Saturday, 23^rd May 2026.

Well, that was a long old day. I passed it by shopping for tomorrow’s picnic and watching the Spygate final on Sky. I hope our game tomorrow is easier on the eye; the first eighty minutes were all about not losing and the next fifteen a mad desperate scramble from which Hull emerged the winner. Perhaps my enjoyment was marred by my beef with the two teams; I’ve never forgiven Hull for their captain, Terry Neil, getting County’s Ian Lawther sent off in 1973 or Middlesbrough for having those Wembley tee-shirts printed before the second leg of the semi-final in 1997.

Today’s tune was decided upon because a) we’re off to London tomorrow and b) I’m going to find it difficult to get to sleep. It’s June Tabor and the Oysterband with the Pogues’ “Lullaby Of London”:

Sunday, 24^th May 2026.

Matchday: Stockport County v Bolton Wanderers, league 1 Playoff Final.

Up at three this morning to give time for a sausage sandwich and two cups of seriously strong coffee. It was too early even to walk Flori, he gave me a “WTF!” sort of look when I turned the light on and he went off to continue sleeping in the front room.

First port of call was Mersey Square to collect Peter and Luke Tindall, then off to Lowndes Lane for the last Fingerpost Flyer of the season. There was already a healthy queue of thrill seekers waiting when we arrived, joined shortly afterwards by Peter Lambert, friend and former bandmate with Fidlers Fancy and the Ram Jam Ceilidh Band.

We called in at Watford Gap Services, which was as full of people as your socks are of feet. It was supposed to be allocated to County fans but there were plenty of Bolton there too, and not a few Newcastle on their way to Fulham. It all seemed to pass off peacefully enough, as far as I saw.

We rolled into Wembley, past the inevitable bus spotters, and were parked up by ten thirty. I was greatly relieved to find that my entrance wasn’t too far away, unlike the Vertu final, when it couldn’t have been further.

Regular readers will know that I have a bee in my bonnet about caps on bottles but the first stall I went to inside the concourse didn’t even let me have the bottle, they insisted on pouring the pop into a paper cup! On the hottest day of the year so far, when we were bombarded with messages about keeping hydrated, what was required was a bottle to sip from frequently, not a cup that had to be emptied all at once. I did manage to get a bottle of water from another stall, which saved the day.

Despite the best efforts of the Alloc-8 ticketing system, I’d snagged a decent seat:

I’d love to know which throbber decided we needed a DJ in the lead up to kick-off. It would be fine by me if he confined his over-loud musical wanking to his mother’s spare room in future. The only relief we got from his noisy self-indulgence was when the kid’s game between schools from Wimbledon and Bradford was underway.

It was another unchanged team again, they’d done well in the last few games after all:

I won’t dwell for long on the game, you all know how it went now, but for anyone who came here for in-depth analysis, this is all I can offer:

• Bolton’s first goal was a defensive shambles; Corey Addai should have done better with the shot but the rest of the team didn’t deal with the rebound either.
• Adama Sidibeh’s goal that fell foul of VAR looked OK from a distance and I’ve heard varied opinions about whether it should have stood or not.
• The goal that Adama did score was just reward for his non-stop running and enthusiasm.
• At half time I honestly thought we could win the thing.
• The second half was poor. Their subs were more effective than ours and we rarely threatened.
• Their second was a sickener for Kyle Wootton, he’s been superb as a stand-in centre half.
• Their third was a good strike by Dalby, I knew as soon as he came on as a sub he would score.
• When it was announced that the VAR was contemplating a penalty, I thought it might be in our favour but of course it went against Josh for Dacres-Cogley for grabbing the hair of an opponent. That’s an automatic red for violent conduct, and although our cause was lost by that stage, the worst aspect of it is that he’ll miss the first three games of next season.

I didn’t wait to see the penalty, I wanted to get back to the coach so I didn’t hold everyone else up. I needn’t have worried as it turned out, we couldn’t move for ages. After the initial reactions had been aired, it was a quiet coach that headed north. I tried to distract myself from my disappointment by watching Spurs v Everton, hoping to see the home team relegated, but even they let me down by surviving. Thoughtless bastards.

After a brief stop at Corley Services we resumed our retreat north. I proved that we really do live in the future by ordering a curry to be delivered at home, which turned out to be the best part of the whole day. We arrived back in Stockport at 8:30. Peter and Luke had seen enough of my driving to get a lift off somebody else, so I was able to go straight home for curry and no medals.

Today’s tune is a song of hope from Merry Hell: “Not Everything Is Wrong”:

https://merryhell.bandcamp.com/track/not-everything-is-wrong

Monday, 25^th May 2026.

Some thoughts on yesterday as the dust settles… It’s often been said that we ended up third in the league without looking really convincing for more than a few halves all season. It all came home to roost yesterday and there’s some major surgery required over the next three months. I’m bloody glad I don’t have any part to play in the decision making, but the one decision I would make is to keep Chally if he wants to stay. We got further every season under him, finished third this season and been to Wembley twice; that’s not sacking form.

Some good news today, at least; Notts County beat the Salford vanity project in the League 2 playoff this afternoon, meaning that we don’t have to squeeze into Moor Lane with all the United wannabees next season.

TSBW’s 40^th and final Match Reaction Pod of season went live on You Tube tonight and attracted an impressive audience, many of whom were happy to contribute to the autopsy. Before getting into the discussion, a word of praise for the lads who produce these shows, they deserve great credit for their work across the last ten months. Always entertaining and interesting and often cathartic, the pods give us a valuable insight into what others think about the team’s performances. All the regulars were present tonight; Jimmy Harmer in the chair, along with Dan Culverwell, Steve Bardsley, Lee Rowley and Dave Whitehouse.

