Saturday, 11^th April 2026.

This cropped up on Twitter the other day and prompted some discussion among the members of The Scarf Bergara Wore:

There were votes for Danny Lloyd, Chris Beaumont, Andy Kilner, Big Kev and Glen Hoddle. All good choices, as far as they go, and if I had to pick a player it would be somebody like Sammy McMillan or Alan Ogley. Really, though, it was a place; a magical place to a nine-year-old kid, a place full of smells, sights and sounds that opened up a new world. This place:

There was a full programme in League 1 today, apart from us and Luton of course. Things generally went in our favour; Cardiff beat Bolton and Stevenage beat Bradford, which is handy because it stopped the two teams above us getting further away, but it brings Stevenage to one place behind us in sixth on goal difference.

Here’s my guess at a lineup for tomorrow. It’s more or less last Monday’s team with Roman Dixon in place of the cup-tied/injured/double-barrelled Josh Dacres-Cogley:

Today’s tune seems very apt as we prepare to head south to show them what Stockport’s got, “Native Son” by the Oysterband:

Sunday, 12^th April 2026.

Matchday: Luton Town v Stockport County, Vertu Trophy final.

To paraphrase Jane Austen, it is a truth universally acknowledged… that football coaches are generally on time unless the weather’s foul. That explains why the 60+ passengers for this morning’s Flyer were looking a bit bedraggled by the time our transport arrived. Ian Brown got on to our provider and they assured him that the coach was just round the corner from us, a characteristic that late coaches share with late taxis and late food deliveries.

Still, once underway we made good progress, had an hour at Warwick Services along with loads of other County coaches and were parked up at Wembley around 12:15. My turnstile was at the very furthest point from the coach park, but luckily a nice lady in an electric buggy offered me a lift part of the journey, which I accepted with enthusiasm. As I was walking round from the drop-off point, I stopped to rest my ankle halfway and a little kid who was being carried on his father’s shoulders pointed at me and asked his Dad “Is that the Green Man?” I’ve been mistaken for many people before, but never a whole pub. Still, as a dyed-in-the-wool folkie, there’s worse things to be mistaken for…

Once in, I found my seat easily enough and had a cracking view.

Nick Hughes came across to have a chat, along with his son and daughter, which was smashing, I don’t see much of them now we’ve moved down to LT4 at EP.

My guess at a team was two players out; I thought Dixon and Bate would start; DC went for Edun and Stokes.

We started the game, as is our wont, on the front foot but a different referee might have given Luton a penalty when Josh Stokes put a hand on Jones’ back and he went flying. Our goal come in the eleventh minute, an excellent through ball from Odin Bailey found Adama Sidibeh who shrugged Andersen aside and bounced the ball over the keeper.

The goal was followed shortly by an impeccably-observed minute’s applause for Noah Campbell, a young Luton fan who passed away at the start of the month.

Luton were in the ascendancy at this stage and we had a narrow escape when a clearing header by Ethan Pye bounced off the post for a corner. The equaliser came as a result of Josh Stokes losing the ball in midfield, it ended up at the feet of Luton’s Lawrence who despatched it through Corey Addai’s legs. The City loanee chose to ignore the thirty thousand or so Luton fans and taunt us in celebration instead, which was nice of him. County were being continually exposed down the left and Ethan Pye resorted to pulling an opponent back to stop yet another break. He got away with a booking, it could have been worse. Odoffin came close to a second with a header from the resulting free kick. Luton went ahead on thirty-nine minutes when Wells found himself in space and fired home from twelve yards out. Shortly before half time, Adamah Sidibeh was absolutely clattered by goalkeeper Shea, if the County man hadn’t been marginally offside the keeper would surely have been cautioned at the very least. Having said that, it was such an assault that I think he should have received some sort of sanction anyway. During the six minutes of time added, Ben Osborn was robbed of the ball near the half way line and made an amazing recovery run to get it back when it looked odds on that we’d go three down.

