Saturday, 29^th November 2025.

Matchday: County v Barnsley, League 1.

I tripped and fell yesterday afternoon on my way back from Wales, and by this morning my right foot had swollen up to the point where I couldn’t get my boot on. That quashed any idea of going to EP, so I reluctantly decided to watch the match on Sky instead.

The team selection struck me as surprising, I don’t think we’ve had Kyle Wootton, Nathan Lowe and Beno Andrésson start a game before. With Corey O’Keeffe unable to play against his parent club, I was convinced that Jack Hunt would start. My guess at a team was nothing like Dave Challinor’s at all, I only managed 7/11.

County usually start games on the front foot, even if we don’t always make the most of our dominance, but Barnsley were all over us for the first few minutes and there was a fair bit of emergency defending going on. We rallied, though, Jayden Fevrier making hay down the right and both Kyle Wootton and Beno Andrésson might have done better with the chances he created. Disaster struck as we approached the half hour mark, a poor ball from Ben Hinchliffe and some statuesque defending allowed Yoganathan to slot home. County’s keeper was in an uncharacteristically flappy mood for much of the first half, something that seemed to transmit to those in blue ahead of him. It was a poor first half but I was very disappointed to hear some of our fans booing the team off at the break. I can live with a lack of vocal support, although Yellow Block came over loud and clear on TV, but booing your own team is beyond the pale.

The podcast arm of The Scarf Bergara Wore were welcomed onto the pitch at half time to show off the Northwest Football Award, although my view of the proceedings were blocked by a graphic on the screen so I’ve no idea what was said or done.

The introduction of Jack Hunt and Ben Osborn to start the second half at the expense of Beno Andrésson and Joseph Olowu looked promising, although I hope our number five hasn’t suffered a knock, we don’t need to lose any more players. This was the first time Osborn has played in his preferred midfield role for us and he exuded an air of confidence and command, directing play and giving us a direction we’ve missed since Ollie Norwood has been out. Barnsley had responded to Jayden Fevrier’s rampaging down the right in the first half by double marking him but failed to keep this up in the second, allowing him to provide a mouthwatering banquet of crosses into the box throughout the half. Barnsley responded to a much-improved County performance by disrupting our momentum, DeGevigney treating us to a performance of the dying swan that would have put Anna Pavlova to shame. Quite why referees tolerate this blatant cheating is beyond me, head injuries and injuries to goalkeepers are perhaps one thing, but I don’t get why the game has to stop for minutes on end while outfield players retie their laces or have a nice lie down on the pitch. Barnsley’s defending was becoming increasingly desperate by this stage and on another day with another referee County might have a penalty or two. The breakthrough finally came after eighty-nine minutes when the criminally unmarked Callum Connolly swept a Jack Hunt cross home. The Hatters continued to press into injury time but couldn’t get the winner that their second half performance deserved.

Jayden Fevrier was named Man Of The Match by the sponsors, and quite right too, he put in a display that would make him a starter if he could do it consistently.

An encouraging second half, and with ten days before our next league game Chally has the chance to try things out in the Vertu Trophy and FA Cup games while the walking wounded continue their long journey back to fitness.

A draw wasn’t a bad result in the end, we’re still very much in the argument at the top of the table with some of our best players to come back. Here’s the league table as it stands tonight:

My swollen foot also prevented us going to see Dr. Feelgood and Nine Below Zero at the Band On The Wall, so as a consolation prize here are the kings of the Thames Delta with today’s tune, “Down At The Doctors” including the legendary eight bars of no piano:

Sunday, 30^th November 2025.

Matchday: Leeds United v County Ladies, FAWNL Division 1.

The game was in the balance at breakfast time due the poor weather over the last few days but the pitch was passed fit after an 8:30 inspection. Here’s how County lined up at the Bannister Prentice Community Stadium, Garforth:

This represented only one change from last week, Olivia Greenhalgh replacing Shaunna Jein.

Things didn’t start well, County going a goal behind to Alice Hughes after two minutes. They fought back and came close with efforts by Kenedy Owen and Paige Cole but the hosts went further ahead on thirty-five minutes when Drew Green headed a free kick past Freya Heap.

