County v Wycombe
Three of the top six are in town over the next 12 days, starting with a Bonfire Night visit from the Chairboys
Tuesday 5 November 2024
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Dear County fans, Stopfordians, Wycombe supporters, and anyone else from The Football Family joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Tuesday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.
Russ Johnson, Jonathan Baker and Nick Lee join us this afternoon, ahead of tonight’s big game in SK3, which could see County climb to 4th. As for Wycombe, they’ll go level on points with leaders Birmingham if they can win at Edgeley Park for the first ever time, something they’ve failed to do on their previous 12 visits.
Today’s edition is sponsored by Robmcrunning. A big thank you to Rob.
Thanks also to Baz from Chicken Cottage for sponsoring our Wycombe Wanderers content on the website.
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: 176.31 miles
Total steps so far: 284,130
Total raised so far: £2,027
Total completed streets so far: 399 (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
Des Junior loves writing about County. But he can never be arsed doing match previews. They’re a bit dull, aren’t they? Will Collar’s out for a month with diarrhoea… blah blah blah…tomorrow’s referee has handed out more cards than Moonpig…blah blah blah…County haven’t won at Birmingham for a thousand years.
Fortunately, he has a number of fellow County content creators to call upon. Here’s their thoughts, general chit-chat and score predictions, as Wycombe pay us a visit for the first time since a 0-0 draw in August 2010.
Russ Johnson, The Scarf Bergara Wore
County 2 Wycombe 1
November’s looking like a huge month with home games against Wycombe (2nd), Bolton (6th) and Wrexham (3rd), before a trip to rock bottom Burton. How many points would you be happy with this month?
Eight points would be a great return, no doubt. It’s a huge month for sure, but, these are the games we live for as fans. If the team keeps building on their cohesion and performs well, sometimes you just have to hold your hands up if you come up against a side that’s on top form. I’d be happy with anything between 7-9 points this month, but if we get the wins over Wycombe or Bolton, that would be massive.
As for tonight, I’ll go with a nervy 2-1 win for County too. Let’s hope for a big start to November!
Russ is part of The Scarf Bergara Wore team, hosting live County podcasts every Wednesday at 8pm. Click here for links.
Jonathan Baker, The County Away Day Show
County 1 Wycombe 2
What’s your thoughts on County’s organisation of Saturday’s FA Cup tie?
Well… let’s say with hindsight the club may possibly conclude that there are one or two lessons to learn! I’ll leave it at that, not least because having left it until five to three before arriving at the ground, and with a crisp £10 note in my pocket which I blithely assumed would allow me seamless access to our field of Edgeley-based dreams via the nearest turnstile, I can hardly claim to have navigated even the basics of matchday attendance myself on this particular knockout occasion. Miraculously (the Magic of the Cup, maybe?), despite the presence of what seemed like 75% of the fanbase still ambling vaguely around Hardcastle Road at that tardy hour, there was no queue whatsoever at the ticket office, and I was in the ground with a minute to spare before kick-off, squeezed in at the very lower rows of the Cheadle End.
Fifteen minutes in, and with hordes of late-arriving supporters still streaming in and potentially about to cause all sorts of havoc by searching the unfamiliar blocks for their assigned positions, Ken’s “reminder” that “today’s game is unreserved seats, ladies and gentlemen” actually struck me as a masterstroke of jazz-style improvisation, worthy of our veteran tannoy-smith’s justly renowned virtuoso talent. Certainly the change of event-management tack led to immediate improvement in the hitherto downright eerily pre-season-friendly-esque atmosphere, as the noisier and more youthful elements, re-swarmed back together in their rightful place under the Cheadle End roof beams, began to lead the singing (and the drumming).
