The Hatters and the Rams

With Dave Challinor’s men facing Derby in Spain this summer, Alex Lipniski takes a closer look at the Pride Park outfit, along with a number of County connections

May 21, 2024

Tuesday 21 May 2024

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Dear County fans, Stopfordians, Derby supporters, and anyone else from The Football Family joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Tuesday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.

Alex Lipniski wrote his first piece for us back in December when he took an early morning Flixbus from Nottingham to London, before catching a train to Aldershot for our FA Cup game. From eating chicken and pasta with garlic bread for breakfast, to grabbing a photo at Buckingham Palace on his way home, I really enjoyed reading his article, and his second feature on The Scarf My Father Wore is just as good, taking a closer look at all things Derby ahead of our pre-season friendly with the Rams in Murcia.

A big thank you to ASAP Clearances for sponsoring today’s edition.

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: £1,686

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

Following on from the recent announcement that County will return to sunny Spain in July to visit the Pinatar Arena once more, I thought I’d give a little bit of an insight and compare the recent histories between County and our opponents, Derby. For clarity, I’ll refer to Stockport County as County and Derby County as Derby as the Rams tend to drop County from chants whereas the Hatters prioritise County rather than Stockport. For example, “Hello, hello, we are the County boys” rather than “Hello, hello, we are the Derby boys”.

Derby’s history before the turn of the century, whilst not littered in silverware, was certainly respectable. The 1946 FA Cup, the 1972 First Division under legendary English manager Brian Clough (which was followed by a controversial defeat in the 1973 European Cup semi-final at the hands of Juventus), another top flight title in 1975 under Dave Mackay, as well as the Charity Shield. Mackay’s Derby would also inflict the heaviest defeat to Real Madrid by an English club (4-1 at the Baseball Ground) until Liverpool beat them 4-0 at Anfield 30 years later.

In spite of this the Rams are more well known for their disastrous 2007-08 season which saw one win and eight draws as Derby were crowned the worst side in Premier League history. The rebuild period from this fallout under Brian Clough’s son Nigel – whom we are well acquitted with as County have failed to beat his Mansfield side since our return to the EFL – put the Rams in good stead to return to the Premier League under Steve McClaren and Paul Simpson, but the Rams fell short at Wembley against QPR, captained by our very own Clint Hill. This would signify the start of Derby’s slow fall to England’s third tier as overspending, erratic managerial changes and an inexplicable loss of form in and around February and March on a regular basis eventually saw Derby’s promotion ambitions turn to survival ambitions.

Following investigations by the EFL into Derby’s amortisation policy along with the club going into administration, the Rams were deducted 21 points, leading to their relegation to the third tier of English football for the first time since 1986. In fact, Derby’s relegation to League One was effectively confirmed at the exact same minute that Paddy Madden fired County in front in a crucial 1-0 win over Solihull Moors at Edgeley Park.

Derby later found themselves taken over by supporter David Clowes who’s begun to rebuild the club with sustainability being the backbone of his operation. After finishing outside of the play-offs last season, Paul Warne in his first full season as Derby manager has guided them back to the second tier with a win over the side that pipped County on the big stage, Carlisle.

Having both ended their respective seasons in the pubs with promotion to their names – the first time both sides have been promoted in the same season – County and Derby return to the Costa Cálida once again. Derby were held to a 1-1 draw at the Pinatar Arena against Salford last summer, where a certain Odin Bailey scored a goal similar to that of his winner against AFC Wimbledon towards the back end of this season. Derby’s second visit to southern Spain will see the return of Odin against the Rams when County take them on in July.

Under the previous ownership of Mel Morris, Derby found themselves taking pre-season trips to Florida or Germany or even having mid-season warm weather camps in Dubai. During this period, County played local friendlies against Cheadle Heath Nomads, but also took a trip to Wales to face Airbus UK. Whilst local visits to Cheadle Heath benefitted the community of Stockport, the opportunity for County fans to watch County abroad is undoubtedly a rarity considering the club’s trajectory during the Dark Days. The idea of a pre-season tour abroad simply wasn’t conceivable whilst the club was playing non-league football.

From a County perspective, the trip to Spain probably highlights the calibre of club and management that we aspire to compete with, perhaps not this season or next season but beyond that. Moreover, it shows that the club is now taken seriously in the context of the wider Football League pyramid as we have been able to get a friendly against a huge Championship club. Whilst perhaps I overestimate the significance of this friendly, I would imagine a club like Derby is where our target lies in terms of competitiveness, with a friendly such as this one giving us the opportunity to look at what’s needed to get out of this division through the top two or the play-offs rather than the bottom four. It sets the bar in terms of where the club wants to be and how we can compete with them.

Pride Park is one of only ten grounds where County are yet to visit. That’ll become nine this season when we go to Reading. The remaining ones are City, Arsenal, West Ham, Brighton, Brentford, Coventry, Cardiff and Swansea.

County and Derby haven’t met since a League Cup game in 2006-07 in front of 3,394 at Edgeley Park, and haven’t faced one another in a league fixture since 1956-57. That game in August 2006 had some familiar names, including Liam Dickinson, who would swap blue and white for black and white. Dicko’s play-off final winner against Rochdale, which ended County’s Wembley curse after our misfortune throughout the 90s, was his final contribution for County (until he retuned under Alan Lord) as he would join Paul Jewell’s relegated Rams, though his career in Derbyshire didn’t go according to plan.

That transfer of Dickinson from County to Derby probably symbolised the start of two new eras for both sides. For County, it would be the gut-wrenching era of decline which saw us kicking off the 2013-14 season in the sixth tier. For Derby, it would be the era of reconstruction, which concluded once Nigel Clough was sacked as Derby manager and replaced by Steve McClaren. Mel Morris’s purchase of the club ended that reconstruction as Derby would spend heavily and achieve little throughout his tenure.

