SUMMARY

..

Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Ave Att:
24	11	6	7	1,907

..

..

It’s from the first home game of the year on New Years Day, 1985. It was a 4-2 win over Northampton. In some ways it’s a collectors item. The proof reading wasn’t of the best – maybe it was done in a rush prior to Christmas. But look closely and the editor had forgotten to change the date template. It announces game day as 1st January 1984!!

The front cover shows Paul Bowles involved in some kind of presentation with Peter Wallace, who was connected with the Stockport Express. Mike Power, who had made his first appearance of the season a couple of weeks before, is pictured in action. Power was unusual at that time – a part time player, with a day job as a printer, I thought he was a decent performer. He was never a regular, but over a period of 6 years, he hit the target 16 times in 72 (+5) appearances.

..

A TALE OF THREE MANAGERS

WEBSTER; MURPHY AND CHAPMAN

..

It was another 100% record for me in 1985. 24 home games and I made it to them all. Overall it wasn’t a bad year but crowds continued to plummet. The winter was harsh, with precious little football played in January, and with no income to speak of there must have been a desperation to get games on. We managed one against Wrexham as January drew to a close and then a Football League, (Associate Members), trophy game of no consequence against Burnley. With the first leg having seen a 5-1 loss the second leg pulled in fewer than 1,600.

But it was the next game which saw the record breaking crowd. On a bitterly cold night, with the pitch more akin to a strip of concrete than a football field, we entertained Southend. It was hardly worth opening the gates, as the attendance, (it could hardly be termed a crowd), was 1,039. It was, and remains, the lowest home league attendance that the Club ever had in its Football League days.

There was a crowd of exactly 1,000 for a Freight Rover game against Carlisle just under two years later. Even in non-league days not a single league match saw a crowd lower than that night against Southend. We did get one of 812 for an FA Trophy replay against Barrow, but the lowest for league fixtures in the (nearly) nine non-league seasons was 1,424 when Vauxhall Motors were the visitors in February 2014.

After a run of 4 home wins in a fortnight we stood 14th and a relatively comfortable run-in to the end of the season looked in prospect. One of the wins was a 6-0 triumph over Aldershot which featured heavily in the following week’s programme, (see below).

..

..

if not the first, then they were certainly in the forefront of County shirt sponsors over the years.

After that everything went downhill apace. After beating Colchester on 4th March, the winter depradations left us with 18 games to play in 8 weeks. Thirteen of them were lost and that mid table safety disappeared. It meant an application for re-election – the first in 9 years – as we finished 22nd and also signalled the end of his tenure as manager for Eric Webster. It was a sad end for someone who I firmly believe was instrumental in our continued existence. But it wasn’t the end of his time at EP. He continued to advise his successors – Colin Murphy; Les Chapman; Murphy (again); Asa Hartford and Danny Bergara. His contribution to the Club was recognised in a Testimonial game. It was probably apt as he made but one Football League appearance, and that was for City.

Colin Murphy came in as manager. After a long career as a coach he had enjoyed a fair period of success at Lincoln and the signs were good. But it was a bizarre start to the 1985/86 campaign. The Bradford fire and its aftermath led County to have to seek a safety certificate, and much work needed to be done to the ground. The Cheadle End, beloved of many, had to go, and the old terracing at the Railway End, cinders and railway sleepers required significant improvement. It meant that we did not play a home game until mid-September.

Murphy had brought Paul Smith, on loan from Sheffield and he clearly knew the way to goal, but a recall just prior to the trip to Southend meant that firepower up front was thin on the ground. Barely a month after the trip to Roots Hall, (when i encountered some of Murphy’s more idiosyncratic behaviour, outlined in Away Trip 33) we played at Orient. The gossip on the terraces that day was that Murphy was leaving for a job in Saudi Arabia. It was true and he left with an overall record of 4 wins in 16 games, and County standing in 19th place.

Les Chapman took over as player manager. He’d rejoined the Hatters in the summer after a seven month spell with us in 1979/80. A fixture in Murphy’s team he seemed to almost relaunch our fortunes. Aside from what was becoming a regular Cup exit at the hands of Telford his team won 5 out of 7 home games in what was left of 1985 and added two on the road. We finished the year in 8th place all set for a push into the promotion spots.

..

..

Back (l to r) – Steve Sherlock; Bill Williams; Mark Leonard; Mike Salmon; Tommy Sword; Mike Power; Nigel Smith,

Front (l to r) – Clive Evans; Paul Hendrie; Les Chapman; Tony Coyle; John Rutter

..

THE STRANGE TALE OF BARRY DIAMOND

..

The final home game of the year was a local derby against Rochdale. It drew a crowd of 4,005, unheard of in that campaign. The game ended 3-0 to County. There was more than a bit of an uproar. Barry Diamond was in the middle of a very short 6 game loan spell from the Dale. Strange that he was allowed to play against his parent club – it more than likely wouldn’t happen these days. Anyway the views of a Rochdale fan tell the story.

..

“Halom took the fateful decision to loan him to Stockport and then crazily we allowed him to take the field against us on Boxing Day 1985. Barry comprehensively burned his bridges by getting Joe Cooke sent off, diving for their two penalties and laughing at the fans ….. When his loan expired with Stockport no longer interested a transfer to Halifax was quickly arranged; it’s doubtful if he ever set foot in Spotland again”.

..

(Source: http://clarkechroniclersfootballers.blogspot.com/2010/06/53-barry-diamond.html )

..

..

Back to 1984 Forward to 1986 Home Games Summary Page Away Games 1985

..

THE HOME GAMES I SAW THIS YEAR

..

Day	Date	Competition	Tier / Round	Opponents	Res	F	A	Crowd	Home Game
Tue	01/01/85	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Northampton Town	W	4	2	1,726	203
Fri	01/02/85	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Wrexham	D	2	2	1,714	204
Mon	04/02/85	Freight Rover Trophy	Northern Round 2 (2nd Leg)	Burnley	L	0	1	1,568	205
Fri	15/02/85	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Southend United	L	1	2	1,039	206
Mon	25/02/85	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Aldershot	W	6	0	1,220	207
Fri	01/03/85	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Swindon Town	W	2	1	1,680	208
Mon	04/03/85	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Colchester United	W	1	0	1,561	209
Mon	11/03/85	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Hereford United	W	2	1	1,750	210
Sat	16/03/85	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Peterborough United	D	1	1	1,340	211
Mon	01/04/85	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Torquay United	L	1	2	1,365	212
Sat	06/04/85	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Scunthorpe United	W	2	0	1,285	213
Sat	27/04/85	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Chesterfield	L	0	1	2,887	214
Mon	06/05/85	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Halifax Town	L	0	3	1,480	215
Mon	16/09/85	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Hereford United	D	1	1	2,255	216
Sat	28/09/85	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Chester City	D	2	2	1,801	217
Fri	11/10/85	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Hartlepool United	L	1	3	1,827	218
Fri	18/10/85	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Peterborough United	D	2	2	1,634	219
Fri	01/11/85	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Cambridge United	W	3	1	1,734	220
Mon	04/11/85	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Halifax Town	W	2	1	1,673	221
Sat	16/11/85	FA Cup	Round 1	Telford United	L	0	1	2,994	222
Sat	23/11/85	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Aldershot	W	3	2	1,354	223
Fri	13/12/85	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Wrexham	W	2	0	2,405	224
Fri	20/12/85	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Burnley	D	1	1	3,472	225
Sat	28/12/85	Canon League Division 4	Tier 4	Rochdale	W	3	0	4,005	226