Saturday, 7^th March 2026.

Club Photographer Mike Petch and Inclusion Officer at the Community Trust, Katie Myott, are undertaking a three-day walk from Liverpool to Edgeley Park to raise vital funds for the Darby Rimmer Motor Neurone Disease Foundation and Leeds Hospital Foundation. Full details, including how to join the walk from Altrincham to Edgeley Park, can be found here: https://www.stockportcounty.com/news/2026/march/03/county-staff-take-on-march-of-the-day-walk-for-mnd-charities-/

Here’s the League 1 table after today’s games. We remain in fifth, although at one stage, before Bolton’s remarkable comeback against Wycombe, we were down to sixth. The respite may only be temporary, however, as Stevenage and Reading both play on Tuesday and both will go above us if they win. Our next game is Lincoln (A) on Saturday, and you’d need to be a sunny optimist of the Little Orphan Annie school to imagine we’d get anything out of that encounter. Northampton (H) a week on Tuesday is looking pretty important if we’re going to maintain our playoffs place.

My mood was lifted somewhat by watching Wrexham getting knocked out of the FA Cup by Chelsea tonight, although it looked in doubt at times. Best of all, VAR intervened to get the thug Dobson sent off for a reckless high tackle on Chelsea’s Garnacho. In case anyone’s forgotten, it was Dobson who shoved Macca into the perimeter fence at speed when we played Charlton and who ended Callum Camps’ season last time we played Wrexham. VAR has its critics but it’s a pity it wasn’t available for those two matches.

Today’s tune is for Dobson, “The Unforgiven” by The Hamsters:

Sunday, 8^th March 2026.

Matchday: Doncaster Belles v County Ladies, FAWNL Division 1 North.

County Ladies were on the road for International Women’s Day, playing Doncaster Belles at Retford.

Here’s how the team looked:

Note the typo on the teamsheet, by the way; County’s number 15 is actually Abbie Podmore.

Things were pretty even for the first few minutes, County forcing a corner at one end then relying on Fran Davies to prevent one at the other by clearing the ball over the goal line off a Belles’ player. The blues gradually gained the upper hand though, Ellie Fletcher coming particularly to the fore firstly with a cross into the box then, moments later, with a shot which cleared the bar. Another corner, on 20 minutes, almost produced a goal when Livvi Turkington’s initial ball was cleared to the feet of Fletcher but her shot flew just wide of the post. Doncaster weren’t out of it though and it took the combined forces of Davies, Turkington and Owen to ensure a break didn’t come to anything.

County’s first goal came on the half hour from an Olivia Greenhalgh pass to Em Bradshaw, who fired the ball out of the ‘keeper’s reach into the bottom left-hand corner of the net. Just four minutes later they were two up, this time it was a Fletcher pass to Em Bradshaw who unerringly hammered her second home. County held on to their lead up to half time.

Thanks to Andrew Machin of @machinsports for the use of his image.

County kept to the same eleven for the start of the second half. Doncaster came back strongly after the break and thanks to some poor defending from those in blue, managed to halve the deficit after seven minutes with a goal by Maisie Everitt. This spurred them on and they had the ball in the net again just three minutes later but it was deemed offside. County didn’t heed the warnings, however, and Jasmine Saxton got the Belles’ equaliser just six minutes after their first.

With Doncaster firmly in control now despite the occasional foray upfield from County, and Olivia Wilson cautioned, Steve O’Hara made a double substitution on seventy-two minutes. On came Shaunna Jein and Natalie Watson to replace Livvi Turkington and Abbie Podmore. Thus reinvigorated, County began to press their hosts back, forcing corners and free kicks without quite managing to force the ball home.

County made a further change with seven minutes of normal time to go, introducing Maria Figueiredo to replace Em Lysons. They continued to press with corner after corner through the five minutes of added time but couldn’t make the breakthrough.

A point on the road then, in the archetypal game of two halves; County dominating the first but being frustrated by a Doncaster resurgence in the second. The draw leaves County in sixth place in the table:

Today’s tune is “The Bell(e)s” by The Men They Couldn’t Hang:

Monday, 9^th March 2026.

It was too late for me to mention this in last week’s blog, but County held a major event to celebrate International Women’s Day on Friday in the 1883. Over one hundred guests heard from County Women’s MD Tracey Neville MBE, peace campaigner Figen Murray OBE and positivity influencers Hannah and Becky Cheetham, all hosted by Strawberry Radio’s Chellce AJ. This photo from County’s website:

True to form, Northampton have sacked manager Kevin Nolan a week and a half before we play them. We seem doomed to deal with a new manager bounce every other week, I reckon if we drew Citeh in the cup they’d sack Guardiola.

With the Vertu final at Wembley getting all the attention at the moment, it’s easy to forget that we have a league campaign to deal with. Our away fixture against Wimbledon is now set for the Wednesday after the final, so if you feel you haven’t seen enough of our capital city there are seats available on the Fingerpost Flyer for a mere £48 for adults and £40 for accompanied Under 14`s. The coach leaves Lowndes Lane at 11.30 and Worrall Street in Edgeley at 11.45. Sign up here, but remember that we don’t allow alcohol on the coach:

Adults: https://buy.stripe.com/5kQcN4bFL4agb839201440q

Under 14`s: https://buy.stripe.com/7sY8wOeRX2280tp5PO1440r

Today’s tune is “Lullaby Of London” by The Pogues:

Tuesday, 10^th March 2026.

