Saturday, 17^th January 2026.

Matchday, County v Rotherham United, League 1.

Back to a sensible kick-off time this week, thank goodness. We took our seats in time to watch the keepers warm up and to dodge the wayward shots.

The team looked decent with the two new Joshes starting and a strong bench.

County started well, as you would hope against a team that hadn’t won in seven, and had a couple of attempts that weren’t fierce enough to hit the target or beat the ‘keeper. Eleven minutes in we had the impeccably observed minute’s applause in memory of Henry Sydenham. A couple of minutes later, County were ahead; Bailey sent Dacres-Cogley off down the right, he fired a low cross into the box and it was deflected into the net off a defender. All continued merry and bright until Rotherham equalised in an incident redolent of the National League banter years. Hinchliffe saw the opportunity to make a quick clearance to send Stokes off down the right and kicked the ball straight onto Olowu’s backside. It could have bounced anywhere but of course it didn’t, it looped back over the GOAT’s head and into the net. This ridiculous setback knocked County right out of their stride for the rest of the half and Rotherham noticeably grew in confidence.

The Hinchliffe-Olowu incident wasn’t the only own goal scored by County today, it turned out they’d been selling edible whistles to kids in the Pop Side before the match and they were loud enough to be heard from our seats in the Cheadle End. There’s a bloke on the supporters’ Facebook page defending the fact that he let his kid blow the blasted thing all through the match until the stewards threatened to throw them out.

Rumours were circulating that two auspicious visitors were in the crowd today; Usain Bolt to see his Godson Che Gardner play (the lad didn’t play so he didn’t turn up) and Tanto Olaofe (this one wasn’t true either).

The Millers made three changes at half time, including the introduction of Sam Nombe who proved to be the biggest threat they possessed. Despite this, it was County who went ahead after fifty-five minutes when Stokes put the opposing ‘keeper under pressure and the ball found its way into the net. I was very surprised when the referee didn’t blow for a foul; I don’t think it was a foul but the way ‘keepers are a protected species these days, I was prepared to see a free kick awarded. It was as well that the goal was allowed, because five minutes later Nombe finished a fast break downfield by just beating Hinchliffe to the ball and scoring a belting equaliser. Something needed to be done, and the something that Dave Challinor decided to do was replace Osborn and Olowu with Fevrier and Andrésson. County’s winner came about when a Stokes shot was parried by a defender but Andrésson pounced and forced the ball home. We weren’t out of the woods yet, as Hinchliffe redeemed himself by making a couple of vital saves and another Nombe shot hit both posts before being cleared upfield.

In summary, a very welcome three points but we made the win rather more difficult than it might have been.

Given the manner of the win, today’s tune is “Be My Luck” by the Oysterband:

Sunday, 18^th January 2026.

Matchday, Durham Cestria v County Ladies, FAWNL Division 1 North.

I’m seeing a number of comments about the own goal to end all own goals on the socials to the effect of “Why is Ben getting away with it, Corey would be crucified if he’d done it?” The difference is simple; it’s the credit in the bank that the man in his testimonial year has accrued against the man who was bought to replace him but has failed to make the position his own. Perhaps Addai will get his chance as a result of yesterday’s blunder but I’d be surprised.

Here’s the League 1 table as it stands after the win yesterday. Bolton are away at Stevenage on Tuesday night and will go above us if they win.

Our line on PPG Prophet’s graph always looks better after a win:

Here’s the County Ladies’ team for today’s game at Shildon. Olivia Greenhalgh and Livvi Turkington replace Gemma Lancaster and Natalie Watson from the last game two weeks ago.

Details of the game online are scant and I wasn’t there myself but it went like this: It was nil-nil at half time, Durham went ahead with two quick goals from Faye Dale and Emily May Hutchinson in the 66^th and 68^th minutes and Jess Battle got one back for County right at the death.

The loss means the Ladies remain in fifth spot, they will hope to improve on this when they play Blackburn at home next Sunday.

While we’re in the north-east, today’s tune is Vin Garbutt’s “The Land Of Three Rivers”:

Monday, 19^th January 2026.

