Saturday, 4^th April 2026.

Here’s how the League 1 table looks after yesterday’s games. Those two wins and six goals without reply have things looking a good bit better.

This improvement is reflected in PPG Prophet’s graph:

The Scarf Bergara Wore’s Match Review Pod came to us live last night with regulars Jimmy Harmer, Dan Culverwell, Nick Reid and Steve Bradley. Their analysis of the game went this way:

• The team:
  • Corey Addai
  • Olowu, Pye, Dacres-Cogley
  • Diamond, Osborn
  • Norwood, Bailey
  • Stokes
  • Olaofe, Wootton
• Dramatis personae:
  • Odin Bailey: Took his goal brilliantly; he may not score too many but every one’s a corker.
  • Ben Osborn: He’s not a natural wingback but he does a cracking job, and his crosses are usually on point. He kept Onyedinma, Wycombe’s major threat, pretty quiet in addition to creating the second goal for Tanto.
  • Tanto Olaofe: Continued his game-by-game improvement and finally got the goal he’s been looking for. It’s been too long since we’ve seen that beaming smile light up the whole of Edgeley Park as the Cheadle End belts out his song.
  • Ollie Norwood: Getting back to his pre-injury best and almost scored another trademark free kick.
  • Josh Stokes: Another players starting to show the sort of form we expect.
  • Adama Sidibeh: Took his goal very well; for all his charging about, there’s a reserve of composure there that we haven’t seen before.
  • Corey Addai: A player transformed. The saves, the distribution and the game management are all coming together now. He’s got a bit of shithousery in him as well, he had Wycombe’s centre forward wound up like a clock.
  • Dave Challinor: Tactics, substitutions all spot-on to keep key players as fresh as possible.
  • Nathan Lowe: In the run-up to the game I was convinced he’d score against us but I didn’t notice him at all until the second half and he was subbed off on the hour.
• Oi, Liner!: Did Joe Olowu’s header in the twenty-fifth minute cross the line? I couldn’t tell from behind the goal but from the TV coverage it looks awfully close. Jimmy is all for having goal line technology installed but it sounds a very expensive job.
• Bolton (A): They played the whole of the second half against Plymouth with ten men after John McAtee was sent off. That and the long slog up and down the country might work in our favour.
  • Louie Barry: He’s been passed fit to play by Villa and DC has said he might feature. He’d be our sixth loan, so somebody else would have to drop out of the squad but that comes under the heading of “nice problem to have.”
  • Kyle Wootton: He’ll be knackered, what with playing pretty much every game and having a new-born baby at home. Will Olaofe and Sidibeh start instead?
  • Lewis Bate: Will he start and if so, who drops out? It would seem unfair to bench Bailey after his recent performances.

I haven’t covered the half of it here, watch the whole of it on YouTube:

In keeping with our opponents this Easter, today’s tune is Status Quo’s version of “The Wanderer”:

Sunday, 5^th April 2026.

Matchday: Norton & Stockton Ancients v County Ladies.

In TSBW’s Bolton (A) Preview pod, Steve Bardsley discussed the prospects for the game with Ben McQuade of The Fanzone Podcast. It’s important to note that the pod was recorded before the Good Friday games, so Bolton’s win at Plymouth and McAtee’s red card were in the future. Here’s how it panned out:

• Corresponding fixture: County won 2-0 at EP, a game that was closer than it sounds. They failed to take their chances, a feature of the season as a whole.
• Manager: Steve Schumacher took over from Ian Evatt in January 2025. His fate may hinge on them getting promoted.
• Expectations: They’ve spent a lot of money, even more than we have, so some of their fans, and perhaps their Swiss investors, are getting a bit twitchy at the failure to get promoted. From where they are now, with a daunting run-in, it looks more like the playoffs although second place is mathematically possible.
• Incoming transfers:
  • Jack Bonham: Goalkeeper signed from Stoke. We were rumoured to be looking at him but Ben suggests we might have dodged a bullet.
  • Rob Apter: Right winger on loan from Charlton. Got rave reviews when he played for Blackpool but hasn’t kicked on this season.
  • Rúben Rodrigues: Portuguese attacking midfielder, not fully fit yet.
  • Johnny Kenny: Striker on loan from Celtic. Works well with Sam Dalby.
• Players to watch:
  • Sam Dalby: Failed to make much of an impact when we had him on loan from Watford, so bound to score tomorrow.
  • Amario Cozier-Duberry: Rapid winger on loan from Brighton. Recovering from injury, tomorrow may be too soon for a return.
• Formation: Usually 4-2-3-1 but may go five at the back depending on available players.
• Prediction: Ben reckons they do better against top teams so he’s going for a 2-1 home win.

