Thursday 28 December 2023
NEXT HOME GAME: Mansfield – Monday 1 January, 3pm
NEXT AWAY GAME: Bradford – Friday 29 December, 7.45pm
If you’d like to write an article for The Scarf My Father Wore, share a few snippets or photos, or advertise your business, please email thescarfmyfatherwore@substack.com.
Dear County fans, Stopfordians, and anyone else joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Thursday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore, which is a five-star publication throughout!
That’s not me being arrogant, by the way. Editors can’t award themselves five stars, that’s not really how reviews work. It’s merely a reference to the number five, which is a common theme running through Thursday’s edition.
It could be the number of games County were unbeaten during September. It could be the number of goals we conceded on our final visit to Oxford’s Manor Ground. It could be referring to the title of the Lou Bega hit in the summer of 1999.
Or… just maybe… we could use the number five to describe the number of times the ball hit the back of Wrexham’s net on their last visit to Edgeley Park! That memorable afternoon in Stockport (along with other victories in London, Milton Keynes and Accrington) is featured today in part nine of my Great Big Review of 2023.
One chap who thinks The Scarf My Father Wore is worthy of five stars is our latest paid subscriber Jeremy Axten, a Stockport lad who went to Mile End and now resides in Oxfordshire. My sincere thanks to Jeremy, who I have to say rather tickled me with the succinctness of the Substack note he left upon signing up.
Do you know what, there’s nowt wrong with that! I thoroughly enjoy producing The Scarf My Father Wore, and I do get a huge buzz knowing people enjoy the email which lands in their inbox every morning. I switched on the facility for readers to sign up as paid subscribers not because they enjoy it (although that is a good reason in itself!) but to be able to spend more time on the website and produce even more content.
Today’s edition is a relatively short one, but you’ll have received emails recently with two or three feature articles included. That’s the level I’d like The Scarf My Father Wore to reach. I’ve been working on a number of in-depth long-form County features recently, which will be published over the next couple of weeks, that I think our readers will enjoy. Our advertisers have helped me reach a certain level with the website, but I really need the support of paid subscribers to take that next step. If you sign up for the year, it costs a modest 13p a day, but collectively it will have a huge impact on the website, as I can spend a lot more time working on making The Scarf even bigger and better, with lots of great coverage of what could be yet another County promotion-winning season. And maybe even a first Football League championship since 1966-67…
Today’s edition is sponsored by Flatpack Guy. Yesterday, I said I didn’t know anything about dogs. Today, I have to admit I don’t know anything about assembling flatpack furniture. That’s something you might need help with at this time of year, looking at your Christmas presents. Flatpack Guy is your man for this one. Give him a call on 07366 606813.
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
Saturday 2: Crawley (H) 3-3
Saturday 9: Wimbledon (A) 2-1
Saturday 16: MK Dons (A) 2-1
Saturday 23: Wrexham (H) 5-0
Saturday 30: Accrington (A) 3-1
Crawley at home. I was right. Having been drawing, then winning, then losing, before grabbing a late point, our first game of September was all over the place, which had been the case for much of August.
I continued with the following: “There’s some serious quality in the side, that’s undeniable. But on the flip side, a very unhealthy nervousness about us any time we concede. It still feels like something isn’t quite right at Edgeley Park at the moment, but nobody’s quite sure where the cracks are, or how to fix them. And worryingly, September’s fixtures are starting to look a little bit tricky for a team low on confidence.”
“Stunned at how shambolic we were,” was Sandy McGregor’s verdict. “Where do we go from here?”
The answer to that particular question, was to the top of League Two, with a run of 12 consecutive victories that equalled the fourth tier record set by Luton in 2002. Nothing to worry about, was there?
Well, frankly, yes there was. After 88 minutes at Edgeley Park, Crawley were 3-2 up. County had led 2-0 in the first half through Barry and Sarcevic. Heading for a fourth defeat in six games, under those circumstances, you do wonder what that would have done to confidence in the team. Tanto’s late equaliser might prove to be more significant in the story of this season than we could have ever imagined.
Tanto’s goal didn’t ignite our season immediately. We were 1-0 down at half-time the following Saturday at Wimbledon. But a superb second half performance, with goals from Barry and Collar, clinched a 2-1 win. And since that trip to London, we’ve not really looked back.
