The day County drew at Anfield

More wonderful memories from John Snellgrove, as we reminisce about County’s incredible 1964-65 FA Cup run

Jun 16, 2024

Sunday 16 June 2024

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.

It’s not been a bad start to the Euros has it (well, unless you’re from Scotland…). We’ve already had 16 goals in the opening four games, with Germany and Spain looking particularly tasty going forward. Let’s see if England’s exciting crop of attacking youngsters can also make an early statement of intent tonight. Our opening group game against Serbia kicks off at 8pm.

With England not playing until this evening, you’ve got plenty of time to read our latest nostalgic piece from John Snellgrove. It’s another cracker, it really is. If you haven’t yet done so, make sure you read Part 1 and Part 2 as well.

EURO 2024 – DAY 3

2pm: Poland v Netherlands 🇵🇱🇳🇱

5pm: Slovenia v Denmark 🇸🇮🇩🇰

8pm: Serbia v England 🇷🇸🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

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

Bask (SK1). All the action on two 75” screens, with audio through the PA. There’s also a DJ before and after the England game, and at half-time!

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). Game shown downstairs.

Shady Oak (SK7). Food served during the game 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).

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 PR Landscapes and Bancroft Tattoos. A big thank you to both Patrick and Dean.

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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Saturday 22 August 1964. A new season had dawned. What did we expect? In the words of the late Paul Daniels, not a lot. In those days expectations were low, so we never really imagined making a push for promotion but hoped to avoid having to apply for re-election.

How wrong we were. This was to be a season that had highs far exceeding anything we had ever experienced before, but sadly tragedy too with the death of our forward John Nibloe as he drove home from an away defeat at Newport.

This was also the season that saw the arrival of Len White, an FA Cup winner with Newcastle in the 1950s. What a signing he turned out to be!

Our first game of the season was at home to Millwall, with a number of new players in our starting line-up. How good would they turn out to be? I often wonder how we acquired players in those days. No directors of football back then. Was it word of mouth?

One signing that always perplexed me was Bob Murray from Inverurie Loco. They played near Aberdeen and I couldn’t imagine anyone from the club having gone to see him play. That was probably the case as I later found out that the manager’s brother recommended him. He turned out to be a good judge as he played over 450 games for County.

Around that time I remember the club would advertise trials for players. I tried to persuade a friend that we ought to have a go. He looked at me and informed me what a waste of everybody’s time that would be as I hated heading the ball. That plus the fact I was pretty useless at all other aspects of the game. Sadly, oh so true!

The Millwall game was an eye opener. In goal for them was a certain Alex Stepney. Not that he had to do much. A comprehensive 4-1 defeat for County. It wasn’t just the result. Millwall seemed to be on a different level and it didn’t take a genius to work out that this probably, yet again, was not going to be our year. At the end of the season Millwall were promoted in second place to Brighton.

Still, we had a home game against Chester coming up on a Friday night. By the time that game arrived we had departed the League Cup at the usual first round stage, courtesy of Rochdale. No surprises there. I had been around for seven cup games. All lost and the princely sum of two goals scored in those seven games.

But Chester… surely we could beat them. The excitement as we equalised near the end to make the score 4-4 was quickly extinguished as they scored a last minute winner. Three goals in the next game, a defeat at Hartlepool, did offer some hope, but one goal in the next seven games left us at the bottom with just two points from 12 games.

Even the most optimistic supporter (which I wasn’t) could hold little hope for the rest of the season. Still there was always the FA Cup. By the time that arrived we had managed three wins and three draws from 20 games.

Nobody thought we stood a chance at home to non-league Wigan Athletic in round one. They were the giants in this game, riding high at the top of the Cheshire League, and pessimism was confirmed when Wigan took the lead. Astonishingly County rallied and a twice taken penalty by Mike Eckersall and a winner scored by John Nibloe sent most of the 11,570 crowd into disbelief. County had won a cup game.

