SUMMARY
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| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Ave Att: |
| 27 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 4,874 |
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Programme Style 1994/95
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This issue was for the game against Bristol Rovers on 7th March 1995. Mike Flynn and Alun Armstrong got the goals. The cover features Matt Dickins, our 4th keeper of that campaign, after John Keeley; Neil Edwards and Ian Ironside. Dickins had made his full debut a week or so previously in a 4-0 thrashing at Oxford, a game in which Jeff Lawrenson and I raged at the officiating of Mr Brandwood of Staffordshire. More of which on the Manor Ground post.
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THANKS DANNY – IT WAS A BLAST!!
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As referenced in the Home Games: 1994 we turned the year in 11th place, 13 points behind leaders Birmingham. A championship tilt looked unlikely but standing only 4 points adrift of the play-off spots there was still all to play for, and we also faced a quarter final tie in the Auto Windscreens Trophy at Spotland. That fell 12 days into the year and provided an exit on a depressing night.
In the roll call of players, right down at the bottom of the page which lists every one of the 737 men I have seen don County colours the very last entry is one ‘Roy Young’.
We had turned up at Spotland and when the teams were announced wondered who Roy Young might be. He had been named on the bench. The chat went around the Pearl Street End that he was on loan from Poole Town. Quite what the connection was I’ve no idea. All I know is that he made but the single sub appearance and was never seen again. Researching things I find out that he was more than well thought of at Poole. A thread on the Poole Town message board uncovers the following; “We have got a proper striker. I have watched Poole for quite a while and he reminds me of Roy Young who I think went to Aldershot”. The post was referring to somebody who had just made his debut for Poole – Charlie Austin.
We know what happened to him, but from Young there was little evidence in a cameo 20 minute outing that there was much to get excited about. It also provided a little statistical quirk. The two subs for County that night were Jim Gannon and Young. I saw the former well over 400 times, the latter hardly long enough to finish a brew!
By the time of the Bristol game, (featured programme above), we had slipped to 13th and any chance of featuring in even the play-offs had disappeared. It had been a dismal run since the turn of the year. 9 points from 10 games. With Francis having gone to Birmingham, Bergara went out and acquired another centre forward – one who was to give us a moment of high ecstasy 10 months later.
A record of 62 goals in the thick end of 300 games for York; Scunthorpe and Rotherham was only a moderate return, and it’s fair to say that there wasn’t a great deal of expectation when Ian Helliwell, (left), made his debut against Hull.
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Ian Helliwell
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He scored twice so it was a great start. He was at EP for 53 weeks, played in 42 (+4) games and scored 15 times. He certainly made a decent contribution, with ‘that’ goal at Goodison Park being the icing on the cake.
His last goal was in a 4-3 defeat at Burnley in early 1996, and barely a week later he was on his way to Turf Moor for the princely sum of £30,000. It’s fair to say that his time at EP was the last meaningful impact he made in the game. He had 4 games at Burnley, three inconclusive loan spells lower down the league and then drifted into on-league with Ilkeston, where he ended up as manager.
The season meandered on to an inevitable conclusion. We ended up 11th – it was the first time since 1989/90 that we hadn’t been involved either at the top or going to Wembley. But it was not without controversy. The bombshell news that emerged on 31st March that Danny Bergara had been sacked after an alleged altercation with Chairman Elwood at a function the night after a win at Plymouth. It staggered County fans, who had relished the work that he had done; the players he had brought in; and most of all the success that he had engineered. The full tale of the events surrounding the dismissal is told in the post on Gay Meadow, where we played the day after his dismissal. It was a watershed moment, as Dave Jones took up the reigns.
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A GREAT TEAM STARTS TO FORM
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Jones spent the summer working mainly with players he had inherited. The only arrivals who made much of a lasting impression were Tom Bennett and Paul Ware. Marc Lloyd-Williams joined from Welsh League Bangor, with an impressive scoring record at that level. He was no more than a bit part player at EP, but had a long career back in Wales, (playing for 9 other Welsh clubs interspersed with 5 spells at Bangor). Gavin Allen came and went with but a single sub appearance. But the other signing led to a long standing association with County.
On the field Richard Landon managed only 14 appearances, (inc 7 sub), and scored 4 times, and after spells in non-league returned to EP as Kit Manager where he remains to this day. Adie Mike made the short trip from Manchester City, and arrived with a good reputation, having played for England at schoolboy and youth level. It was far from fulfilled. 5 starts, 7 times off the bench, and not a single goal.
The 1995/96 season, as County fans looked to see the impact that Jones would make, didn’t start particularly well. By the end of November we lay 9th, trailing leaders Swindon by 12 points. There had been the satisfaction of a good win down at Portman Road in the League Cup which was followed by a trip to Villa Park, but in the league it was hardly inspiring stuff. Jones then went into the transfer market again, and secured the services of John Jeffers from Port Vale. He was to go on to become a crucial element of the 1996/97 promotion winning team.
