Little by little, Huddersfield are rebuilding after relegation to the third tier

The Terriers find themselves back in League One for the first time since 2011-12

Jun 22, 2024

Saturday 22 June 2024

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Dear County fans, Stopfordians, Huddersfield supporters, and anyone else from The Football Family joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Saturday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore. (If you’re only just joining us today, for no reason at all, I’m somehow trying to use Oasis songs for every single one of our League One season previews!)

Matt Shaw from And He Takes That Chance joins us today as we discuss Huddersfield’s prospects ahead of their first season back in League One for over a decade.

EURO 2024 – DAY 9

2pm: Georgia v Czech Republic 🇬🇪🇨🇿

5pm: Turkey v Portugal 🇹🇷🇵🇹

8pm: Belgium v Romania 🇧🇪🇷🇴

Here’s a list of the best places to watch today’s games…

Bask (SK1). All the action on two 75” screens.

Crown (SK2). Buy a pint of Helles today and you’ll be in with a chance of winning 52 free pints! There’s also a special menu throughout the Euros.

Armoury (SK3).

Reddish Working Men’s Club (SK5). There’s four screens in the games room, a new projector in the lower games room, and a screen in the middle room where families and children can enjoy the match. Check out the Special Offer Wheel which will be offering a variety of great deals before, during and after each game.

Railway (SK6).

Marple Tavern (SK6). Food served at half-time such as burgers, hot dogs, pizza and chips.

Steelworks (SK6). Games shown downstairs (sound off) and upstairs (sound on).

Shady Oak (SK7). Food served during the games from the matchday menu. Pick up a loyalty card to receive a discount on certain drinks.

Three Tunnes (SK7). Buy a pint of Helles today and you’ll be in with a chance of winning 52 free pints! There’s also a special menu throughout the Euros.

Cross Keys (SK8). All pints £2.50 from 6pm till 9pm.

Railway (SK9). TVs in every room, and outside. Discounted doubles on spirits and 10% off four pint jugs.

Flute & Firkin (SK12). Call 01625 879181 to book a table, and quote “The Scarf My Father Wore” to receive 10% off your first round of drinks. (Not applicable for walk-ins.)

Friendship Inn (SK13). Five big screen TVs with surround sound, including one outside in the beer garden.

Today’s edition is sponsored by Bridge Computer Services and Stockport Hero Hire. A big thank you to both Mark and Johnny.

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: 148.94 miles

Total steps so far: 237,462

Total raised so far: £1,881

Total completed streets so far: 304 (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

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Last win at our place: Saturday 13 November 2004, FA Cup first round, 3-1

Last win at their place: Saturday 29 April 2000, Division One, 2-0

Today’s Sky Bet title/promotion odds: Us – 20/1 7/1 Them – 8/1 3/1

Top story in the local news today: “We spent an hour at Huddersfield’s street drinking hotspot and it was chaotic”

I’m sorry to start with a political question, but as Rishi’s chucked a general election slap bang in pre-season, I feel we’ve got to mention it. Who are you voting for? If that’s too personal just give us a flavour of the current political feeling in Huddersfield? And which person at your football club do you think would make the best prime minister?

I’m pretty fluid when it comes to politics and having spent my voting life living in two Labour strongholds it has allowed me the freedom to vote how I want rather than having to vote tactically. 2010 aside, I've found that the Lib Dems tend to represent me the most in terms of my political beliefs. My constituency is central Leeds which will be red regardless come July. Huddersfield, I think has struggled politically over the last 20 years. Central Huddersfield has always voted Labour but has hugely resented the representative, Barry Sheerman. Barry lives down south, parachutes in every now and then, waffles, does nothing then leaves. A truly dreadful politician. Thankfully Barry is being replaced as the town has gone downhill spectacularly under his tenure. Out in the valleys it can go red or blue depending on the candidate. It'll go red this time.

In terms of people at Huddersfield Town, I think Matty Pearson would make an amusing prime minister. He's not the sharpest, but pulls no punches and has zero filter. A proper Yorkshireman.

