SUMMARY

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Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Ave Att:
29	15	6	8	5,936

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This issue was for the FA Cup game with Staines Town. It ended in a draw. I went down for the replay only to park up and then find out it was postponed. Three days later we went back – but sadly I wasn’t there, for reasons outlined in the Bescot Stadium post. It features Michael Rose on the cover. He was an integral element of the promotion team that season, having signed from Yeovil at the start of 2006/07. He left in January 2010, initially for Norwich on loan, and then to Swindon permanently. He is still playing, latterly at Macclesfield, but spent the majority of the 2019/20 season on the bench.

With ground to make up a quick start was vital and the received wisdom these days that Gannon’s sides always improve after Christmas certainly gained some traction in 2008. An exit from the Johnstone’s Paints Trophy early in the New Year meant that full concentration could be given to the League. It’s a bit of a cliche but it was backed up in fact. By the end of February there had been 10 League games with 7 wins and a 2 draws – a return of 23 points, which left us in the play-off zone. The gap to the top was 12 points, with MK Dons and Peterborough leading the way.

The single defeat in that period had been against Bury when an early bath for Conrad Logan saw Adam Proudlock take on keeping duties. The exchange of shirts provided the terrace wags with the chance to compare the physiques of the two with a Sunday morning game on Woodbank Park!

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GROUND FOR A POUND … OH DEAR!

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Round about this time the Trust, who by this time must have recognised that the deal with Kennedy, whereby he kept ownership of the ground, was an unsustainable one as far as they were concerned, had received the promise of a loan deal towards its acquisition, on condition that they raised £1m.

It led to the “Ground for a Pound” scheme, where punters could buy “pixels” on a picture of EP with the ‘lucky’ winner getting a stand named after them, plus free admission for life. It generated a huge amount of interest, with fans from all over the country ‘investing’. Quite how much it raised I’ve no idea, but it was a fair few bob, although nearer to zero than to a million! But after the initial launch it turned into a PR debacle, and potentially even more than that, as it transpired that the cash was eventually used to cover day to day operations.

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PUSHING TOWARDS THE TOP

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There then followed an unbeaten run of nine games, eight of which were wins, pushing us up to 4th . and only out of the automatic promotion places on goal difference, (we were 6 goals behind Hereford). JIm McNulty had come in from Macclesfield but Anthony Elding had moved to Leeds by this point,. The run had seen the emergence of Tommy Rowe, a product of the youth set-up.

I had first seen Rowe in a youth game played at the athletics arena next to Eastlands. It was immediately clear he had more than a little ability. He’d made his debut, (off the bench), in the FA Cup defeat at Watford in early 2007, with a first full appearance in the 7-2 humbling by Rochdale a couple of months after that. He came into the team for the game at Gigg Lane in early February, and stayed there. A week later he hit a sensational hat-trick at Rotherham – that night a County star was born! Within 15 months he had gone to Peterborough – virtually the first action by the administrators, Leonard Curtis, as they sought to realise any assets. He is still fondly remembered at EP.

Towards the end of that run we had sadly bidden farewell to Ashley Williams. A rock in the defence he moved to Swansea, initially on loan, but formalised with a £400k fee at the end of the season. He has had a magnificent career at the highest level, and also played an integral part in Wales march to the semi-finals of Euro 16. His career is now verging on 20 years – 800+ games already and still going strong. County certainly provided the platform for this.

The chance to push on and claim an automatic promotion spot was there for the taking. But we didn’t take it. Games against MK and Barnet were lost, and with two games to play automatic promotion had disappeared but we knew we were in the play-offs. It had been 14 years, one promotion, 5 years in the second tier, and a subsequent cataclysmic fall which so nearly saw us lose League status, since we last experienced them

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PLAY OFF JOY … AT THE FIFTH TIME OF ASKING

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A win in the last League game against Brentford, (when we saw youth products Gianluca Havern and James Vincent for the first time, and Amari Morgan-Smith for his only County appearance), left us pitched against Wycombe in the Play-Off semi-final, with a trip to Adams Park first on the agenda. (Morgan-Smith had been signed by the Club following the Just Search campaign – tied in with the name of the shirt sponsor – when 150 youngsters came for a trial. Two were signed – alongside Morgan-Smith was Craig Flowers, who never made it as far as the bench).

The First Leg at Wycombe ended all-square, and is more fully described on the Adams Park page. It featured “that goal” from Stephen Gleeson, and the after match reaction from Paul Lambert that “it meant nothing”. Well, it certainly did, as Liam Dickinson notched the decider in the Second Leg, and we were off to Wembley nine days later. Dicko’s goal that evening was one typical of him. Picking up the ball what must have been 45 yards from goal, and from the moment he controlled it there was no doubt of the outcome. From playing at Woodley Sports he had proved to be an inspired signing, getting 34 goals. His winner at Wembley proved to be his last as he moved on to Derby for a purported £750,000 shortly after the Final.