Things were pretty even in the early stages of the second half but our fortunes took a downward turn just before the hour when Joseph Olowu was flattened in Luton’s box. He was down for some time but was eventually able to continue. It didn’t last, however, and after treatment on the field, he was unable to keep going and was replaced by Malik Mothersille. DC replaced Adama Sidibeh with Tanto Olaofe at the same time while the fourth official had the board out. The loss of Olowu left us short at the back and Kyle Wootton was pressed into service as an emergency centre half. He did an admirable job but it left us short of attacking options up front. Opinions are divided about Mothersille’s contribution but I thought he brought a welcome willingness to take opponents on and make things happen. Despite the reshuffle, County were on top at this stage and very nearly drew level on a couple of occasions. Ollie Norwood had a goal-bound shot blocked, Josh Stokes narrowly missed with a shot and Tanto couldn’t quite connect when the ‘keeper fended off a Stokes header. Dave Challinor made another double substitution on eighty-five minutes, introducing Lewis Bate and Louie Barry to replace Josh Stokes and Odin Bailey. Luton’s third came just at the start of injury time, Wells turned Ethan Pye as a cross came in and shot past Corey Addai to put the result beyond doubt. A final change saw Owen Dodgson come on for Jack Diamond.

That’s how it ended, it didn’t seem a 3-1 game but the best team won overall, Luton were more creative and more clinical with their chances.

Knowing that it would take me an age to get back to the coach, I set off when the third went in. I was pleased to find the nice lady with the buggy waiting at her spot on First Way and I gratefully accepted her offer of a lift back to the coach park. The Flyer was ready to go long before the coaches that were in our way, but no amount of manoeuvring on our driver’s behalf could get us on our way until they moved. Once we got going, Ian announced that we would try to get back without stopping, with an ETA in Stockport of nine o’clock.

No plan survives first contact with the enemy and our enemy in this case turned out to be an accident which caused the closure of the M1. The journey home was hellish and the diversions occasioned by the road closure meant that we needed to have a brief stop at the services on the M6 Toll to change drivers and use the facilities. We got back to Lowndes Lane at 10:40, Janice was there waiting to whisk me home and present me with the curry she’d laid in against my return. It only remained to take Flori round the block for a quick sniff at every gatepost and I was glad to see my bed at just after one o’clock.

Today’s tune, and why not, is “Wembley” by The Jennifers:

Monday, 13^th April 2026.

It’s been on the cards for a while, but the club have now confirmed that Christy Grogan has been recalled from his loan at Aldershot to prop up our ailing defence. He may not have much experience at League 1 level but he will at least be a square peg in a square hole at centre half.

Steve Bardsley has updated his excellent squad graphic to reflect the latest injury situation. He’s at pains to point out that the positions used are those quoted by the club on COWS. It’s tempting to describe our defence as being “decimated” by injury but things are even worse than that; even with Grogan coming back we’ve got more injured than we have fit.

TSBW’s Match Reaction pod was recorded last night and released this morning. The panel consisted of Jimmy Harmer, Steve Bardsley and Toby Culverwell. This was their view of the defeat at Wembley:

• Square pegs: A left back playing at right back is always a worry and Tayo Edun was no exception. The fact that Owen Dodgson and Roman Dixon were both available but didn’t start perhaps speaks volumes about Chally’s faith in the two of them. The right side of our defence has been a problem all season with a procession of players coming and going in that area. Hunt, Onyango, Dixon and Okeke have all played there with varying amounts of success and longevity. Even Che Gardner, despite looking every inch a winger or a number 10, is apparently being groomed to play as a right wingback.
• Our goal: Made possible by a tremendous ball from Odin Bailey and well taken by Adama Sidibeh. Whether he meant to bounce the ball over the keeper or not is neither here nor there, it would still count. DC seemed a little over critical of the scorer in his post-match comments, but he feels the lad still has things he can improve on.
• Their first goal: We were on top for the first fifteen minutes but Luton took over thereafter. Their equaliser stemmed from Josh Stokes losing the ball and with Tayo Edun in an advanced position he was unable to get back to help out. The annoying Lawrence took the goal well.
• Their second: Wells received the ball in acres of space and took the goal superbly. Some have criticised Corey Addai for failing to stop it but he wasn’t the only one culpable by any means.
• Second half: Ironically, we looked more likely to score after the unfortunate Joseph Olowu had to leave the fray and we were forced to reorganise with Kyle Wootton at centre half. Josh Stokes came close a couple of times and Tanto Olaofe failed to connect with a flap from the ‘keeper.
• Individual performances:
  • Kyle Wootton: What a star the man is, he played centre half as to the manner born.
  • Josh Stokes: Better in the second half than the first, came close to scoring. Perhaps we aren’t getting the best from him out wide.
  • Jack Diamond: Failed to make an impact.
  • Malik Mothersille: He divides opinion, I thought he did well when he came on but he isn’t one of life’s chasers back.
  • Louie Barry: His cameo didn’t give us much to go on, maybe we’ll get a better idea against Exeter.
• Where do we go from here?: Assuming Joe Olowu doesn’t make a miraculous recovery, you’d expect Christy Grogan to play on Wednesday night, he would at least be a square peg in a square hole, albeit an inexperienced one. It appears Wimbledon have their own injury worries at the back, so we aren’t alone.

