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SUMMARY

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Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Ave Att:
23	16	2	5	4,096

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An issue from early in the season when we played Guiseley, featuring Jordan Keane on the cover. He had joined us from Boston, having previously played for Stoke, Tamworth, Alfreton, Nuneaton and Worcester City. He was an integral element of the Championship winning side featuring in 48 of the 52 games in the season.

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MOMENTUM BUILDS … AND AT A PACE

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Since losing at home to Boston in early September, there had only been two defeats until the turn of the year, (away at Blyth and an FA Cup exit at Barnet). Added to the League form there had been progress in the Trophy as well, which meant that as the New Year turned, 21 games had seen 13 wins; 6 draws and the two reverses. It was a platform on which to move forward. And we did so, in fine style.

Sadly I didn’t make it to either the Kidderminster game between Christmas and New Year, nor the away game at Altrincham on New Years Day or the Win over Bradford 4 days later. Once again, as 12 months previously a bug picked up rendered me ‘unfit for action’. I missed three wins, and still have an unused ticket for the Alty game at Moss Lane tucked away in a drawer somewhere.

I managed to return for the Trophy tie against Truro, a team with a County connection. Steve Massey had made his debut at the age of 16 back in 1975, (and had scored as well!). After a long career around the lower reaches of the Football League he had ended up managing Truro on three separate occasions. The game can have had little joy for the Cornish team as they returned on the 660 mile round trip on the back of a 5-0 defeat.

By the time January had ended there had been a 100% League record and it was increasingly clear that the title race lay between Chorley, (long time leaders), ourselves and Spennymoor. The last week of the month saw two wins on the road – a single goal triumph at Leamington, on one of the coldest nights I have ever watched football, and then a last gasp winner from Jamie Stott at Broadhurst Park. It was the last game of his loan spell from Oldham, and a fitting way to depart. Little did we know at that point that within a month he would be back, and going on to play a huge role in the run in to the end of the season.

As I write this in early August 2020 news has emerged that he has returned to EP but this time on a permanent basis in readiness for the 2020/21 season, when that may start!

Throughout this we were treated to a huge contribution from Matty Warburton, (below). He had started the FA Cup tie at Barnet on the bench, but in the period from then until the end of January he hit the target 12 times. He ended the season with 27 goals from 41 (+11) games.

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Things carried on during February. A superb performance saw us win 4-2 at Wetherby Road and progress in the Trophy, where Maidstone provided the next opposition. A draw at EP left a midweek replay down in Kent. A trip which would have been second nature to me only 3 years previously was simply not feasible any longer, so I contented myself listening to Jon Keighren report on a fine 3-0 win.

At the same time a couple of league wins kept us hot on Chorley’s tails. Spennymoor had also been in good form but the gap on them was increased in early March. It was really the proverbial 6 pointer when they turned up at EP.

The game drew a record crowd for a National League North or South game. The turnstiles clicked more than merrily, as 6,311 watched County get a single goal win courtesy of Sam Walker. A little less than a year previously Walker had seemed a peripheral figure at EP, and had gone out on loan to Curzon.

I went to the Tameside Stadium one evening in mid April 2018. The Nash were playing Gainsborough and Walker featured, although not for long as he went off injured fairly early on. I wondered at the time if we would see him back, but on a half time wander I spotted Jim Gannon, who was clearly there to see how Walker was going on. Two weeks later he indeed was back – on the bench for the play-off game.

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A NERVY RUN – IN BUT CHORLEY WERE THE SAME

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A defeat at Brackley, never the happiest of hunting grounds, put the pressure on us, but before we could get back into league action, there followed a two legged FA Trophy semi-final against Fylde. It’s fair to say that there was never much love lost between us, and a goalless draw at Mill Farm was followed by an epic game at EP which we lost. It wasn’t a game I saw, as it fell on Rob’s 30th Birthday and a trip down to Solihull to help him celebrate was far more important. But keeping an eye on the internet, and from reports subsequently, the late winner for the visitors occasioned the usual lack of grace from their officials and handful of fans.