Bank Holiday Monday saw a family trip to Wembley. Would it be 5th time lucky, after play-off heartaches at the hands of Chesterfield; Peterborough; Vale and Burnley in our previous attempts? The day is more fully described on the Wembley – New page, but a dismal afternoon weather-wise was nto so on the field. We triumphed 3-2 and promotion had been won, a matter of 55 weeks after that nail-biting final day against Carlisle. We could look forward to League 1 football.

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THE WEMBLEY SQUAD

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A SUMMER OF ANTICIPATION … BUT BEHIND THE SCENES…

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Reflecting back on the position as we looked forward to the new season it was not an unfair assumption that there would be a fair bit of cash lying around. The Williams deal had been finalised at £400k, (plus add-ons, about which we would hear more a year or so later); Dicko had gone for £750k, and there was of course the Wembley money. It certainly looked that way as the summer saw Peter Thompson from Linfield, (£100k), and Carl Baker from Morecambe, (£225k), were added. So money was being spent – but later events, and revelations showed that it simply wasn’t there.

The fond delusion amongst many, including myself, was that the Wembley appearance had brought cash in. I looked at the crowd, (35,715), knew that I had paid £56 to get in, (but lets assume the average was £40). The ‘take’, after VAT, must have been around £1.2m. So County, even after other expenses, (police; gatemen etc etc etc), would have received £500k you would have thought. Not so. It was eventually revealed, a lot later that after the hire fee for Wembley; the FL cut, and the costs that the Club incurred taking the world and and his dog in the official party, together with player bonuses that the balance was little more than a handful of loose change.

The financial warning flags must have been flying in the Board Room – don’t forget that, despite the on-field success, this was still a Club without assets; no revenue steams other than match day income and were still in hock to Kennedy.

There needs to be an understanding at this point that the roles of the Supporters Trust were completely separate from those of the Club Board, responsible for running the day to day operations of the Club. It became evident, within 9 months, that the Supporters Trust, to whom ownership had passed, had no real knowledge, never mind influence, over the actions of the Board. It was one of the key points in the fiasco that ensued.

Well the flags must have flying sufficiently for Maguire, (with Beverley in tow), to seek finance. He headed off to David Farms, a stadium development company. They returned with £300k but had given a debenture which effectively gave Farms control over the Club assets; bank accounts and just about anything else that moved at EP.

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Maguire later justified this action by saying in response to a question at the AGM of the Trust in November 2009 that the loan had been taken out, “Simply to sustain the business for cash flow. It was agreed prior to the sale of Liam Dickinson. Most businesses would work with an overdraft but we can’t do that. Our bank manager said that our biggest issue was that we didn’t have enough debt.”

Finances may have been precarious, but this was indisputably the key act that effectively consigned the Club to years of decline. It led to an administration conducted by people who had no experience of football structures; the 2010 Group who managed to convert a clean sheet into an £850k loss in the space of 12 months; the ludicrous episode of Tony Evans, with Hamann as manager allegedly to fulfil a non-football obligation; and then to cap it all the idiocy of the blue skies era of Fearn and McKnight.

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BACK ON THE FIELD …. ANOTHER SLOW START

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At the higher level we found things tricky. As well as Thompson, (who singularly failed to make any impact), and Baker, Gannon brought in keeper Owain fon Williams from Crewe. (Interestingly in the space of 18 months County fielded 3 keepers who went on to become internationals: fon Williams; Fraser Forster and Wayne Hennessey. Joe Lewis wasn’t far away either after being a non-playing sub in two England games). We were turfed out of the League Cup at Leicester, the first meeting between the Clubs for 84 years. We didn’t wait long for the next one – it was 4 days later when the teams stumbled to a goalless draw. After 11 games we had 3 wins, 6 draws and 2 defeats, and the initial phase of Tier 3 football we had settled down into mid-table.

Off the field there were Board room changes. Norman Beverley resigned both as Chairman and Director on 17th September. He was reported as saying that he wanted, “to spend more time with his family”. Some cynics, especially those like me with the benefit of hindsight, might think that he saw the financial writing on the wall. I never really understood how he had got into that position. His had been a name that that was always at the front of the various iterations of Supporters Groups over many years, but I simply didn’t see him having the skills to operate as Chairman. I had been fairly convinced for quite a while before he stepped down that he was little more than a poodle for Maguire.

The run to the end of 2008 brought 7 wins in 12 games, and a standing of 7th. There were voices suggesting that a second successive promotion was on the cards, and certainly we were not only competing in the Division but also playing good football as well. The last home game of the year, in which I saw every match bar one, ( a win at Leyton), was against Leed United. It drew a crowd of 10,273, the last time there has been a 5 figure crowd at EP.

