Who’s going up on Sunday?
England international and FA Cup winner Paul Stewart, the Daily Mail’s Mike Keegan, plus lots of other prominent figures from the world of football give us their predictions
Wednesday 24 May 2023 - WEMBLEY WEEK!
🎶 Que sera sera, whatever will be will be, we’re going to Wem-ber-lee, que sera sera 🎶
Dear County fans, Stopfordians, and anyone else joining us today, a very warm welcome to WEMBLEY WEEK on The Scarf My Father Wore!
Tickets booked. Travel organised. It’s time to start looking forward to the game itself, as County and Carlisle prepare to lock horns on Sunday with a place in League One at stake.
Carlisle fan Lewis Ridley joined us yesterday, and as always, your favourite County correspondents will be joining us later in the week to offer their thoughts. But with the biggest game of the season coming up this weekend, I thought I’d speak to some other people from across the wider football fraternity to see if they think there’s going to be one hell of a party in Cumbria or Cheshire on Sunday night.
Finally, a big thank you to Suzanne, Steve and all the team at Delta Telecom Sound & Security for sponsoring today’s edition.
FOUR SLEEPS TO GO! 💤💤💤💤
Des Junior
PS) All subscribers should have received an email on Monday morning about one of the Wembley features we’re publishing every day this week. We’re still looking for a few more contributions to include over the next four days if you’d like to pop something across. Cheers, thank you!
Paul Stewart played top flight football for Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, and won three caps for England. He scored the first goal at Wembley in the 1991 FA Cup final as Spurs beat Nottingham Forest 2-1.
As a youngster I watched County when they played on Friday nights. Being brought up in Manchester they were my second team after United, so I’m hoping County can do the business on Sunday. I was also invited to the club this season to deliver a session in safeguarding to the staff which was a great honour. I’ll be watching the final and I think County will do it.
Mike Keegan is sports news correspondent and sports agenda editor for the Daily Mail. He started as a news reporter at the Manchester Evening News in 2006 and had a short spell at BBC Sport before joining the Mail in 2015.
As an Oldham fan I’m very much hoping County, who have shown us that light can follow darkness, prevail. I can see County winning 1-0 in extra-time after a tight, horrible afternoon that ends in glory. Hopefully we can follow your lead in a couple of years!
Chris O’Keeffe is editor of Turnstiles Magazine and a Blackburn Rovers season ticket holder.
The injury to Kyle Wootton is a big blow to County whereas the inevitable return of Kristian Dennis to the Cumbrians’ line-up is sure to strike some fear into the the back line of the Hatters. Although experienced defenders like Chris Hussey should be able to bring some calm and wise words into the dressing room from his previous promotions.
Out of the two, County were the form side going into the play-offs, although both have been fairly evenly matched overall during the season, which continued into the play-offs with both sides needing extra time (and penalties in County’s case) to reach the Wembley arch.
I think this tough encounter will play out the same, with both clubs going all out. A real end-to-end ding-dong. Just like the previous meeting in April, a draw at the end of 90 minutes with nothing to separate them before putting both sets of fans’ nerves to the test with extra time. 2-2, with County to win on penalties.
Justin Walley is the press director of the Marshall Islands (the last nation on earth without a national team). He was the national team manager of Matabeleland and published a book about his experiences – One Football, No Nets. He also co-founded Latvian football league club Riga United. Justin has supported Northampton Town since his grandfather took him to his first match in 1977.
I watched the Cobblers play home and away against County this season. That might not sound like a big deal but I live in Latvia and came home for both. County looked good in the first half of the first game but largely thanks to Danny Hylton getting inside Fraser Horsfall’s head (our former captain), we got back into that game and won 2-1.
I drove up by myself for the away fixture, the first time I'd been to Edgeley Park since the days of the gigantic Kevin Francis. Really enjoyed the build-up to the game, especially having a pie and a pint in the new fan zone behind the Cheadle End. Was treated very well by the stewards (I tweeted this after the game and got a great response from the County fans). Really impressed with how the club has developed the stadium along with its community branding and work. We lost 2-0 but I thought that flattered County. Your keeper made some great saves especially from Hoskins and Pinnock. But you could feel that County had grown as a squad and team since September. I was obviously relieved that we didn't let you overtake us at the last moment in the race for automatic promotion.
As for the final, it's football and any madness is possible. I think you’re good enough for League One. If you don't go up this season, I suspect you'll be champions in 2023-24. If I had to call it, I'd say you'll win on Sunday, but perhaps being promoted 12 months from now might be better for the club's trajectory. Be careful what you wish for. And good luck!
Adam Hurrey is a writer and editor for The Athletic, author of Football Clichés and the host of the Football Clichés podcast.
Carlisle may have their eternal cult hero in Jimmy Glass, the injury-time, relegation-defying, on-loan goalscoring goalkeeper of 1999 but County’s all-time great will always have a bigger piece of my heart.
