Wycombe v County

We’ve already booked our play-off spot but will Dave Challinor’s men finish the campaign in 3rd, 4th or 5th?

May 03, 2025

Saturday 3 May 2025

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NEXT HOME GAME: Play-off semi-final in May

NEXT AWAY GAME: Wycombe Wanderers – Today, 3pm

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

Birmingham and Wrexham are up. Crawley, Bristol Rovers, Cambridge and Shrewsbury are down. All that’s left to sort out in League One is the play-offs. County will finish the season in 3rd with a win; also 3rd with a draw (unless Charlton put at least six past Burton). That would give us a home game in the second leg of the play-offs. If we lose, however, and Charlton win, we’d finish 5th, meaning a second leg on a Thursday night in London.

It’s certainly not the biggest game of the season at Adams Park this afternoon, so rather than talking about today’s football, I thought I’d ask Ian Brown, Jonathan Baker and Andrew Barlow for some of their 2024-25 highlights instead.

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 APL Locksmiths. A big thank you to Anthony. He’s offering a 20% discount for The Scarf My Father Wore readers on any key cutting this month. If you need anything doing, give him a call on 07712 657585 or email anthony@apllocksmiths.co.uk.

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

Des Junior loves writing about County. But he can never be arsed doing match previews. They’re a bit dull, aren’t they? Will Collar’s out for a month with diarrhoea… blah blah blah…tomorrow’s referee has handed out more cards than Moonpig…blah blah blah…County haven’t won at Birmingham for a thousand years.

Fortunately, he has a number of fellow County content creators to call upon. Here’s their thoughts, general chit-chat and score predictions, as County head to Adams Park for the first time since a 2-0 defeat in April 2011 – the month our relegation out of the Football League was confirmed.

Ian Brown, All Things Stockport County

Wycombe 0 County 3

What’s been your best moment of 2024-25?

Probably our most recent visit to Devon when County played fan-owned Exeter City. It turned out to be a very good day indeed. First off, having decamped the Flyer we found an excellent coffee shop on the same street as the away end – a fine start. Thereafter I thought the friendly demeanour of all at St James Park, from programme sellers to stewards and club officials, made for a happy occasion.

County fans enjoyed themselves at Exeter last month

When the match got underway County cemented that aspect with a display that confirmed their promotion credentials, as a well-constructed and ruthlessly delivered 2-0 victory in the Devonian sunshine took them back to fourth in the division.

Two goals inside 22 minutes by Kyle Wootton saw off any realistic hope the Grecians had of taking points from County, and thereafter our command of game management surfaced to crush any chance of Gary Caldwell’s side redressing the balance of the match.

As away days go, this one rates as highly as any. As a memory of County’s season it stands out as an example of just what this team of ours is capable of producing when suitably motivated!

➡️ Ian follows County home and away, producing detailed match reports every week, along with lots of other great content. Head over to hedgegrower.blogspot.com.

Jonathan Baker, The County Away Day Show

Wycombe 1 County 1

Who’s your Player of the Year for 2024-25?

A handful of individual talents have impressed with flair and impact, but for reasons of injury, form, selection or transfer have only featured for portions of the season. Diamond, Fevrier, Barry, and even perhaps Tanto fall into this bracket.

In Bate, Norwood and Camps we have three midfielders who on their day have proved capable of bossing the central area with match-winning performances; the latter, who for me has evolved so impressively over his time with the club, would have been a particularly strong contender for the accolade but for that cruel injury blow at the Racecourse.

At the back, Pye has continued the steady improvement that will surely see him reach the highest levels of the game. No doubting his importance to the team’s backbone. His displays are so calm and assured, they almost go under the radar. He could absolutely be my choice, and nearly was. However…

I’m going for a forward, in Kyle Wootton. The big man has figured for 90 minutes consistently throughout the campaign, and there’s a reason why: his tireless leadership of the line has so often formed the foundation for winning displays, and his involvement has been telling in so many vital goals, whether through unselfishly setting up colleagues or deftly providing the finishing touch himself.

Kyle Wootton salutes the County faithful after scoring at Exeter last month

A great servant to the club – hopefully for many years to come.

➡️ Jonathan, aka Geordie Hatter, hosts The County Away Day Show on selected Saturday mornings during the season, when the Hatters are on the road. All episodes can be found at the-geordie-hatter.mixlr.com.

Andrew Barlow, Hatters Matters

Wycombe 1 County 1

What’s been your favourite away day of 2024-25?

Me and my brother are both currently on target to have attended every single league and cup match this season, so we certainly have a plethora of away days to choose from. There have been games this season where we’ve had a cracking trip and the result on the pitch has been really positive to make it the perfect away day, but there have also been some away days where we’ve had a really good trip but then things haven’t quite gone for us on the pitch (Lincoln and Cambridge spring to mind).

Nearly 4,000 County fans packed into Bloomfield Road in August

Blackpool in August was certainly one of the highlights of the season, as we got to enjoy the delights of the seaside town on a Saturday afternoon in the summer. We were backed by a phenomenal away crowd on the day, and the team served up a great performance on the pitch to win 3-0 to make it two wins from two at the start of the season to send us top of League One.

