County 0 Mansfield 2
Don’t worry, we’re still top of the league (although the Stags will probably knock us off this weekend)
Wednesday 3 January 2024
NEXT HOME GAME: Walsall – Saturday 13 January, 3pm
NEXT AWAY GAME: Notts County – Saturday 20 January, 3pm
NOTTS COUNTY COACHES:
Crofter: 11am – £20 (adults) and £16 (under-14s) – text Steve on 07983 580582 or message Crofter Coaches on Facebook
Fingerpost: 10.30am (10.45am Mercian Way) – £22 (adults) and £17 (under-16s) – click here to book
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Dear County fans, Stopfordians, and any Mansfield supporters joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Wednesday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.
I think most people still believe County v Mansfield will be a League One fixture next season, with both sides going up automatically, but the title race might be starting to get a little bit interesting. The Stags go top if they beat Crewe on Saturday.
Nigel Clough’s men completed the double over County on New Year’s Day. Dave Philbin and Sam Binch from Mansfield Musings reflect on the opening game of 2024.
Today’s edition is sponsored by Kingsway Carpets. As always, a big thank you to Neil. There’s currently huge discounts on carpets and flooring in their January sale. Call 0161 225 7294 or email info@kingsway-carpets.co.uk.
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: 46.68 miles
Total steps so far: 83,302
Total raised so far: £1,037
Total completed streets so far: 24 (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
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✍️ Monday’s match in one word
Dave: Leggy.
Sam: Tense.
🤔 Pre-match thoughts
Dave: I was expecting a tough game. The bare bones of our squad had done excellently to ride the festive wave unbeaten, but even though I was hoping for a draw, I expected that we might get beat. Also got 10/11 on FanHub because Bailey wasn't there!
Sam: I was worried that the required rotation might weaken us, but I still fancied us to get something out of the game.
🧐 Post-match thoughts
Dave: Feel that the game summed up everything that's gone wrong recently. To lose Pye so early on was disappointing, then Knoyle later on was really sad. Injuries are never nice but to see one of our own lying unconscious puts things in perspective a little. Injuries aside we did OK. Could have snatched a point if it wasn't for their keeper making an excellent save at the Cheadle End, but the result was fair. Also a shoutout to the ref – yes he got a couple of things wrong for both sides during the match, but he was really quick in getting some assistance on the pitch for Knoyle which has to be highlighted. They are there for player safety primarily and he certainly did his bit. My daughter has now been to County 14 times and this was her first loss. She took it like a champ, though.
Sam: A real team performance. We took our chances and limited you to a few openings. A massive win. A double over the league leaders.
🔵 Verdict on County
Dave: The team is just run in to the ground at the moment. Four games in eleven days is a challenge for a fully fit squad, but when you look at our physio room it becomes that much harder. I would say though, that prior to the Sutton game, we were all pretty unanimous in wanting Richardson's loan to end. Since that game, when he's played he's been excellent and I hope he stays for the remainder of the season. The quality of crossing was poor yet again and the defence forgot who each other were at times, which I’m putting down to tiredness. We ended New Year's Day top of the league, so the bigger picture is we're exactly where we want to be.
Sam: Solid but struggled creatively. Without Olaofe and Barry you didn’t look the same threat as you did in the reverse fixture.
🔴 Verdict on Mansfield
Dave: Clough is a fantastic manager and he knows how to win games of football. They did the ugly side of the game well and I think that's what got them the three points in the end. Clever fouls that the ref couldn't see, pushes and pulls. Infuriating to be on the receiving end, but would love some of our players to start doing it! Their fans were excellent – joined the applause for the fans who left us in 2023, clapped after the brilliant Mentell video at half-time, and showed appreciation to Knoyle when he went off. Apparently a minority sung something else when he was down injured but I won't tar them all with the same brush.
Sam: Solid, composed and clinical. A perfect away display.
🎩 Top Hatter
Dave: Camps.
Sam: Hard to choose one, nobody really stood out. Wootton was probably the biggest handful.
🦌 Top Stag
Dave: Clarke.
Sam: Ollie Clarke, set up two goals and won so many duels.
👂 Atmosphere
Dave: Home end terrible, away end fantastic. I’m stuck between the players having to give the fans something to shout about and the fans shouting to motivate the players. We can put yesterday down to a lot of Cheadle End hangovers from New Year.
Sam: I didn’t go but our end looked fantastic!
🙏 Hopes for the rest of the season
Dave: Automatic promotion.
Sam: Automatic promotion, however it comes, although I do think we’re the best side in the league.
😀 Best part of the day
Dave: My missus made a fantastic New Year's Day dinner when we got home. Beef, pork and all the trimmings.
Sam: The second goal to seal it.
😡 Worst part of the day
Dave: The injury to Kyle Knoyle.
Sam: Not being there to see it!
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 defeat at home to Mansfield Town on Monday 1 January 2024, as told from his County-related WhatsApp groups…
12.07am: I just found myself wondering what the ladies I snogged in younger years, at this moment, are doing without me. Then I realised they'll mostly be dead.
12.08am: Seven minutes in and we have a contender for the most depressing post of 2024 already.
12.36pm: A Chester fan on my train, pretty drunk from last night it seems. They’ve got Warrington away today. He’s got on the wrong train, just had to get off at Northwich, before going back to Chester!
4.16pm: Shit. 1-0 Mansfield.
4.25pm: Really worried about Knoyle here. Unconscious. And the physio was immediately checking his pulse.
5.10pm: 2-0. Well we’ve fucked that up good and proper, haven’t we.
5.24pm: We're still top. You'd think they'd won the league today, the way they were going on with themselves.
Kingsway Carpets’ biggest ever sale!
Kingsway Carpets’ biggest ever sale has started. There’s massive discounts on all carpets, underlay, luxury vinyl tiles, and sheet vinyls for January and February installations.
They offer a free measuring service, and guarantee to beat any quote from the big names in the flooring industry, even with their offer of free fitting.
Visit kingsway-carpets.co.uk for further details.
Photo of the day
The Oval, Caernarfon
The Oldham Groundhopper (an Oldham fan on Facebook with 58,000 followers) visited Caernarfon Town recently. County haven’t played there since the infamous FA Cup defeat in November 1986, although looking at the photo it seems one of our lot has been there fairly recently!
Today in SK
🍟 Food and drink
For those on a gluten-free diet, finding a nice portion of fish and chips to tuck into can be quite difficult. But on a Wednesday at Fishers of Cheshire (SK2), gluten-free meals are available. Open till 9.30pm.
Are you giving Dry January a go? The Crown Inn (SK6) have a great selection of non-alcoholic beers and ciders, plus nosecco!
Random County fan of the day #3 – Ian Holland! (the artist formerly known as Carnage)
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Clough was in the ear of the 4th official all game along with his tall, bald sidekick. Sat behind the away dugout it’s always interesting to see the oppo attempts to gain an edge. County coaching team more dignified and less aggressive.
Glad there’s a gap now for the team to regroup👍💙