Wednesday 25 January 2023
I feel a little bit guilty for putting “zzzzz” in the subheading. For years, we’ve collectively cracked the joke about having to play Park Avenue rather than the proper Bradford. Last time we hosted BPA, it was in the sixth tier of English football, with a crowd of 4,105 at Edgeley Park. Last night, 8,991 were in attendance, and we’re still just three points off the play-offs, which could potentially take us to the likes of Hillsborough and Pride Park next season. So should I denigrate the recent efforts of Messrs Stott and Challinor by casually throwing a disrespectful “zzzzz” into the title? Sod it, last night was crap. To be fair, today’s correspondents - County fan Dave Philbin and The Width of a Post editor Jason McKeown - are backing me up with verdicts of “scrappy” and “disappointing”.
My light-hearted criticism absolutely ends at the final whistle, however. It was just one of those nights, and it’s not even a bad point against a team currently in the top seven. But in a strange way, despite the snore-fest being played out on the pitch, I actually really enjoyed the evening. I’m thoroughly enjoying this season. It’s so comforting seeing a packed Cheadle End, as well as looking at the away end and seeing a sea of heads, rather than a load of depressed-looking blue seats. It doesn’t feel like there’s much pressure on the players either, and rightly so. We don’t have to go up this season. Our first Football League campaign for 11 years is to be enjoyed, going to Crewe over Colwyn Bay, Tranmere over Telford. Having said that, certain teams at the top such as Northampton, Bradford and Swindon are under huge pressure to deliver this season, and I genuinely think that will play into our hands, putting a run of results together which will definitely take us into the play-offs, and possibly even third. It’ll be a fun few months anyway.
There’s not long to go until ‘A Curry with Colin Woodthorpe’ - our first live event of 2023. It’s taking place at Last Monsoon in Stockport on Monday 30 January at 7.30pm. Come and join us for an entertaining evening with one of Gary Megson’s first County signings ahead of our first season in Division One in 1997-98. Colin’s an absolutely lovely bloke, and having made 171 appearances for County, he’s got some fantastic stories from his five years at Edgeley Park.
You’ll also get poppadoms, mixed starters, curry, rice and naan breads. As well as a full colour souvenir programme. All for just £20. Fancy it? Send me a text or give me a call on 07816 111150, or you can email desmondhinks@hotmail.co.uk
Today’s edition is sponsored by The Marple Plumber Ltd, who have a fantastic offer for The Scarf My Father Wore readers, which could come in extremely handy at this time of year. They’re currently offering a full boiler check and service for just £65. Scroll down for further details, and if you have any boiler issues whatsoever, be sure to give Paul a call.
Des Junior
Yesterday’s match in one word:
Dave - Scrappy.
Jason - Disappointing.
Pre-match thoughts:
Dave - I was confident going into the game. We all know how special nights under the lights at Edgeley Park can be and I just sensed it was going to be one of those. 2-0 was my prediction.
Jason - I thought County were fantastic at Valley Parade earlier in the season, and given recent form fully expected them to give City a really tough game. I would have settled for a point before the match, given our less than stellar form of late.
Post-match thoughts:
Dave - Disappointed with the result. Really unlucky not to score two in the second half but their keeper Harry Lewis made a couple of cracking saves. However, if you'd have offered me four points against Bradford before the season started then I'd have taken it. I'm not one to slag off referees but he really was terrible for both sides. He had no bearing on the result but every time the ball went out or a free-kick was being taken (when he eventually gave one) he seemed to delay it constantly. Think it was clear neither side played on Saturday as both looked a tad off the pace.
Jason - Underwhelmed. It was a pretty dour contest and neither side played particularly well. Obviously my focus is Bradford City and whilst I thought we looked solid there was no attacking threat and we looked too cautious. I wanted to see us play braver, especially as County looked short of their best.
Verdict on County:
Dave - Good in spells but not at the races. On nights like that all you want is to be shooting towards the Cheadle End in the second half and more often than not we get the goal. Not going to single any players out by name but three or four weren't up to it tonight. Illnesses still knocking around perhaps? On a positive, Byrne and Wright were excellent again, forming a great partnership already. Thought we'd have made more subs than we did but battled until the end and a draw was the fair result.
