“We haven’t played a decent game of football in weeks, if not months”
George from The Wycombe Way drops in for a chat ahead of the final day
Friday 2 May 2025
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NEXT HOME GAME: Play-off semi-final in May
NEXT AWAY GAME: Wycombe Wanderers – Tomorrow, 3pm
Dear County fans, Stopfordians, Wycombe supporters, and anyone else from The Football Family joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Friday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.
George from The Wycombe Way joins us today ahead of this weekend’s game between Wycombe and County, which could potentially be a dress rehearsal for the play-off final (or even the semi-final if we draw and Charlton absolutely batter Burton).
Tickets are now on sale for my 3rd Desmond’s Comedy Club night at The Fingerpost on Friday 30 May. £15 per person. 7.30pm start. The first two have been great nights full of laughter – come along and see for yourself! Drop me a message and I’ll get you booked in.
We’ve got the hilarious Freddy Quinne opening the show. Co-host of the popular Dead Men Talking podcast (as well as being a regular on the global smash hit Have A Word), Freddy’s an award-winning comedian who regularly performs at many of the biggest and best comedy clubs in the country where he performs his shamelessly opinionated no-holds barred stand up. He’s known for his frank approach and often brutal punchlines, covering everything from topical news to universal truths.
Today’s edition is sponsored by SAW Contracts Ltd. A big thank you to Steve.
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: 253.75 miles
Total steps so far: 418,084
Total raised so far: £2,302
Total completed streets so far: 474 (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
Wycombe were thrashed 4-0 by Charlton in their last home game (Photo credit: Charlton Athletic FC)
Back in July, I asked you what Wycombe’s manifesto should be for this season. You said:
Get promoted
Sign youth
Lose to a League Two club in the FA Cup
Bring back chips
How have you done with all that?
Promotion is still on the cards so we’re off to a good start. We didn’t sign an awful lot of youth, but didn’t sign many veterans either. I guess the players we signed were in the category of “good age”. We got to the fourth round of the FA Cup, which was actually pretty nice to have a run of sorts. We brought back chips, so I’m happy overall.
How are you feeling going into the play-offs?
Momentum is so important, and we just haven’t got any at all. We haven’t played a decent game of football in weeks, if not months, even if we’ve won the game itself. The football leaves a lot to be desired, but I’ll back the lads until the last ball of the season is kicked.
Which hurt your season more – losing your manager or the massive influx of new players?
Tricky one, because I think that influx of players would’ve arrived under Bloomfield anyway, but combine the two and it was always going to be tricky to maintain the level we were performing at. Of that influx of players, only four have settled in and around the first team, out of eleven. That’s a pretty poor percentage.
When you won 5-0 at Edgeley Park in November, did you think you were cruising towards the Championship?
Yes. I always thought/knew Birmingham would pull away, but we were looking good for second. That game at your place was the best I’ve seen us play in years. I seem to remember you were on a very good run of form, and we didn’t give you a sniff. Ultimately we’ve slowed down significantly but play-offs is a terrific achievement anyhow.
How far up the pyramid can Wycombe realistically settle?
The work being put in and money being spent off the pitch on the infrastructure is going to put the club on par with those at the top of the Championship. I think that’s where we can settle in a few years time, flirting with the play-offs but struggling to get out of the league. I’d take that in any case. I believe Wycombe will play a Championship play-off game before 2030.
Do you think League One has been stronger or weaker this season than in recent years?
The current top six are strong, not in terms of points as such, but in terms of quality. Tenth and below I’d say is the weakest this league has been in years. I’d argue the financial gulf is expanding, but that’s not necessarily an excuse for lacking quality on the pitch.
Who are Wycombe’s main rivals?
I’m 24, so it’s Milton Keynes. Ask someone who was around before my time, it’s probably Colchester due to historical fixtures. I despise everything MK stand for, the way they came out, set up on our turf with their swanky ground. It’s brilliant that over 20 years on they find themselves below the phoenix club.
What was it like groundsharing with Wasps?
They looked after the pitch so there were certainly positives. Wycombe were slumming it down in League Two, without a pot to piss in, but the pitch was always in tip-top condition, because Wasps used to maintain it with the (at the time) world class hybrid grass. I went down there on a handful of occasions. It was OK, but egg-chasing just isn’t for me.
Best moment as a Wycombe fan?
Winning at Chesterfield to clinch promotion to League One in 2017-18. Incredible day.
Can anyone actually point to where High Wycombe is on a map?
I could because I’m a huge nerd. I reckon I could do it for all of the 92. Point towards London, head north-west, and you’ll be there or thereabouts.