TSBW’s Match Review Pod was posted this morning to shed some light on Saturday’s match. This week’s light-shedders were Jimmy Harmer, Dan Culverwell, Lee Rowley and Steve Bardsley.

• The formation:
  • Goal: Hinchliffe.
  • Back three: Pye, Hills and Olowu.
  • Wingbacks: Edun and Dacres-Cogley.
  • Midfield: Bailey, Norwood and Osborn.
  • Forwards: Stokes and Wootton.
  • Bench: Addai, Diamond, Fevrier, Mothersille, Andrésson, Hunt and Okeke.
  • All of a sudden, or so it seems, we have two round pegs in round holes at wingback and an extra attacking threat up front. The bench looks full of useful alternatives too, rather than being stuffed with academy lads who may well have promising futures but lack experience.
• First half: for the first thirty minutes it looked like we were in for a comfortable win. We scored early and had a couple of decent chances that Wootton and Pye perhaps should have scored. Rotherham looked resigned to their fate. The tide started to turn when their goalie suffered a fit of the vapours, allowing Matt Hamshaw to hold an impromptu coaching session. Something needs to be done about this blatant cheating that we see every week, but quite what shape that should take is very difficult to say. Make the captain stay off the pitch for thirty seconds perhaps, or maybe limit the number of players talking to the manager to the captain and one other. It worked anyway and they were further encouraged shortly afterwards by Hinchliffe’s rush of blood and inadvertent bid for social media immortality. The concession of a ridiculous OG knocked County’s confidence as well and set the tone for the rest of the game.
• Second half: they made three changes at half time and we stayed as we were. Their new lineup seemed to expose our relative lack of pace in the middle, perhaps we need a more terrier-like presence in the engine room and perhaps a more experienced centre half to marshal Pye and Hills more effectively. Our second goal could easily have been deemed a foul in the modern game, if the boot had been on the other foot I’m sure we would have been baying for a free kick. Their second goal was the pick of the bunch, Sam Nombe looked a cut above anyone else they had on the pitch and he came within a few millimetres of grabbing an equaliser before the end. Our third was a product of an attacking substitution by DC; bringing Andrésson and Fevrier on and taking Osborn and Olowu off allowed The Iceman to score a classic poacher’s goal when a Stokes shot was parried by a defender.
• Josh Stokes: Another excellent performance, marred only by the emergence of a song that refers to him as “Joshy,” which is all a bit cringe.
• Josh Dacres-Cogley: An excellent display on his debut.
• Man Of The Match: A toss-up between Brad Hills and Josh Stokes.
• Transfers: The rumour mill is always going to be batting round at this time of year:
  • Tanto: If he’s on his way, Lee’s cardboard version is ready to play its part in any photo and fund-raising opportunities that might arise.
  • Louie Barry: If he’s coming, let’s hope he stays fit.
  • Archie Collins: The Peterborough midfielder is a name I haven’t heard suggested before.
  • Jack Hunt: Expected to move on but would be worth keeping on if he was up for it.

The pod is here for you, free, gratis and for nowt:

Our second goal on Saturday has now been credited to Josh Stokes rather than being an own goal by the ‘keeper. I’m sure Stokes will be delighted and the ‘keeper relieved, but the major surprise remains that the goal was allowed at all.

The club announced last night that Jack Hunt has left at the end of his contract. He’s been effective if unspectacular, no bad thing in a full back, and I hope we have someone as good if not better to take his place.

Today’s tune is Kevin Gordon’s explanation of what we’re hoping for once the transfer window closes, “24 Diamonds”:

Tuesday, 20^th January 2026.

County’s Community Trust have released their annual report into their activity across the borough over the last twelve months. These are just some of the highlights:

• The Together Schools Programme which is offered free to every Primary and Secondary school in Stockport.
• Raising £20,000 for local charities on match days.
• Providing holiday programmes for over 1,000 young people and giving 1,600 free healthy lunches.
• Donating over 3,000 PE kits to local children through the Kits By County scheme.