Another cathartic episode, we seem to get a lot of those recently, but no less valuable for that:

Today’s tune, for our walking wounded, is the Jolly Boys’ version of “Rehab”:

Tuesday, 14^th April 2026.

Bolton thrashed Stevenage 5-1 tonight, the away team being reduced to ten men early on. It may have put third place out of our reach but it’s put a huge dent in Stevenage’s goal difference, which helps us a bit. Here’s how the top end of the League 1 table looks as a result:

At the other end, and therefore of only academic interest to us this season, Wigan beat Rotherham which condemns The Millers to relegation. If we don’t beat Wimbledon tomorrow night, Northampton will be doomed as well.

Given our ever-growing injury list, any team prediction is a real shot in the dark but here’s mine:

I’ve written an article for the Co-op website on sustainability in modern football. Don’t be put off by the photo, the article itself isn’t quite that mad:

https://www.countysupporterscoop.co.uk/financial-sustainability-in-football

Today’s tune is “Money” by The Flying Lizards:

Wednesday, 15^th April 2026.

Matchday: AFC Wimbledon v County, League 1.

Ho! for Lowndes Lane at 11:30 this morning to join the other thrill seekers on their way to that London for the second time in four days. By the time we’d called at Worrall Street we were thirty-one in number which wasn’t great financially but meant those sociopaths who prefer a pair of seats to themselves, that would be me at least, could have one. We had an hour at Worcester Services and were still at Wimbledon with a couple of hours to spare. Talking to later arrivals from other coaches, we did the right thing leaving so early, the traffic was awful later.

I love a ghost sign, this one was next to our parking spot as a reminder that Wimbledon’s ground was built where the greyhound/speedway/stock car stadium used to be:

The fan experience was the best this season, as far as I’m concerned:

• The coach parked close to the gates,
• The turnstiles opened early,
• All the stewards were brilliant,
• The Bombay Potato Pie I had was magnificent,
• There was a “Venue Presentation Team” cleaning the seats,
• The mascot posed patiently for a photo, viz:

It all looked very pretty in the sunshine, even the brutalist building at the far end of the ground:

My team prediction was a right mess, I won’t bore you with the gory details but a score of 7/11 says it all:

Given the attacking nature of the team and the lack of obvious centre halves, it looked as though Kyle Wootton would be reprising his Wembley cameo at the back and this was confirmed by him warming up with the other defenders.

After a scrappy first fifteen minutes County started to look more composed and prepared to knock the ball around. but lacked penetration. Wimbledon were quick to pounce on any wayward passes and looked dangerous on the break but if they got past Odin Bailey and Roman Dixon, Corey Addai was there to put a stop to it. At the other end, Malik Mothersille seemed to be relishing his start and Adama Sidibeh was buzzing about being a pest as usual. During time added the dismal referee reversed a decision the linesman had given in our favour and booked Ethan Pye into the bargain.

The start of the second half was heralded by a double substitution for County; Josh Stokes and Jack Diamond replacing Che Gardner and Adama Sidibeh. The changes seemed to spur us on a bit, Stokes looks much better in a central role. The breakthrough came just before the hour when Ollie Norwood swung a free kick in from the left and Josh Stokes times his run perfectly to nod the ball into the net. Tanto Olaofe had a couple of shooting opportunities but couldn’t quite get enough force behind them to trouble the ‘keeper. Further subs arrived on seventy minutes, Lewis Fiorini and Ben Osborn replacing Odin Bailey and Malik Mothersille. No sooner had play restarted than we were further ahead, Tayo Edun received a Norwood pass in the penalty area and curled a perfect shot into the bottom right-hand corner. DC took his opportunity to shore things up at the back by replacing Tanto Olaofe with Owen Dodgson with ten minutes to go. The referee had had gone completely card mad at this stage, booking Roman Dixon and Ollie Norwood in short order. The score remained the same until full time, much to the delight of the 700+ County fans present. As the players saluted the fans, Kyle Wootton was awarded the ultimate accolade for a County defender; a personalised version of the old Ash Palmer “Magic Hat” song.

It’s remarkable how much more pleasant a long return journey seems with three points on board. Despite the usual diversion for a closed motorway and a brief pause at Norton Canes Services, we were back in Stockport for three thirty.