“Really pleased,” said Dan Levy afterwards. “We looked finally like it might all have clicked, though there’s still lots to work on. We managed to turn this season’s habit of being good for 20 minutes and then going to pieces the other way round.”
After travelling to the nice Dons, we visited the not-so-nice Dons a week later. Another 2-1 win, through Barry and Powell, at Stadium MK – the 72nd best away day in the country.
That was according to BetVictor, who published their rankings of all 92 clubs, looking at everything from atmosphere and infrastructure to food and location.
Gillingham were at the bottom. That’s fair enough, innit? In any discussion amongst travelling football fans, the “temporary” away end at Priestfield is always likely to crop up. Temporary is in sarcastic quotation marks, by the way, as that heap of scaffolding behind the goal has been in place for 20 years now.
First place went to Bramall Lane, home of Sheffield United. (Sheffield’s a decent city but Wednesday were way back in 40th place.) Interestingly, eight of County’s last ten trips to the Blades have been on a Tuesday night, so we’ve only been able to experience a couple of Saturday away days during our five years in Division One. I can think of a few away days I’d rank higher, but Bramall Lane has always seemed pretty decent. Close to the train station, loads of pubs and bars, big away end. And it was also the scene of one of our greatest ever cup performances…
Edgeley Park came in at number 30, sandwiched in between Liverpool at 29 and Middlesbrough at 31. I’ve spoken to loads of away fans over the years and a trip to Stockport is genuinely loved by many rival supporters. With a roof on the Railway End and better facilities for away fans, I’m sure we’d have made the top 20.
A certain group of away supporters didn’t love their trip to Stockport a few days after that list was published – the 896 Wrexham fans on the Pop Side who had to endure a 5-0 defeat at the hands of a County side on fire that afternoon. It was 3-0 after half an hour (Tanto 2, Barry), 4-0 on 50 minutes (Tanto’s hat-trick), and Paddy popped the cherry on the cake in the last minute. Welcome to Stockport.
The Wrexham victory lifted County into the top half of the table for the first time. Seven days later, we were up to 8th, level on points with Wimbledon and Crewe in 6th and 7th. Tanto and Collar had us 2-0 up after 16 minutes, with Louie Barry wrapping up all three points from the spot on the hour mark, and with it a new club record having scored in seven consecutive matches.
Des Junior’s Great Big Review of 2023
January / February / March / April / May / June / July / August
If that great big pile of flatpack furniture looks daunting, give Flatpack Guy a call!
Flatpack Guy has been a busy bee over the last couple of days, helping customers assemble various toys and other Christmas presents.
He’s also a dab hand with your beds and cupboards and wardrobes and everything else you’ve bought from Ikea. If you’re in need of some help, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Give Flatpack Guy a call on 07366 606813.
Photo of the day
Manor Ground, Oxford
What a weird and wonderful old ground this was. Although not that wonderful for County, as we never won there. Nine games, two draws, seven defeats. Our final visit was on the final day of the 1998-99 season when we were thrashed 5-0 in Gary Megson’s final game. Oxford had Kevin Francis starting for them, and were relegated that day. A strange afternoon.
Today in SK
🥘 Food and drink
Lunch deal at The Dog & Partridge (SK2). One course for £7 or two courses for £11. 12pm - 2pm.
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.
Taster Thursday at TRUNK (SK7). Three tapas dishes and a glass of sangria for £20 from 5pm. 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.
Enjoy a taste of India with Curry Thursday at Platform 5 (SK8). £14.45 for a curry, which includes rice, naan bread, poppadoms, mango chutney and a drink. 12pm - 8pm.
🎶 Free jukebox
Nelson Tavern (SK1). From 6.30pm.
🎱 Free pool
George & Dragon (SK7). 6pm - 9pm.
❓ Quiz night
Cheshire Line Tavern (SK8). 8pm. £3 per person. Cash prizes and vouchers for the winners, runners-up and team finishing second to last. Food available before the quiz, including two meals for £20.
DJ Des
5-0 v Wrexham. Had to be this little number today, didn’t it?
Would you like DJ Des to play a particular song for you? Email thescarfmyfatherwore@substack.com with your requests/shoutouts!
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