Is there actually anything to eat or drink within about a mile’s radius of Adams Park?
Only at the ground. We look after away fans. There’s a huge marquee and food vans and you’re more than welcome to mingle with the home support. The Hour Glass is a good pub, 10-minute walk or so, but it’s the only pub in the direction of the ground outside of the town centre. Slim pickings.
What’s your thoughts on Stockport County – A) the club B) the manager C) the fans?
I said in our preview before the game at your place that County belong at this level. I’ve not had much history with them given my age but it’s great to see you doing well in a top division again.
Dave Challinor should’ve been nominated for manager of the season, and would’ve been very close to pipping Chris Davies to the award.
On the fans, it’s a fanbase I haven’t had many run-ins with, but good to see your loyalty over a number of difficult years is paying off.
Give us a brief history of your website.
I’ve been doing it for nine years now. I feel more involved with the club running a site like this. You get opportunities and interactions that you wouldn’t normally. The club have been very welcoming and progressive with “content creators” so there’s always more to it than just tweeting and writing a blog. I love it – just wish it’d contribute to the rising bills.
Prediction for Saturday?
4-4. Both teams with nothing to lose, play-offs guaranteed, let’s have some goals eh?
And finally, one of The Scarf My Father Wore sponsors is a big Wycombe fan: Paul from Guerrilla Chicken Spirits. What’s your favourite type of spirit to drink?
I’m boring, not a huge drinker. I actually prefer a shandy over a straight, and I can get more of them in. I don’t know if I can get away with saying I’m girly in 2025, but I like fruity gin and Disaronno too.
➡️ If you fancy reading some more Wycombe stuff, head on over to thewycombeway.wordpress.com.
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“Ollie Jenkins… County’s Number Nine!”
Yesterday, thanks to ChatGPT, we were introduced to County fan Danny Hartley and his teenage daughter Lucy, heading to Edgeley Park for a big game against Crawley with Wembley on the horizon. Today, we pick up the action on the pitch.
The seats were cold, even through denim. Danny stamped his feet and blew into his hands, eyes scanning the pitch like it could tell him the future. Lucy sat beside him, hood up, hands stuffed into the sleeves of her oversized shirt, jaw set with teenage intensity.
The players were warming up. County’s lads looked sharp. Focused. No nonsense. But Danny had watched too much football to trust warm-ups.
“Number eleven’s new,” Lucy noted, leaning forward.
Danny followed her gaze. Slim kid, bright boots, barely old enough to shave. He bounced on his toes like he had too much energy and nowhere to put it.
“That’s Tyler Marsh,” Danny said. “Signed on loan from Preston. Quick winger. Got a good cross on him.”
“You stalk their Instagram or something?”
Danny smirked. “I read the programme. Like a normal person.”
Lucy didn’t reply, just went back to watching. Her eyes flicked constantly — player to ball to bench to scoreboard. She was soaking it all in, every detail. He recognised that look. It was the same one he used to wear when he still thought being a footballer was just a matter of trying hard enough.
The teams jogged back into the tunnel. The crowd swelled in volume, a low rumble of anticipation building into something fuller. Danny checked his phone.
2:56 PM.
Time bent on matchdays. Four minutes could feel like a heartbeat or an hour, depending on what was at stake. Today, it felt like a slow fuse burning toward something explosive.
The tannoy crackled.
“Welcome to Edgeley Park…”
The announcer’s voice was swallowed by the cheer that followed. County emerged first, navy shirts gleaming under the flat grey sky. The roar was guttural. Familiar. A collective sound stitched together by history and belief.
Then came Crawley, in red. The pantomime villains, the ones sent to ruin the day.
Lucy stood, arms crossed. “Let’s batter ’em.”
Danny smiled. That was his girl.
The first ten minutes were scrappy. Long balls, nervous passes, crunching tackles. The kind of start where you could almost hear the managers shouting “settle it down!” from the touchline.
But then, on the twelfth minute, Edgeley Park lifted.
Tyler Marsh got the ball out wide. Took on his man — once, twice — and whipped in a low cross. It skidded across the box, past defenders, past flailing boots… and there was Ollie Jenkins, County’s number nine, sliding in like a missile.
1–0.
Bedlam.
Danny was on his feet before he knew it, Lucy grabbing his arm and yelling in his ear. The Railway End was a blur of limbs and scarves and sound. For a second, the whole ground felt like it was moving.
“They want this,” Lucy said, breathless.
“They have to,” Danny replied.
