The Third Division Years

John Snellgrove is back with another nostalgic trip down memory lane, with County now in Division Three

Jul 20, 2024

Saturday 20 July 2024

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STOCKPORT COUNTY PREDICTION GAME 2024-25: Predict County’s top scorer, final league position, cup performances etc. £10 to enter. 40% of the pot to the winner, 30% to second, 20% to third, and 10% to Mentell. If you’d like to enter, drop us a message or an email.

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

Lots of our readers have thoroughly enjoyed John Snellgrove’s series of articles on the 1960s in recent weeks. We’ve got the penultimate instalment for you today, as County kick off the 1967-68 season in Division Three. Here’s the links to John’s other brilliant pieces as well for you.

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5

Today’s edition is sponsored by Slimming World Reddish & Bredbury. A big thank you to Shlean.

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: 176.31 miles

Total steps so far: 284,130

Total raised so far: £1,956

Total completed streets so far: 399 (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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Another new season dawned. Just under seven years from my first ever game at Edgeley Park, but it seemed like we had entered a different era. County had seen me all the way through secondary school and in September I would be starting a teaching course. How would this affect my County watching? Time alone would tell.

The season started with the running of the first County Arrow to Reading. A special train to watch County covered two of my main interests but for some reason I didn’t go. Possibly fortunately as County lost 3-0.

I had three league games at home before I was to up sticks and head to the salubrious environs of George Street in Cheetham Hill, to share accommodation with 13 other aspiring students! There was definitely a feeling of excitement in the air as County kicked off with a comfortable 2-0 win at home to Swindon. Home wins against Brighton and Bournemouth were to follow. This was easy. Maybe too easy.

Shock upon shock, County also progressed to the second round of the League Cup. Bill Atkins’ four goals in two games against Crewe saw us drawn at home to Sheffield Wednesday, then in Division One. The Bristol Rovers hero Ian Sandiford was in the Crewe line-up in the first game at Gresty Road.

The Sheffield Wednesday tie was a fabulous match. One of many memorable games in the League Cup that I would witness in future seasons. Readers may recall me saying how much more coverage we got in those days. This is from the following day’s Daily Telegraph before it became a totally political broadsheet. I loved the opening paragraphs and still do today!

The attendance for the Wednesday game was 12,203! There was something magical about cup football under the floodlights, but after a 5-3 defeat, it was time to concentrate on the league. Now where have I heard that before? Sadly this proved not to be the case. Our away form was dismal – just one point from our first seven away games – and goals were at a premium. Something was needed and it arrived in the form of a certain Jim Fryatt.

Jim was to become one of my all time County heroes. He could head the ball as powerfully as some people could shoot with their feet, and though my memory may be playing tricks, I’m sure I saw him power a header in from the edge of the penalty area.

Fryatt made his debut in a thrilling 4-3 home win against our nemesis, Southport. Amazing how that team keeps cropping up! He was to have a highly productive partnership with Bill Atkins and both were to score that day. Even though he only played 32 games that season he scored a magnificent 22 goals with Bill chipping in with 16.

Six wins in seven games moved us up the table and by the time the first round of the FA Cup came round we were in 6th place, only four points behind the leaders Walsall.

Macclesfield at home should have seen us progress to the next round. But they had three ex-County players in their team: John Collins, Frank Beaumont and Dick Young. In a game that could have been mistaken for taking place in the Antarctic, County scraped a 1-1 draw with them. Still fully confident that we would finish the job in the replay I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard we’d lost 2-1.

This was to be the first time since I had been supporting County that they had lost to a non-league team. Sadly it certainly wasn’t to be the last. Off the top of my head, Telford and Stafford Rangers were two of the games I was to witness but there were others which I have managed to wipe from my memory before we also became one of those non-league clubs.

The season continued its merry way. Some good wins usually followed by a dispiriting away defeat. More on that later. Looking back, a few games stand out for me. Oldham away, and a 4-1 defeat. No surprise there except how cold it was and the size of the programme, which was so full of information. More like a tabloid.

