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SUMMARY

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Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Ave Att:
24	8	5	11	2,907

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This issue, for the Stalybridge game in early February 2015, features Matthew Todd on the cover. Son of County legend, Lee, he had made his debut, as a sub, in the last game of the previous season against Harrogate. He featured 17 times in 2014/15, then disappearing as part of Neil Young’s cull in the summer of 2015, before a surprise single re-appearance as a sub against Fylde nearly a year later.

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SINCLAIR’S HISSY FIT; A MONSOON AT HYDE & LORD MOVES UPSTAIRS

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The year started with a trip over the border on a wild, wet and windswept New Years Day. Conditions more than a bit different from our previous visit to Llanelian Road. It delivered a win, but also the sight of player-manager Frank Sinclair being dismissed, taking about 5 minutes to leave the field after a running war of words with the ref, and then causing what sounded from the terraces severe damage to the dressing room door. It provided much hilarity amongst a smallish County following in the crowd of 496. Jack Ryan had returned for another loan spell and scored over in North Wales.

An exciting FA Trophy 2nd Round game with Wrexham saw a 2 goal lead thrown away, The replay was a debacle as we went down 6-1, and failed to test the outfield player who had to go in goal for Wrexham for half the game. A defeat at Gainsborough on a snowy day, which rendered the return trip more than difficult, saw us play the second half with nine men after dismissals for Jordan Fagbola, and Greg Wilkinson. A long time target for both Gannon and Lord, Wilkinson was making his second appearance of what proved to be a disappointing, and short lived, spell at EP.

Victories in two local derbies over Stalybridge and Hyde followed, (the former seeing an exciting game end with Nathan Woolfe, (or maybe it was an own goal!), giving us a 4-3 win. The following week a routine 2-0 win over Hyde saw Kristian Dennis on the mark. It was to be his last goal for the Hatters, as in the most bizarre circumstances ever, he moved to Macclesfield within what seemed like hours of Neil Young’s arrival in the summer. More of that below.

The return game against Hyde in late March saw County in the lead, late in the game I was sat with Mark and he showed me a picture on Twitter from Ashton United about 15 minutes from the end of the game at Hyde. Hurst Cross resembled a reservoir and the darkening skies, (and also my own local knowledge, living in Tameside), told me that it was heading our way. And so it did – the picture shows the impact of the biblical scale monsoon that arrived.

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The ref took the teams off; the clock showed 87 minutes; he made a cursory inspection when the rains abated, and promptly abandoned things. The game naturally had to be replayed 3 weeks or so later, but many in the crowd had demanded that the result stand. Hyde weren’t going to wear that. They were already relegated but another pay-day from the County following wasn’t going to missed.

The season was wending it way to a mid-table finish, and the Board announced on 13th April that Alan Lord was moving to the position of Director of Football, and the search for a new manager began. With 3 games left Phil Brown and Dave Conlon took charge. It all ended with us finishing 11th, an improvement of 3 places, but hardly the sort of performance to drag the missing fans back. Change was needed on the field – little did we anticipate the scale that was to follow in the close season.

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THE YOUNG REVOLUTION … MAYHEM REIGNS

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The search for a new manager was over quickly. By mid May the appointment of Neil Young was announced. Most people who kept an eye on the north west football scene knew that he had been more than successful at Chester after turning Colwyn Bay around previously. It looked a good appointment to most, but, as ever, the Yellow Board was awash with comments commending the newcomer, as the best thing since sliced bread.

I was not amongst them having always taken a deeper interest than the merely superficial. He was a manager who relied on a huge turnover of players – never, for me, the platform for establishing long term development and success. I said as much on the Yellow Board, and was duly howled down. Not a problem for me – I wanted him to be successful but the seeds of doubt were not only sown in my mind but also beginning to sprout within the first few days of his tenure.

Nevertheless, it was a bold statement by the Board, as they also took on Gary Jones, (Assistant Manager); Carl Garner, (Head of Recruitment); Alex Hay, (Scout), and also Mike Flynn who moved from a scouting to a coaching role. Alan Lord was still at the Club as Director of Football, so the Club, (still without any significant backing), was investing hugely in the management structure.

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The Cull

Young got to work straight away. Within a week Steve O’Halloran, Jordan Fagbola, Tunji Moses and Scott Spencer had left the Club; and a couple of days later six more, ( Kristian Dennis; Danny Glover; Scott Duxbury; Bobby Lofthouse; Chris Churchman and Mark Lees), were transfer listed and made available for a loan. Not many tears were shed about the majority of those but I was disappointed to see O’Halloran go – after a shaky first season, he had moved to centre-back, and been an important part of the team.

But the most staggering was the Dennis episode. He had arrived at EP with a phenomenal record at Curzon, and in two seasons had hit the target 25 times, despite a couple of injuries. So being deemed ‘surplus to requirements’ was eye raising to say the least. But it wasn’t that fact but the eventual outcome. The season had been over for barely a month when it was announced he had moved to Macclesfield on loan. A loan can be useful, with a player getting form and then returning. Not in this instance. The loan was for the season, without a recall clause, and the most appalling part of the deal was that County would continue for the loan spell to pay an element of Dennis’ wages.