Aside from Dickinson, a number of other names come to mind regarding players who have represented both Derby and County since 2006. The “Flying Finn” Shefki Kuqi, discovered by Andy Kilner in 2001, ended up at Pride Park during a three-month loan spell nine years later, scoring against Crystal Palace and Watford.

Jamie Ward was not only a key part of the rebuild of Derby in the era after the infamous 11 points season, but previously he’d been part of County’s great escape in 2005-06, on loan from Aston Villa. Ward made his debut in the 1-0 win at Bury. Dickinson of course scored the winner late on, past Kasper Schmeichel. Dave Challinor and Colin Woodthorpe were also in the Bury line-up. Ward scored once for County, the opening goal in a crucial 3-1 win against Shrewsbury. Certainly a reasonably respected player amongst the two clubs.

Two Neil Young signings feature next with Gareth Roberts and Paul Connolly. Roberts made over 100 appearances for Derby under Nigel Clough and even played in Shaun Barker’s testimonial match at Pride Park whilst still playing for County. Roberts was coming to the end of his career and was probably looking for his last stint in playing. In spite of this I think it would be harsh to criticise him, especially considering that we had more infamous players in that side due to their quality (or rather lack of it) on the pitch at the time.

Paul Connolly was the other ex-Ram that Neil Young brought in to compete either with Danny Morton at right-back or to slot in alongside O’Hanlon at centre-back. Connolly’s stint at Derby lasted two seasons as Paul Jewell recruited him in the fallout of Derby’s last Premier League season to date.

Josh Barnes would be the next player to have the pleasure of playing for two esteemed clubs, making a couple of appearances during the Covid season of 2020-21 as the second choice goalkeeper, taking over from Ian Ormson to an extent.

That same season, County were introduced to Barnes’ former youth teammate Jack Stretton. Whilst only briefly on loan, Stretton certainly made a name for himself with goals against Solihull, Barnet and Aldershot under Simon Rusk before returning to the Rams. The following season, Stretton scored the opener against Peterborough in Derby’s first away game of the season as the Rams faced turmoil behind the scenes. However, it was Stretton’s goal against Salford in the play-off semi-final second leg whereby he’ll be remembered most in County colours, scrambling one in from a few yards out in front of the Cheadle End following his permanent move to Edgeley Park in January 2023.

Calum MacDonald’s brief spell at County also qualifies him for this list. Having only made a handful of appearances after debuting in a 1-0 victory at Bradford, MacDonald departed the North West on deadline day, heading to Bristol Rovers. MacDonald came through Derby’s youth academy and found himself on the bench as Aston Villa beat Derby at Wembley.

The last name will probably be quite new to Rams fans but will be a name passed down the generations at Edgeley Park. It’s Ben Hinchliffe. Ben sat on the bench at Pride Park on Boxing Day 2007 as Derby were beaten 2-1 by Liverpool but he’ll be remembered for his legendary status as County’s number one for almost a decade and being the only man in the club’s history to lift three different league titles with the club.

It would appear that no player is idolised by both fanbases. Hinchliffe and Dickinson are idolised in the North West but are unknown in the East Midlands. Even Kuqi, who is respected in Stockport, was nearing the end of his career when he signed for Derby on loan, which was also the case in reverse with Connolly and Roberts. Ward’s nine games at Edgeley Park don’t really make him standout, whilst Josh Barnes was unknown at both. This leaves us with Jack Stretton, but with one goal at Derby and his career still with time to grow, it’s likely he’ll be favoured more at The Prince Albert than at The Neptune.

And that’s that. Derby v County in sunny Spain seemed a million miles away ten years ago for both sides, yet here it is as both sides will probably be looking to consolidate their status in their respective leagues next season.

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Give ASAP Clearances a call if you’re having a clearout this summer

Some clearouts make you feel sad, such as County’s this summer with numerous title winners leaving the club. (Although I completely get the fact we’re now building a squad to take us to the Championship.)

Other clearouts will make you feel happy, though, such as getting rid of all that clutter from your house, or your garden, or even your office. ASAP Clearances are a fully licensed waste management company dealing in rubbish clearances, as well as removals for any type of property.

If you’ve got anything that needs shifting, call 07733 229957 or email asapclearances@yahoo.com.

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Photo of the day

Isle of Man

The Isle of Man Football Festival was extremely popular in the 90s, with loads of County fans making the short hop to the island for a week during pre-season. The tournament is making a return this summer over one weekend in July, with Chester, Radcliffe and Lancaster competing against FC Isle of Man, who play in the North West Counties League. Here’s a photo of County’s team from the 1999 tournament. How many can you name?

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Today in SK

🎬 Cinema

Two films at The Savoy Cinema (SK4) today. If (U) at 5.30pm, followed by The Fall Guy (12A) at 8pm. Click here for tickets.

🍟 Food and drink

The Nelson Tavern (SK1) have a great range of offers throughout the week, including £4.50 for drinks off the Doubles Bar, a comprehensive range of shots for £2, and 3 for £6 on Jägerbombs.

If you’re in Stockport tonight, pop into The Petersgate Tap (SK1) for a couple of pints.

Pie Meal Deal at The Friary (SK3). Any pie or pudding and chips with peas, curry or gravy. Plus tea or coffee. £7.95. (Greenhalgh’s Pies £1 extra.)

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100 random grounds that County have played at

#22 – Kassam Stadium, Oxford

Last visit: County have never ever lost at the Kassam Stadium. I mean, we’ve only been there twice, but it sounds good eh? Our last visit to the three-sided ground was back in September 2010. George Donnelly scored our winner just before half-time.

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