Forest Green 0 County 3

Plus! Details of a fantastic new book from When Saturday Comes

Mar 30, 2024

Saturday 30 March 2024

NEXT HOME GAME: Wimbledon – Monday 1 April, 3pm

NEXT AWAY GAME: Sutton – Saturday 6 April, 3pm

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, Forest Green supporters, and anyone else from The Football Family joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Easter Saturday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.

You can’t get anything other than vegan food when you watch a game at Forest Green. Yesterday, you couldn’t even witness the home team having a shot on target. And today, I haven’t been able to find anyone to speak to from Nailsworth. We do have County fan Dan Levy in the building, though, who was in Gloucestershire for County’s easy 3-0 victory on Good Friday, which takes us back to the top of League Two, courtesy of Wrexham beating Mansfield. Five wins from seven games mathematically takes us up now, four would almost certainly be enough, and maybe even three. We’re nearly there, anyway.

Colin McPherson has also written a piece for us today, one of three photographers whose excellent images feature in a new book from When Saturday Comes, which you can pre-order now ahead of the May 1st release date.

Our first live event of 2024 is taking place next month. ‘Flynny at the Finger’ – an evening with County legend Mike Flynn – is at The Fingerpost on Wednesday 17 April. Start time 7.30pm. If you’d like to join us, please email thescarfmyfatherwore@substack.com. Tickets are £10 (or £5 for paid subscribers plus anyone who’s written an article for The Scarf My Father Wore). That includes a full colour souvenir programme, and even a little bit of stand-up comedy!

Today’s edition is sponsored by Radial Fire and Security. A big thank you Dan, who operates throughout the UK, specialising in the supply and service of a variety of different ranges of fire protection equipment. See below for further details.

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: 136.36 miles

Total steps so far: 217,174

Total raised so far: £1,666

Total completed streets so far: 271 (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

✍️ Friday’s match in one word

Stroll.

🤔 Pre-match thoughts

I thought we would win comfortably, but that Forest Green would put up a fight.

🧐 Post-match thoughts

We won comfortably, and Forest Green didn’t put up a fight at all. We were taking the mickey for large periods of the game.

🟢 Verdict on Forest Green

They look doomed. I would expect them to struggle next year too. By quite some way the worst team I have seen this season – and that includes Oxford City who I saw when our game at Colchester was rained off recently.

🔵 Verdict on County

We won comfortably. We probably should have scored twice as many as we did.

🐶Top Rover

There really wasn’t one. Comedy performance of the day from Thompson, who came on as a sub and managed to injure himself trying to scythe down Touray.

🎩 Top Hatter

There were lots of good performances. It was great to see Knoyle back, Touray was excellent, Richards was a livewire, but Powell probably takes the prize – he was a class above.

👂 Atmosphere

It’s an awful place. We were out on a long uncovered terrace so it was really hard to make noise.

🙏 Hopes for the rest of the season

The same as they have been all season. To get promoted. I am starting to think we might.

😀 Best part of the day

A good win, and a good pub beforehand which had opened up early to welcome us.

😡 Worst part of the day

They ran out of food again, before the game. Same thing happened on my only other visit to Forest Green. I think they just don’t know that a club can bring decent numbers.

The British Library receives a copy of every single book published in the UK. In the same fashion, Des Junior believes a detailed record of every County game should be preserved for the history books. So here’s the full story of our 3-0 victory at Forest Green Rovers on Friday 29 March 2024, as told from his County-related WhatsApp groups…

3.20pm: Screamer from Camps!

3.29pm: 2-0 County. Forget eco-friendly, that’s Rico-friendly!

4.12pm: 3-0. Evans.

5.06pm: Great result. Well in County. Got to feel three wins and a draw would do it now.

7.02pm: Just back home. Don't think I have ever seen a match dominated by one player as much as Powell today. He was magnificent.

8.27pm: We were very good throughout the first half and should have been three up at half-time. We can let Paddy off for the one-on-one he didn't put away. The home side's most dangerous moment was when Nick Powell headed away a decent corner from inside the 6-yard box. Yes, creative midfield mastermind Nick Powell was also the defensive rock when called upon. He really was excellent today. Getting the third early in the second half killed any unlikely notion of a comeback from a Forest Green side that were utterly woeful. I doubt they'll take points off any of our rivals over the next few games. Would have liked to see us put another goal or two away, but we cantered to the win in the last quarter of the game and have hopefully saved enough for Monday. Callum Camps must have known he'd scored as soon as he'd hit his shot. Stunning.

8.30pm: Good summary. Looked the best team in the league teaching the worst team in the league a lesson without really trying. My son said the atmosphere and quality of opposition were worse than National League North standard. He's got a point.

8.54pm: I’m back into full “fuck it, go for the title” mode now. Back on top with a game in hand, we’ve got to get it done.