Jason - As I say I thought County were excellent at Valley Parade in October. They didn’t hit those same heights last night. That said you could see the quality and organisation in the way the team played. They are physical, press high and have a style that’s effective in League Two. I’d be amazed if they didn’t finish in the play-offs at least.
Verdict on Bradford:
Dave - Similar to us! You could see they like to get the ball down and play like we do but, like us, were quick to go long. Solid enough at the back and showed why they are up in the play-off places. I think they'll be happier with the draw than we are.
Jason - Just too timid and cautious. We lined up in a diamond but we didn’t really have the right personnel in the middle to make it work. The forwards were off the pace although in their defence they got very little service. It was just all a bit too uninspiring.
Top Hatter:
Dave - Neill Byrne.
Jason - Kyle Wootton was again a standout player. Not as impressive as he was at Valley Parade but certainly County’s biggest threat.
Top Bantam:
Dave - Harry Lewis. Also clapped our fans at the end; his grandad won the league with us so that was a nice touch.
Jason - Adam Clayton came in for his debut at the base of the diamond and looked decent, but I don’t think anyone had an exceptional game.
Atmosphere:
Dave - I sit in LT4 so not the loudest section of the ground, but in the second half it was rocking!
Jason - It was really flat for some reason. Given the fact it was a sell-out away allocation and it’s the first time we’ve played here since 2010 I expected a brilliant atmosphere, but it never got going. It was great to be back at Edgeley Park, although there were problems outside with not enough turnstiles for away fans which lead to needlessly long queues. I also thought some of the stewarding was heavy-handed and over the top.
Hopes for the rest of the season:
Dave - Same as before the game. Play-offs as a minimum but I really do think 3rd is within our grasp if we can get a good run of form together. Once we can bed Stretton in the team and Tanto gets fit we'll have more options, so let's get that automatic spot!
Jason - The hope for us is that we get our attacking momentum going again and start to score more goals. The fear is we’re drifting out of the picture – it’s now 5 wins in 19 games. Still, we’re in the play-offs and it’s a good position to be in at this point.
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 0-0 draw at home to Bradford City on Tuesday 24 January 2023, as told from his three County-related WhatsApp groups…
7.00pm: Just had pulled pork nachos. Excellent.
7.43pm: Do Bradford have their comedy defender playing tonight? That circus trick in injury time at Valley Parade was worth the admission fee on its own.
8.34pm: 0-0 half-time. Scrappy.
8.56pm: Ken Mulhearn’s grandson has just made a point-blank save with his head.
9.15pm: Never seen so many hospital balls in one game.
9.23pm: Mark Hughes booked!
9.26pm: The referee is appalling. At least he is appalling for both sides.
9.38pm: 0-0 full-time. Scrappy.
9.39pm: On the whole, pleased to get the point. Could have been worse.
9.40pm: Should have been better.
9.43pm: Reasons to be cheerful: 1) we got a point; 2) we don’t have to watch Bradford every week.
9.50pm: 3) Mark Hughes isn’t our manager.
9.54pm: Mmmmm not a bad result but not a good one either. Sort of game we need to win if we want to make the automatics.
Are the Hatters good enough to go up, County fans? Is Mark Hughes the man to deliver this season, Bradford fans? And do you agree with the “excellent” comment for the pulled pork nachos in the County Courtyard last night? Click on the button to leave your comments.
Get a full boiler check and service for £65
Boilers are complicated things, aren’t they? Especially at this time of year with temperatures plummeting. Don’t start fiddling with it yourself, it’s really not worth it. Give one of the experts a call, such as Paul from The Marple Plumber Ltd. Allow his boiler and central heating expertise to give you peace of mind. Paul is Gas Safe Registered and a Vaillant Advance installer, but he can service/repair/replace/install any type of boiler. And this month, for just £65, Paul is offering a full boiler check and service if you quote “The Scarf My Father Wore”.
Click here for contact details.
County v Bradford - a handful of Tuesday night snaps
Today in SK
📝 Bask are relaunching their Express Yourself night, featuring poetry from Argh Kid and David Viney, along with music from Dirty Blonde and LUCA. 7.30pm. Free entry.
🍻 Going out for a beer tonight? You can get two bottles of Budweiser for £6 at the Dog & Partridge (Buxton Road, Great Moor).