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A goalless draw might seem a strange game to select as the highlighted one out of the 8 encounters I witnessed against Gloucester City. Especially in the context of an 8 goal thriller in late 2014. But the game marks a particularly significant point in County’s recent history. Neil Young had come and gone in the space of half a season during which time we had seen 36 players turn out in an ill-disciplined outfit. His reign ended with a defeat at the hands of Telford in early January 2016, and after a breif one game interregnum under the care of County legend Mike Flynn, it had been announced that Jim Gannon was to return for a third spell. There was unfinished work to complete.

Gannon’s first game was 4 days prior to the trip to Gloucestershire – a Cheshire Cup tie at Congleton- but the match at Whaddon Road marked his first league game back in charge. 1,104 days had passed since he was summarily sacked after a defeat by Mansfield, which was followed by the darkest period in my times watching the Hatters. The madness of McKnight; relegation to regional football; managers coming and going … the club was crying out for someone to take us forward after a period in which Alan Lord and the board, (which was formed after the departure of Fearn and McKnight), had at least stabilised things. The Young era was an aberration. I, and many others, although there were some dissenting voices knew that Gannon was the man to do it.

The expectation was certainly generated. The crowd at Whaddon Road was 791. Gloucester normally struggled to get more than 350, so it’s a fair bet that getting on for 450 County fans made the trip.

The team Gannon fielded that afternoon was barely unchanged from the one that Flynn had fielded the previous Saturday although there was one surprising face. Kevin Holsgrove had been signed the previous summer but had not featured under Young, but he made the starting XI. It was a brief acquaintance for us – he made but one further appearance, (as a sub at Tamworth), and was never seen again! Also starting, after a debut the previous week, was Dean Henderson. It was quite clear from his handful of appearances for us that the Manchester United loanee was a cut above NLN level .. and of course so it has proved.

The game was goalless and we still had only 1 win in the previous 13 games. But the transition had started … and as I write, in January 2021, is still underway. From the depths of lower mid-table in regional football through a promotion and a move into the play-off places in the National League is fair evidence of that. It will be interesting to see how things unfold from hereon ……

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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	19/10/13	h	Edgeley Park	The Skrill North (Tier 6)	D	2	2	2,727
Sat	08/03/14	a	Whaddon Road	The Skrill North (Tier 6)	L	0	2	531
Sat	04/10/14	h	Edgeley Park	Vanarama Conference North (Tier 6)	W	5	3	2,691
Sat	18/04/15	a	Whaddon Road	Vanarama Conference North (Tier 6)	L	1	2	615
Sat	23/01/16	a	Whaddon Road	Vanarama National League North (Tier 6)	D	1	1	791
Sat	12/03/16	h	Edgeley Park	Vanarama Conference North (Tier 6)	W	3	0	2,830
Sat	03/12/16	a	Whaddon Road	Vanarama National League North (Tier 6)	W	1	0	539
Sat	29/04/17	h	Edgeley Park	Vanarama National League North (Tier 6)	D	1	1	5,783

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