We had progressed in the FA Cup, beating Lincoln in a game in which Jeff Eckhardt not only scored a hat-trick but also had a spell in goal after a temporary injury to Neil Edwards. The year ended with the anticipation of a trip to Goodison Park in the FA Cup, but it was clear that the league campaign would need to see a real improvement if we were to move upwards from a mid-table spot.
All in all it was a year of 27 home league games for me, and nothing much to shout about on the field. The final game of the year at EP saw us face Carlisle. It was a game which showed something I have long believed. So a little aside here.
When I gave up playing cricket I took umpiring qualifications and ‘stood’ in the Central Lancashire League for 3 seasons. I got a lot of feedback that my understanding of the game, and how to ‘manage’ players, was pretty good, and that was down to having seen the other side of the fence as a player for so many years. Surely that should apply to football?
And there was more than adequate proof that Boxing Day at EP. The pitch was hard, and in some parts on the slippery side after an overnight frost. The referee that day clearly recognised that conditions were less than optimal, and made allowances. There were challenges which on a normal day may have looked ‘iffy’ but were born of the conditions and not intent. He let the game flow, and for me was all that a referee should be. He managed the game. It was Steve Baines, formerly an uncompromising centre half at Chesterfield. He knew the conditions from a players perspective, and applied common sense.
There’s surely got to be more of the progression from player to official. But there again it’s far easier to become a talking head, offering little if no insight, whilst picking up a big pay cheque. As you might gather this is a hobby horse of mine!!
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Back to 1994 Forward to 1996 Home Games Summary Page Away Games 1995..
THE HOME GAMES I SAW THIS YEAR
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| Day | Date | Competition | Tier / Round | Opponents | Res | F | A | Crowd | Home Game |
| Sat | 14/01/95 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Hull City | W | 4 | 0 | 4,516 | 474 |
| Sat | 28/01/95 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Leyton Orient | W | 2 | 1 | 4,250 | 475 |
| Sat | 11/02/95 (Highlights) | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Chester City | D | 2 | 2 | 4,405 | 476 |
| Tue | 21/02/95 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Swansea City | L | 0 | 1 | 3,040 | 477 |
| Sat | 25/02/95 (Highlights) | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | York City | L | 2 | 3 | 3,570 | 478 |
| Tue | 07/03/95 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Bristol Rovers | W | 2 | 1 | 3,580 | 479 |
| Sat | 18/03/95 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Crewe Alexandra | W | 3 | 1 | 4,946 | 480 |
| Sat | 25/03/95 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Huddersfield Town | L | 1 | 2 | 5,383 | 481 |
| Sat | 15/04/95 (Highlights) | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Blackpool | W | 3 | 2 | 5,021 | 482 |
| Sat | 22/04/95 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Brighton & Hove Albion | W | 2 | 0 | 3,789 | 483 |
| Sat | 29/04/95 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Peterborough United | D | 1 | 1 | 4,398 | 484 |
| Tue | 15/08/95 | Coca-Cola Cup | Round 1 (1st Leg) | Wrexham | W | 1 | 0 | 3,511 | 485 |
| Sat | 19/08/95 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Burnley | D | 0 | 0 | 8,463 | 486 |
| Tue | 29/08/95 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Swansea City | W | 2 | 0 | 4,433 | 487 |
| Sat | 02/09/95 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Crewe Alexandra | D | 1 | 1 | 6,142 | 488 |
| Sat | 16/09/95 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Wycombe Wanderers | D | 1 | 1 | 5,588 | 489 |
| Tue | 19/09/95 | Coca-Cola Cup | Round 2 (1st Leg) | Ipswich Town | D | 1 | 1 | 4,865 | 490 |
| Tue | 26/09/95 | Auto Windscreens Trophy | Northern Preliminary Round | Chesterfield | D | 1 | 1 | 2,152 | 491 |
| Sat | 30/09/95 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | AFC Bournemouth | W | 3 | 1 | 5,655 | 492 |
| Sat | 14/10/95 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Brentford | D | 1 | 1 | 6,228 | 493 |
| Sat | 28/10/95 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Chesterfield | L | 0 | 1 | 6,287 | 494 |
| Tue | 31/10/95 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Rotherham United | D | 1 | 1 | 4,070 | 495 |
| Sat | 11/11/95 (Highlights) | FA Cup | Round 1 | Lincoln City | W | 5 | 0 | 2,952 | 496 |
| Sat | 18/11/95 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Swindon Town | D | 1 | 1 | 7,196 | 497 |
| Sat | 02/12/95 | FA Cup | Round 2 | Blyth Spartans | W | 2 | 0 | 5,693 | 498 |
| Sat | 09/12/95 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Shrewsbury Town | L | 0 | 2 | 5,530 | 499 |
| Tue | 26/12/95 (Highlights) | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Carlisle United | W | 2 | 0 | 5,941 | 500 |
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