Doncaster, Wimbledon, Colchester, Crewe, let’s have a catch-up with you… and Wrexham too
Who’s up for another title race with the Welsh…
Monday 24 July 2023
NEXT HOME GAME: Blackburn – Friday 28 July, 7.30pm
NEXT AWAY GAME: Sheffield Wednesday – Tuesday 8 August, 7.45pm
Dear County fans, Stopfordians, and any Wrexham supporters joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Monday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.
Gaz from Chips for a Quid joins us today ahead of another title race between County and Wrexham if the bookies are to be believed. With a home game against Wrexham at the end of September before a trip to North Wales for our final away game of the season, even the fixtures have a similar feel to 2021-22.
Finally, today’s edition is sponsored by Greenshoots Yoga. A big thank you to Claire, who runs yoga and mindfulness sessions for children, young adults and families. Most County kids are brought up on a Saturday afternoon can of Coke and a packet of crisps on Castle Street, which there’s nothing wrong with at all, but yoga is probably a little more conducive to their development. If you’ve got your own little County nippers, it’s definitely worth giving Claire a call to see what it’s all about. You never know, get them into yoga from a young age and they could be banging in the goals for County when they’re older!
Enjoy today’s issue.
Des Junior
Our place: Saturday 23 September 2023, 3pm
Their place: Saturday 27 April 2024, 3pm
Last win at our place: Saturday 25 September 2021, National League, 2-1
Last win at their place: Saturday 10 April 2021, National League, 3-0
Today’s Sky Bet title/promotion/relegation odds: Us – 6/1 11/8 50/1 Them – 10/3 4/5 150/1
Are you glad County lost the play-off final, or would you rather be playing Carlisle this season?
Torn on this, to be honest. Everyone is saying you’ll be stiff competition this season, so in one sense it’s not ideal to have you around. Nonetheless, the thought of visiting Edgeley Park again is an exciting one. Wrexham-County games are usually pretty good. With the exception of one season when we were both really down in the doldrums and the crowds were a bit low, there’s always been a bit of bite in the air.
I remember one game way back in January 2007 at the Racecourse when we were fighting relegation and you were pushing for the play-offs. The County end was absolutely rocking and completely blew up when Liam Dickinson headed in a winner in the 90th minute. Heartbreaking for us but the atmosphere was electric.
In terms of your summer transfer business, where have Wrexham been shopping?
We’ve only just arrived at the supermarket and we’re still in the meal deal section right now. We’ve just brought in the one lad so far – don’t know a huge amount about Will Boyle but he’s got a good pedigree and it seems he’ll add even more steel to a back line that’s already full of behemoths.
I’d like to see us sign a midfielder or two. Parky’s business last year was very shrewd. I reckon he’ll do some tweaking but nothing too major. We’ll see. It’s a good side already.
With the current energy crisis, the government have ordered all Football League clubs to switch off one thing that uses power for the whole season. What are you choosing?
We’ve got some swanky new floodlights so we need to show those off and keep the power flowing there. But I could live without the PA system. From where I’m sat – the stand behind the goal – it always sounds like the announcer is making his statements underwater. There’s also a strange insistence on playing “Push the Button” by The Sugababes every bloody half-time interval. Most season ticket holders in the Tech End will know all the lyrics by now.
Which team do you most want to beat this season?
We definitely owe Newport one after they beat us in the Conference play-off final in 2012-13. That was a tough one to take. Never ask a Wrexham fan about Brett Ormerod’s miss…
But overall it’s got to be Tranmere. They get pretty tasty those games. It’s our big derby now that the Flintshire Seals V2 are doomed to spend the rest of their days splashing in the dirty puddles of the sixth tier.
As for the Tranmere match, it’ll be interesting to see what sort of reception Paul Mullin gets having played for them a few years back – and what his celebration will be if he scores…
County haven't played MK Dons since 2009-10, so we're a little out of the loop. What's your current thoughts when it comes to MK Dons away – boycott the game, happy to attend, or reluctantly go without spending any other money on food, drink, programmes etc?
It’s never been fun playing this lot. We’ve got a miserable record against them. I think we’ve only managed to win once and their then-manager Paul Ince looked close to tears as a result.