The whole show is well worth a watch:

Here’s the County Ladies team for this afternoon’s game at Stockton-on-Tees. Two changes from the last outing a fortnight ago, Gemma Lancaster and Jess Battle and came in for Em Lysons and Maria Figueiredo.

Norton started the stronger and a good through ball from Louise Atkinson reached Eve Marshall who put it in the back of the net but it was ruled offside.

County were competing though, and a break down the left by Kenedy Owen was thwarted, resulting in a throw for the Hatters.

Norton took the lead after sixteen minutes. Georgie Leech played an outstanding ball over the top to Louise Atkinson who placed it calmly through Freya Heap’s legs. The home team continued to dominate, Milly Cairns having a shot off target, a Leech free kick being cleared for a throw-in and a great ball in from Cairns across the face of goal just failing to reach Bianca Owens.

County did win a free-kick after twenty-six minutes; it was delivered by Kenedy Owen but was caught by the wind and went out for a Norton goal-kick.

Norton doubled their advantage after twenty-eight minutes. Atkinson crossed to Eve Marshall who volleyed it past Freya Heap. County fought back, Norton’s Burton and Leech having to work hard to stop a counter attack and Ellie Fletcher winning a free kick on the right flank. As half time approached, County struggled to threaten the Norton backline, the strong wind hampering their efforts. They had to be on their guard when a mix up at the back allowed Norton to break on the counter but the strike was just wide of the mark.

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

Norton were on the front foot again as the second half got underway, with decent early chances for Eve Marshall. County were playing better now though, with the wind working in their favour. On fifty-six minutes they worked a nice move on the left, the ball eventually reaching Ellie Fletcher who turned with it and had a clever shot which forced the ‘keeper to get down to claim it.

Chris Brown made his first change of the game just before the hour, Shaunna Jein coming on for Jess Battle. This heralded a decent spell for County, Rathburn and Fletcher combining to win a corner that Norton did well to clear. In the 62^nd minute they looked to be through with a clever ball from Em Bradshaw to Rathburn but the assistant referee deemed Levi to be offside. The game swung this way and that, Freya Heap claiming a header from Norton’s

Bianca Owens and Vicki Burton putting in a great tackle to keep County out. Kenedy Owen then played a superb ball out to Shaunna Jein, who took on an opponent and crossed the ball, only to find it blocked by a defender. Norton’s Burton and Jamieson had to be on their mettle to stop yet another Stockport attack.

Ancients’ first change of the afternoon came on seventy-two minutes, Erin Green replacing Chloe West. County were really starting to push now, and this prompted a further change by the home team six minutes later, Anna McArthur replacing Louise Atkinson. Both teams were working hard to create an opening, Norton winning a free kick and a corner in quick succession, followed by a successive corners for County at the other end which were claimed by ‘keeper Rachel Chisnall. Double subs for County with ten to go saw Gemma Lancaster and Olivia Greenhalgh replaced by Millie Tutton and Olivia Thompson. The home team replied with one of their own, Daisy Swash replacing Eve Marshall. Swash was soon in the action, combining with Lucy Jamieson to win Norton a throw-in high up in the County half. Again County attacked but their efforts were foiled by Lucy Jamieson and Erin Boyle.  A final change in injury time by the hosts, Kerry Heslop replacing Lucy Jamieson, allowed them to see the game out and secure the 2-0 win.

The defeat allowed Wythenshawe to overtake County and take fifth place.

For their next match, County Ladies face another trip to the north-east on Sunday to play Chester Le Street Town.

Today’s tune, and you can tell I’ve put a lot of thought into this, is “Sunday” by the Cranberries:

Monday, 6^th April 2026.

Matchday: Bolton Wanderers v County, League 1.

Lily-Mae Ryder is walking from Edgeley Park to Bolton today with her Dad, Leon, to raise money for a charity close to her heart, RETT UK. A feat like that’s got to be worth a few quid of anybody’s money:

https://gofund.me/febbc632a

With three long distance trips on the Flyer coming up, I was relishing a twelve o’clock departure and the short journey to Bolton. It was an opportunity to travel light for once, so I didn’t need my phone bracket, packed lunch, book, travel pillow, noise cancelling headphones and all the other tranklements required by the experienced coach traveller.