A man who once boasted a 15% discount at the Stockport branch of High & Mighty. A man rated by Championship Manager 93/94 as having 20/20 for heading and 1/20 for flair. A man whose goal compilation has no soundtrack other than the wonderful, life-affirming commentary ("IT'S THERE! THE BIG MAN!") of lifelong County fan Richard Harnwell.
That man is Kevin Francis.
“One wing-to-wing pass in the play-off semi-final against York was worthy of Hoddle”, the Independent once – genuinely – wrote of the 6ft 7in Francis.
In his five seasons at County, Francis dragged them to Wembley four times – and they lost each one. This one's for you, Kevin.
Adam Crafton is a reporter for The Athletic.
I’m going for County, who have lost only one of their last fifteen games, and I suspect the energy and momentum gained from a home penalty shootout victory, combined with the club’s general rising trajectory, may take them over the line at Wembley. County also have the advantage in the head-to-head against Carlisle this season, with a win and a draw, so that’s my tip!
Gabriel Sutton is a pundit for BBC Squad Goals, and also writes about the Football League for BetVictor, The Sack Race and Punters Lounge.
I think it’ll be really close, but I’d go with Carlisle based on their options up top. County are missing Kyle Wootton who I feel is crucial to the way they play, whereas United have Dennis, Edmondson, Garner, Patrick and Kymami-Gordon. Can’t wait to see Will Collar and Owen Moxon grace the turf!
Mark Reid hosts the Project Football Podcast. He’s supported West Bromwich Albion for 35 years and is partial to football outside the top two divisions in England.
Given that there was very little to separate both teams in the league, with both going through closely contested semi-finals, I think this one will be settled outside of the normal 90 minutes, maybe even penalties. Barclay will be a big miss for Carlisle from a psychological point of view. I think County will edge it, most likely via a penalty shootout (4-3).
Alex Stewart used to be part of the team at Tifo Football, and now works for Analytics FC, a football data company.
County should win this. They have the advantage in the head-to-head this season, while their underlying metrics are significantly better, especially in chance creation. That said, knockout games are so subject to luck that there can never be any guarantees. Personally, I’d prefer a County win. This is because my car once broke down in Carlisle, and it’s the only time this has happened. So I think Carlisle is cursed.
David Preece is a former footballer who now works as a goalkeeping coach and writes for the Daily Mail and the Times.
Both sides have excellent managers, and with similar setups on the pitch, I can’t see it being anything other than an incredibly close game, only separated in the end by penalties.
That said, I watched County a lot early in the season and their performances deserved better results, which ultimately cost them automatic promotion in the end. But with their strong finish, I’d expect them to be the ones who succeed.
Never mind Google or Yell.com, we’ve got you covered
STOP! That got your attention, didn’t it? Just a quick one… I’d hazard a guess that at some point in May, all of our readers will use Google or Yell.com at some point looking for a particular product or service. But before you do, please have a quick look at our own directory to see if we have what you’re looking for. A number of great businesses support The Scarf My Father Wore, allowing us to publish fresh content every day, so let’s send a few enquiries their way in return.
Click here to have a look at all the businesses in our directory.
Congratulations, Delta!
Congratulations to one of our sponsors Delta Telecom Sound & Security who have recently been chosen to be the UK distributor for Torus Key Cabinets.
The family-run business has been trading for over 50 years. They supply, install and maintain low voltage electrical equipment such as CCTV, Nurse Call, Staff Protection Systems, Door Entry and Access Control.
Steve and Suzanne actually both work at County in their spare time, in the security department, and have been loyal fans since 1996, through the good and the bad. If you’re in need of any of the services mentioned above, please give them a call.
Visit deltatelecom.co.uk for further details.
ChatGPT’s Wembley build-up: Part 3 - London
Photo of the day
Wembley Stadium, London
Simon Dawson models his “There’s only one SCFC” hat at Wembley in 1992, as County play at the national stadium for the first time. And yes, that’s a young Sean Connelly in the background.
Today in SK
🐟 For those on a gluten-free diet, finding a nice portion of fish and chips to tuck into can be quite difficult. But on a Wednesday at Fishers of Cheshire (SK2), gluten-free meals are available. Open till 9.30pm.
🍺 Fancy a few midweek drinks tonight? 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.
☕️ How do you fancy a nice iced cappuccino today? Head down to Coffee Block (SK1) for their CUBO espresso over ice, filled with shaken milk and topped with chocolate! Open till 5.30pm.
🍹 The Armoury (SK3) have just launched their new cocktail menu. Mark Stott definitely wouldn’t mind a Red Wine Cobbler, and Lee Todd’s going to be getting stuck into a Lounge Lizard or two. There’s eight cocktails to try in total; head down today to see which one tickles your tastebuds!
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
“I was jumping around the living room like a loon!”
As part of WEMBLEY WEEK, we’ve emailed seven questions to our subscribers, and we’ll choose a different one each day this week, hearing the thoughts of a number of our readers.
Today’s question: How was the second leg against Salford for you?
Watching at home in Cyprus – with my County Gin on tap – I went through every emotion possible. When they equalised in extra time I felt sick. But just three minutes later that mood had changed completely and I was jumping around the living room like a loon!
Tony Joannou