Saturday, 7^th February 2026.

Matchday, County v Leyton Orient, League 1.

We set off to the ground today impatient to see an improvement in our overall performance given the impressive recruitment during the transfer window. Apart from Tanto Olaofe, there wasn’t much sign of that recruitment in the starting XI but it was good to see Stokes, Sidibeh and Bate on the bench.

Both Janice and I have been hit by stray shots during the pre-match practice session in the last few weeks. I ended up with a sprained wrist that isn’t quite right yet and Janice’s today was just a glancing blow to the forehead but could have been a lot worse. It was nice of Max Metcalfe to come up the steps to apologise for his wayward attempt but that’s really not the point. Last week a young kid was knocked right off his feet as he was stood by the side of the goal. All the away grounds we go to have nets up to prevent this happening and I think it’s time we had them too.

Once the game got going, it was obvious that Orient were going to be a tougher prospect than their league position suggested. Their recent signings seem to have improved them; Fawunmi, on loan from Stoke and the ‘keeper, Oluwayemi, looked particularly useful. County had a couple of chances, a Norwood free kick from the sideline that hit the bar was perhaps the most notable, but needed interventions from Hinchliffe and the excellent Pye to keep the scores level. Dacres-Cogley’s caution on thirty-eight minutes would later prove significant.

Half time brought some entertainment from the local Lion Dancers to mark the Chinese New Year.

The same to-and-fro continued after the break, Orient having slightly the better of things. Dave Challinor made his move on the hour, introducing Bate, Stokes and Sidibeh in place of Edun, Bailey and Olaofe. All three enhanced our speed of thought and action, so much so that the opposition’s ‘keeper staged a lie down to allow Richie Wellens to rally his troops. Everyone agrees that something needs to be done about this blatant cheating but nobody has suggested a viable solution yet. Once play resumed for a second or two it looked like Sidibeh was going to score but he slipped at the critical moment and the chance was gone. Things became more difficult for the home team after eighty minutes when the fusspot of a referee awarded Dacres-Cogley a second yellow for impeding an opponent, leaving us down to ten men. As our man went down the tunnel the Edgeley Park sniper struck again, causing Ben Hinchliffe to need treatment while DC decided what to do about our shortage of numbers. What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander of course, but I’m not happy with this sort of deception even when we do it. The delay allowed Roman Dixon to make his long-awaited debut at the expense of Jack Diamond. Despite our numerical inferiority we were still trying to win the thing but it could have gone either way with both teams coming close to a goal.

A disappointing result then, especially with those above us all winning, but a point wasn’t the worst possible outcome, especially with the sending off.

To keep the Chinese theme going, today’s tune is “Fu Man Chu” by Desmond Dekker and the Aces:

Sunday, 8^th February 2026.

Matchday, Norton and Stockton Ancients v County Ladies, FAWNL Division 1 North.

Ironically, the Ladies’ first game since the announcement of greater involvement by the club was postponed earlier this morning due to the pitch at Stockton-on-Tees being waterlogged.

The League 1 table looks like this after yesterday’s draw. Some fans have gone from unbounded optimism last week to “playoffs if we’re lucky” in the space of two days but it’s too soon for that, we just have to keep at it and see where the remaining sixteen games take us. The top three may move further away next Saturday as we don’t play in the league until a week on Tuesday.

PPG Prophet’s graph reflects the point we gained:

We could all do with a laugh after yesterday’s result, so today’s tune is “The Intro and the Outro” by The Bonzo Dog Doodah Band:

Monday, 9^th February 2026.

TSBW’s Match Review Pod was a valiant attempt by the panel of Dan Culverwell, Dave Whitehouse and Nick Reid to salvage some positives from the goalless draw against Orient.

• The formation, fluid as ever:
  • Goal: Hinchliffe.
  • Back four: Dacres-Cogley, Pye, Hills and Edun.
  • Midfield: Bailey, Osborn and Norwood.
  • Strikers: Olaofe and Wootton.
• First half: For whatever reason we were on the back foot for most of it and needed excellent work by Hinchliffe to keep the scores level. They pressed well, which forced us to abandon playing out from the back and concentrate on long clearances which we failed to capitalise on, their centre halves mopping most of them up. They tried to hit us on the break and we didn’t always track back well, Dacres-Cogley received his first yellow card when trying to race back past his less mobile teammates. Norwood wasn’t at his most effective, except for one free kick that hit the bar, which was reflected in our lack of creativity.
• Second half: We were poor at first and only really improved once the subs were made on the hour. Bate, Sidibeh and Stokes came on for Edun, Bailey and Olaofe and all made a positive impact. Despite the improvement, we still didn’t pose much of a threat to Orient’s goal. They were worried though, and resorted to shithousery to gain thinking time. It really is time that a solution was found to goalkeepers playing the old soldier to kill momentum and achieve an unofficial time out. Perhaps if we could go ahead in matches the opposition would be too busy getting a goal back to start acting the goat. Either team could have scored at this stage, there were good saves and a goal line clearance at our end and Sidibeh slipped just as he looked likely to score his maiden goal at theirs. It seems Dacres-Cogley might have escaped his second yellow if the referee had stuck to his guns, but their bench were all up when the free kick was given and either the liner or the fourth official pressed for the sending off. It was then time for us to play them at their own game, Hinchliffe suffering from a bout of cramp so that Dixon could replace Diamond.
• Perhaps a point gained rather than two lost and we can be sure that DC will have the players working on all the shortcomings before the next league game at Bradford.

