..

First County Visit:	Saturday 27th March 1993
Competition:	Barclays League Division 2 – (Tier 3)
Result:	Plymouth Argyle 3 – 4 Stockport County
Attendance:	6,132
Away Trip:	64
Away Day:	257
County Line-up	1 Phil Kite; 2 Sean Connelly; 3 Paul R Williams; 4 David Frain; 5 Dave Miller; 6 Alan Finley (12 Mike Flynn); 7 Jim Gannon; 8 Peter Ward; 9 Kevin Francis; 10 Chris Beaumont; 11 Peter Duffield (14 Martin James)
Scorers:	Paul R Williams; Kevin Francis (3)
Manager:	Danny Bergara
County Visits:	2

..

I HAVE WAITED ALL MY LIFE FOR THAT (© RICHARD HARNWELL)

..

..

And in terms of new grounds in my travels following County, both of these came close together, separated solely by the Baseball Ground.  Home Park wasn’t new territory for me though.  My football watching during my University days at Exeter mainly centred around St James Park; sometimes Plainmoor and on the odd occasion a trip down the A38 to Plymouth.  I particularly remember one midweek game when Preston North End were the visitors. It was in March 1975 shortly before my finals, and the prospect of some entertainment, followed by a curry, seemed to be good respite from poring over books.

It was also an opportunity for my friends at university to see two of England’s World Cup heroes; ones I had seen more than few times in my earlier years, but they had never seen in the flesh. 

Bobby Charlton had been player-manager of Preston after leaving Old Trafford and had taken Nobby Stiles as player-coach.  When the Western Morning News dropped on the doormat in West Avenue one morning there was a big spread on the game that evening.  Preston were the visitors and the game promised to be a good one.  Plymouth were 3^rd and Preston 5^th, so the decision was taken by the guys I lived with that we would go.

A huge crowd, (for a Division 3 game) turned up.  Over 22,000.  It was an ‘event’ no doubt.  Plymouth went on to win, and marched onto promotion that year, appoint behind champions Blackburn Rovers.  But the highlights for my mates was seeing Charlton hit the target. The wonders of You Tube led me to find some (admittedly grainy) footage.  See it here  (It looks to me as though a very youthful Paul Mariner got Argyle’s first). 

The ground had real atmosphere that evening, and as a stadium it was virtually unchanged 18 years later when the first County visit happened.  The attendance was a fair bit thinner though, with just over 6,000 present on a a breezy and chilly spring afternoon.  Take aside the result, (which was a decent 4-3 win), it was a history making day in my years of following the Hatters, for reasons that will become apparent.

But turning to the trip itself.  It may be the longest but the motorway network makes it relatively easy.  Follow the M6 and M5 to south of Exeter, then join the A38 to drop down to Plymouth.  Four and a half hours driving – and that became important for the return trip.  I went down with Arthur Brotherton, and after an 8.30ish start we headed straight for the ground.  There was a huge car park outside, and with not many round at the time I positioned the car there.  A mistake.  I’ve got a huge range of sports books on my bookshelf and perusing the “Guide to Football Grounds by Jon Ladd, (published in 1996), the section on Plymouth states,

“There is a large car-park adjacent to Home Park, which is ideal only if you have got the rest of the weekend to fritter away. The cars are parked nose to tail and inevitably you will be parked around people who amble across to the vehicles 20 minutes after the match.  This will then mean you get badly clogged up in the local traffic where you can spend a pleasant 5 minutes getting yourself into a panic as to whether the local kids throwing stones at the cars at the lights are going to use you vehicle for target practice”. 

Now I will exonerate the local kids from any malfeasance on my trip, but the rest of it is spot on, as we will see when I refer to the homeward bound drive.

Having parked up Arthur wanted a pint, and decided to head for what seemed to be a social club at the side of the Grand Stand.  As ever he blagged his way in, leaving me to take in the surroundings.  The Grand Stand itself was a magnificent structure, built after its predecessor had suffered bomb damage in World War 2.  Plymouth, as a naval dockyard, would have been a prime target for enemy action.  It stood at the rear of a more than sizeable terrace, which extended underneath the stand itself, and was a classic of its time.  It followed the style made popular by Archibald Leitch in pre-war days.  It provided a decent view as well, as that’s where Arthur and I ended up.  I note that the Grand Stand went the way of all flesh a couple of years ago.  Indeed the whole of the ground has been  changed since my last visit in early 1997. 

..

..

When I had seen that Preston game back in 1975, the Lyndhurst Stand, on the opposite side of the pitch was a covered standing enclosure.  By the time we got there in 1993 seats had been installed, and with them I suspect a lot of atmosphere had disappeared.  To the left was the Devonport End, for the home fans, being a terrace, covered to the rear.

..

..

And at the other end, the Barn End, provided uncovered terracing for those who had made the long trek into Devon.  It was where I, with 109 other travellers, stood in April 1997 to witness a scoreless draw, whilst at the same time demanding that Bruce Grobbelaar ‘throw one in’ and give us the game.  Four weeks previously he had been up before the beak at Winchester Crown Court, and after a 34 day trial the jury failed to reach a verdict in the case where he was charged with match-fixing along with Wimbledon players Hans Segers and John Fashanu.  The retrial found him not guilty, as indeed he was that night at Home Park. 

