Saturday 20 May 2023
Three of our four correspondents think we’re heading for extra time at Edgeley Park this afternoon. I’m too nervous to add anything else to that. Here’s Ian Brown, Nick Lee, Jonathan Baker and Richard Kedzior.
Today’s edition is sponsored by The Mortgage Mill. My thanks to James (who’s also a County fan). If you’re looking for any advice on mortgage issues, text “County” to 80800.
COME ON COUNTY!
Des Junior
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 providers to call upon. Hopefully you’re not too arsed about catching the start of the Carlisle v Bradford game at 3pm, because three-quarters of our contributors think we’re going to extra time at EP…
Ian Brown, hedgegrower
County 3 Salford 1
How do County book a trip to Wembley today?
Well, for me we start with two up front, which could be any two from Tanto, Stretton and Madden, depending on who’s fit. We looked altogether better when Tanto and Rydel came on last week, and Jack got some company up front.
That hints at the second essential element for me, if we are to win: Rydel’s inclusion in our starting line-up. His urgency of approach, desire to get forward, and even more important for me, the brilliance of his set-pieces (which are way above League Two standard in my eyes) lifts us when we need it and helps us to win games.
I would also refrain from taking Croasdale off unless injured, as he’s definitely one whose work rate and influence on those around him keeps us going, especially when the pressure’s on as it will be today.
But really, whoever Challinor sends out, an early goal is what we need, then another quickly – I’m leaving the blood pressure pills at home as a sign of my confidence that we can do this.
We’ll have another full house inside EP and our job will be to raise the roof and make the Lancastrians wobble. They’re not a bad side but we’re Stockport County and we can clinch a sixth trip to Wembley this afternoon.
Nick Lee, The Scarf Bergara Wore
County 1 Salford 0 (then… who knows?)
When we spoke last weekend, you said you were off to a Eurovision house party, with the upstairs telly going downstairs as part of a “much-vaunted dual screen system”. Well County lost and the UK finished second-bottom. Was it a shit night?
I’ll be honest, the second half hadn’t even started and Eurovision had already become the main focus. Not that I can remember much past that point due to the potent sangria that was quite literally on tap. It’s not too bad though really. If you’d offered us a narrow defeat to take back to EP I think most of us would have taken it.
As for today, I just hope we can go at them and get in their faces early on, both on and off the pitch. I fancy a 1-0 lead after 90 minutes and then it’s down to whichever manager can out-think the other. Please not penalties though.
Jonathan Baker aka Geordie Hatter, The County Away Day Show
County 2 Salford 0 (AET)
Your mission, Geordie Hatter, should you choose to accept it, is to come up with your most important top five of the season – five songs to get the players pumped up in the dressing room and the fans bouncing in the stands.
1) “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves
When County step out of the tunnel under the clear blue skies of SK3 today, they could do worse than be accompanied by this certified Euro-banger, which for my money contains enough feelgood spirit within its first five seconds to knock every single contender at last week's overblown Merseyside-hosted cheese-fest right into a cooked hat. If Challinor’s men can get off a start as sure-footed as this one does, we could be in for quite the spectacle.
2) “Shout to the Top” by The Style Council
Here we find Paul Weller in his immediate post-Jam days, looking forward with no little optimism to the surely imminent demise of right-wing populism in general, and Margaret Thatcher's generally despised Conservative government in particular. The song hit the UK Top 10 in October 1984, with the landslide Tory-ousting election victory of Tony Blair's New Labour party following a mere... twelve-and-a-half years later. If County keep us waiting that long to reach the third tier of English football, we'll all be old and grey (well I will, and Paul Weller certainly will, given that he already is).
3) “What a Beautiful Day” by The Levellers
The lead singer here hails from Billingham, Teesside, which flimsy excuse I deployed in order to make this singalong classic the centrepiece of the Away Day Show playlist in advance of County's trip to Hartlepool United. Challinor's men came away from the frozen wastes of Teesside with a 5-0 victory that afternoon, and I daresay most of us would take that again today. I think we can confidently predict the weather will be marginally more pleasant, at least.
4) “Big Saturday” by The Jazz Butcher
This one featured on the playlist for the early-season trip to Northampton Town, and the way events then panned out that day, the three minutes of its duration may have proved the highlight of the entire day for discerning citizens of the County Nation. There's a simply-expressed genius at play within the light touch of this number, in which the late Pat Fish showcases the seemingly effortless pitch perfect pop sensibility that ensures his oeuvre a lasting berth in the hearts of melancholically-inclined indie-kids the globe over. It also takes as its subject matter the day the football happens, which means it gets an extra point. Eleven out of ten.
5) “The Start of Something” by Voxtrot
These guys may sound like they hail from the English home counties, but I am reliably informed they emerged in the early years of the present century out of Austin, Texas. This early track sees the guitar-driven five-piece burst out of the blocks with a bang, not letting up on the breakneck pace of the melodic delivery until the final note, four-and-a-half minutes hence (the song should have been just the classic three minutes long really, but a controversial amount of injury time is added). I don't know whether Voxtrot employed among themselves a pre-performance motivational motto, but a very apt one would have been, “Intensity Is Our Identity”. Now, where have we heard that before?
Click here to listen to Geordie Hatter’s Top 20 upbeat tracks!
Richard Kedzior, Salford fan since 2007
County 2 Salford 2 (AET)
What’s your prediction for the second leg?
I'm going 2-1 to County after 90 minutes but we score a second in extra time to win 3-2 on aggregate. Hopefully!
Need to remortgage any time soon? Give The Mortgage Mill a call
On the website of The Mortgage Mill, it states the following in their section on remortgaging: “You can remortgage and borrow additional funds for things like home improvements, second homes, debt consolidation, business use etc.”