These were the highlights:

• The season in microcosm: We just about had the better of the first half but hardly showed up in the second. Whatever people may think about the VAR decisions, we could have won if we’d played the whole ninety minutes.
• The goals:
  • 0-1: Corey Addai didn’t deal well with the “thirty-five yard pearoller” and should at least have pushed it out of play. When he didn’t, the defence could have done more to stop Bolton scoring.
  • 1-1: A pinpoint cross from Odin Bailey and a back header from Adama Sidibeh.
  • 1-2: Corey Addai got a hand to the initial shot but could only deflect it onto the unfortunate Kyle Wootton who had no time to do anything about it.
  • 1-3: A well-taken overhead kick by ex-County loanee Sam Dalby, who else?
  • 1-4: A penalty after Josh Dacres-Cogley was sent off for a hair pull.
• VAR: I’ve been on the fence about the system up to now, but having felt its baleful influence on Sunday, I’m starting to understand why it gets so much criticism. Did the on-field referee really make such a “clear and obvious” error in allowing Adama Sidibeh’s equaliser? Did Josh Dacres-Cogley pull his opponent’s hair or merely touch it? Did they look at Burstow’s tackle on Norwood, that could easily have led to a red card, and if not, why not?
• Individual performances: FotMob’s individual ratings speak volumes:

• Adama Sidibeh: One of only a couple who emerged from the day with much credit. Didn’t take being substituted well, apparently; could he have played for longer and perhaps got us back into it?
  • Ethan Pye: One of the few to do well.
  • Kyle Wootton: Strove manfully out of position. Perhaps he should have been pushed forward earlier to provide a goal threat.
  • Louie Barry: Talented though he is, he can’t do much without the ball and our sole plan of lumping the ball forward didn’t give him any chance to shine.
  • Jack Diamond: Hasn’t looked at it since almost leaving for Luton in January.
  • Corey Addai: Should have done better with Bolton’s first and second goals.
  • Tanto Olaofe: Might have done better with a decent chance. He hasn’t recovered the form we all hoped for during his loan period.
• Dave Challinor: His substitutions didn’t improve matters, although the players involved bear equal responsibility for that. His use of expressions like “watershed moment” and “sliding doors moment” in his post-match interview have fuelled speculation about a major revamp in the close season. Pointing out that he’s still under contract sounds like a pre-emptive strike against any suggestion of a forced departure. Will he see it as a good time to move on while his star is on the rise?
• A massive clearout?: It’s not going to be easy with twenty-three players under contract.

A splendid show, which broke records for both total views and peak viewers on line and attracted ten new subscribers. Join them here:

Today’s tune is for those who want to get rid of Dave Challinor; It’s Tenpole Tudor with “Throwing My Baby Out With The Bathwater”:

Tuesday, 26^th May 2026.

With County’s retained list coming out this week, I wanted to pre-empt it with my own attempt.

Today’s tune is Bob Dylan with “If You Gotta Go, Go Now”:

Wednesday, 27^th May 2026.

The retained list came out rather sooner than I was expecting and contained a few surprises. Five of those out of contract have been released: Ben Hinchliffe, Odin Bailey, Callum Connolly, Jid Okeke and Max Metcalfe. Jid has already got a deal in place and my main memory of Max Metcalfe was him coming up to apologise to Janice for whacking her on the side of the head with a stray shot during the warmup. The other three I would have kept and I hope they get fixed up with decent deals elsewhere. Owen Dodgson triggered a deal due (I think) to the minutes he played during the season, I hope he can show us more of his undoubted talent next season. It should be noted that just because players are on the retained list, they aren’t necessarily staying, they could still be sold if a bid comes in.

Not a dry eye in our house about Ben leaving, that’s for sure.

This was disappointing too:

Another player I would have happily kept:

John Keighren has posted an excellent interview with Ben Hinchliffe. Ben makes it clear that he feels he has another five years of his playing career left and would have preferred it to be at County:

Given that Mark Stott now owns Cheadle Town and Stockport Town appears to be a dead duck, it was no great surprise to see Paul Turnbull appointed as manager of Cheadle. He’s pictured here with Assistant Manager Chris Rowley and Sports Rehabilitator Oliver Brockbank:

Today’s tune captures the mood, I think; Oasis with “Don’t Go Away”:

Thursday, 28^th May 2026.

Well, that brings it all home; moving the Pennodraws pins of the released players and the loanees from the “Current” (top left) to the “Former” boards. Perhaps there will be a few moves yet before the season starts…

County are showing England’s World Cup games in the courtyard. Not my cup of tea, but a good idea if you like that sort of thing.

Today’s song sums up the plight of the football supporter in the close season; it’s Elvis Costello with Burt Bacharach on piano performing Burt’s “I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself”:

Friday 29^th May 2026.

Tickets for Ben Hinchliffe’s Stockport Gin launch event at Bask go on sale today. A donation from every bottle sold will be made to Ben’s Testimonial Fund, which also supports his chosen charity, BeeU.

The charity Ben is supporting, BeeU, is an anti-bullying and mental health campaign making a significant difference to families and individuals affected by bullying in the workplace, at school, or at home.

Also on the subject of the GOAT, tickets for his testimonial match against Preston North End are now on sale. Only the Cheadle End and the Bergara Stand are available to County fans at the moment, but the club have said they will open the Pop Side if there’s sufficient demand. Preston fans get the Railway End.

The blog is going to have a rest after this issue, returning at the beginning of August. I’m very grateful to everyone who’s read it over the seasons and to Russ at The Scarf Bergara Wore for hosting it. Have a good summer and I’ll see you at EP on the 1^st of August.

Today’s tune is as fine a morsel of west coast AOR as you’ll find anywhere, “The Boys Of Summer” by Don Henley:

Animo et fide.