The draw was awaited with anticipation. Home to Grimsby who were top of the old Third Division. Well it was nice while it lasted. Sadly just before that game John Nibloe was killed in the car crash and a sombre mood greeted the game. The fog seemed so appropriate, so much so that the game was abandoned just after half-time.

The game was played again on the following Monday. How could games in those days be rearranged so quickly? I can’t really remember much about the game apart from the fact that County somehow beat them 1-0. Another crowd of over 10,000 were at the game.

Can you spot a future England manager in the Grimsby line-up? And a real toughie next, a player who would play for County the following season?

The third round draw was so deflating. No big club but the new leaders of the Third Division, Bristol Rovers away. That’s one of the biggest let-downs in football, the uninspiring cup draw. Away, or even at home, to a team who are a bit better than you and that are highly likely to knock you out.

Well hold your horses. Somehow, County managed a 0-0 draw at Eastville, and the following Monday over 19,000 fans turned up to witness one of my all time favourite football memories. County were 2–0 up, but Rovers soon equalised and looked on course to be heading to Liverpool in round four. Then in the dying minutes, a moment I can still clearly remember watching from the Railway End, Ian Sandiford rose like the proverbial salmon above the Rovers defence to head the winner. Pandemonium. Nearly 60 years later I can still picture that moment. It’s why we watch football and if you can experience moments like that you are a lucky person and can tolerate the general mid-table mediocrity, knowing that highs like that are all too rare.

Liverpool. At Anfield. OMG!

This was unbelievable. A top First Division side away from home. Then reality struck. Four wins and three draws from the 28 Fourth Division games so far was not actually a statistic to fill one with confidence. Standing on the terraces watching dismal home defeats to Torquay and Chesterfield in the weeks before left us shaking our heads. What was the record FA Cup score? We had memories of Spurs beating Crewe 13-2 only a few years previously. Well at least Crewe scored two.

Still we booked our tickets on one of the football specials from Edgeley station and then as the excitement grew a real downer appeared. Sir Winston Churchill died on the Sunday before the game and it appeared likely all matches would be postponed for the funeral the following Saturday. Knowing there was no chance to go to the rearranged game the prayer mats were unfurled and thank goodness the funeral was held in the morning. The game was on.

As a Catholic at the time and knowing how God might answer your prayers there was a bit of a dilemma. If 50,000 Liverpool fans prayed they would far outweigh the number of County fans asking him for victory, or in our case not total embarrassment. The only hope was that the Liverpool fans would be so confident that they wouldn’t bother asking God for help!

The Saturday arrived and the train – pulled by a Black Five from Edgeley depot – set off. We arrived in Liverpool and to the best of my knowledge we walked to the ground. Stopping at a local shop to replenish supplies, the shopkeeper kindly let us know we were going to get hammered. Hard to disagree. But what a moment standing at Anfield in a crowd of over 51,000 watching County. Wow!

Within 18 minutes, it was wow to the nth degree. County took the lead. The brilliant Len White headed home in front of us. This was dreamland and we held the lead until half-time. This couldn’t last and when Liverpool equalised just after the break the omens were not good. But County rallied and attacked Liverpool and a blatant foul on Ian Sandiford in the Liverpool penalty area was waved away. If it had been the other way round I’m convinced the referee would have pointed to the spot. Strange how these decisions go in favour of the big team to this day. Despite that, the unbelievable had become believable. County had drawn at Liverpool and in those days all clubs took the FA Cup seriously. No filling teams with their under 12s. Just look at the Liverpool team that day.

Memories of the replay. Going to Our Lady’s Church for mass on the Sunday and the priest deciding to cancel the sermon as he believed there was something fairly important happening in the next week and people might want to get off early to get tickets.

Over 24,000 turned up to the game and the Railway End was heaving. No chance of getting to the toilets!

The game was a bit of a non event as two goals from Roger Hunt, a World Cup winner a year later, decided the tie. However, nothing can take away those memories.

