Saturday,11^th October 2025.

Matchday, County v Blackpool, League 1.

With County, the first-choice team at least, steadily improving over the last few weeks, I was optimistic about facing a team floundering second from bottom of the league. Yes, I felt like that before Plymouth gave us a good doing and there was the caretaker manager bounce to consider, but I thought we had enough to prevail.

This match was remarkable for the debut of the temporary roof over the Railway End. Depending on your point of view, the roof is useful, comical, in the way, too much too soon, too little too late or an infringement of human rights. It’s perhaps a pity that it was a nice day, if the heavens had opened the Blackpool fans might have appreciated the cover rather than moaning about the stanchions being in the way.

My team selection was correct, not especially difficult even with a couple of absences. Corey O’Keeffe and Nathan Lowe replaced Tyler Onyango and Beno Andrésson:

The first half followed the recent pattern, County inspired by the Norwood – Bailey midfield duo having by far the best of the exchanges and playing some lovely stuff. Unfortunately the lack of finishing also followed the usual pattern, Nathan Lowe, Jack Diamond and Kyle Wootton all had chances but couldn’t make them count. We came very close with an Ollie Norwood free kick but the Blackpool ‘keeper tipped it round the post. The visitors had their chances too but they were limited to occasional breaks and they were kept out without too much difficulty.

The second half was all a bit copy and paste but with Blackpool showing slightly more enterprise, which made our difficulty in scoring all the more worrying. DC replaced Nathan Lowe with Jayden Fevrier on the hour mark and while I’m always glad to see Fevs come on, I was worried about reducing our forward line when we still hadn’t scored. The anxious mood lifted considerably four minutes later when a Norwood corner headed on by Hills and O’Keeffe reached Joseph Olowu who climbed brilliantly to nod home. This setback seemed to wake Blackpool up and they began to push for an equaliser with renewed vigour. Late substitutions shored our rearguard up and after six nervous added minutes, the three points were ours.

Brad Hills got the sponsors’ vote for Man Of The Match, which was fair enough, but I was also impressed with the contributions of Corey O’Keeffe, who got the assist for the goal, and Joseph Olowu, who scored it. The latter goes about his business in a quiet, efficient manner and it’s easy to miss just how much he contributes.

It was good to note that the applause on sixty-five minutes in memory of Una McNally, County fan and a member of club staff, was very well observed despite not being widely advertised.

On the flimsy pretext that the Cajun for “Blackpool” is more or less “Bayeaux Noir,” today’s tune is a live version of the eponymous tune by Jimmy Thibodeaux and a scratch band at the Crayfish Festival at Pont Breaux in 1992. Bontemps roulez!

Sunday, 12^th October 2025.

As mentioned last week, County Ladies didn’t play today, their away match against Durham Cestria was postponed. Their next game is therefore next Sunday, 19th October, at SSV against Sunderland Women PGA in the FAWNL Plate.

Despite not playing the table is still looking healthy:

If they can capitalise on their game in hand, the Ladies will be in second place behind local rivals, Cheadle Town Stingers.

The latest edition of The Scarf Bergara Wore’s County Ladies podcast is out now, covering an unbeaten and goal-strewn September with host Stu Hope, SSV announcer James Pratt and the Ladies’ manager, Steve O’Hara. It went like this:

• Steve has been nominated for the September Manager Of The Month award for Tiers 3 and 4. He’s clear that he sees the nomination as a reward in its own right for everyone involved with the team and that winning it would be a source of great pride to the whole organisation.
• Liverpool Academy (H): Steve was delighted and humbled by the 1,700 attendance at Edgeley Park. The club did the Ladies proud, running it with all the honours normally associated with the men’s team. He was particularly keen to thank Liam Cash and his team for providing such a marvellous pitch, the day after the men had played a league game on it. The match itself was noticeably physical, typified by the injury to captain Kenedy Owen who was left needing seven layers of stitches to a deep cut. Steve still awaits news of Kenedy’s expected recovery time. From being 1-0 down at half time, the girls were able to finish with a 1-1 draw, sufficient to get them through to the FAWNL Plate, a competition he believes they could win.
• Doncaster Belles (H): The 6-1 victory against Doncaster typified the approach from Steve and his team this season; one of their key aims was to score more goals. Jess Battle has been key to the system, not just by scoring herself but by linking the play up to create more chances.
• Blackburn Rovers (A): Another high scoring game, a 4-1 win against a team in the toils after being cut adrift by their parent club. Steve was especially pleased with this one as the plan hatched before kick-off was fundamental to the victory.
• Next up: County are at home to Sunderland this Sunday in the FAWNL Plate, a competition Steve thinks they could win.
• FA Cup: The Ladies play Tranmere at SSV in the first round proper of the cup on Sunday 26^th October. The aim is to progress to the third round, where the Championship clubs come in, and ideally to the fourth round when the WSL teams enter the fray. As well as the prestige involved in the cup, the financial rewards of winning each round would be most helpful to the coffers.

