Chester v County
It’s Des Junior derby day! Place of residence v place of birth for your editor at the Deva tonight
Tuesday 18 July 2023
NEXT HOME GAME: Huddersfield – Saturday 22 July, 3pm
NEXT AWAY GAME: Chester – Today, 7.45pm
“It’s Des Junior derby day!” Christ, did a 38-year-old man really just say that? My testicles have just shrivelled in half at how cringey that sounds. It’s kinda true, though. Apart from a couple of years staying at my mum’s in the shadow of The Trafford Centre, my postcode has always started with SK or CH. I do have a soft spot for Chester – the club and the city – but don’t worry, you won’t see me wearing a half-and-half scarf this evening… I’ll actually be wearing a Chester one, you Blossoms-loving, hat-wearing, viaduct-crossing tossers!*
Ian Brown and Jonathan Baker are on match preview duty for us once again, but we’re also joined by a brand new pundit for 2023-24. I’m sure you’ll join me in welcoming Andrew Barlow into our daily dose of nonsense, the man behind the excellent Hatters Matters website. If you’re a County fan who loves a good stat, do not go anywhere near Andrew’s website, as it’s like a sodding YouTube rabbit hole. Once you start clicking on Eric Nixon’s career history and our head-to-head record against Walsall, you’ll never make it out alive. You have been warned.
Finally, a big thank you to Paul at Colourtone for sponsoring today’s edition.
Come on County!
Des Junior
*Please don’t unsubscribe – my jokes will improve one day, I promise
Des Junior loves writing about County. But he can never be arsed doing match previews. They’re a bit dull, aren’t they? Paddy Madden’s out for two games with an ingrown toenail…blah blah blah…tomorrow’s referee has handed out more cards than Moonpig…blah blah blah…County haven’t won at Birmingham since 1672.
Fortunately, he has a number of fellow County content creators to call upon. Here’s their thoughts, general chit-chat and score predictions, ahead of tonight’s Cheshire derby.
Andrew Barlow, Hatters Matters
Chester 0 County 3
What are your best and worst memories from previous games against Chester?
For me, I only have fond memories of recent encounters with our Cheshire neighbours – it’s usually a decent away day in Chester (when you’re allowed to venture past the pub at the station) and I’ve also never seen us lose there in four-and-a-half visits.
Our last visit to the Deva Stadium in April 2019 was our best away performance of the season, and for me the result and performance firmly indicated that we would go on and secure promotion at the end of the campaign. After a cagey start we absolutely dominated Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley’s side (no mean feat) as we went on to record our second 6-0 away win of the season. The manner of the victory was so encouraging as Chester were in the hunt for a place in the play-offs at the time and we battered them. Johnson and Morley were quite rightly waxing lyrical about us after the game; it was just a shame that we followed it up with successive defeats against Blyth and Chorley, but things worked out okay in the end, didn’t they?
One of my perhaps negative memories of following County at Chester came during the abandoned game back in March 2008. Backed by another extremely healthy away following, it was baffling to see the referee deem that the pitch was unplayable in the 59th minute, when it was perhaps in a better condition than it had been during the first half. The re-arranged game was hardly a classic as we drew 0-0 in the penultimate game of the regular season before finally banishing the Wembley hoodoo with a play-off final win over Rochdale.
Also, who can forget our League Two encounter back in February 2006 when Sean Hessey went cannibalistic and took a bite out of Liam Dickinson – an act which eventually led to Hessey picking up a five-match ban and a £700 fine. Dicko didn’t let it affect him though as he grabbed two late goals as we continued our great escape under Jim Gannon.
As for a prediction for tonight’s friendly, after seeing off National League side Altrincham 4-2 on Saturday you would expect us to once again grab a few goals as Dave Challinor’s side gets minutes in the tank ahead of the new season. My score predictions are usually way out but I’m going for a comfortable 3-0 win with much sterner tests to follow over the coming weeks.
Ian Brown, hedgegrower
Chester 1 County 4
Four goals on Saturday, Nick Powell on target, should they just hand us the title now?