The second half began with County pressing hard to get back into the game, the United defence having to work hard to keep out attempts from Kenedy Owen and Jess Battle. Their efforts were in vain, alas, and Leeds got their third and final goal through Ellie White on seventy-nine minutes.

Em Lysons was voted Players’ Player of the Match.

The defeat leaves County Ladies in sixth place:

County Ladies’ next game is against eighth-placed Chester-le-Street Town at Stockport Sports Village next Sunday.

Today’s tune is “Struck Down” by Joanne Shaw Taylor:

Monday, 1^st December 2025.

PPG prophet’s graph reflects our recent adverse results but we’re still in the playoff zone, so that damage limitation phase we’ve heard mention a bit recently isn’t going too badly:

Mansfield (A) tickets went on sale today, and I was glad to see my priority email come through bang on 12:30. I was less pleased when I went to the ticketing website to find no trace of them. The link finally appeared fifteen minutes after they officially went on sale. The same thing happened when the Doncaster tickets went on sale, the club really don’t help themselves with this slapdash approach.

TSBW’s Barnsley match review popped up at breakfast time as usual, fronted by Jimmy Harmer with Steve Bardsley, Dan Johnson and Dan Culverwell. Before starting to discuss the game, Dan C. made the live draw for this month’s prize, a copy of Des Hinks’ new book, “Back Where We Belong” which describes his trip to every game in our League 2 championship season. That done, it was time to look at the ins and outs of Saturday’s game:

• The team: We knew Corey O’Keeffe couldn’t play against his parent team and Owen Dodgson would be in contention as he’d finished his suspension. Whether we were set up as a three or four at the back was discussed at some length but you pays your money and takes your choice as Chally’s teams are always fluid in their formations. The use of Beno Andrésson and Nathan Lowe as dual 10s wasn’t a roaring success as Kyle Wootton didn’t have his most effective game up against two impressive centre halves.
• First half: Barnsley started like a house on fire and our defence were at full stretch at times. Once we’d weathered the storm though, Jayden Fevrier started to get some joy down the right and both Kyle Wootton and Beno Andrésson might have done better with the ammunition he supplied. Barnsley’s goal was a mess from our point of view, Ben Hinchliffe starting the ball rolling by booting a clearance straight to an opposition player, followed by the defence playing statues as Barnsley waltzed through them to score. County might have gone further behind had Ben Hinchliffe not made a couple of eccentric last ditch saves.
•  Second half: The introduction of two seasoned championship players in the form of Ben Osborn and Jack Hunt gave us more balance and introduced an air of calm that we missed in the first period. Barnsley fell away too, perhaps they found it hard to maintain their pressing game beyond forty-five minutes. The referee might have given two penalties in close succession but he didn’t just wave the appeals away, steadfastly ignored them. A modicum of justice was done when Callum Connolly swept home a Jack Hunt cross.
• Game management or shithousery: It’s a fine line but Barnsley did a lot of it and the referee was putty in their hands. He might have punished them for it in the end by playing a decent chunk of added time when County were on top, but the six minutes he awarded were nothing like enough.
• Beno Andrésson: Does he need to go out on loan to a League 2 team to get more minutes and score a few goals to sharpen his technique? Perhaps we need to bring an established striker in during the next window so we can spare him.
• Owen Moxon: Had one of his better games and his substitution for Jack Diamond late on was more tactical than a criticism of his performance.
• Callum Connolly: After a poor first few minutes he recovered to play a major part in the game, including the equalising goal.

A thought-provoking watch, it’s always good to get other folks’ perspective:

Today’s tune, with a tenuous connection to the podcast, is Deep Blue Something with “Breakfast At Tiffany’s”:

Tuesday, 2^nd December 2025.

The club’s highlights of the Barnsley game are up now on You Tube. A good opportunity to rewatch those penalty appeals and Callum Connolly’s splendid equaliser:

Predicting a team for the Vertu Trophy games is a right hostage to fortune but for what it’s worth, here we go:

You’ll notice I’ve picked Arttu Hoskonen, which is a bit of a gamble but he’s got to start somewhere. I reckon if I get 5/11 for this lot I’ll be doing OK.