It’s an interesting argument about boycotting MK, but there is so much giddiness about being back in the league that most Wrexham fans will probably want to go – especially as we’re likely to be given a big allocation.
When the game does roll around it’ll be regarded as a cockfight by many other Football League fans, who will claim it’s a travesty this contest is even happening and everyone involved should be ashamed.
There's a huge game at the Racecourse Ground this season. You're 1-0 up with 15 minutes to go when Just Stop Oil protestors invade the pitch and get the game abandoned. How are Wrexham fans reacting?
I’m sure the reaction would be mixed, but the most effective way to get them off the field would be for Ben Throwzer to launch them out the ground one by one.
Newport County, Notts County, Stockport County. Snog one, marry one, avoid one.
Sure, let’s get married. We’d have plenty of money together for some early retirement cruises.
Notts can have a snog for playing their part in an epic title race, which was emotional turmoil at the time but it all turned out OK in the end.
Newport are the ones to avoid. In every sense.
Ryan Reynolds gets in touch and says he wants you to take him on a Hollywood-style night out when he’s next in Wrexham. He wants the nicest meal in town, followed by the swankiest bar, and then the best hotel. What are your recommendations?
He’s sampled a few local delights already, but The Fat Boar and the Pant-yr-Ochain do some cracking grub. He’d be happy at either one of those I reckon.
We don’t really do super swanky bars, but Old No 7 might look nice enough to impress him.
As for best hotel… there’s a Premier Inn down the road from the Racecourse which is probably doing some serious business now we’ve become a bit of a tourist destination. Plus it’s a stone’s throw from town, too – easy to stagger home after a few Aviation Gins. Rossett Hall is a nicer option but that’s a bit out the way. For maximum opulence in the local area, Carden Park is probably the pick of the bunch, but that’s over on the dark side of the border…
There's a quote saying "Stockport Isn't Shit" which has taken off around our town, with the words proudly displayed in bars and on various bags and t-shirts. What quote would you use to promote Wrexham to people who think it's not that fashionable?
That’s a good quote. I’ve been a few times to Stockport and it definitely isn’t shit. Reminds me of Wrexham in some ways…
“Up The Shaggin’ Town” is a phrase you hear around here a lot. It’s already made its way onto some merch.
Which Wrexham player is most likely to end up in League Two's team of the season?
Boring choice, but Mullin has already shown he can score at this level with Cambridge, so probably him. I’d love to see Jordan Davies have a really big season, though. When he turns it on he is absolutely spectacular to watch. Jacob Mendy is a real beast of a player, too. Be interesting to see how he performs in this tier.
Early predictions for 2023-24?
Very tricky at this stage, but I think you’ll be right up there based on your performance last year. Bradford are surely due a big year, right? I’d like to think we’ll be in the mix, too.
Going down? Could be Harrogate. But I’d rather it wasn’t – a great away day and a good club. Crawley could struggle, too, by the looks of it.
Click on the links below to read the previous 2023-24 previews we’ve published so far.
Crawley / Crewe / Grimsby / Harrogate / Mansfield / Newport / Notts County / Salford / Sutton / Swindon / Tranmere / Wimbledon
Take the kids to yoga
Now, you might not have thought of doing this before. But Claire Ash from Greenshoots Yogaruns fantastic yoga and mindfulness sessions for children, young adults and families. During term time, yoga and mindfulness classes for children take place every Friday at St Paul’s Church Hall in Heaton Moor. It’s £8.50 for children aged 8-12 (4.30pm - 5.25pm) and £7 for those aged 5-7 (5.30pm - 6.15pm). Claire also runs parent and child sessions a couple of times each term.
In addition to the above, Claire has also started to teach yoga to academy football players, which helps prevent injury, as well as helping balance, flexibility, and faster recovery time. She also talks to the footballers about keeping calm and bringing a joy and control to the game.
Visit greenshootsyoga.co.uk for further details.
Photo of the day
The Racecourse Ground, Wrexham
Another one of these next April? We might even get to see it in person on the final day…
Today in SK
🥙 Food and drink
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❓Quiz night
The George & Dragon (SK7). 7.30pm.
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