We went down to Hereford where a late equaliser for the Bulls saw Rob and I leave the ground convinced that the play-offs would be our destiny. The tale of news emerging from the Chorley game is recounted far more fully on the Edgar Street post, but suffice it to say that it was good and three days later when we went to the Deva Stadium, and put a second 6-0 away win of the season the Board, things looked more than good. It all came down to the last 4 games, and we were in the driving seat, a point ahead of the Magpies. Both sides made a complete mess of the first of the 4 games, as we lost at home to Blyth, (who completed the double – two of the seven defeats of the season), and Altrincham beat Chorley 5-3.

On the penultimate weekend of the season it was a clash of the titans. We travelled to Victory Park, a point ahead of hosts Chorley, knowing that a win would give a 4 point advantage, with a home game against Curzon and a trip to doomed Nuneaton to come. It wouldn’t make things certain, but a win that Easter Saturday would leave us with one foot in the National League,

We simply didn’t perform on the day, with the game being played in front of over 3,500 in unseasonably warm conditions, and kicking off early on police instruction. Matty Warburton missed a chance far easier than many he had converted earlier in the season, and indeed it had been over 2 months since he had hit the target. It was a sorry exit from Victory Park that afternoon, with the only hope being that at least Chorley had to go up to Spennymoor 48 hours later, whilst our games looked, on paper, to be easier.

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AND TAYLOR HAS SCORED … COUNTY ARE TOP

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At the same time as Chorley were at the Brewery Field we faced Curzon. It turned out to be a routine win, (with the satisfaction of seeing Warburton break his barren scoring run), but equally as much attention was being paid to events 133 miles north-east. As our game was ebbing to its close it was a stalemate at Spennymoor. A draw would leave Chorley on 79 points, the same as County, but with a better goal difference. All they would need was to match our result at Nuneaton the following Saturday when they were due to meet Bradford.

There was 91:38 on the clock when suddenly the news came through. There must have been over 5,000 people looking at their phones, and as one the ground rose when “Goal for Spennymoor” appeared on the screens. The ground erupted. We were back on top of the league and a win at Nuneaton would leave us Champions, and a six season stint in the sixth tier of English football would be over. Relive the moment on the link below:

The moment news of Glenn Taylors goal at Spennymoor came through

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CHAMPIONS .. THE FIRST TIME IN 52 YEARS

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And so it proved. A trip to Liberty Way was to be the crowning moment. Nuneaton had been dead and buried for months, (indeed at one point there was some suggestion that they would not make it through the season). I must pay tribute to Nuneaton at this point. Some may suggest that they saw the opportunity to make a few bob, and that is undoubtedly true, (who wouldn’t have in their circumstances?). But they did it in the right way.

An all ticket affair, with County fans being given 3,500 tickets, and the Nuneaton fans confined to a small corner of the ground. Entertainment put on outside the ground, with bar facilities as well. I congratulate them for the way in which they organised things.

As a football spectacle it was absolutely awful, on a freezing cold day, with a howling gale blowing down the ground. Nuneaton never threatened; Ash Palmer got the opener; Matty Warburton got a decisive second before the break and Adam Thomas capped things with a cracking strike mid-way through the second half. Celebrations then reigned!!

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Gannon had returned on 18th January 2016. His work in that period had seen us climb back. We had played 176 games; won 89 of them and drawn 48; reached the semi-final of the Trophy; played in the 2nd round of the FA Cup for the first time in 9 years and equally importantly had seen the quality of both players and football improve.

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PLANNING FOR THE CONFERENCE

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It’s a fair supposition to think that County fans were expecting some new faces to arrive in the summer. After the celebrations had died down the first news was that Matty Warburton had moved to Northampton Town. No-one begrudged him the move – a teacher by profession the opportunity of playing full time football in the EFL was not to be turned down. As things transpired he didn’t feature overly regularly at Sixfields but I was pleased to see him in the squad at Wembley as the Cobblers won the play-off final in 2020.