The pod is an excellent insight into a great month for the team, watch the whole thing here:

Today marked a significant birthday for Mrs. County Ladies, Jane Morley, seen in this @machinsports photo with members of the team:

Never one to shy away from a clumsy link, I’ve decided today’s tune should be a Gypie Mayo-era Dr. Feelgood track, “Baby Jane”:

Monday, 13^th October 2025.

The TSBW Match Review Pod panel assembled last night to chew over the win against Blackpool. Dan Culverwell took the chair and was accompanied by Steve Bardsley and Lee Rowley.

• The Railway End roof: With a rumoured fine of £5,000 from the EFL every time we play with an uncovered stand, the club presumably had to do something. Mind you, at a cost of half a million of the best and brightest, we could have played four seasons sans roof then built the promised new stand for the same outlay but there are other advantages to having covers all round the ground.
• The team: The first choice XI is fairly well known now and even with a couple of regulars missing, it was pretty obvious who would start.
• First half: We started well as usual but also as usual we failed to turn our dominance into goals. Lots of shots but we couldn’t make them count. Sorting this out is bound to be Dave Challinor’s No.1 priority at the moment. Blackpool were very poor, a feeling confirmed by the stats.
• Second half: We stuttered for the first few minutes, allowing Blackpool to look better than they deserved. County soon resumed their dominance, Corey O’Keeffe doing well down the right-hand side. He it was that got the assist for the goal, his headed cross being nodded in by Joseph Olowu. Unfortunately, this prompted Blackpool to up their game and we faced a tricky last twenty minutes even after we changed to four at the back.
• Ben Hinchliffe: Distribution may not be his strong point but the confidence he inspires in those around him easily makes up for that.
• Brad Hills: Another excellent performance, it’s to be hoped that the knock that caused him to be withdrawn isn’t serious. It’s hard to see how Hoskonen gets a game even once he’s fit but you can never rule out an injury or suspension that could give him his opportunity.
• Kyle Wootton: was he looking a bit jaded? He’s difficult to rest because he’s so valuable and we don’t have a ready-made replacement. Nathan Lowe might be an option but we’d have to change the way we play to make the most of him.
• Are we missing Tanto?: We don’t have anyone with his pace and strength to play alongside Woots. Malik Mothersille is rapid but plays further back, once he’s fit we’ll have a better idea of what he can do.
• Mid-term report: A quarter of the way through the season, we’re slightly ahead of where were last year, in fourth place without really hitting our straps. Could we be at the start of a signature DC run of victories?

All this and more is here for your delight:

The League 1 table is looking easy on the eye. County sitting in fourth, three points behind Stevenage at the top. Lincoln and Huddersfield would overtake us if they won their games in hand but that’s up to them.

Our black line on PPG Prophet’s latest graph is heading for the blue line, this is a good thing:

The FA Cup draw this evening has given us Tranmere away. Nice and local, a big ground so getting a ticket shouldn’t be an issue. I hope we play a full-strength side, we owe them for that drubbing last time at their place. I’d rather have the Dog & Duck at home but Tranmere away isn’t too bad.

When it comes to bands from the Wirral, it’s tempting to go for Half Man Half Biscuit every time but for a change, today’s tune is one of the better football anthems, “Altogether Now” by The Farm:

Tuesday, 14^th October 2025.

The recording of the evening with Tony Dinning is now available for TSBW Patreon members. Those lucky enough to be present will know how good it was, those who weren’t will find it a fantastic watch. Becoming a member is only £3.60 a month and worth every penny for access to nights like this and to the full-length recordings afterwards. Head here to join or to watch if you’re already signed up:

There’s a ten-minute taster version for non-Patreon members too but it only skims the surface of a fascinating evening:

The club’s highlights of the win against Blackpool are up now. We play some lovely football, Ollie Norwood’s crossfield passes to Corey O’Keeffe should be in the Louvre, but the most noticeable thing is how we fail to take our chances. Improve that and we’d be well on our way to the top.