I also remember Oxford United at home where we got taken to the cleaners in a 4-0 defeat. They would have given a rugby league team a run for their money. Their legs were like tree trunks, plus a fair bit of talent gave us no chance. One of their team was to have an auspicious career, his name Ron Atkinson.

Finally we were to play local rivals Bury twice. Both they and Oxford were to win promotion that season. County were to get a memorable 4-2 win at home.

This was in the Daily Express. Yes, I know some of you are thinking what is he doing buying that. All I can say is that in those days it resembled a newspaper!

Our whole season was probably encapsulated in those two games with Bury, who needed a win to clinch promotion on the final day at Gigg Lane. We travelled up with no expectations whatsoever and this proved to be on the mark, as in front of a crowd in excess of 11,000, Bury eased into a 3-0 lead.

Game over, or so we thought. Then in the space of three or four minutes County drew level with two own goals and another from Albert Harley. Surely not…

Only teasing, said County, as two further home goals led to a 5-3 defeat and promotion for Bury. It only lasted for one year as they were relegated along with Fulham. Oxford finished third from bottom.

What can we take from that season? Well in finishing 13th we weren’t relegated. Always a plus. Sixteen wins at home but only three away. 70 goals scored but 75 conceded. You never knew what you were going to get.

A couple of asides. Firstly, Oxford as champions only won four away games and Bury five. No team won more than seven away games that season. Peterborough were relegated for financial irregularities so only three other teams went down.

Next time I hope to conclude my musings with the 68-69 and 69-70 seasons.

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Dreen, a member of Shlean's group at Houldsworth Working Men’s Club in Reddish, has reversed her type 2 diabetes losing 1st 2lbs.

Shlean runs groups on Mondays at Bredbury St Marks Cricket Club and Tuesdays at Houldsworth Working Men’s Club in Reddish.

For more information give Shlean a call on 07725 088549 or email shlean@sky.com.

Photo of the day

A pub in Doncaster

County’s fans team are in Doncaster this weekend representing the club in the annual Worldnet competition. Unfortunately, they’ve lost their first couple of group games today against Watford and Arsenal Nigeria, with one more fixture to come against Gillingham this afternoon. The football, however, is only a tiny part of this particular weekend, and I’m sure our boys will get stuck into another 10 pints or so in Yorkshire this evening! (As they did last night by all accounts…)

Today in SK

🎬 Cinema

Three films at The Savoy Cinema (SK4) today. Inside Out 2 (U) at 2.45pm, Fly Me to the Moon (12A) at 5pm, and Kinds of Kindness (18) at 7.30pm. Click here for tickets.

💿 DJs

Red Light New York Disco at AMP (SK1) with DJs Ste Macca and Gareth James. Free entry.

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

DJ Pete at The Crown Inn (SK6).

🍺 Food and drink

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

If you’re simply in the mood for a couple of pints today, pop along to one of our featured venues such as The Petersgate Tap (SK1), Thread (SK1), The Crown (SK2), The Armoury (SK3), Reddish Working Men’s Club (SK5), The Marple Tavern (SK6), The Railway (SK6), The Steelworks (SK6), The Shady Oak (SK7), The Three Tunnes (SK7), The Railway (SK9), Flute & Firkin (SK12) or The Friendship (SK13).

🎵 Karaoke

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

🎤 Live music

Pete Maclaine and the Clan at The Dog & Partridge (SK2). 8pm.

100 random grounds that County have played at

#70 – Victoria Road, Dagenham & Redbridge

Last visit: We’ve never lost at Victoria Road – three wins and a draw. Our last visit was in January 2022 on a Saturday evening, live on BT Sport. The 330 County fans in London and the rest of the Hatters watching on telly back home were treated to two goals in the opening five minutes, from Ash Palmer and Will Collar.