Crewe v County
An intriguing Cheshire derby in store at Gresty Road tonight, with third-placed Crewe hosting the League Two leaders
Tuesday 24 October 2023
NEXT HOME GAME: Tranmere – Saturday 28 October, 3pm
NEXT AWAY GAME: Crewe – Tonight, 7.45pm
Dear County fans, Stopfordians, and any Crewe supporters joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Tuesday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.
County make the short trip across Cheshire in search of a tenth consecutive victory in all competitions tonight, although I think we’re all agreed this is by far the toughest test this month. Crewe haven’t lost at home in the league for over eight months, although the last time they did, it was on a Tuesday night against the League Two leaders…
Ian Brown, Jonathan Baker and Andrew Barlow join us today ahead of our 79th trip to the town of the trains.
Today’s edition is sponsored by Kingsway Carpets. As always, a big thank you to Neil.
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: 38.66 miles
Total steps so far: 67,558
Total raised so far: £683
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? 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 clash between the two form teams in League Two.
Ian Brown, hedgegrower
Crewe 0 County 2
Challinor wasn’t too happy with Tanto on Saturday over the penalty. Would you start Tanto tonight, or drop him to allow Wootton back into the side?
I would absolutely start with Tanto tonight!
Having watched Challinor’s post-match interview, it was clear that his anger was directed at the team for allowing the change in penalty taker to be made, and it’s equally clear that if there had been a named penalty taker decided upon in the absence of Paddy Madden, this had probably not been made sufficiently clear to the team.
That seems odd, but Challinor was honest enough to give a full account of this, so it’s “end of” for me, as long as we don’t let it happen again.
Back to Tanto then, and his partnership with Louie Barry is like soothing balm to my sore ageing eyes, so the longer we can keep the deadly duo together on the park, before Louie is wrenched from us, the better our promotion chances become.
Kyle Wootton is another gem we’re fortunate to have with us. We need to get him back starting as soon as practicable, but with Tanto and Louie lighting the old place up match after match that moment is probably not now, although he’ll be in for sure should any of our forward line lose form.
Jonathan Baker aka Geordie Hatter, The County Away Day Show
Crewe 2 County 3
The PERi-ometer at Nando’s goes extra mild, mild, medium, hot, extra hot. Where does tonight’s Cheshire derby rank on the spicy scale?
The spicy nature of this fixture has rather crept up on me, given that I could swear last time I registered Crewe's league ranking they were marooned in mid-table, and looking about as hot as a three-day-old suet dumpling.
Since then, the Railwaymen seem to have caught fire, with their temperature running feverishly at a rate of two goals a game and showing no signs of abating ahead of tonight's encounter. With County hardly looking shy in front of goal ourselves and hungering for that tenth straight win in front of a packed away end, I'm predicting a sumptuous banquet of end-to-end action meriting a PERi-PERi rating of 'Hot', and ending most satisfyingly with a narrow margin of victory for Dave Challinor's men: 3-2.
Andrew Barlow, Hatters Matters
Crewe 2 County 2
What are your best and worst memories from previous games against Crewe?
I think over the years Crewe are one of the sides I’ve visited the most following County due to the close proximity of the two clubs and the fact that we normally tend to follow each other up and down the Football League. I've always enjoyed the trip to Crewe as it's an easy ground to get to on the train and there are plenty of pubs near the ground to have a good day out.
We've enjoyed some good wins in the league and cup over the years and perhaps my favourite memory of playing Crewe at Gresty Road was the 1-0 win in the FA Cup fourth round back in January 2001. Both sides were playing in Division One in those days following promotion from the third tier at the end of the 1996-97 season and my lasting memory from that match was Rodney Jack missing an absolute sitter where he attempted to backheel the ball into the net when it seemed impossible to miss. Jarkko Wiss then scored late on to see us through 1-0 and our reward for reaching the FA Cup fifth round for the first time since the 1949-50 season was a plum tie against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.
The 2-0 defeat at Crewe on 30 April 2011 was one of my worst memories, as that defeat, combined with Northampton Town's 2-0 win against Stevenage, meant that our 106-year stay in the Football League had come to an end, as we could no longer mathematically finish above the relegation zone in Coca-Cola League Two. Crewe fans certainly enjoyed the fact that they had put the final nail in our coffin.
Tonight is going to be a really tough game and we'll do very well to extend our current nine-match winning run as Crewe currently have the best home record in League Two having taken 17 points from the 7 matches played so far. All good things must come to an end and that may be the case for tonight as I’m predicting a 2-2 draw, which wouldn't be a bad point in the grand scheme of things.
It’s time to get a new carpet
One of our sponsors is Kingsway Carpets. Established in 1985, the family-run business have a huge selection of carpets to suit all budgets and there’s no hidden extras – the price quoted is the price you pay. They also have a team of experienced fitters who will expertly lay your brand new carpet perfectly. If you’re in need of a new carpet, give them a call and they’ll have you sorted out in no time.
Visit kingsway-carpets.co.uk for further details.
Photo of the day
The latest front cover of Bradford’s fanzine. Undeniably a big club at this level, but this is now their fifth season in League Two, with the likes of Gary Bowyer, Derek Adams and Mark Hughes all failing to get the Bantams back into the third tier. Will their new manager, whoever that may be, drag them into this season’s promotion race by the time we go there over Christmas?
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.
SK1 / SK2 / SK3 / SK4 / SK5 / SK6 / SK7 / SK8 / SK9 / SK10 / SK11 / SK12 / SK13 / SK14 / SK15 / SK16 / SK17 / SK22 / SK23
Last season’s trip to Crewe
We’ve got everything from Art & Gifts to Yoga
We might not have found a psychic from Poynton or a dominatrix from Davenport just yet, but we’ve pretty much got you covered for all other products and services you might need across Cheshire and Greater Manchester. Just take a look at this little lot…
Art & Gifts - Bags - Builder - Butcher - Carpets & Flooring - Chartered Accountants - Cleaning - Coach Hire - Coatings - Dog Walking - Financial Services - Fire Protection - Football Prints - Gardening - Glazier - Ironing - IT Services - Kitchen Appliances - Locksmith - Osteopath - Painter & Decorator - Party & Event Services - Personal Trainer - Physiotherapist - Plasterer - Plumber - Recruitment - Removals - Security Equipment - Shoe Repairs - Sports Coaching - Timber Supplies - Tutor - Vintage Clothing - Web Design - Window Cleaner - Workwear - Yoga
On a serious note, our sponsors help us to keep The Scarf My Father Wore completely free of charge for everyone (rather than paying for a subscription, like most Substack websites) so if you do enjoy our daily offerings, please support them whenever you can. Make a mental note to yourself that whenever you need a cleaner, or a plumber, or a solicitor (or if you are looking for a dominatrix, send me a private message as I know a cracking lady in Heaton Moor…), check out our own directory before you head over to Google or Yell.com. Loads of the businesses we work with are County fans, and we’ve often got great offers for our readers as well.
Click here to have a look at all the businesses in our directory.