For the full story, follow the link here:

https://www.stockportcounty.com/news/2026/january/13/annual-report-showcases-transformative-year-for-stockport-county-community-trust

It was announced last night that Owen Moxon to has gone on loan to Wigan Athletic. It’s my fervent hope that he can recapture the sort of form with them that led us to sign him in the first place, especially as he would be helping our cause by playing well against our rivals.

The first midweek game in League 1, Bolton versus Stevenage, ended in a goalless draw, which suits us very well. It leaves the top of the table looking like this:

Unless we start scoring more goals on a regular basis we’ll need to succeed on points alone, so getting something at Cardiff on Saturday would be handy.

Today’s tune was prompted by the news that the thug McClean has been released by Wrexham and scuttled off to Northern Ireland, “The Unforgiven” by The Hamsters:

Wednesday, 21^st January 2026.

County’s Academy U17s beat Carlisle 3-2 at SSV last night to progress to the quarter finals of the U17 Premier League PDL Cup.

It’s looking very much like the deal to being Everton’s Roman Dixon in on loan is back on. The twenty-one-year-old right back was in our squad list at the start of the season but got injured at Pinatar and is only just back from that. He’s had a couple of games with Everton’s first team in the past and done well so there’s some promise there.

On this day 2021, Jim Gannon was sacked for the third time as manager of Stockport County. The decision still doesn’t sit well with many fans, me included, but in hindsight he was never likely to mesh well with a Director Of Football. To make matters worse, he was replaced by the hapless Simon Rusk who failed to win many hearts or matches in his time with us.

The panel for tonight’s TSBW’s main pod was Russ Johnson, Mark Wagster, Andy Reding and Pete Mellor. Their discussion of goings-on around County went like this:

• Rotherham (H):
  • Keeper!: Everything was going swimmingly until The Own Goal. It’s plain that it was completely Ben Hinchliffe’s fault and there’s little doubt that Corey Addai would have faced vastly more criticism if he’d done something similar. The difference, of course, is that the current first choice ‘keeper has built up sufficient credit in the Bank Of Edgeley to get away with the very occasional gaffe. With Hinchliffe nearing the end of his career and Addai out of favour, we should be looking to recruit a new No.1 at the end of this season if not before. The name of Sam Tickle from Wigan cropped up as it always does in these circumstances but if he goes anywhere it’s going to cost serious money.
  • Sam Nombe: Rotherham’s 10 was very impressive when he came on, we were perhaps fortunate he didn’t start.
  • Goals: There may have been a touch of fortune about two of them, but at least we scored more than one this time.
• Half and halfwits: People were seen hastily tucking combined City and United scarves out of sight as they ascended the Cheadle End steps on Saturday. Wearing such things is such an egregious breach of football etiquette that the stewards should perhaps be forbidding entry to protect those who don’t know any better.
• Owen Moxon: It’s a great pity it didn’t work out for him with us, it will be interesting to see how he does at Wigan. You have to ask if his heart is really in it.
• Stewarding: Despite County recruiting more personnel direct rather than using agency bods, there’s been little reduction in complaints about inflexible jobsworths insisting, inter alia, on fans sitting on seats covered in guano, not having pre-match conversations with friends, sitting down even at moments of high excitement, &c. &c. We know that the council are watching what goes on but surely there’s room for a bit of give and take.
• Transfer speculation:
  • Roman Dixon: Bringing the young Everton right back in on loan seems to be back on again.
  • Tanto Olaofe: Is he or isn’t he?
  • Adama Sidibeh: Rumours of the Gambian striker being signed from St. Johnstone either now or in the summer refuse to die down.
  • Alfie Harrison: The young midfielder, signed for decent money from Manchester City by Newcastle a coupe of years ago, may be a possible loan target.
  • Benn Ward: A number of clubs, including County, are said to be after the Accrington centre half.
  • Archie Collins: The Peterborough midfielder has been mentioned as a possible target.
• Cardiff (A): Predictions ranged from a score draw to a victory by 2-1 or 3-2.
• Random Shit Of The Week: Waggie was the brains behind this week’s entertainment, in which the panel had to suggest a County player they best resemble given their stature and football skill set.