It’s way too early to make any authoritative statement about our likely fate in 2023-24. Thirty minute cameos and a series of anonymous performances by some at Altrincham do not assist the assessment process.
With the resources available to us this term we really should do well, but the same was true last season and that ultimately ended in tears. Resources are one thing, motivation and talent another, and we will see as the season unfolds just how well we have learned the lessons from last season’s campaign.
Saturday 5 August will be our first chance to see how the land lies in that respect but every match after that will be just as important and we need last season’s nightmare early run to remain an unwelcome memory not to be repeated. Get that right and Saturday 27 April could be a real day of celebration for County supporters heading to North Wales…
Jonathan Baker aka Geordie Hatter, The County Away Day Show
Chester 1 County 2
As County are in Chester tonight – a city famous for its Roman walls – what’s your favourite wall in the world?
Now there's a question, and one that’s had me flummoxed for a few days. I’ve been weighing up the competing merits of The Great Wall of China (visible from the moon, apparently), Newcastle-upon-Tyne's Byker Wall (not a wall, strictly speaking, but an architecturally groundbreaking 1960s social housing experiment), and the wall in Pink Floyd's “Another Brick in the Wall” (not for long, and certainly for a lot less time than the 45 minutes or so that song seems to last, any time I happen to come across it by mistake).
And then I suddenly remembered the existence of a musically-themed barrieresque construction that floats my boat somewhat more buoyantly than prog rock: The Wall of Sound. Invented by US producer Phil Spector, who perfected it over a succession of hits for The Ronettes and The Crystals, this sweepingly orchestral, reverberation-heavy and multi-layered style of studio recording has been adopted and adapted by artists through the ages – from Dusty Springfield to The Vivian Girls, taking in The Ramones, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and Tracey Ullman (actually my favourite practitioner of the genre, although I appreciate this may be a minority view).
All of these and more feature in our Chester playlist, which at one hour and six minutes is timed to match precisely the duration of the journey from Stockport to the Deva Stadium via the M56, or from Edgeley to Chester via Northern Rail. For anyone planning on walking to tonight's fixture, I would recommend any early Pink Floyd album, although if you want to be sure to listen to the whole thing, you're going to need to walk back as well. Safe journey all!
Click here to listen to Geordie Hatter’s Chester playlist!
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
Edgeley Park, Stockport
“The night we won the league at The Prince Albert was one nobody can forget.”
You’re not wrong, Scott. Neither will we forget your opening goal at Bolton in the FA Cup, or the two you scored in the replay on that phenomenal night at Edgeley Park.
After 10 goals in 41 appearances, another of our title-winners is leaving Edgeley Park, as Quigley makes the long trip down to Eastleigh. Perhaps not surprising to see him leave this summer, as he hasn’t played for County since the League Cup tie with Leicester nearly a year ago, but he’ll never be forgotten in SK3 as one of the players to help take us back into the Football League, and he departs for Hampshire with our very best wishes.
Today in SK
🍺 Food and drink
The Nelson Tavern (SK1) have a great range of offers throughout the week, including £4.50 for drinks off the Doubles Bar, a comprehensive range of shots for £2, and 3 for £6 on Jägerbombs.
Lite bite meal deal at The Friary (SK3). Cod or haddock, served with chips, and a side of peas, curry or gravy. Plus tea or coffee. £9.95. 11.30am - 7.30pm.
Tapas Tuesday at TRUNK (SK7) from 5pm. All tapas dishes are 3-for-2 (cheapest dish free). Call 0161 222 9260 to book a table, and mention “The Scarf My Father Wore” to receive a 15% discount off the normal tapas menu.
🎱 Free pool
The George & Dragon (SK7). 6pm - 9pm.
The Scarf My Father Wore works closely with venues on a daily basis to bring you the most comprehensive guide to all of the best offers and events taking place across the whole SK region. Click on the links below for full details of everything taking place in your area over the next few weeks.
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