixed, and I couldn’t tell you at this point whether Micky Mellon and Gary Brabin are the ones to fix it. I hope they are. I think they at least share my diagnosis.

Frank Rothwell seems like a good egg. Have Oldham fans really warmed to him?

Absolutely. He saved the club from either a slow and painful descent into extinction or a Bury-style lockout. The previous owner was not a serious proposition at all, and neither was his brother. This didn’t stop the brother from second-guessing the team selections of the managers, including Champions League and serial title winner Paul Scholes, Keith Curle, Frank Bunn and Pete Wild.

Frank Rothwell saved us from these chancers and also went ahead with some expensive and crucial structural changes, the main one being that, for the first time in a number of years, the club owns the ground and surroundings again. Frank also raised a colossal amount of money this year for the Alzheimer’s Society by doing a sponsored row across the Atlantic. He’s 74 years old for crying out loud.

In short, he has enormous personal appeal and has made us a serious football club again. He’s turned over the day-to-day running of the operation to his son and daughter, who are equally committed to the club, and who’ve employed Darren Royle as chief exec. We have a highly plausible boardroom team.

I worry about the club drawing from the well of Frank’s personal appeal too much – for instance, he did a cringe beggy video when season ticket sales were sluggish earlier in the summer – but if he does nothing else for the club he’ll be a legend for all time.

You’ve had a few former County players at your place recently: Mark Kitching, Liam Hogan, Alex Reid, John Rooney. Have any of them stood out as being particularly good / shit?

I liked John Rooney but no one else did. When he was farmed out to Macclesfield, the reaction was a collective shrug.

Kitching is a good player and will definitely not be playing in this league after his next move. However, he suffered a serious dip in form last season, and some blame it on the Christmas Day fiasco engineered by another County alumnus, Alex Reid.

It’s worth going into what happened. What happened was Reid made a film of the players in the dressing room on Christmas morning ahead of training for the game against Hartlepool on Boxing day. To me, the filming bit is a sacking offence all by itself… but then he uploaded the film to Instagram, which to me is a hanging offence all by itself.

The bit that really boiled everyone’s piss, though, was when Reid was heard to mutter the immortal line: “What the fuck are we doing here?” The answer, of course, was: “You’re getting ready for training ahead of tomorrow’s league fixture, so put your fucking phone away you fucking ninny.”

Micky Mellon, despite being a carefree ray of sunshine, did not see the funny side. Reid did not play for us subsequently. Didn’t even make the bench as I recall. I think they made him travel a couple of times but more for the punishment value of ruining his weekend than anything else. At the fans forum, a brave and very funny bloke asked Mellon what happened in the dressing room on Christmas morning. Mellon responded by describing the sacrifice players must make to have any chance of success in the game. He stopped short of calling Reid a cunt, but it was there in the subtext for those listening.

Kitching is great mates with Reid, so everyone deduced that Kitching was sulking for the second half of the season after Reid was sent for the tartan paint. Whether that’s true or not, it demonstrates the poor morale I mentioned. There’s an additional rumour that Kitching and Reid share a love of cooking hogs on an open fire, which is thought to be a very risky lifestyle in the modern age… if I can put it that way.

My point is that Reid and Kitching are good players – you can see both of them being prominent members of a promotion-winning side – but are nowhere near worth the aggro.

It’ll be intriguing to see whether Reid and Mellon have reached an understanding over the summer, and whether Kitching has realised that cooking friends are not real friends.

Liam Hogan had a mixed season and divides opinion. Our fans either don’t mind him or they absolutely hate him, sometimes in the same moment. I like him, but if he’s wearing the armband, he’s got a massive role to play in making our group of players into a proper team. I’m not sure he’s that guy, but we’ll see. I hope he is.

What are your best and worst memories from previous games against County?

I’m the wrong person to ask about this. Totally the wrong person. I’ve lived in London for 25 years and my visits to Boundary Park have become rarer and rarer. I have seen only one fixture between the sides. It was 30 September 2003, at Boundary Park. I have no recollection of the game, but the internet reminds me that Oldham won 2-0. That’s my best memory of past games against County

My worst memory was going for a pint after that game at The White Hart. Massive fight inside and outside. I was so innocent in those days. I thought football violence went out when Jesus were a lad and there it was, revived, in The White Hart, following a third-tier fixture with nothing particularly at stake.

Lassies screaming, lads shouting encouragement or joining in, absolutely no way anyone could tell a County fan from an Oldham fan in the melee – people were just punching, kicking, butting and biting anyone in range. A kicking circle convened around one poor lad prone in the doorway. I swear to god he was just some bloke walking past. Anyway, the police came and nicked a few people, probably including the lad who’d done nothing. They closed the pub for the night. There was a fair amount of blood.

Any pub recommendations for County fans on Saturday?

The White Hart. Absolutely cracking place. Salt of the earth punters. Great atmosphere. Entertainment.

I recommend the almost-brand-new Fans Bar at Boundary Park. They do food in there too. I’m sure things are less fraught than they were in 2003, so yous should be allowed in, especially since there’s nothing riding on it. Certainly a lot less riding on it than there was in 2003, when the massive prize of three Second Division points in September awaited the winners.