I can say without fear or favour that this piece of ‘management’, (and I use that term in its widest sense), was the worst football decision I have seen in my 57 years of following the Hatters. I looked at the situation – a proven striker out, and one of Young’s first signings, Lamin Colley from Bradford PA, in. I’d seen Colley play for Bradford at Stalybridge towards the end of the 2014/15 season. My initial misgivings about Young now turned to complete scepticism about his fitness for the role.

And so it continued. Players who had turned out in 2014/15 and had no continuing deal were simply rejected without any seeming consideration. We could only hope that the Head of Recruitment, (Carl Garner), knew his job. A fond delusion. He spent far too much time getting messages out on Yellow Board for my liking, telling the gullible about the quality of players he was bringing in.

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The Newcomers

So when the season dawned, (with a 2-1 win over Boston), the 16 on duty that day comprised 15 new faces, with only keeper Danny Hurst having survived the cull. Lets have a look at who Young brought in:

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Abdulah Bell-Baggie; Lamin Colley; Calum Dyson; Ryan Ellison; Micah Evans & Joe Garvin

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Abdulah Bell-Baggie. A winger from Tranmere, described as “an excellent and exciting signing”. He showed promise in the pre-season games and that was it. We saw him 12 times, (1 goal), and he had disappeared by February, freed by Jim Gannon. “Excellent and exciting” – I think not.

Lamin Colley. A tall striker who never once threatened the opposition goal in his 11 appearances. Moved back to Bradford PA within 4 months of the season starting.

Calum Dyson. An 18 year old signed on loan from Everton, he showed up well in his 8 appearances, (3 goals including a real cracker at Broadhurst Park). Returned to Goodison in early September. Sadly had to retire through injury in 2019.

Ryan Ellison. A utility player, he arrived from Oldham. He always gave 100% but with a total of 15 appearances, (which included a long range goal against Alfreton), he only lasted until the end of the season, and has since ploughed a furrow around the Northern Premier League.

Micah Evans. Came from Southport; played in 22 games, and was on his way to Chorley well before the end of the season. A winger, so they said…

Joe Garvin. A left sided player – he made a promising debut, scoring from long range against Boston on the opening day. That was about it – 30 appearances and then back to Colne from whence he came.

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Sefton Gonzales; Kevin Holsgrove; Karl Ledsham; Lewis Montrose; Danny Morton & Kayede Odejayi

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Sefton Gonzales. Young was ‘delighted’ to sign him from Clitheroe. More delighted than the fans, who saw him in 10 goalless games, and weren’t at all sad when he moved back to Clitheroe, after a short loan spell at Salford in October 2015. Since then he’s been at another 9 clubs, (excluding his bizarre 11 game return to EP in 2017 – all of which were goalless again). 10 clubs in less than 5 years – definitely a case of promising much and delivering nothing.

Kevin Holsgrove. Man of a myriad non-league clubs. Signed in summer 2015, he made his debut the following March, and added just one more sub appearance to that.

Karl Ledsham. Came from Barrow, where he was part of a Conference North title winning side. 28 games before he retired to take up a coaching job in the US.

Lewis Montrose. The one shining light amongst Young’s acquisitions. Played an important role all the way through 2015/16 and 2016/17 before getting lured by Haythornthwaite’s cash at Fylde

Danny Morton. Another Clitheroe connection. he looked a decent right back going foward, but defensively not so much. Gannon clearly didn’t fancy him too much and he left for Stalybridge at the end of the season.

Kayede Odejayi. The well travelled striker joined from Tranmere. Never a prolific goalscorer he certainly lived up to that. However, he was a more than useful player, and was one of the few of Young’s acquisitions that Gannon retained for 2016/17. He was a good influence for the younger players.

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Sean O’Hanlon; Gareth Roberts; Andy Robinson; Glenn Rule & Jordan Thorniley

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Sean O’Hanlon. Came from Carlisle who were in League 2, after a long career at MK Dons and Swindon. He brought experience, and played the majority of the games in the 2015/16 season.

Gareth Roberts. Another experienced defender, largely at Tranmere and Doncaster. He played at EP for the season, before dropping inot non-league and is currently Assitant Manager at Staybridge.

Andy Robinson. Young purportedly brought him out of retirement. He might as well have stayed there. Two full appearances, (plus six as sub), and the only memory was his sending off at Solihull having stepped onto the pitch no more than 10 seconds previously.

Glenn Rule. There were high hopes when he arrived from Airbus UK. His career at EP peaked in his 5th game when he scored an absolute screamer at Nuneaton. Seven days later he went for an early bath after taking offence at a Stalybridge challenge and biting him in retaliation. He got a 10 game ban for his troubles. Returning looking totally unfit, he lasted until October 2016, before drifting back to Airbus.

