https://thescarfmyfatherwore.substack.com/p/county-0-blackburn-1 County 0 Blackburn 1 Friday night feedback from a Hatter and a Rover THE SCARF MY FATHER WORE AUG 04, 2024 Sunday 4 August 2024 If you’d like to write an article for The Scarf My Father Wore, share a few snippets or photos, or advertise your business, please email thescarfmyfatherwore@substack.com. STOCKPORT COUNTY PREDICTION GAME 2024-25: Predict County’s top scorer, final league position, cup performances etc. £10 to enter. 40% of the pot to the winner, 30% to second, 20% to third, and 10% to Mentell. If you’d like to enter, drop us a message or an email. Dear County fans, Stopfordians, Blackburn supporters, and anyone else from The Football Family joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Sunday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore. Dave Philbin takes a look back at the friendly on Friday night for us today, along with Ian from BRFCS. Des Junior ✍️ Friday’s match in one word Dave: Injuries (more). Ian: Pleasant. 🤔 Pre-match thoughts Dave: He's here! He's finally here! Hang on, is that Dwight Gayle warming up over there? I wasn't going to bother going as I thought it'd be two reserve teams, but when Barry was confirmed we had to go, even though he wasn't going to play! Ian: How many of our new signings would play? Would any of them have a clue? To what extent will we get schooled? What will the third kit look like in the flesh? 🧐 Post-match thoughts Dave: Gave a higher level team some problems again with a mix of youth, experience and "trialists". Trialists aside, I don't think a couple of our lot were in the plans for next Saturday so it was all about minutes again. Hoping all of the injuries were taken off as a precaution. Ian: Our two new strikers look like they might add something to our otherwise blunt attack, although neither of them scored so it’s still probably going to be a long, hard season I fear. 🔵 Verdict on County Dave: Thought we did well in parts. Conceded a few chances as expected but Addai made some great saves. Unlucky with the penalty but I thought it was a stonewaller. Hard to make a go of it when you constantly have to make changes, adapt, and play players out of position. Adamarola looked frightening down the left hand side when he let the shackles off. Hoping his knock isn't too serious. Number 5, trialist, supposedly Liam Moore, sign him up. Looked brilliant and has League One experience. Ian: Gave us a decent workout but I always temper any views that arise from watching a pre-season friendly… I’ve been bitten before by judging too soon! Enjoy it for what it is – a fitness exercise. 🟣 Verdict on Blackburn Dave: They looked really good on the ball and continue their unbeaten pre-season run at Edgeley Park after the last two. Solid at the back and didn't give away too many chances. Ian: Not as bad as I’d feared, not as good as will be needed for us to stay up. 🎩 Top Hatter Dave: Corey Addai. Ian: One of the Trialist brothers perhaps? “A proud day for the Trialist family…” etc and so on. “That’s Gayle isn’t it?” “Aye… and Oli Norwood.” “I’d have been happy to see them in our squad 10 days ago.” Your right winger gave Pickering a torrid first half. Sorry, no idea who it was though. Who remembers matchday programmes with actual line-ups? 🐶 Top Rover Dave: Any of the back line. Ian: Our new number 9 Gueye looked like he might create a stir this season but my MOTM was Sondre Tronstad. 👂 Atmosphere Dave: I decided to sit in the Main Stand for a change last night and unbelievably, when Louie was paraded on the pitch at half-time, it erupted into song! Other than that, a sub 3,000 gate produced as much atmosphere as you'd expect. Ian: Convivial. I had to laugh at the stewards allowing Rovers fans to sit anywhere they liked then being baffled when the late arrivals looking for designated seats seemingly outnumbered the remaining unoccupied seats somehow, resulting in the adjacent section being opened and everyone then able to spread out and be supremely comfortable. It was my first visit to Edgeley Park and I enjoyed it. 🙏 Hopes for the new season Dave: Hoping we can field a team of 11 for the first half of the season! After that, same as last week – be in with a shout of the play-offs with 10 to go and see what happens. Ian: Not to go down! 😀 Best part of the day Dave: LOUIE BARRY. Ian: Stockport Produce Hall. I live in Sheffield and we have The Cutlery Works on a similar theme. This is right up there. Delicious Katsu Curry – would recommend. 😡 Worst part of the day Dave: There wasn't one. Ian: Slipping over the four-hour parking threshold at the station NCP. An expensive schoolboy error.