If my precis of the thing appeals, the real thing has much more to offer:

We should always be careful what we wish for, especially during the transfer window; here’s Nick Lowe to explain via the medium of song in “The Wishing Well”:

Thursday, 22^nd January 2026.

TSBW’s Preview Show for Saturday’s game against Cardiff was presented by Steve Bardsley who spoke with Si Willis of the Cardiff City World podcast to get the lowdown on our opponents:

• Ownership: Vincent Tan, who got off on the wrong foot by wanting to change from blue to red shirts, is rarely seen at games any more and lets his board run the club. There is some concern that there isn’t anyone with football knowledge between the manager and the board.
• The manager: Brian Barry Murphy has been in charge since June last year and appears to be a proactive manager with a range of plans at his disposal.
• Transfer window: They were under an embargo at first for being late in publishing their accounts but that’s now resolved. Si thinks they should be looking for a left fullback, a speedy winger and some strength in midfield.
• Expectations: Fourteen of the existing squad were unloaded in the summer, those retained being at the younger end. This caused some consternation among the fanbase at first but results since have mollified them.
• Style of play: Possession based, high tempo, aggressive in the tackle.
• Players to watch:
  • Alex Robertson: A midfielder signed from Manchester Citeh in 2024.
  • Ollie Tanner: Rapid winger, ex-Bromley, just back from injury.
  • Yousef Salech: Danish centre forward of the old school.
  • Will Fish: Ex-Man United centre half. He had an undistinguished loan period at County as part of the Ross-Fish-Pye triumvirate a few seasons ago but has obviously blossomed since.
• Players in common: In addition to Will Fish, Adam LeFondre, Ricky Lambert and Anthony Pilkington have played for both clubs.

Lots more insight to be gained by clicking on the link:

The Supporters’ Co-operative are delighted to launch their new website, built by John Robinson Design of Marple. The site features a tribute to our legendary former manager, Danny Bergara, alongside videos charting the creation of his statue by award winning sculptor, Hannah Stewart, and its unveiling by the Uruguayan Ambassador, Sr. César Rodríguez Zabala.

A dedicated transparency section includes minutes from all meetings involving the Co-operative board, the Club, Annual General Meetings, and discussions with the Independent Football Regulator.

The website also showcases photos from our events, including appearances by Dave Jones, Andy Preece, Antoni Sarcevic, Oshor Williams, Tommy Sword, the Bergara Gin launch night, and players from the National League North Championship-winning team.

All members of the Co-operative board are introduced on the site, helping supporters get to know the people behind the organisation. If you need any help or support, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Have a look for yourself and visit the website here: www.countysupporterscoop.co.uk/

County’s Vertu Trophy quarter final against Port Vale has now been confirmed for February 10^th at seven o’clock. I’m planning to go if the Fingerpost Flyer can get enough passengers together to pay its way.

The second of Geordie Hatter’s weekly Thursday shows was live at 7:30 tonight. Most of the usual features were there to delight us, along with some splendid tunes curated by GH to represent the theme of Calamity, Confusion, and Miscommunication. You can listen to a recoding via the link below, but it’s best served live so you can join with the growing band of punters in the live chat:

https://the-geordie-hatter.mixlr.com/recordings/3007620

Lincoln played Burton tonight, I was hoping The Brewers could do us a favour but unfortunately Lincoln prevailed 2-1. It might have been different but this wasn’t deemed worthy of a penalty:

Today’s tune is one featured on GH’s show, “Here Come The Rugby Boys” by The Just Joans:

Friday 23^rd January 2026.

Here’s how the top of the table looks after Lincoln’s win last night.

As I write this, the transfer of Sidibeh from St. Johnstone seems to be in doubt. He came south fro his medical yesterday but rumour has it that some obstacle, perhaps in the shape of his agent, could scupper the deal.

Here’s my predicted team for tomorrow.

Today’s tune is a warning of the perils of early retirement from Half Man Half Biscuit. The subject of the song wouldn’t have had all that bother if he’d decided to write a football blog instead of buying a ventriloquist’s dummy…. “If you gave me my medicine I’d probably go back to bed”:

See you all at Cardiff!

Animo et fide.