Suddenly, we had a cup tie on our hands, and from my unfamiliar position just in front of the Main Stand side corner flag, I began to feel like I could enjoy it. (If “enjoy” is the correct verb to describe the experience of watching your team labour to a tight extra-time victory over stubborn non-league opposition, which I’m not altogether sure it is.) “Endure” might be nearer the mark. “Struggle to maintain the will to live through, while gnashing your teeth in thinly-veiled fury at the supporters around you immersed in their mobile phone betting apps and jabbering away seventeen to the dozen to each other about the progress of their fixed-odds selections” might be even nearer still. But I digress.
Still, I managed to get to 45, then 90, then 120 minutes without actually murdering anyone. We’re in the hat for the next round, and you never know, the club might mark the visit of the mighty Brackley Town by opening up all four sides of the ground, as well as somewhere for us to get a pint on the way in and maybe a bag of crisps. While something of this customer-oriented nature would evidently form the sanest course of action, a part of me actually hopes for a precise reprise of this weekend’s impromptu exhibition of organised chaos (minus the day-tripping phone-gambler-fans, who are hereby cordially invited to decamp to the William Hills on Castle Street, and stay there, you fuckers), simply because there was something so gloriously and shambolically County about the whole affair, and much as we might grumble now, we’ll sure as hell miss this sort of innocent, borderline infuriating nonsense when it’s gone.
Also, I got approximately seven first-half occasions to take a really close-up look at Jack Diamond’s knees, and consider my life to have been significantly enriched as a result. The Magic of the Cup? It’s alive and well everyone, and currently resident in the lower block of the Cheadle End. Row C, seat 24. Count me in.
As for tonight’s prediction… bloody hell, I hadn’t realised they were second. Look, I’d love to predict another win, but they’re evidently on a free-scoring roll and we’re… not. I’ll go 2-1 Wycombe, and hope I’m (very, very) wrong.
Jonathan, aka Geordie Hatter, hosts The County Away Day Show on selected Saturday mornings during the season, when the Hatters are on the road. All episodes can be found at the-geordie-hatter.mixlr.com.
Nick Lee, SK3 TV
County 2 Wycombe 1
Do you reckon we’ll go with the same starting line-up from the Reading victory tonight? (Apart from Onyango obviously, who looks like he’ll be missing after going off injured on Saturday.)
You'd imagine so, it'd be nice to finally have more of a settled side. Crazy to think that a week ago people were surprised at his inclusion in the XI, and now we're bemoaning his potential absence. Football is mad.
Nick’s one of the co-hosts of SK3 TV, a new podcast for the 2024-25 season, with live episodes every Monday at 8pm. Click here for links.
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Get stuck into Chicken Cottage’s brand new Double Mountain Burger!
Any Wycombe fans joining us today? Get down to Chicken Cottage for a taste of their brand new Double Mountain Burger, which has been added to the menu as part of their 30th birthday celebrations. And for those with a sweet tooth, you can pick up a tub of creamy Mango Kulfi as well – perfect for cooling down in the summer!
Address: 5 Oxford Street, High Wycombe, HP11 2DG
Bits and bobs
An email from a subscriber: “The stewards got a lot of stick in yesterday’s newsletter so I want to share my positive steward story from the game. County's useless online ticketing system accidentally sold us the seats next to the dugouts that were supposed to be reserved for the non-playing away players. When the steward came over to seat the guests moments before kick-off and saw us there with our kids, after checking our tickets he immediately took the away players to sit elsewhere. He was really polite and decent about it, and he even came back later to apologise. He also told us the ‘unreserved seating’ thing they announced after kick-off hadn't been planned and no one had bothered to tell the stewards. The first he'd heard about it had been the tannoy announcement. He'd specially taken time off from his main job to come and steward for his club, and had got a lot of abuse from his fellow fans for his trouble. So I'm sure some stewards really are rubbish but remember they're just doing their jobs and when things go wrong it's probably the club's fault, not theirs.”
Photo of the day
Edgeley Park, Stockport
Many of you will have seen me shaking my bucket on the Cheadle End concourse before the game on Saturday. I’d offered my services to County fan and The Scarf My Father Wore subscriber Keith Mills, who runs the Forever Friends of Uganda charity. We raised over £335 on the day. Thanks to everyone who donated.