You can’t go to Wimbledon without honouring their most famous residents, so today’s tune is “Hall Of The Mountain Womble”:

Thursday, 16^th April 2026.

The three points we won last night have gone a long way towards securing a playoff place. We still lie in fifth place but Bradford and Bolton remain in reach and our goal difference has improved with the recent crop of clean sheets.

PPG Prophet’s graph reflects our improved points tally:

In Dave Challinor’s post-match interview, we learned that Joseph Olowu damaged his medial ligament at Wembley and will be out for the rest of the season. There was no definite news on Josh Dacres-Cogley, although there is hope that he may be back before long.

Somewhat overshadowed by the men’s efforts at Wembley, County Ladies played their last away fixture of the season away to Chester-le-Street Town on Sunday. They lined up as follows:

The game ended in a 3-3 draw, leaving the table looking like this:

County Ladies’ final game of the season is of great significance as it will be their last before becoming County Women for 2026-27. They will take on Leeds United Women at Edgeley Park on Sunday 26^th April, kicking off at two o’clock. Full details of the day and how you can obtain tickets can be found here:

https://www.stockportcounty.com/news/2026/april/02/stockport-county-ladies-to-face-leeds-united-women-in-celebratory-edgeley-park-fixture

A quick reminder that in two weeks’ time, County fan Andy Birchenough and friends Simon and Pete are walking over three days in memory of Andy’s late Uncle Wayne to raise funds and awareness for the hospice, St. Lukes in Sheffield, that looked after him. They wish to thank everyone who has donated so far and to let you know that they are extremely grateful to each and every one of you. Their route will take them from Andy’s house in Chadderton to his parents in Bredbury, thence to Edgeley Park, and on to The Flouch where they will rest overnight. On the third day they plan to reach Barnsley’s ground in time for kick off in County’s last game of the regular season.

If you are able to contribute to this excellent cause, their JustGiving page is here:

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

Jonathan the Geordie Hatter was back tonight with his Thursday Show, bringing us his unique blend of County discussion points and indie tunes. This week’s theme was “Incongruity,” which sparked some lively debate in the live chat and, of course, Ian Dowden gave us the griffin about the best Chinese takeaway to patronise in Exeter on Saturday. Among the artists GH introduced to me on the show were Carla J. Easton, the Holy Coves, The Cookie Crew and The Poppies. Mortified that you missed it? You should be, catch up here:

https://the-geordie-hatter.mixlr.com/recordings/3095300

Today’s tune, suggested by that game at EP a week on Sunday, is “The Last Time” by the Delta Bombers:

Friday 17^th April 2026.

I’m not sure what lineup DC will adopt for Exeter tomorrow, I hope he’ll persist with Mothersille but perhaps Gardner will get the nod again. Wootton will almost certainly start at the back with Grogan on the bench in case we need a goal late on.

For The Scarf Bergara Wore’s Exeter City Match Preview pod, Steve Bardsley was joined by Exeter fan Brad Theobald to discuss a genuine “must-win” game for both sides.

• Expectations: When we met earlier in the season, Brad said he’d be happy with anything from 20^th place upwards. As the season’s progressed, that’s now more true than ever.
• Their form: They’ve bucked up slightly over the last four games, drawing with Orient and Plymouth, beating Doncaster and losing to Blackpool. Our victory over Wimbledon, who sit just one place above them in 20^th, gave them some optimism that they might beat the drop. It’s going to be tough for them though, after Saturday they only have Burton (A) and Bradford (H) to play.
• Transfer activity: The only player of note they brought in during the window was Timur Tutierov, a Ukrainian winger on loan from Sunderland.
• Ryan Rydel: He won’t be playing against us of course, but County fans will be disappointed to hear that Ryan continues to suffer with injuries and has had a stop/start season as a result.
• Players to watch:
  • Danny Andrew: The full back who left us for St. James Park is doing well for them and is still a particular danger at free kicks.
  • Kevin McDonald: Senior midfielder who runs the show for them.
  • Jayden Wareham: Ex-Reading central striker, currently on nineteen goals for the season.
• Formation: Generally 4-4-2.
• Weaknesses: Brad is concerned with their tendency to concede from free kicks.
• Attendance: With their recent slight upturn in fortunes and a decent turnout from County, perhaps 7,000.

There are more insights to be had by watching the pod, get it here:

Today’s tune, on the flimsy pretext that we’re heading to Exeter tomorrow is “Bright Lights, Big City” by Taj Mahal:

See you all at Exeter!

Animo et fide.