Jordan Thorniley. The promise he showed in an 11 game loan spell from Everton got him a move to Sheffield Wednesday.

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THE YOUNG ERA UNFOLDS…

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Three victories in the first three games saw us top of the table and hopes were high. The next seven saw only one “3 pointer”, and Young’s modus-operandi had begun to unfold. By the tend of October had gone by he had brought in another 7 new faces, (although one of them was Ian Ormson, who had been released when he first arrived). For a matter of record the others were Paul Connolly; Jake Kirby; Max Hazeldine; Matt Hamilton; Wade Joyce and Mo Cham. It was like a merry-go-round. He instilled little discipline into his charges – there had been 4 dismissals and a whole plethora of bookings.

The next 10 games were even worse, and included an FA Trophy exit at the hands of Nantwich, We had 9 points after 3 games, and then only another 23 from the next 21 games. November and December saw another 10 players. One of them, Ross Killock, on loan from Leeds, had what I still regard as the single worst individual performance I have ever seen from a County player, and with 1,957 games and 737 players under my belt there’s been many to choose from. It was against Chorley in a truly woeful 3-1 home defeat.

That defeat came a couple of weeks before the longest of treks, down to Lowestoft, which left Jeff and myself open mouthed. Leading deep into the game, Young made totally unnecessary changes which just invited a previously lacklustre Lowestoft team onto us. Inevitably, they equalised deep into injury time. I saw no pattern; a constantly changing team, and frankly little prospect of any improvement.

A draw at Stalybridge saw the year end. We had spent the last few years in a surreal world off the field. The first half of 2015/16 had been equally as stupefying on it. Fortunately, change was at hand.

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Back to 2014 Forward to 2016 Home Games Summary Page Away Games 2015

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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
Sun	04/01/15 (Highlights)	Vanarama Conference North	Tier 6	Tamworth	L	0	2	2,503	983
Sat	10/01/15 (Highlights)	FA Trophy	Round 2	Wrexham	D	2	2	2,416	984
Sat	24/01/15 (Highlights)	Vanarama Conference North	Tier 6	Leamington	W	4	2	2,884	985
Sat	07/02/15 (Highlights)	Vanarama Conference North	Tier 6	Stalybridge Celtic	W	4	3	3,278	986
Sat	14/02/15 (Highlights)	Vanarama Conference North	Tier 6	Hyde FC	W	2	0	3,041	987
Tue	24/02/15 (Highlights)	Vanarama Conference North	Tier 6	Barrow	L	0	1	1,962	988
Sat	07/03/15 (Highlights)	Vanarama Conference North	Tier 6	Solihull Moors	W	1	0	2,821	989
Sat	21/03/15 (Highlights)	Vanarama Conference North	Tier 6	Chorley	L	0	2	3,401	990
Mon	06/04/15 (Highlights)	Vanarama Conference North	Tier 6	Oxford City	L	1	2	2,388	991
Sat	11/04/15 (Highlights)	Vanarama Conference North	Tier 6	Gainsborough Trinity	L	1	3	2,504	992
Sat	25/04/15 (Highlights)	Vanarama Conference North	Tier 6	Harrogate Town	W	2	1	2,601	993
Sat	08/08/15 (Highlights)	Vanarama Conference North	Tier 6	Boston United	W	2	1	3,396	994
Tue	18/08/15 (Highlights)	Vanarama Conference North	Tier 6	North Ferriby United	D	1	1	3,140	995
Sat	29/08/15 (Highlights)	Vanarama Conference North	Tier 6	Stalybridge Celtic	L	0	3	3,628	996
Sat	05/09/15 (Highlights)	Vanarama Conference North	Tier 6	Worcester City	D	0	0	3,098	997
Sat	12/09/15 (Highlights)	Vanarama Conference North	Tier 6	Brackley Town	D	1	1	2,683	998
Sat	19/09/15 (Highlights)	Vanarama Conference North	Tier 6	Alfreton Town	W	1	0	2,839	999
Sat	24/10/15 (Highlights)	Vanarama Conference North	Tier 6	Bradford Park Avenue	W	2	0	3,234	1,000
Sat	07/11/15 (Highlights)	Vanarama Conference North	Tier 6	Chorley	L	1	3	3,408	1,001
Sat	14/11/15 (Highlights)	Vanarama Conference North	Tier 6	Tamworth	D	1	1	2,905	1,002
Tue	24/11/15 (Highlights)	Vanarama Conference North	Tier 6	Solihull Moors	L	2	4	2,437	1,003
Sat	28/11/15 (Highlights)	FA Trophy	Qualifying Round 3	Nantwich Town	L	0	2	1,066	1,004
Sat	05/12/15 (Highlights)	Vanarama Conference North	Tier 6	FC United Of Manchester	L	1	2	4,797	1,005
Sat	26/12/15 (Highlights)	Vanarama Conference North	Tier 6	Harrogate Town	L	1	2	3,326	1,006