Saturday 25 November 2023
NEXT HOME GAME: Salford – Tuesday 28 November, 7.45pm
NEXT AWAY GAME: Newport – Today, 3pm
Dear County fans, Stopfordians, and any Newport supporters joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Saturday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.
Ian Brown, Paul Thompson, Jonathan Baker and Nick Lee have all your Newport build-up, as County go in search of a 13th consecutive victory in League Two.
Today’s edition is sponsored by Colourtone. As always, a big thank you to Paul.
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: £1,017
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, ahead of the 41st County derby.
Ian Brown, hedgegrower
Newport 1 County 2
Are Stockport County going to be the first League Two team in history to win 13 consecutive games this afternoon?
We will see, but I think this particular team seems sufficiently well grounded not to be unduly influenced by any tensions prior to or during today’s match.
We seem to have a rather happy knack of being able to kill off opponents even when our number one game deserts us temporarily, so whilst I think that Newport will make us work hard for the points, I look to County making history today, hopefully with that number one game on full display.
Paul Thompson, Stockport County Supporters Co-operative
Newport 1 County 3
How are you going to celebrate tonight if County make history?
Over at Co-op HQ, I think we’ll be quietly celebrating win lose or draw, with a proud satisfaction that in bleaker times our own members and supporters of the Co-op helped support the club to reach the heights we see today.
How can it possibly be that we've just equalled the League Two record for consecutive wins – hopefully taking the record outright this afternoon – when just a few short years ago we were fighting for every breath?! Huge congratulations to the current players and management on and off the field.
Talking of changes we've just held our AGM and will be forming a new board at our next meeting next week. Back to football matters today, though, and County for the win. 3-1 – and I'll even go as far as saying that's to the new holders of the most consecutive wins in League Two!
Jonathan Baker aka Geordie Hatter, The County Away Day Show
Newport 0 County 2
Newport’s podcast bloke suggested their lot should wear their lucky pants this afternoon. Do you have any lucky pants or superstitions?
I’m actually feeling quite envious of the Newport podcast bloke here Des, not simply on account of his matchday pants (although I’m sure they’re absolutely lovely, as well as lucky) but because the superstitious behaviour he has attached to them – namely a short but compulsive bi-weekly morning rumble about his underwear drawer – strikes me as an absolute piece of cake, compared to the frankly neurotic rigours which mentally bedevil my own Saturday routine, including the following:
1) Entering the ground
I used to consider entrance 19 at the Cheadle End to be my personal “lucky turnstile” – until one game my accessing of Edgeley Park by this portal failed to deliver County the required three points, and I concluded that the footballing gods must have been keeping careful tabs on me, and had awarded the opposition a late equaliser expressly to teach me a lesson in regard to my fatalistic impertinence.
Ever since then, I’ve delayed selecting a queue to join on Hardcastle Road until I have received an unambiguous message from my subconscious advising me which turnstile number represents my personal “lucky” figure for this particular fixture – a message which can on some occasions arrive instantaneously, but on others may take several minutes, during which I need to stand quite still, my gaze scanning the entry points like a man awaiting a long-lost relative appearing through an airport arrival terminal. After this I attempt to join my chosen queue in the manner of a rational person, who has merely been calculating extraordinarily carefully the length and speed of the various options. I’m sure the whole drama presents itself as entirely unremarkable to the casual observer, and not in the slightest bit erratic.
2) Concentrating on the game
One winter afternoon during my teenage years I was watching a particularly ordinary Newcastle United team labour to what looked like it was going to be a scrappy 1-0 home victory over Rotherham United. With around five minutes left on the clock, my thoughts began to wander – to what I was going to have for tea perhaps, or to whether my sister might have forgotten to cover my Evening Chronicle paper round in return for the 50p I’d agreed to pay her, or whether I’d be able to get the bus home in time to catch the start of Basil Brush on BBC1. At which precise moment, the referee awarded the opposition a dubious penalty, which was duly converted, the Division Two fixture thus ending in a disappointing 1-1 draw.