If you can’t get in the fans bar, The Greyhound and The Rifle Range have Lees Bitter. If you’re making a weekend of it and have next week off work, take the gallon challenge. There’s a mysterious barrier to overcome between the sixth and eighth pints. Getting back to Stockport afterwards won’t be a problem because you won’t care.

Best moment as an Oldham fan?

I suffer heavily from glory recentism, so I’m going for Fulham away in the FA Cup in 2018-19. We were so shit at the time. Absolutely no reason to believe we’d avoid a tonking. We won 2-1. It was our last great moment and it was more than five bastard years ago.

Worst moment as an Oldham fan?

I have a longer memory for disasters. 1986-87, first ever season of the play-offs. Fucking Dirty Leeds. I’ll just give you the results and the scorers and times and you can fill in the trauma for yourself. Away goals counted double in those days in the event of a tie.

First leg: Bellend Road, Thursday

Dirty Leeds 1 (Edwards 89) Oldham 0

Second leg: Boundary Park, Sunday

Oldham 2 (Williams 18, Cecere 89) Dirty Leeds 1 (Edwards 90)

What do you think of Stockport County – A) the club B) the manager C) the fans?

A) County have never been on my radar much as a club. I think some people who watch Citeh should go watch some proper football there instead. I’ve gazed at Edgeley Park from trains about as much as I’ve gazed at Gresty Road, but I’ve never been to either, which one day I will rectify. Champions League semi-final first leg 2032 maybe. That’s Crewe by the way. Yous get knocked out in the group stage.

We’ll get you in the FA Cup third round in 2038 and I’ll be the old git in the crowd wearing a rosette for the TV cameras. By then, the FA Cup will be a five-a-side contest till the semis because of Oldham Athletic’s obligation to defend our World Series of Soccer title.

B) Your gaffer, when he was playing for you, broke someone’s leg in two places and got fined two weeks’ wages by your then manager, one Carlton Palmer. Carlton fucking Palmer! Absolute hypocrite. Palmer left a mountain of broken bones behind him as a player, and there he is handing out fines when someone else commits. Ludicrous. Note that Dave broke only one leg, albeit in two places. I could understand a fine if he’d broken two legs in one place each.

I’m sure that still stings. If I was Dave, I’d pilfer and squirrel that money back in small amounts from the petty cash then resign.

C) Never had much to do with County fans apart from The White Hart all those years ago. I gather that trouble between the two sets of supporters is not rare. Football hooliganism is weird isn’t it? I was 28 in 2003, and the lads fighting looked a fair bit older than me. Nowadays when you see lads fighting, they’re all about 12. The Eastleigh Ultras last season blew my mind, walking up the dark lane from their ground, looking for someone to fight. Some of them were primary school age. Thankfully I’d parked my car illegally at the nearby YMCA, so managed to escape getting tickled to death.

Make sure you get your car serviced before your summer holiday

Not everyone travels abroad these days for their summer jollies. Whether you’re taking your caravan to Cornwall, your motorhome to Margate, or simply packing up your Skoda for a few days in Skegness, make sure you’re on top of your servicing. Don’t be that family stuck on the hard shoulder with their hazard lights on!

Before you go away, get your vehicle booked in for a service with Connor at CJ Motors (opposite The Peel Centre) to avoid any additional stress on your holiday.

Visit cjmotorsuk.com for further details.

Photo of the day

Somewhere in Amsterdam

County legend Mike Flynn in Amsterdam, back in 2014. I had thought of a hilarious caption to go with today’s photo but I’ve cocked it right up.

If you’re eating out for lunch today, enjoy a bite at The Railway (SK6)

Today in SK

🎬 Cinema

One film at The Savoy Cinema (SK4) today. A Quiet Place Day One (15) at 6pm and 8.15pm. Click here for tickets.

💿 DJs

Stockport’s biggest party at the weekend is at Bask (SK1), with DJ Gareth Brooks playing till 3am. Last entry 1.30am.

The Nelson Tavern (SK1) have their resident DJ playing on a Friday night, with Dicko (Ian Dickinson) on from 8pm till 1am.

🍺 Food and drink

Treat yourself to lunch at The Dog & Partridge (SK2). One course for £7, two courses for £11. 12pm - 2pm.

If you’re up near Rose Hill/Marple today, The Railway (SK6) serve lunch between 12pm and 2pm.

Bitter £2.30 a pint all day at The Cross Keys (SK8). Plus, discounts on certain lagers between 12pm and 6pm.

If you’re simply in the mood for a couple of pints today, pop along to one of our featured venues such as AMP (SK1), The Petersgate Tap (SK1), Thread (SK1), The Crown (SK2), The Armoury (SK3), Reddish Working Men’s Club (SK5), The Steelworks (SK6), The Shady Oak (SK7), The Three Tunnes (SK7), The Railway (SK9), Flute & Firkin (SK12) or The Friendship (SK13).

🎵 Karaoke

Karaoke and DJ at The Marple Tavern (SK6). 7pm.

🎤 Live music

Andy Lee at The Crown Inn (SK6). 9pm.

100 random grounds that County have played at

#63 – Deepdale, Preston

Last visit: County had former England international Tim Flowers (on loan from Leicester) in goal on their last visit to Deepdale, in November 2001, but we still ended up getting battered 6-0. David Healy scored a hat-trick before the break, with Preston adding three more after it. County’s five-year stay in Division One came to an end that season.