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SUMMING UP 2008

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In summary 2008 was superficially a good year. The quality on offer had been pleasing on the eye; we had been promoted and (finally) won at Wembley; and were well placed. But, and it’s an almighty big ‘but’ the whole thing was built on sand. 2009 would bring all this to light. Within 12 months, there wasn’t a County as such. Yes a team turned out under that name, and still played at EP, (although the rugby devastation even precluded that one day); but it was a Club in administration with its on field fortunes, (rock bottom of League 1), matched by those off it. 2009 was a truly dreadful time for those who supported the Club

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Back to 2007 Forward to 2009 Home Games Summary Page Away Games 2008

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THE HOME GAMES I SAW THIS YEAR

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Day	Date	Competition	Tier / Round	Opponents	Res	F	A	Crowd	Home Game
Tue	01/01/08	Coca-Cola Football League – League 2	Tier 4	Morecambe	W	2	1	5,489	806
Tue	08/01/08	Johnstones Paints Trophy	Northern Semi-Final	Grimsby Town	L	1	2	3,679	807
Sat	12/01/08	Coca-Cola Football League – League 2	Tier 4	Accrington Stanley	W	2	0	4,714	808
Tue	29/01/08 (Highlights)	Coca-Cola Football League – League 2	Tier 4	Chesterfield	D	2	2	5,105	809
Sat	09/02/08	Coca-Cola Football League – League 2	Tier 4	Notts County	D	1	1	5,849	810
Sat	16/02/08	Coca-Cola Football League – League 2	Tier 4	Bury	L	1	2	5,704	811
Sat	08/03/08 (Highlights)	Coca-Cola Football League – League 2	Tier 4	Bradford City	W	2	1	5,763	812
Tue	11/03/08	Coca-Cola Football League – League 2	Tier 4	Rochdale	W	2	0	5,530	813
Fri	21/03/08 (Highlights)	Coca-Cola Football League – League 2	Tier 4	Macclesfield Town	W	2	0	7,824	814
Sat	05/04/08 (Highlights)	Coca-Cola Football League – League 2	Tier 4	Darlington	W	1	0	6,460	815
Wed	09/04/08	Coca-Cola Football League – League 2	Tier 4	Mansfield Town	W	2	1	4,982	816
Sat	19/04/08	Coca-Cola Football League – League 2	Tier 4	Milton Keynes Dons	L	2	3	8,838	817
Sat	03/05/08	Coca-Cola Football League – League 2	Tier 4	Brentford	W	1	0	6,284	818
Sat	17/05/08 (Highlights)	Coca-Cola Football League – League 2	Tier 4 Play-Off Semi-Final (2nd Leg)	Wycombe Wanderers	W	1	0	9,245	819
Sat	16/08/08	Coca-Cola Football League – League 1	Tier 3	Leicester City	D	0	0	7,151	820
Sat	30/08/08	Coca-Cola Football League – League 1	Tier 3	Scunthorpe United	L	0	3	6,348	821
Tue	02/09/08	Johnstones Paints Trophy	Northern Round 1	Port Vale	W	1	0	2,290	822
Tue	16/09/08	Coca-Cola Football League – League 1	Tier 3	Northampton Town	D	1	1	4,974	823
Sat	20/09/08 (Highlights)	Coca-Cola Football League – League 1	Tier 3	Swindon Town	D	1	1	5,536	824
Fri	03/10/08 (Highlights)	Coca-Cola Football League – League 1	Tier 3	Oldham Athletic	W	3	1	8,360	825
Sat	18/10/08 (Highlights)	Coca-Cola Football League – League 1	Tier 3	Colchester United	L	1	2	6,025	826
Tue	28/10/08	Coca-Cola Football League – League 1	Tier 3	Tranmere Rovers	D	0	0	6,121	827
Sat	01/11/08	Coca-Cola Football League – League 1	Tier 3	Carlisle United	W	3	0	6,301	828
Tue	18/11/08 (Highlights)	FA Cup	Round 1 (Replay)	Yeovil Town	W	5	0	3,260	829
Tue	25/11/08	Coca-Cola Football League – League 1	Tier 3	Brighton & Hove Albion	W	2	0	5,201	830
Sat	06/12/08 (Highlights)	Coca-Cola Football League – League 1	Tier 3	Peterborough United	L	1	3	6,148	831
Tue	09/12/08 (Highlights)	FA Cup	Round 2 (Replay)	Gillingham	L	1	2	3,329	832
Sat	20/12/08 (Highlights)	Coca-Cola Football League – League 1	Tier 3	Bristol Rovers	W	3	1	5,364	833
Sun	28/12/08 (Highlights)	Coca-Cola Football League – League 1	Tier 3	Leeds United	L	1	3	10,273	834