Because hope had a price. And so did history.
For the rest of the half, County pressed. They played like a team possessed, like every pass had purpose, like the ghosts of past failures were finally being exorcised.
And then, two minutes before the whistle, disaster.
A misjudged back-pass. A slip. Crawley’s striker pounced.
1–1.
Silence. Then groans. Then shouts — angry, frustrated, panicked. The kind of noise that tasted like bitterness.
Danny sat down heavily, head in his hands. He didn’t look at Lucy. He didn’t want to see disappointment in her eyes, not yet. Not when there was still half a game to go.
The whistle blew.
Half-time.
Photo of the day
It’s actually Edgeley Park, David. But I still think you’re a pretty sound bloke.
Today in SK
🎬 Cinema
Two films at The Savoy Cinema (SK4) today. The Penguin Lessons (12A) at 6pm, followed by Warfare (15) at 8.30pm.
🎶 DJ
Friday Night Disco with Andrea at The Nelson Tavern (SK1). 8pm.
🍺 Food and drink
Bitter £2.30 a pint all day at The Cross Keys (SK8). Plus, discounts on certain lagers between 12pm and 6pm.
A number of venues are featured on The Scarf My Father Wore such as The Crown (SK2), The Dog & Partridge (SK2), The Steelworks (SK6), The Three Tunnes (SK7), Flute & Firkin (SK12) and The Ram’s Head (SK12). Support them this month by popping in for a few drinks and a bite to eat.
🎤 Karaoke
The Alexandra (SK3).
🎸 Live music
Kathy’s Band at The Crown Inn (SK6). 9pm.
Random snippets from old County programmes
#41 - County v Crewe, 28 March 1998
County could be travelling to the Stadium of Light next season, if our play-off campaign is successful and Sunderland’s isn’t. John Grogan followed County to the North East in March 1998 (we lost 4-1) and wrote about the experience in his programme column.
The Stadium of Light is perhaps the best ground I have visited with County. The atmosphere was great and the PA fantastic with an interesting choice of tunes for the team to come out to.
Unfortunately my enjoyment of the game was ruined by the police officer sat only a few feet away. This seemed to be the case for many County fans and the two young ladies that we spoke to at half-time and again after the game were livid about the intimidating tactics of the police and stewards. If there was one man present at this game who was guaranteed to swear, it was Peter Reid. I bet he didn’t have some beady eyed officer sat next to him in the stand or on the bench.
If I wanted to be quietly entertained, without standing up at all, without ranting and raving with the occasional mild swear word thrown in or without getting my soap box out, I would choose to watch something other than a football match. The best game in the world is a passionate one and we cannot be expected to keep our gobs shut when our team is out on the pitch.
A huge thank you to the following businesses supporting The Scarf My Father Wore in May
🪟 Blinds & Shutters: Bauhaus Blinds and Shutters
♨️ Boiler Repair & Servicing: Gas Care UK (NW)
🫧 Carpet Cleaning: Freshio
🏠 Carpets & Flooring: Kingsway Carpets & Rugs Ltd
🐈 Cat Flaps: That Cat Flap Company Ltd
🚙 Coatings: Colourtone Ltd
🚘 Driving School: CFN School of Motoring
🔌 Electrician: Hey Electrics
🏠 Estate Agent: The Agency UK
🫧 Exterior Cleaning: Impact Pro Clean
💷 Financial Services: The Mortgage Mill
💐 Florist: The Flower House
🪚 Joinery: SAW Contracts Ltd
🔌 Kitchen Appliances: SW Appliances
🪴 Landscaping: Impact Gardens & Driveways
📮 Leaflet Distribution: Wolf Distribution
🔑 Locksmith: APL Locksmiths Ltd
💪 Male Weight Loss: MAN v FAT
🖌 Painter & Decorator: BGM Decorators
📸 Photographer: Adam Edwards Photography
🥧 Pies: Eric Twigg Foods
🧱 Plastering: DT Plastering Services and Damp Proofing Specialists
👨💼 Solicitors: B.J. McKenna & Co / Parkers Solicitors Ltd
🍹 Spirits: Guerrilla Chicken Spirits
🪨 Stonemason: LM Stone Creative
🚕 Taxi Hire: Lynx Taxis
☀️ Travel Agent: PTF Travel Ltd
📺 TV Aerials: SDS Aerials
🧰 Vehicle Repairs: C J Motors Stockport
Nice insight into the opposition from your guest there, Des.... was half-hoping for a Chinese takeaway to emerge in the mile-radius question- good to have that one settled one way or the other, anyway!