The second departure was one that left a bitter taste in the mouth. Scott Duxbury had made his full debut for County in a game at Stalybridge in September 2013. A regular until the end of 2014/15 he had then left, joining up with Jim Gannon at Northwich. Gannon brought him back in time for the 2016/17 season and he played a full role right the way through culminating in being part of the Championship winning team.

Offered a contract for the 2019/20 campaign it is alleged that he accepted things verbally and a meeting was set up for the formal signing. Only he never turned up, and later that evening it was revealed that he had signed for Fylde. No problem at taking a shot at full time football, but the way it was done reflected badly on him and also reinforced the pretty commonly held view that Fylde was a club with little class. Twelve months down the line, Duxbury ended the season at Chorley, and if he is still at Fylde for the 2020/21 season will be back in the National League North.

Re-reading this piece prior to publication in September 2020 I note that Duxbury has moved to Boston. I’d dare to suggest the old adage about the grass not necessarily being greener is more than applicable…

There were few acquisitions – Alex Curran arrived from Colne. Clearly Gannon saw him as one for the future. After a couple of sub appearances he moved on loan to FC United, where he made a good impression, but sadly his season ended early with a serious injury. The day before the season saw the only other newcomer. Stockport born Ben Jackson arrived on loan from Huddersfield, and that was it. Gannon made great play that he wanted to reward those who won the title, and it showed. The squad of 16 for the first game, at home to Maidenhead had only Jackson and Curran, (both on the bench), and the returning Connor Dimiao who had spent the latter part of the previous season on loan at Hurst Cross, Ashton.

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Back (l to r): Sam Walker; Nyal Bell; Ian Ormson; Ben Hinchliffe; Szymon Czubik; Jake Kirby

Middle (l to r): Luke Smith (physio); Connor Dimiao; Jordan Downing; Sam Minihan; Frank Mulhern; Ben Jackson; Festus Arthur; Alex Curran; Richard Landon, (kit man)

Front ( l to r): Karlos Leneghan, (gk coach); Adam Thomas; Ash Palmer; Jim Gannon, (Manager); Paul Turnbull; Elliott Osborne; Nick Donnelly, (fitness coach)

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Off the field there was still lots of talk, but seemingly little action, in driving investment into the Club. There were lots of eyebrows raised that the club was staying part-time in what was an increasingly full-time league. It was disguised under the name of a ‘hybrid’ model – where those players who did not have other employment came in for an extra session. From my own perspective, and with no further substantial investment from the current owners, it was a logical approach. I saw little point in spending cash on a full time operation, when the money simply wasn’t there. It would have been the route to further financial woes.

To me it was crucial that the organic growth which had been seen since Gannon returned was continued – I had faith in his approach. Those who demanded more instant, and unsustainable, spending had short memories of the series of financial debacles which had unfolded over the previous decade.

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BACK TO THE CONFERENCE – 6 YEARS ON

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It was a slow start. An opening day defeat, in front of the BT cameras, at the hands of Maidenhead was followed by two decent draws at Meadow Lane and Huish Park. For me trips which would have been undertaken without thought not so long before were off the agenda now.

I had welcomed the fixture list and had been looking forward to seeing the Hatters on a series of new grounds, but when the practicality dawned I realised that my long distance travelling days were over. I must say that the coverage on Imagine is great but it’s hardly a substitute for the reality of ‘being there’. It finally hit home on the day of the game at Notts County. I had travelled to Nottingham three times a week in my latter working years, but as the time for departure came around the prospect of Woodhead, the M1 and the drag into Nottingham was going to be too tiring, so the radio it was.

Home games were still on the agenda of course, and two wins over Barrow and Eastleigh got us off the mark. I made it to Harrogate, (defeat in the dying embers of the game), and to Wrexham, where we survived a barrage in the second half to pick up a 2-1 win. This was followed by a win over Fylde, and sweet it was as arguably they should have taken the points, but thereafter it was a desperate September.

