HAT-TRICK HEROES A conversation on the Fingerpost Flyer down to Notts County in early November 1995 centred around the last County hat-trick we had seen. This was at a time when a goal of any sort would have been welcome! I had a look at the record books, and what I found formed the basis […]

THE LUCK OF THE DRAW This piece reflected on the way in which the FA Cup First Round draw was structured. It wondered why the draw for southern based league clubs gave them a bigger chance of drawing a non-league club, and therefore conversely, in the north, that County were more likely to draw a […]

FANZINE ISSUES Survival of the Fattest was published annually and was a compendium of contributions from fanzines up and down the country. I had a look at it and picked out a couple of contributions which were County related ************** In the last issue of TTP you may have noticed a trailer for a publication […]

THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT Following a series of contributions which looked at the Francis debacle, some TV programmes in the summer of 1995 had reminded me of the great entertainers in English football. The skill levels will have been vastly different but I considered, and then selected an XI, which County players of my era had entertained […]

1994 – 1995 REVISITED In TTP 37 I had previewed the 1994/95 season and made predictions about the outcome of Division 2. My second article in TTP 46 looks back at how successful I was a ‘tipster’, and the answer was “not particularly”!! *********************** Back in TTP 37 I revealed the contents of the crystal […]

CORPORATE HOSPITALITY – HOW THE OTHER HALF LIVES Up until this point my football watching had been from the terraces. Corporate Hospitality was a burgeoning element in the game and County had joined in. I got an invitation to be a guest in “Corporate” for the Blackpool game in April 1995. I wrote about the […]

MONEY MATTERS – YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED Financially things had improved at EP under Elwood’s stewardship, but the absence of any meaningful communication from the Club led to lots of questions being asked. I got hold of a set of accounts for the 1993/94 financial year, and looked at answering questions which had been frequently posed […]

THE NUMBERS GAME In the previous issue I had wondered where the Club was heading. County were of course the original “Friday night” club – a policy which been all but deleted by Elwood. Personally I thought it was a retrograde move … and still do. This piece, using a statistical analysis, (my degree subject), […]

WHERE TO FROM HERE? Written at the start of March 1995 this piece wondered whether there was a lack of ambition. The Club seemed to be in in decline. Maybe the sense of this was a sign of things to come. Little more than 3 weeks after penning it Bergara was sacked – the why’s […]

KEVIN FRANCIS – AN APPRECIATION By the time TTP 42 hit the streets the long running saga of Kevin Francis’ future had been settled. He had moved to Birmingham. Many of my previous pieces had reflected on him – it was time for an appreciation. *********** Kevin Francis – wheeling away after scoring against the […]

SITTING IN JUDGEMENT The Tea Party ended after 100 issues, as the growth of the internet and message boards provided more instant platforms for fans to vent their opinions and frustrations. This piece reflected on the sacking of Kilner; the advent of Palmer and what may lie ahead. ************** Three days enforced absence from work […]

STOCKPORT COUNTY FANZINE The burgeoning demand for information for fans led to the growth in fanzines in the late 1980’s. I spent a fair bit of time in London on business at that time, and always tried to make a point of a visit to Sportspages on Charing Cross Road where I would pick up […]

KEVIN TALKS TO GMR The Francis transfer saga had been concluded.  He had gone to Birmingham by the time TTP 41 emerged.  Ken Riley, (long term contributor), had interviewed the Big Man, and the product of that , (in three parts), had reached the middle segment by the time of this issue.  The whole sorry […]

TEN (AND A BIT) YEARS OF KEEPING THE FAITH In TTP 39 I’d taken a look at the whereabouts of some of our former players, and noted that there were more than a few keepers who had plied their trade at EP, who were now performing elsewhere.  I ended that piece by saying that I’d […]

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? My piece in TTP 38 had looked at the players we had seen through the Club in 5 and a bit years of Bergara.  This was a follow-up to see where some of these players, and indeed some who had been with us earlier than that, had ended up.  I submitted […]

ALMOST THE CHRISTMAS SELL-OUT This piece was published in TTP 40, and was written in early December 1994.  We had all known for a long time that Kevin Francis was the Club’s most valuable asset and that a parting of the ways was inevitable and sooner rather than later. The back end of November had […]

THESE PEOPLE REALLY ARE PATHETIC This isn’t one of my pieces, rather it’s included to give a bit of background to how and why TTP came into being, and the people involved. It was published in “The Best of The Tea Party”, a compilation of the best of the first 50 issues or so, which […]

THE BERGARA YEARS By the middle of 1994 I’d been writing for the Tea Party for a couple of years, and I suspect had got a bit of a reputation for being a ‘numbers’ and ‘statistics’ buff. Give that I’d done in degree in that kind of stuff it was little surprise. I’d always kept […]

PRE-SEASON PROSPECTS With the 1994/95 season about to dawn I took a look at the prospects of all the teams in Division 2, and, tempting fate, took a view on where they might finish 46 games later.  Looking back at the final league table for the season it seems as though my assessment of the […]

SO THAT WAS THE SUMMER Musings on Matters County The 1993/94 season ended in heartache at Wembley as referee Elleray, acting in cahoots with Burnley, consiged us to another season in Division 2.  TTP Editor, Dave Espley, had mentioned to me towards the end of that season, that he was looking to get an edition […]