Our next opponents, Exeter City, are owned by a supporters’ trust and things seem to be going awry. Oversight is key in situations like this, and when County were run in a similar manner it started to unravel when the board took major decisions, like taking out loans, without consulting the trust. Similar things are happening at Exeter and stormy meetings have ensued, with the Chief Executive getting the heave-ho and an independent financial investigation taking place. All this will sound familiar to anyone who has listened to TSBW’s Dark Days series and I would heartily recommend it to anyone who hasn’t. Episode 1 of 5 is here:

Today’s tune is a live version of “The Dirty Truth” by Joanne Shaw Taylor:

Wednesday, 15^th October 2025.

The club’s Community Trust are running their County Camps soccer schools in the half-term holidays, details here:

Looking at the club’s latest training videos, there’s no sign of Brad Hills, which is ominous given that he went off injured towards the end of the last game. I assume Callum Connolly will come in for him but it would be a shame as the back three have become such a reliable unit in recent weeks. Even if he’s fit, I can’t see Arttu Hoskonen starting but perhaps he might be a candidate for the bench.

This week’s main pod from The Scarf Bergara Wore was brought to us by the usual triumvirate of Russ Johnson, Mark Wagster and Andy Reding with debut fan guest and fellow TSBW blogger, Josh Cooper.

• Josh presented a strong set of answers to the debutant’s questions:
  • First game: Norwich at home, 15^th August 1998, with free tickets from school, a 2-0 loss. Goals from Craig Bellamy and an OG by Colin Woodthorpe.
  • Favourite game: A 4-2 win against Port Vale at home, three for Brett Angell and one for Stephen Grant. One of Vale’s was an OG by Mike Flynn.
  • Favourite goal: Sean Connolly v Swindon, 24^th April 2000. https://youtu.be/ywMnP4k8aYw?si=jM3-9qomYywJgVPq
  • Favourite players: Brett Angell and Ollie Norwood.
• Blackpool (H): The usual mixture of total dominance without taking enough chances, followed by twenty minutes of desperate defending at the end. We need to be better at finishing and I have to confess that assertions that it’ll all click soon and we’ll give somebody a good hiding are starting to wear a bit thin. Still, as Andy was at pains to point out, we’re fourth in the league. So put that in your pipe and smoke it.
• xG; shite stat or useful analytical tool?: Opinion is divided, I have an open mind about it but at least now I have a clue about what it means, having read Josh’s excellent blog on the subject, https://scarfbergarawore.co.uk/understanding-xg-whats-going-on/
• The Railway End roof: Much ridiculed and parodied by anyone with access to AI, at least it will keep the rain off away fans in the winter. It’s been said that County were subject to an EFL-levied £5,000 fine every week for lack of covered seating but we haven’t seen a proper explanation of that yet.
• The rumour mill: There’s been some speculation that one forward might return to his parent club and another might reappear in the January transfer window. The latter, in particular, gets Andy’s goat so I won’t name names.
• Commercial growth: I’m no longer on LinkedIn, the last thing I want is a job, but it seems an entry there shows a picture of the club’s progress in the Stott era. Attendances are up by 320% and season tickets by 234%.
• Random Shit Of The Week: This week’s game involved guessing the names of County and pod personalities from clips of their voices. I’m ashamed to say that I didn’t get a single one, but it was entertaining nevertheless.
• Exeter (H): The panel all predicted a County win, with scores of 2-0, 3-1, 4-0 and 5-1.

There was loads more to enjoy, get it here:

Today’s tune is for Andy Reding, it’s Toots and the Maytals’ version of “Louie, Louie”:

Thursday, 16^th October 2025.

