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On 7th March 2020 we played and drew with Barnet. It was my last game before Covid shut the game down. It was also the 401st time I had seen a County team take the field under the charge of Jim Gannon. Spread over 3 spells and 14 and a bit years these had encompassed 182 wins and 98 draws, (together with 121 defeats). A superb record, and one, (as I write in November 2020), looks to taking County back on the path to the Football League. And the first time he was in charge, (albeit on a temporary basis at that point), was on Monday 2nd January 2006.

The opposition was Cheltenham Town, and the game came exactly a week after a humiliating 6-0 thrashing at The Moss Rose, Macclesfield. The Boxing Day game spelt the end of what had been a singularly unsuccessful period under the management of Chris Turner. Gannon had been present at that game and held court in the tea bar under the Star Lane Stand at half time. Little did we know that he was to be in charge a week later.

His arrival brought a great escape from the drop to the Conference in 2006; play-off triumph two years later; redundancy after the Club fell into administration; a return in 2011 and a shameful dismissal only 14 months later, and then a third coming in January 2016 from whence he has lifted the Club from mid-table mediocrity to what looks to be a real challenge for a return to the Football League in 2020/21.

We came into the game with only two wins all season, and since the last of those, (against Northampton in late October), had played 9 times; lost 6 and conceded 23 whilst hitting the net on only 4 occasions. Interestingly we had progressed in the FA Cup, beating both Hereford and Swansea. Whatever the case the decent gathering of 3,777 which assembled for the New Year fixture was looking for an improvement. It proved to be an afternoon where the atmosphere at EP just ‘felt different’ – there was a degree of expectation, compounded by the game under lights on what was a murky afternoon.

The team was much the same as at the Moss Rose, with only a couple of changes but on the bench was Liam Dickinson. He had been signed by Turner from Woodley Sports a week or so before Christmas and we knew little about him. Those who were there that afternoon saw a County hero born – a real character; a great goalscorer; a Wembley winner and £750k of profit when he moved on to Derby only 2 and a half years later.

Matt Hamshaw gave us the lead 10 minutes before half time and it remained that way until 20 minutes from the end when Cheltenham equalised. Gannon then made the change. Dickinson came on for Deane Crowe, and within 5 minutes he had made an indelible impression on County fans. A deep cross at the Cheadle End saw Dickinson rise and power a header home. The ground erupted as Dicko wheeled away. I’ve heard him describe that moment as one of the best of his life. It certainly brought the fans to their feet. It stayed that way until injury time when The Robins pulled an equaliser out of thin air.

Notwithstanding the loss of two points it was a great afternoon, and there had been few of those to enjoy for an awful long time. The next 9 games saw 4 wins; 4 draws and only a single loss, and at the same time Dickinson made it a tremendous start as he added another 4 goals. History records that the fight to avoid the drop went to the last minute of the last game, but I remain convinced that it was the Cheltenham game which turned things round!

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Memories of trips to Whaddon Road

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THE GAMES

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Where the date is in bold click for highlights of the game

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	Date	Venue	Ground	Competition		F	A	Att:
Sat	09/11/02	h	Edgeley Park	Nationwide Football League – Division 2 (Tier 3)	D	1	1	4,531
Sat	08/02/03	a	Whaddon Road	Nationwide Football League – Division 2 (Tier 3)	W	2	0	4,692
Mon	02/01/06	h	Edgeley Park	Coca-Cola Football League – League 2 (Tier 4)	D	2	2	3,777
Sat	08/04/06	a	Whaddon Road	Coca-Cola Football League – League 2 (Tier 4)	D	3	3	3,525
Sat	27/09/08	a	Whaddon Road	Coca-Cola Football League – League 1 (Tier 3)	D	2	2	3,796
Tue	17/02/09	h	Edgeley Park	Coca-Cola Football League – League 1 (Tier 3)	W	1	0	5,041
Tues	01/03/11	a	Whaddon Road	npower Football League – League 2 (Tier 4)	L	1	2	2,191
Sat	07/05/11	h	Edgeley Park	npower Football League – League 2 (Tier 4)	D	1	1	5,027

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