As is now tradition - here is your chance for some crystal-ball gazing. Reply with your predictions in the categories stated - before kick-off on Friday night - and at the end of the season we will revisit the answers and will provide a prize of a piece of BRFCS/4000 Holes merchandise* to the most accurate predictor. Any answers that don’t simply provide predictions will be hidden. There’s plenty of other threads for rants/observations/perfectly valid criticisms..! Let’s have your predictions for the following: 1. Winners of the Championship 2. Runners-up in the Championship 3. Championship Play-off final winners 4. Where will Rovers finish the season? 5. Which 3 clubs will be relegated from the Championship? 6. Who will be the first club in the Championship to change manager? (For whatever reason) 7. Who will be the BRFCS Player of the Season? (As voted for in the Match Centre on BRFCS) 8. A wildcard prediction for something (possibly quite mad) that will happen to or at Rovers during this coming season *the winner can choose something subject to availability - we will provide full details of the options at the time Good luck 🙂⚪️🔵 Some background :- https://www.brfcs.com/magazine/articles/the-championship-pre-season-predictions/552

I will be putting up our usual pre-Season Prediction thread very soon…I will exclude other divisions from it 😉

A CEO is employed to carry out the bidding of the shareholders.

We have been working with one of Clitheroe’s finest fashion houses (it’s @rog of the rovers 😁) to curate a range of BRFCS/4000 Holes merchandise for the coming season & once I can remember how to load items into the store (!) - ideally early next week - then we will take orders if anyone fancies anything. All sales will help to keep the site functioning & a bit of advance notice here, we are looking to revamp the (non-forum) bits of the site in the near future to update some of the older software the site uses to make it more resilient, responsive & contemporary…but that’s another story. This costs money & we are always looking for ways to generate income to keep the site fully operational - Uncouth Garb is one we thought we’d test the water with… We will have items in home, away & third kit colour schemes to give all customers a choice to suit their wardrobes but not all items can be sourced in all colour schemes. If there’s something in particular that you would like to see & we don’t stock it - by all means PM me on here & we will investigate to see if we can source it for you… 🙂 We’ve had some sample items made up to see what they look like & I’ll share these here. If any particularly interest you please comment so that we can place orders with greater confidence. ⚪️🔵 🔴⚫️ 🩷🖤 Thanks once again for all your support…

I said last night that 10 days ago I’d have been happy to see him training with us things were looking that bad…😆

Shot centrally straight at the keeper from good positions, hit outside of the post from a very good position. I suspect at the end of the season we will be looking at what he does for others in terms of hold up, creating space etc…so Sam Gallagher with added mobility…😆

I’d like to see Gueye & Ohashi play together based on what I saw tonight - think they would complement each other…

1st team

From personal experience I can also recommend Swansea away. Stay in Mumbles, plenty of bars, restaurants & the Gower is amazing. The Swansea stadium is great, plenty of seats, parking next to the ground.

Some nonsense from me in the LT should you fancy…

Easier to budget for a short-term contract.

I think he takes his orders from Pune/Suhail & carries them out accordingly within what I suspect are fairly tight constraints. e.g. I have heard tale that any prospective purchase of £5k or more needed sign off from India so I understand he doesn’t have that much of substance upon which he can unilaterally decide, certainly not like you would expect of a CEO of a “more traditionally run” business. Now, whether he pushes back robustly to his bosses to challenge their constraints or just goes along with what they demand is a different argument. The £300k salary & associated benefits is quite the lever to ensuring compliant behaviour IMO. edit: for clarity - I should also add, if Waggott were removed, I firmly believe our position would remain largely unchanged as the successor would be recruited to follow orders similarly hence that observation 🤷‍♂️

Well…considered it…this is a great read… https://www.scotsman.com/sport/when-diego-maradona-junior-came-to-dunfermline-1414304

We signed Santa Cruz’s younger brother once…so there is a precedent for this sort of nefarious activity 😁

Spot on…no Suhail, no point. Waggott is & always has been Venky’s bullet-proof vest. He’s carried out his instructions from Pune admirably. Our issue is with the owners & Suhail is their eyes & ears.

Just like Sam Gallagher did…oh hang on…😉

For those championing Daniel Iversen…

Last day today…👍

Did we press Send on internet banking?

I’m sure the music’s good but those shirts are sensational…👍

We’re a summer late for a doom-laden Oppenheimer spoof sadly…

Low budget.