However, for purely personal reasons I think I’m going to go with the trip to Exeter. The weather was glorious all weekend and we found some excellent watering holes throughout our stay. Special mention to The Ship Inn which was our last port of call on the Friday night. Now I’m not exactly the world’s biggest karaoke fan, but calling in to The Ship Inn was certainly a great decision as the place was full of County fans and the atmosphere was absolutely buzzing. Even the bouncer was quite jovial at chucking out time…

Andrew (right) enjoying a Friday night beer at The Ship Inn in Exeter last month

My mum and dad are living in Devon now, so the trip to St James Park gave them the opportunity to come up and see us for the day and it also gave my dad the chance to see County play again at a local (ish) venue. The game on the Saturday saw us put in a perfect away performance, as we scored very early on and looked in complete control from that point onwards. We barely had to get out of second gear to take all three points. All in all it was a great weekend and one I look forward to repeating if we don’t manage to go up this season!

➡️ Andrew runs Hatters Matters, a comprehensive guide to the history of Stockport County with more facts and figures than you can shake a stick at. Visit hattersmatters.co.uk to have a butcher’s.

Today’s other predictions

SK3 TV: Wycombe 2 County 2

The Scarf Bergara Wore: Wycombe 0 County 2

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We’re going to Wembley

Our ChatGPT adventure continues, with County drawing 1-1 at home to Crawley at half-time.

The concourse was packed, steaming with bodies and breath and frustration. Fans queued for tea, pies, pints — anything to fill the gnawing anxiety in their stomachs. Conversations were sharp, urgent, half-whispered like battlefield briefings.

Danny stood against a cold concrete pillar, sipping a scalding Bovril that tasted like rust and memory. Lucy was silent beside him, picking at a sausage roll without really eating it. Her brow was furrowed — part frustration, part calculation. She was already replaying the goal in her head, working out where it went wrong.

“Should’ve just hoofed it,” she muttered.

Danny nodded. “Yeah. Never pass across your own box unless you’re bloody sure.”

A man nearby, older, scarf looped tight, was already offering a different theory. “Keeper should’ve come earlier. Read it all wrong. We need a new number one — I’ve said it all season.”

Someone else chimed in. “It’s not just the keeper. Midfield’s too soft. Can’t hold the ball. No spine.”

Danny had heard all these arguments before. Dozens of times. Different names, same frustrations. That was football — everyone an expert, everyone wounded by the game in their own way.

He glanced at Lucy again. “Second half’s everything now. They’ll come out fighting.”

She didn’t answer, just nodded and drained her water bottle like she was about to step onto the pitch herself.

Back in their seats, the cold had deepened. The sun — such as it was — had ducked behind the stand, leaving Edgeley Park in a flat grey hush. But the noise started to rise again as the players emerged. A few fans behind the dugouts began a chant, trying to lift the mood. Slowly, it spread.

“Come on County, come on County…”

Lucy joined in, voice firm.

Danny felt that familiar tug in his chest. The moment when belief — not certainty, but something deeper — began to stir again.

The second half kicked off like a punch.

County came out snarling. Tackles flew in, bodies collided, and for ten wild minutes it was pure chaos. Marsh nearly curled one into the top corner. Jenkins thudded a header against the bar. The Railway End howled for a penalty that never came.

“COME ON!” Lucy bellowed, standing again.

Danny barely noticed he was on his feet too.

But Crawley weren’t backing down. They sat deep, soaked up pressure, and every so often sprang forward like a snake. The tension was unbearable — every time County lost the ball, it felt like a disaster waiting to happen.

Then came the seventy-first minute.

Free kick. Twenty-five yards out. Slightly to the right.

Danny grabbed Lucy’s arm. “This is Marsh’s range.”

She nodded. “Hit it low, wall’s jumping.”

Marsh placed the ball. Took four steps back. Waited.

The referee blew.

Marsh stepped forward and whipped it — low, skipping off the turf, curling inside the near post.

2–1.

Danny didn’t remember moving, but suddenly he was three rows down, hugging someone he didn’t know. Lucy was screaming, arms in the air, eyes wide with disbelief and joy.

Edgeley Park shook.

The next fifteen minutes were agony.

Crawley pushed. County defended like their lives depended on it. Every clearance was cheered like a goal. Every tackle a lifeline.

Then — finally — the whistle.

Full-time.

2–1.

Danny sank into his seat, exhausted. Lucy grabbed his hand, grinning. “We did it.”

“We did,” he said, his voice thick. “We bloody did.”

The announcer’s voice returned, barely heard over the roar:

“Final score here at Edgeley Park… and Stockport County edge ever closer to Wembley!”

Danny looked around. The crowd was still singing. People were still bouncing. Hope — real, aching, impossible hope — filled the air.

He turned to Lucy.

“You’ll remember this one.”

She nodded. “I already do.”

As they made their way out, the wind was still there. Still cold. Still biting.

But this time, it didn’t matter.

Photo of the day

On the final day of the 1996-97 season at Luton, nearly all of the County fans in the away end were wearing hats, in recognition of our nickname.

Should do this again sometime!

Today in SK

🎬 Cinema

Three films at The Savoy Cinema (SK4) today. A Minecraft Movie (PG) at 12.45pm, Warfare (15) at 3.15pm and 8pm, and The Penguin Lessons (12A) at 5.30pm.

➡️ Click here for tickets.

🍺 Food and drink

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

A number of venues are featured on The Scarf My Father Wore such as The Crown (SK2), The Alexandra (SK3), 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.