Chally’s Record Breakers 2 Tranmere 0
History is made at Edgeley Park as County record an 11th consecutive victory for the first time in their 140-year history
Monday 30 October 2023
NEXT HOME GAME: Worksop – Saturday 4 November, 3pm
NEXT AWAY GAME: Swindon – Saturday 11 November, 3pm
Dear County fans, Stopfordians, and any non-crossbar-breaking Tranmere supporters joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Monday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.
This League Two lark is getting rather boring, isn’t it? County are just winning every week. (*Insert smiley face here.*) That’s 10 on the spin now, 11 in all competitions, and yet another record for Dave Challinor and his County side. Mozzer gives us his view from the Pop Side, along with a Tranmere fan called Mike, who I contacted purely on the basis of the fry-up he posted on Twitter. Turns out he’s pretty sound.
Today’s edition is sponsored by Colourtone. As always, a big thank you to Paul.
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: 38.66 miles
Total steps so far: 67,558
Total raised so far: £753
Total completed streets so far: 15 (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
Saturday’s match in one word:
Mozzer – Routine.
Mike – Predictable.
Pre-match thoughts:
Mozzer – I was still on a high after Tuesday's satisfyingly comprehensive win in South Cheshire, but with all the signs pointing to a home win, the key thing for me was the team guarding against complacency.
Mike – How many were County going to beat us by?
Post-match thoughts:
Mozzer – I think that's what's termed as a professional performance. Definitely no complacency out there. The game seemed to go a bit flat in both halves at times, but we were in control for the vast majority of it and our quality was evident in both goals.
Mike – The played out as expected. I’m thankful we only conceded two, but we’re deep in the mire.
Verdict on County:
Mozzer – Overall, we were good, without really being outstanding in the way we were in the second half at Crewe. Everyone did their job, including Ben when called upon to make a couple of saves. If there was a disappointment it was that we didn't score more – I certainly think a 4 or 5-0 was there for the taking. I feel that we do sometimes leave goals out there and Saturday was one of those games. However, at 2-0 against 10 men we managed the game comfortably, one Tranmere player aside.
Mike – Effective, deserved the win, took their goals well and looked threatening throughout. Game petered out after second goal but County look like series champions material.
Verdict on Tranmere:
Mozzer – I think they were the worst team we've played this season. Worse than Forest Green. I quite like Tranmere, even though I know we shouldn't, and I take no pleasure in saying they looked like a team in for a very long season. The first half was littered with misplaced passes, they created close to nothing of note and will probably have been happy going in at 1-0. The second yellow for the red card after the restart was just stupid, but if you're a Tranmere fan looking for a positive, at least after that there was no collapse and, indeed, the best moments of their game came as the game wore on.
Mike – Poor, unfit, ill-disciplined, lacking in confidence, scared to want the ball. All-round relegation performance.
Top Hatter:
Mozzer – Difficult one. I think there were plenty of good performances throughout the team without anyone standing out – lots with 7 or 8 out of 10, but no one with a 9. Wootton was probably a goal away from taking it, but I'll go with Sarce, partly because I'm still feeling guilty for writing him off last season before the play-off games. Since then, he's been the player I thought we'd bought.
Mike – Your keeper for his two second half saves from Robbie Apter. Sarcevic looked very lively too.
Top Rover:
Mozzer – Connor Jennings put in a shift of the sort I can imagine their fans would like to see across the team. Great to see him back and he got a decent reception from us. However, their stand-out player for me was Apter. He was a real thorn in our side down our left and was possibly unlucky to see Ben keep him out.
Mike – Robbie Apter.
Atmosphere:
Mozzer – Not quite as full on as I was expecting. I thought their fans were quieter than similar away followings, right from the off, and the way the game went, it was all a little bit flat at times in all parts of the ground. Almost too routine for us. Probably too depressing for the away support.
Mike – County fans quieter than I expected, good numbers though and made a bit of noise on a couple of occasions. Almost felt like they knew their team didn’t need ‘lifting’ as they had it pretty easy against poor opposition. Greater Manchester Police presence OTT just like last season. Would normally expect twice the following from us; the fact there was less than 800 speaks volumes as to how our support is feeling right now.
Hopes for the rest of the season:
Mozzer – Hopes are still for a top three finish, but that's not got as far as being an expectation. After Barry's injury, no-one should imagine this is a done deal. I think it's going to be tight towards the top this season, all the way down through the play-off places. We saw last year that injuries can come from nowhere to disrupt things and the transfer window is a worry. But for now, this is proving to be a fun ride.
Mike – 22nd.
The British Library receives a copy of every single book published in the UK. In the same fashion, Des Junior believes a detailed record of every County game should be preserved for the history books. So here’s the full story of our 2-0 victory at home to Tranmere Rovers on Saturday 28 October 2023, as told from his County-related WhatsApp groups…
3.06pm: 1-0. Tanto finished after a lovely through ball.
3.16pm: Can I just say I'm willing to take sponsorship for the rest of the season to stay in my kitchen. I was there once again for the goal.
3.34pm: I had a season in the cellar for away games. Only seemed to score when I was listening to the radio in the cellar. Some idiots seemed to think it was about player fitness, ability and the manager's tactics but we all know better!
3.48pm: Tranmere are awful. Worst team I've seen this season. We haven't got out of second gear yet. Mainly first gear.
4.08pm: Red card for them.
4.09pm: That was a bit clumsy.
4.13pm: 2-0 Sarcevic. I was worried it was going to be one of those days where we don't put a worse team to the sword. Can relax a bit now.
4.15pm: Bloody told you. I was in the kitchen again.
4.16pm: Genuinely I was.
4.17pm: Tranmere give me County 2010-11 vibes (fucking hopeless).
4.28pm: This is like a training match. I hope we keep up the intensity as we could score several if we make the effort.
4.55pm: 11 on the spin isn’t to be sniffed at.
4.56pm: It’ll be 12 as well!
4.57pm: Weirdly think we could do without the FA Cup at the moment. We’re in such a good vein of form I’d rather next week was a league game. That said we should beat Worksop with the reserves.
5.30pm: Job done, comfortably, but a missed opportunity to add to our goal difference. They were abysmal with 11 men and still not great with 10 despite making three good efforts from their right-hand side. Can't complain at our winning run or the league table. Get through the first round with the squad rotated next week, then back at in the league.
5.52pm: I watched Connor Jennings a bit today. He’s a clever player. I don’t think the EFL is really his standard anymore from a physical point of view, but he’s still got a good football brain on him.
7.49pm: Comments on the BBC website are a bit depressing if you're a Tranmere fan. None more so than this: “On way back to Trannmere from match, well done Stockport. Mrs didn't know I'd gone to game when I promised I wouldn’t so chucked me by text at full-time. She's also locked me out of the house. Local kebab van ran out of doners. Still onwards and upwards (hopefully).”
Give your car a lick of paint
Granted, Stockport used to be a little rough around the edges. But the town’s getting a good old lick of paint these days, with fancy new offices, apartments, bars and restaurants springing up. You can’t be driving up and down the A6 in a tatty car with chipped paintwork, so give your car a nice lick of paint too. Colourtone is your go-to company for that. They’ve been servicing the automotive and industrial markets in Cheshire and Greater Manchester for decades, and carry an extensive range of car paint and industrial paints.
Visit colourtone.com for further details.
Photo of the day
Shibuya, Japan
Jack Isherwood enjoying a pint with some of our Tokyo Hatters.
Today in SK
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Acoustica at Bask (SK1). Free entry.
❓Quiz night
The George & Dragon (SK7). 7.30pm.
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