Nigel Farage has had cement and a milkshake chucked over him recently. If he was to do a lap of the John Smith’s Stadium on a Saturday afternoon, what would Huddersfield fans be most likely to throw at him?

You know what football fans are like, some would probably worship him. I'd throw both boots at him, bloke’s a devious cunt.

If you had to compare the ownership and daily operations of your club to a political party, which would it be?

Our American owner Kevin Nagle does quite like the US Republican party albeit he tends to be quite philanthropic as well. He tends to only have one policy and that's "The Premier League in three years", but he doesn't realistically lay out how to get there or make moves that would make sense in achieving that, plus the figures he's quoted on social media tend to usually be wrong, so I guess we'd be the SNP.

On and off the pitch, what do you think your club’s manifesto should say for the next 12 months?

1) Take ownership of the stadium and start to make it earn money than cost it.

2) Return to the policy of buying players aged 21-24 to sell for profit which served us well from 2009-2017 (a certain Anthony Pilkington was one of those).

3) Sell the bad apples that helped cause relegation and reinvest in hungry players wanting to push us back up to the second tier at the earliest possible opportunity.

4) Bring back public floggings for some of last season's squad (just kidding... I think).

Right, that’s enough political stuff. Next question. “We’re all from Stockport, who the fuck are you…?”

I'm just a tubby podcaster with a microphone and a big mouth.

Which team do you most want to beat this season?

I shrugged my shoulders a bit at this. The cop-out answer is everyone because we want to get promoted. I think beating Peterborough would be quite nice as there’s a history of play-off disappointment there. Lincoln and Mansfield fans seem to be rather upset by our presence in this league because we beat them both 20 years ago in the play-offs so seeing their bottom lips out would be fun, I guess. I suppose I just like to see the opposition sulking, I'm all up in that.

Which Huddersfield player is most likely to end up in League One’s team of the season?

As it stands, I don't know which Huddersfield player would end up in our own team. Sorba Thomas and Michal Helik would no doubt be strong favourites but I suspect neither will be here come August. Brodie Spencer had a great breakthrough season last year and if he stays fit then Rhys Healey should score goals. Radinio Balker if he stays is a very silky centre-back but our midfield is absolute trash at the moment and will need some strengthening so no one from there.

County haven’t been to Huddersfield in the league since September 2009. In just one paragraph, sum up everything that’s happened at your place since then.

We got promoted from League One in 2012, consolidated, and then found lightning in a bottle with David Wagner in 2015 who took us on a crazy ride to the Premier League. He left in 2019, the club got relegated, the owner became ill and sold to some skint phallus who couldn't afford it, that owner's business went into admin, the old owner came back reluctantly and ran us on a shoe string but we somehow made the Championship play-off final in 2022 with a load of free transfers and loans. We got shafted in the final by VAR against Forest (Jon Moss is still a knob) and then fell into a death spiral and almost went into administration. Neil Warnock performed a miracle to keep us up in 2023, that was fun, and then we were bought by an American called Kevin Nagle who was financially handicapped by the new EFL FFI Rules. That handicapping ultimately caused us to be crap last season as we went through a load of managers before we got relegated with a load of pillocks playing for us and now we have a mess to sort.

Huddersfield away. I think of the famous cat you’ve got at the train station, one of the best new all-seater stadiums in terms of style and atmosphere, and Happy Valley. Do I need to educate myself further, or is that fairly accurate?

Well the cat’s dead, the stadium's falling apart and needs £10m worth of repairs, and Happy Valley was based out of Sowerby Bridge in Halifax, but you're close!

Huddersfield away... Craft ale, kids fighting with machetes, Last of the Summer Wine, a train station that looks like the Back to the Future clock tower, and there's another cat in the train station called Bolt. Also Harold Wilson to bring it back to politics.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Stockport County?

Aeroplanes.

Rotherham play at the New York Stadium. NFL star Tom Brady is involved at Birmingham. Wrexham are plastered all over Netflix or Nickelodeon or whatever it is. League One has a bit of an American flavour this season. What’s the most American thing about Huddersfield?

Our American owner Kevin Nagle did randomly have one of the twins from 90s US sitcom Sister, Sister visit last year. Think she's married to a mate of his or something. Maybe we can get Carlton Banks dancing on the pitch as the players come out next season. I'd like that.

