First County Visit:	Friday 24th January 1975
Competition:	Football League Division 4 – (Tier 4)
Result:	Exeter City 4 – 1 Stockport County
Attendance:	4,438
Away Trip:	1
Away Day:	1
County Line-up:	1 Alan Ogley; 2 Graham Smith; 3 Steve Crowther; 4 Ken Fogarty; 5 Brian Albeson; 6 Ian Lawther; 7 Johnny Price; 8 Norrie Lloyd; 9 John Griffiths; 10 Mick Hollis; 11 Harry Kirk
Scorer:	Mick Hollis
Manager:	Jimmy Meadows
County Visits:	3

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FOR THREE YEARS … A SECOND HOME FROM HOME

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Off the motorway at Clifton, followed by a wearisome tour of the docks, ending up at Filton, where Concorde was in its test phase, then a drag to Exeter via Bridgewater and other points South. Impressive for a first away day … night.

Alas the reality was somewhat different, and with no thoughts of being disingenuous, and thus leaving thoughts of an epic away day it’s time to confess. Rather than being a mighty trip it involved a gentle stroll. Indeed, until I moved to Stalybridge in 2014, this trip was the first and only time I walked to a County away game!

Opting for a university far away from home, Exeter seemed a good place … and so three years proved. Plenty of cricket, turning out for the University First XI; lots of beer and some good friends made. And it hosted Division 4 football, with the prospect of seeing County in a far-flung place. Sadly, that wasn’t to be.

In my first two years the vagaries of the fixture planning, (no doubt done with quill on parchment in those pre-computer days), saw the Hatters visiting St James Park when I was safely ensconced back home, on one of the luxuriantly long vacations. So it was within 5 months of my finals, and the step into working life.

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St James Park, sitting alongside Old Trafford and Boothferry Park, had, and still has its own railway station .. or to be more precise “railway halt”. No train was needed however, as West Avenue was no more than 350 yards from the entrance gates. It had been a regular haunt over the three years, and to be truthful, I’d come to enjoy going. After all, hearing the teams coming out meant grabbing a coat, jogging across the road, and still being in for kick off.

The Grecians were a middle of the road Division 4 outfit but had a club, and indeed lower league, legend. Fred Binney almost guaranteed goals, as a record of 90 strikes in 177 appearances bears witness.

On Halloween 1973 the interest of the student house was sufficiently roused to lead to a trip in the League Cup to then Division 1 West Brom. For impecunious students this was a tidy outlay, but rewarded with a famous 3-1 victory, with the aforementioned Binney unsurprisingly bagging a couple. Sadly, a trip to Wolves in the next round was off the agenda. Played on a midweek afternoon as the country lingered in Ted Heath’s three day week it just wasn’t feasible.

There were plenty of other games though – one in particular being Southport’s visit as they jostled for the title and drew a tidy crowd onto the crumbling old ground.

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St James was therefore pretty much a fixture. The Cowshed, (or Primrose Bank to give it the official title), was where the more vociferous of the gentlemanly crowd gathered and was my vantage point. It’s long gone now, and indeed had been replaced by seating on my last trip. The Main Stand remains, (†), hardly changed in the 40+ years that have elapsed, as has the huge netting which prevents errant clearances from heavy footed defenders disappearing onto the railway line below. A decent sized terrace. (The Big Bank), behind one goal largely remained sparsely populated during my 3 years down there.

( †) I originally wrote this back in September 2016. Since then the Main Stand has been demolished.  It was only ever going to be a matter of time but still, for me anyway, a sad loss

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Purely for the County game I stationed myself behind the goal amongst the (few) faithful who had made significantly more effort than had I to get to there. The accommodation wasn’t unlike that Edgeley some 12 years later when the old Cheadle Stand had been demolished. A few steps which hardly afforded the best of views.

The game itself was a sign of many more like it to come over the years. County held a lead going into the last 20 minutes or so, then promptly caved in, conceding 4, and leaving themselves with a trip back which would end up at Edgeley Park sometime between 4 and 5 the following morning.

For myself it was a leisurely walk back to West Avenue, but with a minor detour to the “Vic”, purveyor of fine ales or so it said. The real attraction was the Devenish, (is it still brewed?), but solely because it came in at 20p a pint. A staple diet of the student population it’s doubtful that the CAMRA types these days would give it much attention, but when the mantra was along the lines of “I’m brassic, what’s the cheapest pint” it had to do

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Archive footage of St James Park taken in 1979 – the ground which was ‘home’ for three years

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The ensuing years have seen only two more County awaydays to St James … and brought two wins. The first was somewhat of an epic encounter. In April 1985 a long weekend in the South West tied in nicely.

Eric Webster, a true County hero in my eyes, Youth coach; groundsman; manager – whatever was needed Eric turned his hand to it. With the first team he did his best to make the proverbial silk purse out of the sows ear and, given the fact that he entered that season with 13 contracted players, did a marvellous job.

In the event of injury, it was never a case of getting a replacement from another League Club. The source was the Stockport Sunday League. But that day keeper Mike Salmon was clearly unfit, but there was no option. Hobbling about and unable to kick, Salmon was protected magnificently by his defence as Mark Leonard and Clive Evans secured a two-goal triumph, wildly celebrated by the meagre away following.

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Eric died in early 2016. Oshor Williams, much loved and fondly remembered by County fans, (and still a regular visitor to EP and programme contributor), became an officer in the PFA. He paid tribute to Eric on the PFA site shortly after his death. It’s a heartwarming read. Click HERE

The third and last trip to St James saw the home side as underdogs and County as the Goliath to be slain. It was an FA Cup tie, with County in League 2, (tier 4), taking on the home team, then marooned in the Nationwide Conference. The expected victory ensued, but it was inconceivable at that point that the status of the teams would be reversed in a few short years. Exeter regained Football League status, and County were on the cusp of an inexorable slide into the nether regions of the non-league game.

Exeter is then a place of fond memories. Not many on the football front, but plenty from those who have enjoyed the fruits of a three year spell at University far away from home!!

September 2016

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VISITS

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Day	Date	Competition	Tier / Round	Opponents	Res	F	A	Crowd	Away Day
Friday	24/01/75	Football League Division 4	Tier 4	Exeter City	L	1	4	4,438	1
Saturday	20/04/85	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Exeter City	W	2	0	1,836	112
Saturday	11/11/06	FA Cup	Round 1	Exeter City	W	2	1	4,454	564

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ON MY JOURNEY WITH COUNTY AROUND 180 GROUNDS

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Next stop – OAKWELL