I bought a meat and potato pie at the ground. It was, not to put too fine a point on it, shit. Just a load of grey sludge in a soggy pastry case. The County fans who moan about the HM Pasties pies we get at Edgeley Park don’t know they’re born.

In the unlikely event of anyone from the club reading this, they should note what proper catch nets look like; they’re high enough and wide enough to prevent fans being bombarded by stray shots during the warm-up:

When news of the team came out, the big surprise was the absence of Tanto Olaofe, who Sam Byrne told us had taken a knock. His absence, and Lewis Bate starting instead of Josh Stokes, reduced my prediction score to a Bin Laden, i.e.  9/11. Seeing the name “Barry” on the bench felt like a big moment, though.

Note to Bolton; just because you have the means to mount a piss-poor light show before kick-off it doesn’t mean you should. Especially in daylight.

Fair play to County’s ticketing system, my allocated seat was ideal; three rows from the front and an uninterrupted view of the pitch. Some of the ladies from the Flyer weren’t so lucky; they were sat behind a pair of selfish ignoramuses who insisted on standing on the very front row and refused to sit down. I wonder if they behave with a similar lack of consideration in other aspects of their lives? They must be a delight to live with.

The game started in lively fashion; Adama Sidibeh got on the end of an Odin Baliey cross but headed over and Corey Addai had to be alert to turn a Cissoko shot round his right post. A series of corners for the home team confirmed the stat that says flag kicks aren’t as dangerous as fans imagine, but there were a couple of nervous moments nevertheless. Ollie Norwood very nearly scored twice at the other end, one attempt brought a good save from the ‘keeper and another landed on top of the net. Just after the half hour County might have had a penalty when Sidibeh was sent sprawling by Jordi Osei-Tutu. I couldn’t say if it should have been given from my lowly vantage point but those watching from home seemed convinced.

The minute’s applause for Jake Rothwell, a Bolton fan who passed away on April 1^st was well observed by most of the crowd.

Bolton took the lead shortly afterwards, Kenny taking a long ball from Toal, forcing his way past Ethan Pye and chipping it over Corey Addai. Just as it looked like Bolton would end the half ahead, Ben Osborn sent in yet another superb cross for Adama Sidibeh to force the ball home.

Tayo Edun replaced Lewis Bate for the second half and within six minutes he put County ahead, latching onto a deflected Ollie Norwood shot to claim his first goal for us. A rash of substitutions followed, Bolton replaced Apter with Gale and County changed Josh Dacres-Cogley for Roman Dixon. This might have been done to give Dixon some minutes before Wembley, as Dacres-Cogley is cup-tied. We were on top at this stage but didn’t quite manage to increase our lead. Wanderers sought to up the ante with a triple substitution with eighteen minutes to go, bringing Cozier-Duberry, Burstow and Rodrigues on to replace Dempsey, Kenny and Cissoko. Disaster struck in the seventy-ninth minute, in an attempt to keep Dalby at bay, Ben Osborn fired the ball into the top corner of his own net. County countered with a Kyle Wootton shot that Bonham saved down to his right. Cometh the hour, cometh the man, or so we hoped; with seven to go, DC introduced Louie Barry and Josh Stokes to replace Adama Sidibeh and Jack Diamond. Either team could have won the game in the few minutes remaining, Kyle Wootton couldn’t put a Louie Barry cross away, then might have provided a gilt-edged chance for the latter if he’d been a millisecond quicker, and Forino hit the bar with a header. Just before full time Louie Barry was booked for a foul and four minutes into time added, he expressed annoyance at the referee’s decision for a throw-in and received a second yellow. It was an idiotic thing to do and took the gloss off what was an otherwise decent result.

I was first back on the coach…..and then first off it again because it was the wrong one. I must take note of the VRN of the Flyer at Wembley or I could get in a right pickle. We were back in Stockport before six and it was home for curry and medals.

Today’s tune, for obvious reasons, is Iggy Pop’s version of The Kingmen’s “Louie Louie”:

Tuesday, 7^th April 2026.

The club have announced that we’ve sold 10,000 tickets for Wembley on Sunday. That’s pretty much an Edgeley Park full, so not a bad effort with a couple of days to go.

More good news on the Wembley front; according to Dave Challinor, Tanto Olaofe should be available after missing the game against Bolton with a knock and Louie Barry’s suspension for his petulance on Monday won’t include the final.

