Dear County fans, Stopfordians, and any Sutton supporters joining us today, a very warm welcome to today’s edition of The Scarf My Father Wore, ahead of our final Saturday game of 2023.
Whatever happens over the next week, Stockport County are guaranteed to be in the League Two automatic promotion places on Christmas Day.
Even if Stockport County lose to Sutton and Notts County, they’d probably still be top of League Two on Christmas Day.
Stockport County are currently 28 points clear of the relegation zone.
Stockport County have lost 1 of their last 16 games in League Two, picking up 39 points from a possible 48.
A little bit of perspective ahead of this afternoon’s game at Edgeley Park, which is going to be a tense affair if we don’t get an early goal to settle the nerves. It’s a huge game, don’t get me wrong, and in the context of a title race, it does feel like a must-win, especially with festive fixtures against 3rd, 4th and 6th coming up.
At the same time, however, let’s not lose sight of the fact that December’s been pretty miserable in recent years with FA Trophy exits at Stalybridge and Southport, and home defeats to Hyde and Harrogate on Boxing Day. As I’ve stated above, even if Sutton smashed seven past us and Notts notched up nine, we’d still be in the top three as you’re tucking into your turkey (or vegetarian/vegan alternative) on Christmas Day. We’d even have a positive goal difference.
My point is that we’re in a rather good position these days, both on and off the pitch. With investment comes expectation and even entitlement, but let’s not forget where we’ve come from, and also what’s made our fanbase extremely special over the years. We’re having a little bit of a wobble at the moment, but we’ve been absolutely decimated with injuries, and I feel some County fans have certainly started making mountains out of molehills. (Although in this social media age, every club has that I suppose.)
This blip isn’t even that serious when you really think about it. Granted, losing to a non-league team in the FA Cup is never nice, although we know from experience how tough the top of the National League is these days. But apart from that, nobody was arsed about Wigan. Morecambe doesn’t count in that weather. We battered Salford. And in terms of this blip, we’ve actually only lost ONE league game, at Newport.
Without wishing to exude my clearly superior footballing knowledge and say “I told you so”, I thought we’d slip up on Wednesday but I’m adamant we’ll win today. It’s not as straightforward as you might envisage, however, from a top versus bottom clash. They’re unbeaten in five league games, and our midfield this afternoon might still consist of Kenny Boxshall, Steve Bellis and Vernon Bear, but Sutton have had their own injury problems and I don’t think they’ll fancy it one bit today. The atmosphere will be miles better than Wednesday night, but as Dave Challinor said afterwards, we’ve got to get right behind our battered and bruised team this afternoon, be patient for the opening goal, and I’m sure we’ll get back to winning ways. I might even buy every subscriber a pint. I’ve had a tenner on County to win 2-1 with Vernon Bear to score first.
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