“Do you realise what’s just happened? You’ve been beaten by a f*****g pub team!”

50 years on from their first ever game, Des Hinks Senior has written a book chronicling the adventures of Carnforth – the Sunday League side from Stockport who took on some of Europe’s biggest clubs

Nov 27, 2024

Wednesday 27 November 2024

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.

I’ve been looking forward to sharing this one with you today.

In 1974, my dad started his own Sunday League team in Stockport. Carnforth FC – named after Carnforth Road in Heaton Chapel where my dad and most of the players lived at the time – played their first game on Sunday 24 November, a 7-0 victory against Fairy’s Social Club.

Like me, my dad’s also a geek, and he’s still got details of the starting line-up that day: Howarth, Coles, Pickles, Cummings, Dewhirst, R Bowden, A Bowden, Hinks, Scholes, Faux, Dakin. (What’s that? You want the goalscorers as well? Sure. My dad scored two, with Graham Faux, Rob Dakin, Rick Bowden and Graham Scholes also on the scoresheet. The other was an own goal.)

The following year, Carnforth joined the Stockport District Sunday League and became the first side to climb from the bottom division to the top in four successive seasons. Establishing themselves as one of the leading teams in a strong Premier Division, Carny also became the first team to win all four domestic cup competitions.

However, that’s only part of the Carny story. The club’s foreign tours became legendary, as the men in black and white visited 16 different countries and played 48 games against some of Europe’s biggest clubs, including Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Benfica, Feyenoord and Glasgow Celtic.

It’s a remarkable 50-year story, which my dad has now documented in a fantastic 130-page book, scheduled for release in December. Here’s an exclusive extract from the book for you to enjoy today. Drop me a message if you’d like a copy putting to one side.

Today’s edition is sponsored by CE Building Services, That Cat Flap Company and The Mortgage Mill. A big thank you to Chris, Matthew and James.

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

As Carny had never played in Germany, we felt it was the ideal destination for our 1990 tour.

And who better to play than Bayern Munich! So we wrote to them, and were more than delighted to receive a positive reply. It was game on!

Pricing up the tour, it became immediately apparent that the cost of flights from Manchester to Munich would be prohibitive.

It was always a fine balancing act trying to arrange the perfect destination at a cost club members could afford. There would be no point arranging a game against the likes of Bayern Munich and then taking a scratch side.

A chat with GTF Tours, our tour sponsors, revealed it would be less than half the cost of flying from Manchester, if we flew from Gatwick. Great. But how would we get to Gatwick.

Train travel was problematic, so we decided to hire a couple of minibuses from Stamford Van & Car Hire in Altrincham.

We could now get to Gatwick. So how about we play a game in the south of England, stay overnight and then fly to Munich the following day?

John Mortimore, a friend of Carny’s since our game against Benfica in 1987, was now assistant manager at Southampton. We contacted John, who had no hesitation in arranging a game for us against the Saints youth team. It was then a simple task to arrange a hotel for us to stay over in Southampton after the game.

As we’ve mentioned earlier in this book, the standard of team you take on tour is a little hit or miss. There are always players you’d like to take, but they can’t make it for one reason or another. The squad for our magnificent tour to Italy in 1978 was an exception. So too was this trip to West Germany.

Nine players who featured in our Stockport FA Sunday Cup Final against Offerton United, just three days before we left for Southampton, were on the tour. Along with Carl Massa, Ray Forrester and Phil Jones, who had all featured for the first team that season. Simon Lynch and John Nolan, from our reserve team, made up the squad.

Everything was in place for a memorable tour; we could never have imagined how memorable it would turn out to be.

Carny lined up against Southampton in a 5-4-1 formation, which we often used for tour games, especially when we played against professional opposition who we expected to dominate possession. The Saints, incidentally, included Matty Bound, who Dave Jones paid £100,000 to bring to Stockport County in 1995.

As expected, Southampton did dominate possession, but Carny’s defensive unit, superbly organised by Dunc Palmer, playing behind Stuart Owen and Mark Anderson, and the tireless midfield quartet in front of them, kept the Saints youngsters at bay. On the rare occasions they did find a way through, they came up against the brilliant Jon Pacey in goal.

Carny grew in confidence after the break and, after a couple of half chances were missed, they took the lead when substitute Carl Massa scored with 15 minutes remaining.

The final quarter of an hour saw the Stockport lads withstand intense pressure, but they held on to record a sensational victory.

Rick Griffiths swaps pennants with the Saints captain before the game

Dave Merrington – who later became Saints first team manager in the Premier League – was in charge of the youth team that took on Carny. And he was far from happy after the game!

We could clearly hear him giving the young Saints an almighty bollocking in the adjacent changing room, when he came out with the classic line. “Do you realise what’s just happened? You’ve been beaten by a f*****g pub team!”

Next stop Munich, and a game against the mighty Bayern.

We Are Carny, written by Des Hinks Senior, is out next month. The book’s priced at £10. If you’d like a copy reserving, please email thescarfmyfatherwore@substack.com.

Thinking of having an extension in 2025?

Adding an extension to your home not only provides you with additional living space but can add considerable value to your property.

Whether it’s an extra bedroom, larger kitchen, utility room, or sun lounge, CE Building Services will work together with you to guide you through the process, and help you assess the best options to suit your budget and requirements.

They will assist you with the design, and decision making process, ensuring you get the best possible living space you require to suit you and your family’s needs.

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For a free, no obligation quote, give Chris a call on 07813 025854 or 0161 282 5968. Alternatively, you can email chris@cebuildingservices.co.uk.

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Photo of the day

Edgeley Park, Stockport

A couple of young scamps on the Pop Side give the Newport contingent a bit of stick after Paddy Madden’s crucial injury time winner for County back in March.

You can now get on the property ladder with a £5,000 deposit

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Today in SK

🎬 Cinema

Two films at The Savoy Cinema (SK4) today. Paddington In Peru (PG) at 2.30pm and 5pm, followed by Gladiator II (15) at 7.30pm. Click here for tickets.

🍰 Food and drink

Happy Hour at Covent Garden Café (SK1) between 1.30pm and 2.30pm. If you spend £20 or more you get to roll the dice, and if you roll a 6 your bill is half price!

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.

Enjoy a coffee and a cake for only £6 at The Dog & Partridge (SK2). 12pm - 4pm.

Pop in for a pint at Heaton Hops (SK4), CAMRA Pub of the Year for Stockport and South Manchester.

Bitter £2.30 a pint all day at The Cross Keys (SK8).

If you’re simply in the mood for a couple of drinks today, pop along to one of our featured venues such as AMP (SK1), The Crown (SK2), The Alexandra (SK3), The Crown Inn (SK6), The Steelworks (SK6) or The Three Tunnes (SK7).

Random photos of County players at other clubs

#57 – Liam Dickinson, Southend

Liam Dickinson spent one year at Southend, scoring an impressive 12 goals in 37 appearances during their 2011-12 campaign, in which the Shrimpers finished 4th in League Two, missing out on automatic promotion by a point. A serious ankle injury ended Dicko’s time at Roots Hall before he dropped into non-league. Having scored 35 goals for County under Jim Gannon at the start of his career, the striker returned to Edgeley Park for a second spell in 2013-14, scoring once on Boxing Day in our 4-1 victory at home to Bradford Park Avenue.