It (unsurprisingly) doesn’t mention anything about remortgaging to finance a trip to Wembley for the League Two play-off final, although that’s something you may wish to consider if County do the business this afternoon. I’ve just had a quick look and a first class return to London Euston will set you back £291.80 next weekend. Planning on making a weekend of it and staying in the capital on the Saturday night? It’s £1,365 to get your head down at The Ritz.
I am, of course, joking. Please don’t remortgage your house just to go to Wembley if we get there. That’s probably not a wise move. You can remortgage your house for other reasons, however. If you’re looking to remortgage to release capital, or even planning to buy your first home, get in touch with County fan James from The Mortgage Mill. Here he is to explain (better than I can) exactly what the business offers.
“We’re mortgage brokers, which are a dying breed these days as it’s a tough living in the financial climate post-Covid. The reason why we’re thriving and have grown rather than suffered is down to our diversity. We offer both regulated and unregulated finance which is rare in the industry. Brokers usually do either one or the other.
“The regulated side of the business is your mortgage for residential homes and buy-to-lets, with protection services like life insurance, critical illness cover and wills. We do the basic up and down stuff like your high street mortgages (we actually get better rates with the banks than you can by going direct) but any mortgage broker can do those. Where we get most of our business from is the people who have been to their bank and been rejected and don’t know where to go next. This could be due to the type of property they’re buying, their income sources, their residential status or their credit profile. How we help these people is through a current panel of 77 lenders, each with their own area of expertise where we can look to place those who don’t know where to turn. We unofficially boast that if there’s a mortgage out there for you, we will find it, and if we can’t, we don’t charge you a fee.
“The unregulated side of the business deals with alternative financing options for unregulated property. This could be a commercial purchase of a shop or warehouse, or development finance to build a new property, or converting an existing building like an office block into flats or homes. We also assist with short-term bridging finance and development exit finance. As I said earlier you would usually need to seek out a specialist broker for this service, but we do it all under one roof at The Mortgage Mill and Mortgage Mill Commercial. Our business is based in Sowerby Bridge but we have an office in Poynton too, where I work from.
“If anyone wants to ask any questions, there is a free contact page on our website, or you can text “County” to 80800.”
Today in SK
🎸 Live music from The Dirty Truth at The Dog & Partridge (SK2). An evening of rhythm and blues as the band play songs from the likes of The Rolling Stones, Manfred Mann, The Kinks, The Pretty Things, The Yardbirds, Eric Clapton and Fleetwood Mac. 8pm.
⚽️ Bask (SK1) is open from 8am for beers, breakfast barms, pies and brews. And for those who didn’t manage to get a ticket, they’ll have live coverage of the game on their 75” screens, with commentary through the PA.
🍹 The Armoury (SK3) is opening at 9.30am, serving breakfast barms. They’ll also be showing live coverage of the County game, as well as offering supporters the chance to try a tipple from their new cocktail menu. Mark Stott definitely wouldn’t mind a Red Wine Cobbler, and Lee Todd’s going to be getting stuck into a Lounge Lizard or two. There’s eight cocktails to try in total; head down today to see which one tickles your tastebuds!
🎤 If County secure a trip to Wembley today, you might have an urge to belt out “London Calling” by The Clash or “Baker Street” by Gerry Rafferty. Head for the Nelson Tavern (SK1) as they have karaoke with Lee from 8pm till 1am.
☕️ How do you fancy a nice iced cappuccino today? Head down to Coffee Block (SK1) for their CUBO espresso over ice, filled with shaken milk and topped with chocolate! Open till 5.30pm.
🍺 Petersgate Tap (SK1) have just stocked up their fridges with a fresh batch of St Bernardus 12 (10%) and Bush Caractere (12%).
The Scarf My Father Wore works closely with venues on a daily basis to bring you the most comprehensive guide to all of the 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.
SK1 / SK2 / SK3 / SK4 / SK5 / SK6 / SK7 / SK8 / SK9 / SK10 / SK11 / SK12 / SK13 / SK14 / SK15 / SK16 / SK17 / SK22 / SK23
Bunch of fives
5️⃣ play-off second legs
County 0 Chesterfield 2
Stoke 1 County 1
Port Vale 1 County 0
County 1 York 0
County 1 Wycombe 0
5️⃣ sets of supporters who will be walking down Wembley Way next weekend
Luton
Coventry
Sheffield Wednesday
Barnsley
County or Salford
5️⃣ things on the telly at 12.30pm
Football Focus
The Simpsons
Mirror Mirror
Family Cooking Showdown
County v Salford
5️⃣ ingredients in a bottle of Ribena
Water
Blackcurrant juice
Sugar
Thickener
Vitamin C
5️⃣ titles of articles in the latest edition of Man United fanzine United We Stand
Manchester’s Nightlife
Seville on the Jib
Europe Is Lost
Bot’s the Story
United Kits
Photo of the day
The White Lion, Stockport
Gary Mullin and Carl Mannion (along with Arsenal Steve in the middle) enjoy a pre-match pint before County’s most recent play-off semi-final second leg, at home to Wycombe in 2007-08.
Never mind Google or Yell.com, we’ve got you covered
STOP! That got your attention, didn’t it? Just a quick one… I’d hazard a guess that at some point in May, all of our readers will use Google or Yell.com at some point looking for a particular product or service. But before you do, please have a quick look at our own directory to see if we have what you’re looking for. A number of great businesses support The Scarf My Father Wore, allowing us to publish fresh content every day, so let’s send a few enquiries their way in return.
Click here to have a look at all the businesses in our directory.