The season couldn’t live up to this and somewhat petered out. I saw my first away victory, 1-0 at Halifax. County finished bottom but were duly re-elected and after many years of trying, the reserves were elected to the Cheshire League, probably equivalent to today’s National League.

Things were beginning to look brighter on the footballing front. Maybe more to follow…

Whoops. Nearly forgot. I do get irritated when I can never find or miss the answers to a quiz. The future England manager was Graham Taylor and Dick Young played for County the following season.

One more story for extra time. At the end of the season County played a match for John Nibloe’s family. It included players from Doncaster, Sheffield United, Stoke and County. I think there were a few goals. I couldn’t get a programme so wrote my own! The crowd was about 6,000 but one thing I definitely remember is that the famous Stanley Matthews turned out for Stoke.

A few words from PR Landscapes

Welcome to PR Landscapes, where every blade of grass tells a story of beauty and precision. With a passion for crafting outdoor sanctuaries, we specialise in transforming ordinary spaces into lush, vibrant landscapes that captivate the senses and elevate the soul. From meticulously manicured lawns to enchanting garden retreats, we bring your vision to life with creativity, expertise, and an unwavering commitment to excellence. Step into a world where nature's canvas meets our artistry, and let us turn your landscape dreams into breathtaking reality.

As we stride into the future, PR Landscapes stands poised to embark on an exciting journey of growth, innovation, and continued excellence in the realm of landscape design and maintenance. With a steadfast commitment to our clients and a passion for environmental stewardship, we envision expanding our reach and enhancing our services to meet the evolving needs of our community.

One of our primary objectives is to further integrate sustainable practices into every aspect of our business. From utilising eco-friendly materials and implementing water-saving irrigation systems to promoting native plant species and reducing carbon emissions, sustainability will remain at the forefront of our operations. By prioritising environmental responsibility, we not only minimise our ecological footprint but also contribute to the long-term health and vitality of the landscapes we create.

In addition to refining our existing services, we aim to diversify our offerings to cater to a broader range of needs and preferences, introducing specialised maintenance packages tailored to different types of landscapes. We are constantly seeking new opportunities to add value for our clients.

As we look ahead, we are excited about the possibilities that lie on the horizon for PR Landscapes. With our unwavering dedication to quality, innovation, and sustainability, we are confident that we will continue to thrive and make a positive impact in the years to come.

If you’re looking to transform your garden for this summer, give Patrick a call on 07793 084808 or email prlandscapes22@gmail.com.

Be in with a chance of winning a free tattoo by following Bancroft Tattoos on social media

Dean from Bancroft Tattoos celebrated his birthday recently, and he’s set a challenge for The Scarf My Father Wore readers. If we can add 150 followers to his Facebook and Instagram pages, Dean’s going to offer a free tattoo (three hours, worth £240) to a lucky follower.

While it’s fresh in your memory, go and follow Dean now! He’s under Bancroft Tattoos on both Facebook and Instagram. At the same time, send him a message quoting “The Scarf My Father Wore” and then if we hit our target, Dean will do a random generator selection from those names.

If you’re looking to book a tattoo appointment at the moment, Dean charges £80 per hour or £400 for a full day session (six hours). He’s recently moved from Cheadle to Marple and the new studio is much more spacious offering an even better customer experience.

For any enquiries, please email deanbancroft@outlook.com.

Photo of the day

A gorgeous glimpse of Edgeley Park through the greenery.

Today in SK

🎬 Cinema

One film at The Savoy Cinema (SK4) today. Back To Black (15) at 5.30pm. Click here for tickets.

🍺 Food and drink

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

🎤 Live music

Simon Langley at The Steelworks (SK6). 3pm.

100 random grounds that County have played at

#39 – New York Stadium, Rotherham

Last visit: Rotherham have been in their new home for 12 years now, but County have only visited once. That was on a Friday night in December 2021, with the Hatters travelling to South Yorkshire after the famous FA Cup victory over Bolton in round one. Dave Challinor’s men produced another battling display, but couldn’t quite topple another League One side. Michael Smith scored the only goal of the game just before the break.