Doncaster v County
The league leaders make the short trip to South Yorkshire, guaranteed to remain top with a point
Saturday 27 January 2024
NEXT HOME GAME: Harrogate – Saturday 3 February, 3pm
NEXT AWAY GAME: Doncaster – Today, 3pm
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Dear County fans, Stopfordians, and any Donny Rovers supporters joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Saturday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.
We’ve got the thoughts of Ian Brown, Jon Keighren and Paul Thompson for you today, as County look to build on a very impressive second half against Walsall a fortnight ago.
Today’s edition is sponsored by CFN School of Motoring. A big thank you to Craig. Give him a call on 07961 485818 or email craignicksonadi@gmail.com if you’re looking to pass your driving test this year.
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
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, as County head to Donny’s new place for only the second time.
Ian Brown, hedgegrower
Doncaster 0 County 3
Bailey’s back permanently, Bristow had an excellent debut, and Evans was superb on his return. With the loanees from Villa and United added, are we ready to go and win League Two?
Bailey, Bristow and Evans are all welcome plus points as we gear up for the promotion race.
I particularly liked Evans’ performance. I only hope we actually make better use of him (i.e. actually play him!) than we did when we last had him in SK3.
Add in loan signings Rico Richards and Rhys Bennett and the pool of talents available to us appears very impressive, but we will have to see how they perform. My hunch is that both will shine and with our injured players starting to return, the major problem for Challinor will be who to leave out as digging deep and playing a blinder is now the norm for anyone putting on the blue and white of County.
Lots of good teams around us in the table of course, with Mansfield, Wrexham, Barrow and Crewe all more than capable of putting together a decisive late run, along with one or two others. But so far no meaningful challenge has emerged from these hopefuls, and should one do so I feel we have sufficient quality to keep us at the top.
Hopefully we’ll have it wrapped up before Wrexham away, by which time we’ll have welcomed Louie Barry back just in time to help hoist the championship trophy high at the Racecourse Ground…
Jon Keighren, Stockport County
Doncaster 0 County 2
You bumped into Danny Lloyd the other day. How is he?!
It was great to bump into Danny at our local golf club last Sunday – he’s playing off eight these days so must be decent! He was a bit despondent that he’s not been fixed up since leaving Livingston at Christmas but hopefully he’ll get something before the end of the month. He’s too good not to be playing, and still only 32.
I’m optimistic about today, it’s a good chance to strengthen our position at the top and we could have one or two injured players back against a side that’s only won one of their last eight, so I’m going for a 2-0 win.
Paul Thompson, Stockport County Supporters Co-operative
Doncaster 1 County 2
County’s longest ever game was 203 minutes, against today’s opponents. If you had to keep The Scarf My Father Wore readers entertained for 203 minutes this weekend, what would you suggest?
So how do we keep you entertained for 203 minutes when it’s hard enough to consume your interest for two minutes! I could… Space… This… Article… Out… So… You… Can… Read… It… Very… Very… Slowly.
We could maybe rearrange our forthcoming SGM for today. Although we won’t be doing that. It’s on 26 February, by the way. Please do try to attend in person at The Spinning Top, or online (Zoom details to be published shortly).
Finally, as it’s FA Cup weekend, if Donny away somehow turns out to be another P-P (I’m still proud of my prediction last week!), the better option would be to roll out the black and white TV we have over at Co-op HQ, borrow a VHS player, and sit you all down to enjoy a classic piece of footballing history that happened just 30 short years ago this month. (Why didn’t we celebrate with a re-release of the classic TV interference kit…)
So on that note I predict the scoreline will mirror that great FA Cup triumph against QPR and say 2-1 to County.
Finally I would like to bid you farewell and leave you in the very capable hands of Ed Chadwick who will no doubt provide you with much less irreverent material in this column moving forward.
A huge thank you to Paul for his regular contributions over the last year. We’ll hear from Ed for the first time ahead of next Saturday’s home game with Harrogate.
Learn to drive in 2024!
We’ve spent the last five days looking at 100 ways to slightly improve your life. I’m sure one thing that would massively improve your life is learning to drive!
Give Craig a call, who’s been a driving instructor for over 20 years. He offers a full and thorough driver education experience. Driving is a skill for life and must not be under-estimated. Craig provides a training environment to facilitate client centred learning, which will ensure that your driving lessons are tailored to suit your development requirements, helping you to develop at a pace that suits your ability and learning capacity. All of Craig’s customers leave his care as safe, competent and confident drivers!
Visit craignicksonadi.co.uk for further details.
Photo of the day
The 8.56am train from Chester to Stockport
DONNY ROVERS AWAY! Not been to Donny with County since 2004-05. Stayed in Bradford on the Friday night with my mate, his holiday romance, and her mate. Went for a curry, cocktails, and took viagra for the one and only time in my life. (I wouldn’t recommend it, my headache was bigger than my erection…)
It’s a bottle of banana Huel for the trip to Yorkshire two decades on. I’m a changed man!
Today in SK
🎬 Cinema
Two films at The Savoy Cinema (SK4) today. Poor Things (18) at 3pm and 8.15pm, and The Boys in the Boat (12A) at 5.30pm. Click here for tickets.
💿 DJ
Bask (SK1) have recently been granted an extended license, which means you can now party until 3am on a Saturday night! Last entry 1.30am.
🍺 Food and drink
Whether you like it hot or cold, head down to Coffee Block (SK1) to get your matcha fix. 8am - 5.30pm.
10% off all drinks at Enigma (SK1). 12pm - 12am.
Ignore the “beer police” and support your local pub in January. If you’re in Stockport today, pop into The Petersgate Tap (SK1) for a drink or two. 12pm - 11pm.
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 - 6.30pm.
Treat yourself to lunch at Mediterranean Cafe & Bar (SK23). A full range of mains, salads, jacket potatoes, paninis, baguettes and wraps.
🎤 Karaoke
Lee at The Nelson Tavern (SK1). 8pm - 1am.
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
Random County fan of the day #27 – Ryan Batson!
One final thing before you go… if you’re looking to learn to drive in January, or lose a few pounds after Christmas, or even get some work done at home, please contact our fantastic advertisers!
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