I’ve been watching Football Cops on Channel 4 recently, featuring Sunderland fans kicking down barriers after the game at Coventry, and loads of little Crewe rapscallions playing up at home to Walsall. On a scale of 1 to 10, how naughty are Huddersfield fans these days, and how safe will our lot be when we make the trip to West Yorkshire this season?

Following most football clubs away from home is a pain in the arse these days with the amount of white powder some of them consume. Most Huddersfield fans are friendly, self deprecating and jovial. There are, like at all clubs, some complete dickheads as well. Like me!

Who or what needs to be top of Huddersfield’s shopping list before the new season starts in August?

Our goalkeeper is leaving so we'll need one of those. Two centre-backs are set to leave so we'll need a couple of those. A left-back, yeah need one of those. Our midfield is garbage and we've literally not had one player who can pass a ball in a straight 5-yard line since Carel Eiting left in 2022. It's a real source of anger and frustration from me – how can these idiots not pass five yards to someone unmarked under no pressure, honestly Des, it's been pissing me off for years. So yeah someone who knows how to use his instep to move the ball to someone in the same coloured shirt would be nice.

What’s your early predictions in terms of the promotion and relegation places?

I'm still sat here rattled by your last question and having to think about people that get paid £10,000 a week to not pass a ball in a straight line. Honestly, you wouldn't believe it.

Relegation, absolutely no idea in all honesty. It's pretty lazy to say Crawley but I'll say them anyway because I'm bone idle. County and Wrexham look like two of the strongest teams to come up in years, so I imagine they'll be looking top half. Could be some surprises down there.

As for promotion it's too early to say but if the season started tomorrow I'd probably say Bolton and Birmingham to finish in the top two with the play-offs including Rotherham, Peterborough, ourselves and maybe Blackpool, Barnsley or someone like that. Maybe County, who knows?

Click on the links below to read the other 2024-25 season previews we’ve published so far.

Crawley / Leyton Orient / Rotherham / Wigan

Give Mark a call if your laptop needs a new screen

If your laptop needs a new screen give Mark a call at Bridge Computer Services. One of Mark’s clients had a broken screen recently. The following day the laptop was fitted with a new screen and delivered back to the client.

Based in Romiley, the business also provides computer workshop and callout services to residential and business customers across Stockport. Their callout and workshop engineers are trained to fix computers, laptops and servers on site (where possible) as well as setting up new computers and wireless networks, plus maintaining existing networks and removing viruses.

Visit bridgecomputerservices.co.uk for further details.

Introducing… Panther!

If you want a hero who can leap, creep, bounce and move with super speed then come and get your paws on this guy!

He’s the latest character to join the Stockport Hero Hire team. If your kids love the Marvel movies, imagine the smiles on their faces when Panther turns up for their birthday party or any other celebration!

Visit stockportherohire.co.uk for further details on all of the different heroes you can book for your child’s party.

Photo of the day

Somewhere in Germany

Super Tommy Bennett enjoying himself at the Euros.

Today in SK

🎬 Cinema

Two films at The Savoy Cinema (SK4) today. If (U) at 3pm and The Bikeriders (15) at 5.30pm and 8pm. Click here for tickets.

💿 DJ

The Stockport Tattoo Convention and Stockport Alternative Market are both taking place today. Afterwards, from 6pm, the after party is taking place at AMP (SK1) with DJ Aaron Gold. Rock of all genres. Free entry.

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.

All pints £2.50 at The Cross Keys (SK8) from 6pm till 9pm.

🎤 Karaoke

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

🎸 Live music

Jack Woodward at The Dog & Partridge (SK2). 8.30pm.

The Uninvited Guests at The Crown (SK6). 9pm.

100 random grounds that County have played at

#45 – Victoria Park, Hartlepool

Last visit: December 2022. The first meeting between the two sides since Hartlepool’s victory at Edgeley Park in the play-offs. County exacted revenge with a 5-0 victory. Kyle Wootton scored a first-half brace, before further goals from Madden, Camps and Collar after the break.