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Get in touch with Radial Fire and Security

As you know, we like to have a laugh and a joke at The Scarf My Father Wore, but something like fire protection is a serious matter, so we’ll get straight down to business. Radial Fire and Security are a leading commercial fire safety company with over 20 years’ experience, operating throughout the UK, specialising in the supply and service of a variety of different ranges of fire protection equipment. If you’re looking for cover, or simply to obtain some further information, give Dan a call today.

Visit radialfire.co.uk for further details.

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At The Match

At The Match is a compendium of contemporary images from the photography archive of When Saturday Comes (WSC), the monthly magazine which first appeared in 1986 and is still going strong today. The book, containing 120 original photographs (including one taken at Edgeley Park), with an introduction by writer Daniel Gray, will be published on May 1st.

For the last two decades, WSC has been commissioning photography to reflect its coverage of football from across the nations of the UK, at every level from local parks upwards. Their photography navigates a way through the maze of regional and national leagues, uncovering a footballing landscape often far removed from the hype of the Premier League. The emphasis of the photos is on a shared cultural experience and they reveal that the spirit of football as a community pastime survives very much intact. Together as a body of work, the images reflect many different sides of football. From players, fans and officials to decrepit hot dog stands and over-sized furry mascots, it’s a picture of the national game as it is really experienced by many away from the glare of the television cameras. There is room too for the upper echelons of the game, with images capturing Premier League fixtures and even international matches included in At The Match.

Glentoran v Cliftonville (Photo credit: When Saturday Comes)

In 2004, the magazine rolled out new picture-led features and started working regularly with photographers Simon Gill, Colin McPherson and Paul Thompson. They would go on to document games at all levels from grassroots and non-league to Premier League, with the odd European fixture thrown in too. Although each photographer brings his own distinctive style and approach to what they do, what unites them is a relentless visual exploration of football culture today. The motivation for their work is to photograph the game as it continues to change and evolve, with a focus on what connects supporters to football. Another thing they all have in common is that they are first-and-foremost football supporters (although you’ll have to buy the book to discover who they follow!). This motivates them to continue to build on what they have already achieved and carry on their documentary work.

Whitchurch Alport v Cammell Laird (Photo credit: When Saturday Comes)

Covering a match as a WSC photographer means taking a step back to observe the bigger picture of what matchdays involve. Typically, the photographer will arrive around two hours before the game and spend time circling the ground, mingling with supporters and trying to capture the atmosphere in the build up to kick-off time. At smaller venues, the opportunity often exists to get into the ground early and explore areas which are out-of-bounds for the ordinary fan. It is common to see the inside of dressing rooms and admin areas reproduced in the pages of WSC in the regular Shot! or Match of the Month features, adding colour and depth to the set of images. Vantage points are also a favourite: finding an elevated position to get a general view of the area with the stadium as part of the landscape gives the game its setting and context. The hustle-and-bustle of supporters arriving, the rituals they follow each week, the pies, drinks and souvenirs all play a part in building up a visual representation of the game we love so much.

Newcastle United v Watford (Photo credit: When Saturday Comes)

Then there’s the match itself. Again, WSC photographers try to look beyond the action, often showing the reaction of supporters to events on the field, rather than the players themselves. The ebb-and-flow of the game is captured in detail as the match unfolds. After it is all over, there’s the ground staff and officials packing up and the fans shuffling off, either elated by victory, or dejected in defeat. It’s all part of the story and there to be photographed.

With the archive now fast approaching 20,000 photographs, this unique and unrivalled collection of images tells stories of how and where we enjoy our football. The book aims to reflect this and the photographs have been chosen on the basis of what we judged the best, rather than any other consideration. That process is, of course, subjective. And it was impossible to represent every club in the book. Over the years, Simon, Colin and Paul have covered hundreds of games. To distill all the images down into one collection was a hard, but enjoyable, task. It brought back memories and stories and when viewed together, they hope it gives a true flavour of what it’s like to be at the match.

At The Match, published by When Saturday Comes, is available to pre-order now, priced £40 (£35 for WSC subscribers).

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Photo of the day

Julie’s Café, Droitwich

The Stockport Sippers Society enjoy a hearty breakfast in the Midlands, en route to yesterday’s game at Forest Green.

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Today in SK

💿 DJ

Stockport’s biggest party at the weekend is at Bask (SK1), with DJ Gareth Brooks playing till 3am. Last entry 1.30am.

🍺 Food and drink

If you’re in Stockport today, pop into The Petersgate Tap (SK1) for a pint or two.

Fish Meal Deal at The Friary (SK3). Lite bite fish and chips with peas, curry or gravy. Plus tea or coffee. £9.75.

🎤 Karaoke

The Nelson Tavern (SK1) with Lee. From 8pm.

DJ Robin at The Dog & Partridge (SK2). 8.30pm.

🎸 Live music

The Originals Band at The Crown (SK6).

The Strines Nightingale (SK6) have live music over Easter, from more than 20 artists. Twelve local brewers are involved as well, so you can enjoy a pint (or two!) of real ale with the music.

The Grain at The Flying Coach (SK7). 9pm.

Jess Scragg at The Rectory (SK8).

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