Keith spoke to us last year about the charity. Click here to have a read.
Today in SK
🎬 Cinema
One film at The Savoy Cinema (SK4) today. The Room Next Door (12A) at 5.30pm. Click here for tickets.
🍺 Food and drink
Try the new house cask ale at The Nelson Tavern (SK1) this month: Timothy Taylor’s Landlord. £2.20 for a half or £4.10 for a pint.
Pop in for a pint at Heaton Hops (SK4), CAMRA Pub of the Year for Stockport and South Manchester. Open from 4pm.
Bitter £2.30 a pint all day at The Cross Keys (SK8). Plus, discounts on certain lagers between 12pm and 6pm.
If you’re heading out for a few drinks before the game tonight, get yourself down to one of our featured venues such as The Crown (SK2), The Dog & Partridge (SK2), The Alexandra (SK3), The Crown Inn (SK6), The Steelworks (SK6) or The Three Tunnes (SK7).
Random photos of County players at other clubs
#41 – Ollie Norwood, Sheff Utd
It was only as recently as 24 April that Ollie Norwood was playing for Sheffield United in a Premier League game at Old Trafford. Just four months later, he’s making his County debut at home to Bristol Rovers in a move that nobody saw coming. With Nick Powell out for a while, we might be relying on Norwood’s undoubted top-flight class a little bit more in the coming weeks.
Need any of these products or services this November? Support the businesses that support The Scarf My Father Wore
🪟 Blinds & Shutters: Bauhaus Blinds and Shutters
👷♂️ Builder: C E Building Services Ltd
🧱 Builders Merchant: MKM Manchester South
🧽 Car Valeting: Rub A Dubz Detailing Ltd
🧼 Carpet Cleaning: A Star Clean Ltd
🏠 Carpets & Flooring: Kingsway Carpets & Rugs Ltd
🐈 Cat Flaps: That Cat Flap Company Ltd
👶 Child Health: The Sleep Nanny
🧹 Cleaning: Beespoke Cleaning
🚙 Coatings: Colourtone Ltd
🐶 Dog Trainer: Forever Home Dog Training
🐕🦺 Dog Walker: Luna Care
🚘 Driving School: CFN School of Motoring
💡 Electrician: The Electrics Guy
🏠 Estate Agent: The Agency UK
💧 Exterior Cleaning: Impact Pro Clean Ltd
💷 Financial Services: The Mortgage Mill
🍦 Ice Cream Van Hire: Stevie’s Ices
💻 IT Services: Bridge Computer Services
🪚 Joinery: SAW Contracts Ltd
🔌 Kitchen Appliances: SW Appliances
🍳 Kitchens: Kitchenwise
🌳 Landscaping: Dylan’s Developments
📮 Leaflet Distribution: Wolf Distribution
🔑 Locksmith: APL Locksmiths Ltd
💪 Male Weight Loss: MAN v FAT
🖌 Painter & Decorator: BGM Decorators
🚑 Personal Injury: Parkers Solicitors Ltd
📸 Photographer: Adam Edwards Photo
🧱 Plastering: DT Plastering Services and Damp Proofing Specialists
🛖 Roofing: Pate & Lever Roofing Ltd
☀️ Solar Panels: Malbern Solar Ltd
👨💼 Solicitors: B.J. McKenna & Co
🍹 Spirits: Guerrilla Chicken Spirits
💆♂️ Sports Massage: RobMcRunning
🪨 Stonemason: LM Stone Creative
🚕 Taxi Hire: Lynx Taxis
☀️ Travel Agent: PTF Travel Ltd
👩🏫 Tutor: Conexus Tuition
📺 TV Aerials: SDS Aerials
🧰 Vehicle Repairs: C J Motors Stockport
⚖️ Weight Loss: Slimming World Reddish & Bredbury with Shlean
You missed off the end of your “Photo of the day” paragraph where you say how much you raised.