Jid Okeke, County’s German right back, seems to be doing well in his latest loan session with Walsall, who are currently top of League 2. He was voted Man of the Match for the Sadlers’ match against Bromley last Saturday.

Today’s tune is for Jid, I bet he sings this every other Saturday, it’s The Lancashire Hotpots with “I’m Going To Poundland”:

Wednesday, 3^rd December 2025.

Matchday: Crewe Alexandra v County, Vertu Trophy Round of 32.

Help the Hatters’ auction for two shirts in aid of the Fingerpost Flyer is still open, at time of writing they have bids of £300 for the Gordon Ford and £110 for the ‘keeper’s shirt. Offers by email to hedgegrower@gmail.com before entries close at 11.59 on Sunday 7^th December.

As there weren’t sufficient thrill seekers to run a Flyer to Crewe tonight and I start to take an interest in the competition once the U21 teams are out, I decided to drive instead. I picked Luke Tindall up in Mersey Square and we went off to do battle with the traffic. It was hellish until we got to the M56 but pretty much plain sailing after that. The Blue Card came into play in the car park and we found a spot as close as possible to the ground. It’s one of the increasing number of places where the Walking Stick Fusiliers have to pay though, which meant I had to add yet another parking app to my phone. I’m up to seven of them now, there must surely be a case for rationalising these things down to a reasonable number.

Team selection is always interesting for these relatively less important competitions, a blend of wanting to be competitive while giving minutes to those who need them and protecting vital players for the league. County’s team was a good case in point, we went for a Three Corey Strategey and it was particularly good to see Tayo Edun start a competitive game for the first time in Royal Blue.

My prediction wasn’t as bad as I expected, I had eight right.

County got off to a poor start. Beno Andrésson cleared a Crewe free kick but it was headed back into the mix, County’s defence was slow to turn and it was slotted home by Crewe’s Thibaut, recently returned from a loan at Southport. From my low vantage point, it looked as though Corey Addai might have done more to stretch and keep it out. From that point County really got going and were the better team in all departments. Despite that dominance, it was the old, old story as regards putting the ball away and it wasn’t until the thirty-third minute that Beno Andrésson got on the end of a Malik Mothersille cross to level the scores.

The second half continued in the same vein and the lack of a second goal continued to be a concern despite some excellent build-up play. It wasn’t totally one-sided, Corey Addai coming to our rescue in the sixtieth minute with an amazing double save from Thibaut and Finney. Penalties began to look inevitable, not an appealing prospect with our track record.

My fears were misplaced though, assured penalties by Owen Dodgson, Owen Moxon, Jayden Fevrier and Jack Diamond saw us through with two terrific saves by Corey Addai.

The trip home was a doddle, I gambled on a left turn out of the car park, much to my SatNav’s annoyance, thereby avoiding the centre of Crewe and I dropped Luke off back where I found him just after ten o’clock.

Today’s tune is one of the best to mention Crewe (well, it knocks “Oh, Mr. Porter” into a cocked hat, anyway), “Boat Train” by The Pogues:

Thursday, 4^th December 2025.

Barnsley (H) was Ben Osborn’s 400^th professional game. Getting him in was a masterstroke at a time when we were struggling down the left and it isn’t even his preferred position. The air of sudden calm and assured confidence that descended on the whole team when he came on at half time last Saturday was palpable.

With County playing yesterday, TSBW’s main pod was moved to tonight. Russ led the singing, aided and abetted by Andy and our former Cambridge correspondent, now working as a podcast producer in that London, Lauren Hedley. Their assessment of the week on Planet County went like this:

• Barnsley (H): Did we gain a point or lose two? The first half was a shocker from our point of view, the second was much better, the fact that Ben Osborn and Jack Hunt were introduced at half time probably wasn’t a coincidence. Once Ollie Norwood becomes available, who do we play in midfield? Osborn, Bate, Norwood and Bailey is an embarrassment of riches, but we can’t play them all at once. Barnsley followed Luton’s example by feigning injury and rolling around on the floor half the time, even some of their own fans have found it an unedifying spectacle.
• Crewe (A): Another poor start but once we fell into a rhythm we were all over them. Corey Edwards looks a real prospect, but is he ready to start in the league? Che Gardner also did well, perhaps he would benefit from a loan to a L2 team to get regular minutes against decent opposition. Jordan Keane was apparently spotted on the bench, it’s good to see respected former players getting involved, they come with a ready-made knowledge of how the club works and what’s expected of them.
• Cambridge (H): They’re doing well in League 2 and won’t be a pushover. Andy thinks we’ll remember how to score and predicted a 4-2 win for us, Lauren thought 2-0 and Russ went for 3-1.
• Randon Shit Of The Week: Yes, Brenda from Bristol, another one. This week’s involved guessing County players based on the clubs they’ve played for before coming to County. Not easy by any means but an entertaining challenge. See how you get on with it here:

Gary Stopforth, one of the most memorable players from our non-league era, has announced his retirement. Who can forget him scoring an own goal with a backpass from the halfway line, or running round like a maniac after scoring the winner against Alfreton? His first appearance on the “I Had Trials Once” podcast in 2019 is a real eye-opening glimpse into the life of a non-league footballer and window cleaner:

Last night’s result means that county are through to the Round Of 16 in the Vertu Trophy. The draw is on Saturday at 11:45 on the Sky Sports EFL Show and the numbers are as follows:

Today’s tune is for G-Stop, who loves a practical joke, it’s Duke Reid and his Group with “Joker”:

Friday 5^th December 2025.

The highlights of Wednesday night’s defeat of Crewe are available now on You Tube:

Steve Bardsley spoke to Jules of the Under The Abbey Stand podcast for TSBW’s Cambridge United FA Cup tie preview. The pod has been on the go for six or seven years, a period of ups and downs for United.

• Club ownership: Paul Barry, a lifelong fan who made his pile in the travel industry, owns 75% of the club and Mark Green, an American who lives locally, has the rest. The ground is in need of a refresh but the co-owners will probably need outside investment to finance it.
• Management: Neil Harris, formerly of Millwall and Gillingham, is in his second spell in charge and Mark Bonner, who Harris replaced as manager, is now Director Of Football. Obviously, this could all change if the music stops before Saturday.
• Expectations for the season: Very few teams bounce straight back after relegation but United are making a decent attempt at a playoff position so far.
• Playing style: They’ll probably go for five at the back with deep-lying wingbacks. They lost their captain and their top scorer to injury last weekend and the league is a definite priority, so Jules doesn’t expect them to go all guns blazing.
• Players to watch:
  • Jake Eastwood: The product of Sheffield United’s youth system, a goalkeeper whose CV reads like a “Who The Hell’s That?” of the lower leagues. Despite all that, he’s turned out to be a decent signing, notable for massively long clearances.
  • Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu: Ex-Luton Congolese international midfielder. Works hard to get them forward.
  • Adam Mayor: Midfielder on loan from Millwall.
  • James Brophy: Ex-Swindon and Orient right winger.
  • Elias Kachunga: German-born Congolese international forward.
• Alumni in common: Danny Andrew, Gary Monk, James Jennings, Kyle Knoyle and John Ruddy have all played for both teams.
• Prediction: Jules thinks County will prevail and expects a 2-0 scoreline. I wish I shared his confidence.

Here’s my team prediction for tomorrow. It’s another leap in the dark, I expect a stronger team than last Wednesday as befits the more important competition, but we can’t throw caution completely to the winds as we have a league game on Tuesday.

It was mentioned on the pod this week that Captain Fantastic, Mike Flynn, is taking part in Dr Kershaw’s Hospice Strictly Dance 2026. The hospice provides free, specialist, end-of-life and palliative care for adults with life-limiting illnesses in Oldham and its surrounding areas in a peaceful and homely environment. An excellent cause and if you’d like further details or just to donate, just follow the link:

Today’s tune is for Flynny, “Dance The Night Away” by the Mavericks:

See you all at Edgeley Park!

Animo et fide.