It was a dismal, and frankly freezing evening.  It was one of those times when you leave the ground at 9.30, knowing that even with a good run it going to nearing 3am when you get to bed, and is it really worth it.  There were only 110 visitors that night – it was getting a regular thing to be going to the South Coast midweek.  Bournemouth the week before and Gillingham to come 8 days later!!  It took its toll in terms of cost; getting time off work and physical exhaustion as well. 

..

..

I said earlier my first County visit was a history making game.  We had two new faces in the line-up.  One was but a transient player, and gone after 5 games.  The other became a County legend.  Phil Kite hardly distinguished himself in goal.  On loan from Sheffield United, (his 5^th loan spell in not much more than 12 months).  There was quite a lot of discontent amongst the County fans pre-game.  We were used to seeing Neil Edwards between the sticks and there hadn’t been much evidence that a change was needed.  Kite’s performance that afternoon added fuel to the fire of that argument. 

On the other hand emerging from the bench in the second half, with the Hatters 3-2 down, the other debutant made an immediate impact.  With his trademark long throw he found Kevin Francis, and the equaliser duly came.  It was of course Mike Flynn, signed earlier that week from Preston for £125,000.  There haven’t been many better bits of business during all my years watching County.  Flynn became the true leader,

‘Captain Fantastic’, and led us through those great years of promotion and more than holding our own in the second tier.  So history making in terms of the first sighting of a great.  But also as a Kevin Francis hat-trick on the day took him to 34 goals for the season, and a post-war County scoring record.  His 3^rd goal gave us the lead and eventually the win.  It promised to be a long, but happy, return northwards.

Onto the car-park.  And as Mr Ladd correctly observed there was no movement.  I wish he’d published his book some years earlier as it would have saved a problem.  Arthur announced as we were walking back to the car that he needed to be back in Droylsden by 9 o’clock. Now if we’d left at 4.30 that would have been pushing it.  Still stuck in the car park at 5.15 it was an impossibility.  We finally inched our way off, seizing the opportunity of moving forward in a ‘who dares wins’ contest, and hoping that those next to me weren’t as brave, or foolhardy.  It was around 5.25 we finally got onto the main road.  281 miles ahead, and to be back by 9 would require an average speed, without any breaks, of 79mph.  That of course didn’t allow for the reduced speed on A roads.  I told him that the earliest we would be back would be 9.45 and that would be with a fair wind behind us.  It also required me to drive at high speed without a break – not a good recipe.

Anyway we got going, and got a lick up on the A38, and increased it once the M5 appeared.  Desperately hoping that the constabulary were taking a Saturday night off we headed though Devon into Somerset.  The motorway was pretty quiet, and we had just passed the Taunton turn off when I espied something in my rear mirror.  A gentle touch of the brakes, and it was with relief that a further look showed that it didn’t have the added bonus of flashing blue lights.  The thing was going at an incredible lick.  I must have been doing top 80’s, but it flew past me.  Must have been broaching a ton.

Taking a look at the same time as Arthur we recognised the pilot.   It was the doyen of County commentators, and co-author of many of my reference books for this website, Richard Harnwell.  Who can ever forget his commentary as Paul Cook rifled in an absolute stunner in the 3-1 trouncing of City.  “I’ve waited all my life for that….”

..

..

Well Richard may have waited all his life for that goal but 4 years earlier he was waiting for no-one. He went past me in the flash of an eye – clearly his arrival back home was more urgent than ours..  Arthur and I glanced at each other and both wondered aloud whether the constabulary might have an interest.  The answer was in the affirmative.  A few miles further on the flashing blue lights on the hard shoulder told the tale.  It caused me to hold back on the throttle for a while.  Arthur was duly deposited back in Droylsden sometime around 10.  560 miles in a day; and as Julie, my wife, says, “just to see men running round a field”.  But it was a great win; we had seen the first of a new hero; and the great Kevin Francis had broken a record.

Richard Harnwell sadly contracted multiple sclerosis and passed away in 2005. MS is a cruel disease.  I know that personally – my Dad succumbed to it as well.  Richard’s commentaries on some of the videos linked on this site are great evidence of his passion and love for the Club, and an everlasting tribute to him.

May 2020

..

VISITS

..

Day	Date	Competition	Tier / Round	Opponents	Res	F	A	Crowd	Away Day
Sat	27/03/93 (Highlights)	Barclays League Division 2	Tier 3	Plymouth Argyle	W	4	3	6,132	257
Tues	08/04/97 (Highlights)	Nationwide Football League – Division 2	Tier 3	Plymouth Argyle	D	0	0	5,089	355

..

ON MY JOURNEY WITH COUNTY AROUND 180 GROUNDS

..

Previously – BASEBALL GROUND Next stop – UNDERHILL