All this and more here:

The highlights of the home game against Orient are out now:

My suggested team for tomorrow, it may look as though I’ve just drawn the names out of a hat, but I think they could do a job while preserving legs elsewhere in the squad:

Today’s tune is a nice bit of Gypie Mayo era Dr. Feelgood, a Johnny Watson song “Looking Back”:

Tuesday, 10^th February 2026.

Matchday: Port Vale v County, Vertu Trophy Quarter Final.

It was a seven o’clock kick off tonight, so with the Flyer leaving at four thirty, I decided I wouldn’t be able to make Phil Robbinson’s funeral before it left. It sounds like there were plenty there, including Steve Bellis and Jim Gannon, so he got a good farewell.

There was plenty of room on the Flyer so I was able to stretch out and exchange pleasantries with Allen Fitcroft who took the seat on the other side of the aisle on a rare appearance. All went swimmingly until we got within sight of the ground, we somehow found the inevitable narrow street and there was a hiccough in the parking arrangements which entailed us being stuck on the coach for an age before we could trudge round to the away turnstiles. Once we got there though, the stewards were excellent, I was offered a route into the stand with fewer steps and the use of a Gents that was officially cordoned off but was much more accessible.

Chally had named an impressively strong team, no doubt aided by us having a whole week off before we play again:

Once we were in the ground the weather really started to live up the forecast, the rain drenching an already soggy-looking pitch. It took County a while to get going, Corey Addai made a couple of excellent stops before we really got into our stride. We played out from the back a good deal and at times we flirted with danger, Vale players almost robbing us of the ball in dangerous positions. County gradually gained the upper hand though, and never really looked back after that. The first goal went to Adama Sidibeh, who drove a Malik Mothersille cross past the despairing ‘keeper on thirty-six minutes. Sidibeh got his and County’s second with a header from a Norwood corner after an hour. This increased lead was the signal for a raft of substitutions, Odin Bailey, Che Gardner, Brad Hills and Kyle Wootton coming on for Lewis Bate, Roman Dixon, Tyler Onyango and Adama Sidibeh.

The third goal came from another Norwood corner, it was helped over the line by the Vale goalie and has been called an own goal. That seems unfair to me, the ball was heading in anyway, so should surely be added to Norwood’s account. The fourth was a Jack Diamond solo effort, the home side taking a watching brief as County’s number seven waltzed past them and tucked the ball away.

A splendid result, especially considering the foul weather, the atrocious pitch and some eccentric refereeing decisions. It earns us a semi-final against one of Doncaster Rovers, Northampton Town, Plymouth Argyle or Luton Town. The latter two play their quarter final on the 24^th of February.

Today’s tune, in response to the weather tonight, is “Why Does It Always Rain On Me?” by Travis:

Wednesday, 11^th February 2026.

The panel for TSBW’s main show this week was Russ Johnson, Mark Wagster, Steve Bardsley and fan guest Liam Walker. Their discussion of the week’s County news went like this:

• Orient (H): The subject of tactical injuries to goalkeepers needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. A number of remedies were suggested, from preventing players approaching the bench while the goalie’s being treated to having a sniper shooting injured ‘keepers as soon as they fall to the floor. Sensible policies for a happier Britain.
• Port Vale (A):
  • Crowd: The County fans, anywhere between 400 and 650 depending on who you believe, created a decent atmosphere. Their home counterparts, perhaps understandably given the season they’re having, were pretty quiet.
  • The pitch: The playing surface was in a right state, it looked bad enough from where I was in the stand but the video I’ve seen from the side makes it look even worse.
  • Corey Addai: He made a couple of vital saves early doors but perhaps more importantly he looks reborn since the transfer window closed. There have been times this season when he’s looked a man apart from the rest of the squad, it’s good to see Happy Corey back with us instead of Eaten His Bedding Corey.
  • Adama Sidibeh: What a superb acquisition to the squad, full of running, an astonishing leap for his height and a smile a mile wide when he scores. There’s some dispute about how to pronounce his name, as far as I’m concerned it needs to fit in with the tequila song or “I’m A Believer.”
  • Malik Mothersille: Continues to improve every time he plays. He chased and harried and earned an assist for the first goal.
  • Jack Diamond: Addressed some of the fears about him dribbling down blind alleys by scoring a cracking solo goal.
  • Ollie Norwood: He’s now been credited with the third goal, and quite right too.
  • Lewis Bate: It’s so good to have him back, he has the pace and range of passing we’ve missed in the middle of the park.
  • Rumour: It’s been suggested that we might be thrown out of the competition for something to do with Tanto playing but it doesn’t seem to have any basis in truth,
• Kyle Wootton: Named PFA League One Fans’ Player Of The Month for January, a richly-deserved honour for our leading scorer.
• Stockport Sports Village: Taking the club’s assurances at face value, it seems that use of the pitches by grassroots teams will continue, leaving the closure of the gym to the public as the main point of contention in the local community. Given Mark Stott’s track record for community involvement, it’s hard to believe that County will leave the public worse off once the changes are complete.
• Debreceni VSC: Now that Mark Stott has appeared on both Peterborough and DVSC podcasts, surely it’s only a matter of time before he agrees to come on The Scarf Bergara Wore? With Debrecen being a university town with a football team capable of reaching the Champions League, the attractions of investing there are obvious. From the outside looking in, we have to hope that having two clubs to run won’t lead to a loss of focus on Stockport County but this is a highly efficient group of companies we’re talking about, so they will no doubt keep all the plates spinning. Although the two clubs are being run as completely separate entities, one wonders if we’ll see exchanges of players or even fans in the future.
• Random Shit Of The Week: Steve’s County version of Blankety Blank worked very well indeed and caused great hilarity.

As ever, there was much more than I’ve listed here, well worth a watch:

Today’s tune is “Tequila” by The Champs. Feel free to sing along and shout “Sidibeh!” at appropriate points:

Thursday, 12^th February 2026.

A quick reminder that there are two walks planned for good causes:

• Hatters 2 Hatters: Katie Myott, Jamie Reding, Joel Torkington, and Mark Woolley are walking from Edgeley Park to Kenilworth Road, in aid of three charities; Stockport County Community Trust, Parkinson’s UK and The Wellspring. Details here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/hatters2hattersmarch2026?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL 
• Andy Birchenough and friends Pete and Simon are walking from Edgeley Park to Oakwell via Hillsborough in memory of Andy’s Uncle Wayne who was looked after with so much care by St Luke’s Hospice in Sheffield. Details here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/andy-birchenough-6?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL

Tuesday’s match was Corey Addai’s 50^th for the club. It was good to see him looking more like his old self.

I turned Sky Sports News on in time to see three blokes make a colossal song and dance out of drawing four numbered snooker balls from a bowl. The upshot of it all was that County will play Doncaster away in the semi-final of the Vertu Trophy. No doubt Brad Hills Hills Hills will be looking forward renewing acquaintance with Billy Sharp as they got along so well last time we played them. I’d rather we’d drawn them at home because I’m not sure I’ll be able to go to Doncaster, but it was the perfect draw otherwise. The game will probably take place on Tuesday 3^rd March unless Sky stick their oar in. The other half of the draw is Luton or Plymouth v Northampton.

The Supporters’ Co-operative new website is an excellent addition to our web presence; this is a thing I’ve written about the changes to County’s women’s team:

https://www.countysupporterscoop.co.uk/from-ladies-to-women-a-huge-step-forward

Geordie Hatter’s Thursday show had a week off to recharge its batteries as we haven’t got a game this weekend. He assures us he’ll be back next week.

The club have announced plans to use land they own in Cheadle Hulme to build “126 genuinely affordable homes aimed at first-time buyers and local families.” The area was bought to use for training purposes but the plans for Stockport Sports Village have changed things. Full story here:

https://www.stockportcounty.com/news/2026/february/12/club-statement–grove-lane

Today’s tune, for all those who are raising money by exercising Shanks’ Pony, is “I’m Walkin’” by Fats Domino:

Friday 13^th February 2026.

Highlights of the Port Vale game are available now:

Sky Sports have further endeared themselves to County’s fanbase by shifting the kick-off time for our game there on 14^th March to 12:30 so it can be shown on TV. It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good though; I’m not going anyway, because it’s too far to walk from the coach park, so I’ll be able to watch it now.

Here’s a thing I wrote for the new Supporters’ Co-operative website about the history of DVSC:

https://www.countysupporterscoop.co.uk/a-new-line-east-mark-stotts-stake-in-debrecen

I recently received an 8-disc set of CDs by one of my folk heroes, Dick Gaughan. It was the fruit of a Kickstarter campaign and contains all sorts of previously unreleased stuff from live sessions and the BBC archives. Today’s tune is one of his own, all about coping with life’s ups and down: “Sail On”:

See you all at Valley Parade on Tuesday!

Animo et fide.