The club’s Community Trust are running their County Camps again this Easter. They say places are filling fast, so time is of the essence if you’d like to keep your children occupied and active in the holidays:

The results in League 1 tonight went pretty much in our favour; Reading and Stevenage would both have gone above us if they’d won but both lost, Reading away at Mansfield and Stevenage at home to Orient. The top end of the table looks like this as a result:

I was hoping to book a seat in the Club Wembley area for the Vertu Trophy final, but it looks as though only the lower tiers will be available unless we sell more than 20,000 tickets. I can’t see that happening, so I look forward to trying to find a suitable seat tomorrow.

A County fan on Facebook recently poured scorn on the alcohol ban on the Fingerpost Flyer. Those of us who organise the Flyer take our responsibilities very seriously and we don’t want problems like Lincoln fans and their coach company had at Cardiff last weekend:

The MotoGP season is upon us, a sure sign that Spring is on its way, so today’s tune is a tribute to that sport’s GOAT, “Valentino” by March To The Grave:

Wednesday, 11^th March 2026.

Matchday: Cheadle Town Stingers v County Ladies, FAWNL Division 1 North.

I’ve secured a Wembley ticket this morning, not without difficulty. The initial email from the club said that Block 137 was for families so I avoided that, but everywhere else I tried came up as a family area as well. I await developments.

Here’s how County ladies lined up for tonight’s derby at Cheadle Town. The only change from Sunday’s draw with Doncaster was Gemma Lancaster replacing Livvi Turkington, who started on the bench.

It was a close-fought affair, County starting with an extended period of pressure but Cheadle forcing a series of corners halfway through the first forty-five. Freya heap was called upon to make spectacular and instinctive saves as the half came to an end.

Ten minutes into the second half, Stinger’s Bentley missed a clear opportunity by firing over the bar. County continued to press with a series of corners and Ellie Fletcher came close to putting them ahead just before the hour. Steve O’Hara made a double substitution on sixty-eight minutes, Natalie Wiatson and Levi Rathburn replacing Abbie Podmore and Emma Lysons. The blues continued to create chances, Fletcher, Rathburn and Watson coming close to scoring. When the opener did finally come, however, it was the Stingers’ Jess Gillin who put the ball away on seventy-nine minutes. Six minutes later County made their final change, Maria Figueiedo replacing Olivia Greenhalgh. The change was in vain though, and Cheadle ran out 1-0 winners.

The table looks like this as a result:

TSBW’s main show tonight was presented by Russ Johnson with Waggie and Andy Reding. The usual ebb and flow of ideas went this way:

• Wembley:
  • Tickets: Everyone had their own issues; Russ and his son Dan were sat apart from each other, Waggie ended up with sixty-four tickets in his basket and Andy, having said how were all making a fuss over nothing, found out live on air that he and Ian weren’t sat together after all.
  • Attendance: How many will we take? The general assumption, given that the competition has lost some of its allure over the years, is between 10-13,000.
  • Documentary: There’s a plan from TSBW to get as many fans as possible to take photos and video clips of their journey to the game and make into a record of the day. More details to come nearer the time.
• Loyalty points: Will they revert to zero next season? That seemed to be the club’s intention, but the Co-op have asked them to reconsider. Everyone recognises it can’t keep going in perpetuity, or new supporters will never get a foothold, but it needs to be more than just one season.
• Lincoln (A): We’re unlikely to catch them in the league now, but could we get something out of Saturday’s game?
• Fixture congestion: It can be a double-edged sword; tiredness comes into it but playing Saturday – Tuesday – Saturday – Tuesday can generate its own momentum and as Andy says, the more games we play near the end of the season, the more chance we have of Louie Barry playing a part.
• Ben Hinchliffe: His testimonial year is starting to take shape; he has a golf day organised and there’s something planned at Stockport Gin with Ben Walker. Various comedy ideas were put forward, including a Bake-Off event in the Railway End and a game between County and Fylde as long as the latter promise to wear their “2022 or bust” shirts. I think GOAT racing would be a sure-fire winner.
• Andy Pickford: We learned tonight that Andy, a life-long County fan, had passed away suddenly at the early age of fifty-seven. There’s a plan to have a minute’s applause for him in the 57^th minute against Northampton next Tuesday.
• Charity walks: In addition to the one I mentioned in Saturday’s entry this week, there are two others on the go:
  • Hatters to Hatters: Katie Myott, Jamie Reding, Joel Torkington, Mark Woolley and Hannah Downey are involved in walking 145 miles from Edgeley Park to Kenilworth Road, in aid of Stockport County Community Trust, Parkinson’s UK and Wellspring Stockport. Their Just Giving page is at:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/hatters2hattersmarch2026?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL&utm_campaign=020

• Andy Birchenough, Pete Gelder and Simon Jennison are walking the long way round from Chadderton to Barnsley FC’s ground over 3 days to raise funds for St. Lukes’ hospice in Sheffield. Their Just Giving page is at:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/andy-birchenough-6?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL&utm_campaign=020

• Random Shit Of The Week: This week’s quiz from Andy was all football-based, mainly around grounds. I managed a mere 10/19.