The point gained against Bolton leaves the League 1 table looking after this fashion:

With six games to play, three home and three away, all winnable, you would expect us to make the playoffs from here. That’s a kiss of death if ever there was one…

PPG Prophet’s graph confirms our playoff position at the moment:

We get an increasing number of requests for applause to remember fans who have passed away, and I realise that some people are getting a bit jaded about it. You’d need a heart of stone to remain unmoved by this request from Luton, though, and I hope we can put rivalries aside to join in with the tribute on Sunday.

Today’s tune is the Urban Voodoo Machine’s Paul Ronney Angel with a warning to civilians in the Wembley area on Sunday: “Don’t Mess With The Hat”:

Wednesday, 8^th April 2026.

County’s Chief Operating Officer, Gavin Bailey, gave an interview to BBC Radio Manchester before the game against Wycombe:

• His role: Wide ranging; he covers safety, stadium operations, has responsibility for driving revenue.
• Financial statement: The 25% increase in revenue is a great achievement. The £9.2M operating loss has to be balanced against the progress made but there’s a recognition that the club needs to be more sustainable.
• Wembley: They expect to sell in the region of 10,000 tickets, roughly equivalent to a good home gate. Luton have sold around three times that but have a number of advantages, not least their geographical position.
• Edgeley Park: We should start to see some improvement next season.
• Recruitment: Gavin refutes the idea that last summer’s signings didn’t go to plan; we are in the playoff positions after all. There’s more to improving the squad than spending huge sums; we’re starting to see academy players coming through, which will help improve the club’s sustainability in future.

Listen here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0nbh5m1

Wednesday night is podcast night and sure enough Russ and Andy were there at eight o’clock along with guests Daniel and Matt to kickstart the Wembley Weekend. Before getting into the football, Andy took us through his first world problems with technology.

• Bolton (A):
  • Two points dropped, or one gained? Opinions vary but I’d take a draw away at a top five team. Second place is beyond us in any case; staying in the playoffs is the only thing now.
  • The OG: A sickener for Ben Osborn, who’s been brilliant recently.
  • Have we clicked?: Not before time perhaps, but we are getting the ball forward quicker now and it’s bearing fruit. Bailey and Edun are providing the mobility we’ve been lacking in midfield and Addai looks to have gained the confidence of his defenders.
  • Was it a penalty?: I had no idea from my seat in the stalls but those who saw it on TV thought it should have been given.
  • The referee: Another shocker, we ought to change suppliers.
  • Bolton’s fans: Most kept quiet until they scored, so much so that their players ignored them when they went ahead and preferred to taunt us instead. One or two foamed at the mouth with excitement, perhaps they need to find a girl to kiss instead of watching football.
  • Louie Barry: The first yellow was fair enough, the second born out of sheer petulance and perhaps a result of two frustrating seasons cut short by injury. Great to see him back though as long as we don’t assume he’s going to be some sort of magic bullet.
• Wembley:
  • Documentary: Send in your clips, see below for details!
  • ULEZ: If you’re driving down, find out what you need to do about it before it gets expensive.
  • 13 minutes: We should unite in memory of Noah Campbell.
  • 10,000 Spartans: We’ll be outnumbered, but is that a problem? There will be a decent crowd, our quarter of it will have a better ratio of regulars to tourists and we can make a noise that will carry to living rooms across the country. As Andy pointed out, having more fans there doesn’t give you a goal start.
  • What are our chances?: Our performances have improved since we played them last; our pace going forward and our range of passing will stand us in good stead.
  • Cogs or Dixon?: We’ll be without the cup-tied Dacres-Cogley, was Roman Dixon’s cameo on Monday an indication that he’ll start in the final?
  • Tanto or Sid: Not much in it for me; both have the pace to terrify a tiring defence. Sidibeh has the edge on current form but Olaofe is rapidly regaining the form we’ve seen before.
  • Ben or Corey?: Has to be Addai for me but I hope we can find a way for Hinchliffe to get a medal if we win.
  • Barry or bench: I’d go bench, he doesn’t have match fitness yet but could be devastating coming on for half an hour.
• Random Shit Of The Week: Ten questions relating to the two finalists on Sunday. I got a grand total of one correct, so you haven’t got much to beat.

The whole pod is here, and I commend it to the house:

Another Academy graduate has signed a professional contract with the club. Bruno Cina has shown great promise to make this breakthrough, I look forward to seeing him kick on.

We’ve got just over 5,000 tickets for Barnsley, the last game of the league season. The first tranche go on sale on Friday but there should be enough for all:

Today’s tune, topically enough, is “The Barnsley Youth And Temperance Society” by Kate Rusby:

Thursday, 9^th April 2026.