I concluded – of course – that this late turnaround in my beloved Magpies’ fortunes had been entirely down to my own lapse of attention, and then started to notice (or convinced myself that I was noticing) that whenever my concentration wandered from the action during future games, this pattern of late equalisers/winning goals for the opposition would repeat itself. Ever since then, I’ve endeavoured to focus 100% on the action in front of me for the entire duration of a game, with the result that I’m as confident as I can be that the many subsequent misfortunes I’ve witnessed can in no way be attributed to my own inattention, and that instead they have been the fault of some other careless supporter. The bloke in front of me at EP who intermittently checks United’s score on his mobile during breaks in play I consider a serial offender in this regard, and I personally hold him responsible for several equalisers, a penalty, and a sending-off. Again, entirely rational thought processes on my behalf here as I am sure the County Nation will agree, and no reason whatsoever to cast askance glances in my direction, or indeed request urgent psychological intervention on the part of the authorities.
The mental efforts involved in such behaviour being fully considered, I’m actually fairly relieved not to be travelling down to South Wales today and to be listening in via the audio commentary instead (although as you can imagine by now, there will be no nipping off to put the kettle on during important points in play, lest the footballing gods – who are after all omnipresent, including in my kitchen – be watching). I’m thinking that fortune will continue to favour our rampant County, and we’ll bring home the bacon.
Nick Lee, The Scarf Bergara Wore
Newport 1 County 3
How are you going to celebrate tonight if County make history?
Seeing as I'm not getting to go and enjoy the delights of Tiny Rebel in Newport, I'll probably pop down to any good supermarket within the SK8 area and pick myself up a few cans of their frankly superb lager and drink them at the bus stop or in a park. I'll probably listen to a bit of the magnificent Goldie Lookin Chain as well.
Every week I become convinced that the run will end, and it's getting to the point where I'm tying myself in knots with reverse psychology. That said, I'm going for a reasonably comfortable 3-1 win and another set of opposition fans going on about how we're the best team they've seen there all season.
Give your car a lick of paint
Granted, Stockport used to be a little rough around the edges. But the town’s getting a good old lick of paint these days, with fancy new offices, apartments, bars and restaurants springing up. You can’t be driving up and down the A6 in a tatty car with chipped paintwork, so give your car a nice lick of paint too. Colourtone is your go-to company for that. They’ve been servicing the automotive and industrial markets in Cheshire and Greater Manchester for decades, and carry an extensive range of car paint and industrial paints.
Visit colourtone.com for further details.
Photo of the day
Rodney Parade, Newport
Chris Hussey celebrates his equaliser at Newport last season.
Today in SK
🎄 Christmas fair
The Dog & Partridge (SK2). Handmade gifts, cuddly toys, tombola, local artists, The Body Shop and lots more! Pop down for a drink and some Christmas shopping. 12pm - 3pm.
🍟 Food and drink
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.
🎤 Karaoke
Lee at The Nelson Tavern (SK1). 8pm - 1am.
⚽️ Live football
If you’re not making the long trip to Newport, you can catch the live Premier League games on the big screens at Bask (SK1). Citeh v Liverpool at 12.30pm, Brentford v Arsenal at 5.30pm.
🎵 Live music
Jon Penn at Puss in Boots (SK2). 9pm.
The Maccy Vs at The Andrew Arms (SK6). An Irish night full of toe-tapping Irish songs and Celtic melodies played on the fiddle, tin whistle, accordion guitar and percussion. 8pm.
Vehicle at The Crown Inn (SK6). A lively and energetic Motown trio. 9pm.
Singer songwriter Daniel Clarke at The Rectory (SK8). 8.30pm.
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
DJ Des
A little bit of Goldie Lookin Chain for Nick Lee when he’s pissed on a park bench tonight.
Would you like DJ Des to play a song for your favourite County player, or a friend or family member? Email thescarfmyfatherwore@substack.com with your requests/shoutouts!
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