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For this week’s TSBW Match Preview pod, Steve Bardsley was joined by Exeter City fan Brad Theobald to preview Saturday’s game. Threats, players to watch, form, season expectations, boardroom changes and uncertainty around the club were all on the table. It went like this:

• Off the pitch: They’ve been in Trust ownership since 2003 but things are starting to fray at the edges and there’s a feeling that the arrangement might have run its course. The bloke brought in as Chief Executive eighteen months ago has gone amid tales of financial irregularities and as I mentioned earlier in this blog, it all sounds horribly familiar. Player sales (Millenic Alli, ex-County to Luton for £1.3M) and a big cup game against Forest kept the wolves at bay for a bit but some of that dosh was squandered on a foreign trip that wasn’t agreed by the Trust.
• Hopes for this season: the primary objective seems to be to avoid going down.
• Ryan Rydel: The fullback, on loan from County, has been injured for much of the season. I was very sorry to hear this, he’s one of my favourites, and I was hoping a decent season with the Grecians would see him back with us for 2026-27 and raring to go. I believe his contract with us is up at the end of this term and I worry about his future if he can’t get fit before long.
• Players to watch:
• No.2, Jack McMillan, a versatile defender. Their manager’s pre-match interview suggests he might be out with “a niggle.”
• No.9, Jayden Wareham, centre forward.
• No.17, Akeel Higgins, a forward on loan from West Brom.
• No.21, Danny Andrew, a wingback who looked good in his short spell with us at the start of the season.
• No.27, Josh Magennis, Northern Ireland international striker.
• Predictions: Brad would take a 1-1 draw if offered.

An interesting and insightful half hour:

Tonight’s match on Sky was from our league, Huddersfield v Bolton. It was a good watch, coming to life in the last few minutes as Bolton scored twice in time added to win 2-1. This preserves our fourth place, as Huddersfield would have gone above us if they’d won. Only Lincoln will knock us down to fifth now by winning their game in hand. This is how the top half of the table looks tonight:

Today’s tune, and this time it really is nothing to do with anything other than it takes me back to my youth and I think it’s brilliant, is “The Ballad Of Mott” by Mott The Hoople:

Friday 17^th October 2025.

You can’t dip your toe in County’s socials at the moment without seeing Louie Barry’s name mentioned. It’s rumoured that Aston Villa might recall him in January as he’s hardly played at Sheffield United since they changed managers again. Some County fans are fizzing at the bunghole at the thought of him coming back here, as it’s the only place where he’s really flourished. Now this might sound a bit mad, and I don’t want to piss on anyone’s bonfire, but….do we really want him back? I think I’d be glad to have him on loan again but I worry about his long-term fitness and I wouldn’t want to spend £millions on signing him permanently and agree a massive wage only to find that he’s crocked half the time. Time will tell, I suppose.

Here’s my guess at a team for tomorrow. Tyler Onyango is available again after suspension but Corey O’Keeffe played well last week, so I expect him to keep his place. If Brad Hills is fit I think he’ll play, but his absence from the training videos this week makes me think Callum Connolly might get a start instead. Beno Andrésson will be back from international duty and might edge Nathan Lowe out but I’ve left the Stoke loanee in for another week.

Talking of Beno Andrésson, I see he scored for Iceland U21s again on Tuesday, helping them to a 2-1 victory against Luxembourg, which will hopefully boost his confidence a bit.

County’s U21s play Burnley away tonight in the Premier League Cup. It’s a fiver (or two quid for concessions) to get in, pay on the gate, at the County Ground in Leyland, so you won’t have to sully yourself by entering Turf Moor. I won’t be home from Wales in time to go, alas, or I’d be sorely tempted.

Mark Love is walking round the big five clubs, finishing at the biggest of the lot, Edgeley Park, before tomorrow’s match. It’s in aid of the Christie and all donations are welcome here:

A couple of bits of housekeeping to finish on:

• Tranmere (A): County have confirmed that the FA Cup tie at Prenton Park will be at three o’clock on Saturday the 1^st of November. The Fingerpost Flyer will get you there and back for the princely sum of twenty quid, leaving from the back of the pub at 11:45. With my Co-Op and TSBW hats on, I should also mention that the Edgeley Con Club Coaches lads will no doubt be running one as well.
• Wimbledon (A): Tickets go on sale on Monday for those of us loads of loyalty points. The initial allocation is only 785 tickets but I would hope they’ll make more available if there’s a demand:

It’s important to finish things on a high so it’s time for a bit of George. If this doesn’t get you hopping about, I should get in touch with a funeral director. Today’s tune is a live version of “Move It On Over” by George Thorogood and the Destroyers:

See you all at Edgeley Park!

Animo et fide.