The next six games brought but a single point, and just the one goal. Gannon had brought in Joe Pigott from Wigan, and Joe Leesley from Harrogate, both on loan, and we saw the emergence of Festus Arthur from the development squad. He demonstrated his promise all the way through the season, until its curtailment as a result of Covid-19, and has of course got a move upwards, having moved to Hull City during the summer of 2020.

With that sort of run, added to which was a truly desperate performance, end ensuing defeat, at York in the Cup new faces were needed. Alex Hamill came from Scunthorpe, and did little, but Tom Wlaker, (who had played a handful of games a couple of year previously) and Devante Rodney arrived from Salford, again loan signings. The form started to turn round and this produced seven wins in the run up to the new year. As ever, there was lots of talk about Gannon’s team improving after Christmas. Which of course was always true, but my own thoughts suggested that any aspiration to return to the Football League had to be supported by investment. Talk of a take-over was getting stronger. The new year was to see it come to fruition.

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Back to 2018 Forward to 2020 Home Games Summary Page Away Games 2019

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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
Sat	12/01/19 (Highlights)	FA Trophy	Round 2	Truro City	W	5	0	1,677	1,079
Sat	19/01/19 (Highlights)	Vanarama National League North	Tier 6	York City	W	3	1	4,644	1,080
Sat	16/02/19 (Highlights)	Vanarama National League North	Tier 6	AFC Telford United	W	3	2	4,708	1,081
Tue	19/02/19 (Highlights)	Vanarama National League North	Tier 6	Southport	W	3	2	3,724	1,082
Sat	23/02/19 (Highlights)	FA Trophy	Quarter Final	Maidstone United	D	1	1	2,585	1,083
Sat	02/03/19 (Highlights)	Vanarama National League North	Tier 6	Spennymoor Town	W	1	0	6,311	1,084
Tue	26/03/19 (Highlights)	Vanarama National League North	Tier 6	Ashton United	W	2	1	3,257	1,085
Sat	30/03/19 (Highlights)	Vanarama National League North	Tier 6	Darlington	W	2	0	4,807	1,086
Sat	13/04/19	Vanarama National League North	Tier 6	Blyth Spartans	L	0	1	5,665	1,087
Mon	22/04/19 (Highlights)	Vanarama National League North	Tier 6	Curzon Ashton	W	2	0	6,001	1,088
Sat	03/08/19	Vanarama National League	Tier 5	Maidenhead United	L	0	1	4,626	1,089
Tue	13/08/19 (Highlights)	Vanarama National League	Tier 5	Barrow	W	3	2	4,183	1,090
Sat	17/08/19 (Highlights)	Vanarama National League	Tier 5	Eastleigh	W	2	0	3,869	1,091
Mon	26/08/19 (Highlights)	Vanarama National League	Tier 5	Chesterfield	W	2	0	5,578	1,092
Tue	03/09/19 (Highlights)	Vanarama National League	Tier 5	AFC Fylde	W	2	1	3,912	1,093
Sat	28/09/19 (Highlights)	Vanarama National League	Tier 5	Torquay United	L	0	4	4,275	1,094
Wed	09/10/19 (Highlights)	Vanarama National League	Tier 5	Hartlepool United	W	2	0	3,465	1,095
Sat	02/11/19 (Highlights)	Vanarama National League	Tier 5	Woking	L	1	3	3,888	1,096
Sat	09/11/19 (Highlights)	Vanarama National League	Tier 5	Dagenham & Redbridge	W	1	0	3,771	1,097
Sat	23/11/19 (Highlights)	Vanarama National League	Tier 5	Ebbsfleet United	D	1	1	4,167	1,098
Tue	26/11/19	Vanarama National League	Tier 5	Solihull Moors	L	1	4	3,142	1,099
Sat	07/12/19 (Highlights)	Vanarama National League	Tier 5	Chorley	W	4	2	4,510	1,100
Sat	14/12/19 (Highlights)	FA Trophy	Round1	Blyth Spartans	W	4	2	1,436	1,101