Another thoroughly enjoyable show, watch it for yourself at:

Bradford beat Port Vale 2-0 tonight, taking them eight points clear of us. Here’s the latest table:

Today’s tune is for all those putting their shoe leather to work for charity; “I’m Walkin’” by Fats Domino:

Thursday, 12^th March 2026.

It’s Ben Hinchliffe’s testimonial year, as mentioned in this week’s TSBW Main Show. The first event to be announced is a golf day involving teams of four, at Dunham Forest Golf Club on Thursday 2nd July 2026. If you’d like to take part, or just want further information, contact Ben at BHTestimonial@hotmail.com

Nick Lee was sitting in for the eponymous presenter on Geordie Hatter’s Thursday show this week, the man himself having gone foreign for a few days. If, like me, you weren’t able to catch the show live, a recorded version is available here:

https://the-geordie-hatter.mixlr.com/recordings/3063709

I was recently reminded of one of my favourite bits of TSBW content, the Dark Days Series. It tells the story of Stockport County through the years after Brian Kennedy sold the club to the Trust in the words of people who were involved at the time. Some of the stories are mind-boggling, some are comic and some are both. I’m currently re-listening to it and I’d strongly advise you to do the same. All five episodes are available on You Tube here:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBFPxcPlzupDJRvGwjLfQuC4rsR_eQWOy

or on Spotify here:

http://bit.ly/40XQdPQ

Janice and I went to the Met Theatre in Bury tonight to see one of my favourite musicians, Daoiri Farrell. He’s a brilliant bouzouki player and singer and a cracking lad into the bargain. Today’s tune is him singing a Paddy Kavanagh song “If Ever You Go To Dublin Town” while sitting next to Paddy’s statue:

Friday 13^th March 2026.

Steve Bardsley, who puts loads of work in producing the Match Preview Pods for The Scarf Bergara Wore, is also superb at the graphic design lark. Witness this, for the forthcoming trip to Wembley:

County’s Captain fantastic, Mike Flynn, is taking part in a ‘Dancing Through the Decades’ event tonight to raise vital funds for Dr Kershaw’s Hospice. Details of the event and how to donate are here:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/michael-flynn-1?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL&utm_campaign=020

TSBW’s Lincoln (A) Preview Show was presented by Steve Bardsley in conversation with Ben from The Stacey West Podcast. While I’d recommend watching the whole thing yourself, these were the main points:

• Recent form: While we haven’t played a league game for what seems like weeks, Lincoln have extended their unbeaten run with two away wins:
  • Cardiff: A 2-0 win. It felt like a huge occasion, first v second, and the Imps did what they’ve been doing all season, absorbing pressure then hitting their opponents on the break.
  • Exeter: A 1-0 win with an early goal this time.
• Expectations: They’ve changed through the season:
  • Pre-season: With key players departing, fans weren’t expecting anything above 11^th place.
  • Christmas: Around the time they played us at EP, a place in the playoffs was looking achievable.
  • Now: Sitting top and on a long unbeaten run, anything less than automatics would seem unthinkable.
• The manager: Michael Skubala’s stock is rising but he seems to be in the job for the long haul.
• Transfer activity: Nothing spectacular in the recent window, it was more about strength in depth.
  • Ryan Oné: Forward on loan from Sheffield United.
  • Alfie Lloyd: Forward on loan from Queens Park Rangers.
  • Deji Elerewe:  Central defender signed on a permanent from Bromley.
  • Kamil Conteh: Midfielder on loan from Bristol Rovers.
  • Josh Honohan: Utility player, joined on a permanent from Shamrock Rovers.
• Expected formation: 4-2-3-1. They play as a unit and seem greater than the sum of their parts.
• Players to watch:
  • Jack Moylan: Attacking midfielder, described by Ben as “key to the run.”
  • Ivan Varfolomeev: Ukraine U21 international.
  • Rob Street: Striker now coming into his own after moving from the wing to the centre.
• Prediction: If they win and shut us out, they will break their own records for unbeaten games and clean sheets. Ben is hoping for a 1-0 victory.

Loads more insight in the whole show, get it here:

We’re getting 2,595 tickets in total for Bolton (A). They have a history of being parsimonious with us when it comes to ticket allocations and this is 50 less even than last time.

It’s been so long since we played in the league, there’s even more guesswork than usual in proposing at a team for tomorrow, but here we go:

Today’s tune, driven more by word association (football) than anything else is “Cruising (in the Lincoln)” by Eddie & The Hot Rods. Nice bit of harmonica by Lew Lewis on this one:

I’m not going to Lincoln, it’s too far to walk from the coach park on my dodgy ankle, but I’ll see you all on Tuesday at EP!

Animo et fide.