This comes from Peter O’Rourke, who’s usually reliable: “Understand Stockport County defender Jid Okeke has agreed a pre-contract deal to join German club SV Waldhof Mannheim on a free transfer this summer.” Disappointing if true; he’s done well at Walsall and looked good in his occasional outings for us. I hoped he’d stay here and progress with County but he was born in Germany though, so perhaps he feels the call of home.

Kelvin Briggs has started the journey south in plenty of time and has no worries about ULEZ or the congestion charge:

Sam Byrne says that County are considering recalling Christy Grogan from Aldershot to shore up a bench that’s starting to look a bit threadbare. Things have worsened with the news that Josh Dacres-Cogley needs a scan to determine the extent of his injury.

Just updated my spreadsheet, as you do, and once I’ve bought a Barnsley (A) ticket tomorrow, a season of watching County in the league, attending all but three away games, has cost me: Season ticket £314.00, away tickets £454.90, coach fares £775.00. Total outlay, £1543.90. I’m not anal enough to keep track of the packed lunches, pies, bottles of pop &c., but I’d be eating and drinking whether I was at the football or not.

Today’s tune, for Christy Grogan rather than my fifteen hundred quid, is “Baby Come Back” by The Equals. Plug your guitars in, lads, they’ll work much better that way:

Friday 10^th April 2026.

Here’s the highlights of the draw with Bolton, your chance to decide if we should have had a penalty or not.

The Scarf Bergara Wore are putting together something special… a Wembley documentary, capturing the journey, the moments, and what it meant to all of us following County to the big smoke!

From waking up, the journey down (or wherever you’re coming from) to walking up Wembley way, we’d like you to capture it on video and send it in.

It would be great if we had planes, coaches, cars and trains covered! Read the leaflet below, – if you’re unsure about anything, let us know.

This could be epic! And will truly be *for* County fans, *by* County fans.

TSBW’s preview of the Vertu Trophy final was brought to us by Steve Bardsley and Kevin Harper of the Luton Town Supporters’ Trust podcast. It went like this:

• The last league game: Both agreed that the draw was a fair result; Luton had the better of the first half, County the second.
• Current form: Both teams’ form has improved since the semi-finals; Luton have won four and County three of their last five.
• Shouldn’t we be playing Swindon?: County have reached the final in the conventional fashion, Luton much less so. They seemed to have been knocked out by Swindon in the round of sixteen but during the game their opponents brought on Aaron Drinan who wasn’t on the teamsheet. The error came to light and play was held up while the officials discussed what to do. They decided to play the game to a conclusion and let the authorities sort matters out afterwards. It later transpired that there was another issue as well; Oliver Clarke, who had started the game, was in the middle of a seven-match suspension from “all domestic club football” for doing something horrible to a Cardiff player. This explains, I hope, why Louie Barry can play on Sunday despite being suspended for the next league game.
• Like Rourke’s Drift: Luton fans, fahsands of ‘em. We’re going to be outnumbered by at least three to one but we’ll contribute as much to the atmosphere as their band of tourists and pot hunters.
• Their team: Wilshere seems to have decided on his best XI now and is unlikely to change it for the final, except for perhaps playing the second-choice keeper James Shea instead of Josh Keeley. They will probably go 3-4-2-1.
• Players to watch:
  • Kasey Palmer, midfielder on loan from Hull City.
  • Emilio Lawrence, winger on loan from Manchester City who scored against us in the league at Kenilworth Road.
• Match format: Kevin reckons it’ll be extra time and penalties if necessary, something both teams will be keen to avoid with league games coming up three days later. He also thinks Luton will be the official “home” team but with no colour clash, I hope we both play in our home kits. He shares my unpopular opinion of our unpleasant green kit.
• Predictions: Kevin says 3-2 to them, Steve reckons 4-3 to us.

See what you think:

According to Facebook, I had a dabble with AI to create this exactly a year ago, it’s probably cost a melted glacier or two. It’s caught me reasonably well, although the beard is somewhat neater than mine, but Flori isn’t quite as black around the face as that.

A reminder that County are mounting a watch party on Sunday for those who aren’t able to travel to Wembley. Not the same as being there, obviously, but it’s a chance to see the game with like-minded people at a reasonable price. Tickets available here:

https://tickets.stockportcounty.com/match-tickets

The information is no use to me, as a holier-than-thou teetotaller, but here’s the pubs allocated to County fans on Sunday:

Today’s tune, a personal favourite whenever we head to the anthill, is “Great Southern” by Kevin Gordon:

See you all at Wembley!

Animo et fide.