Saturday 14th October 2023

[The_Viking_Magpie]

I was on the football forum way back in 2006 (albeit under a different username), and love to be a wind up merchant, especially from our new found rivals Nottingham Clownty.

Am I right to assume that you must have been 12 years old or less back in 2006?

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

Someone’s got to care about county - they’ve been actively looking a while for another club who take them seriously as a rival. Maybe you could be their saviour

Have we??? We've been about at active as looking for a new rival as Mansfield have at developing the Bishop St bus stop back into a football stand.

Who's your main rival nowadays?

 

[Bianconeri 1862]

Got to be the powerhouse of forest Town Afc Mansfield, at least they can big it up over the crowd, stadium , switch the return to the San sirrel, two days out in the big city ! What's not to like

 

[Conker]

There’s nowt to be ashamed about not having a club that’s bothered about you rival wise, County are not the only ones.

 

[EnglishRed]

There’s nowt to be ashamed about not having a club that’s bothered about you rival wise, County are not the only ones.

I was thinking about this in relation to Crewe after we got called 'local rivals' in the press (which we aren't really). The only place of any size close to them is Stoke but Stoke and Port Vale have each other, so who do Crewe count as rivals?

 

[AdamStag]

There’s nowt to be ashamed about not having a club that’s bothered about you rival wise, County are not the only ones.

There’s a fair few, rotherham and crewe probably another few. Maybe could start to the billy no mates brotherhood?

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

There’s nowt to be ashamed about not having a club that’s bothered about you rival wise, County are not the only ones.

Amen.

Although it helps as a distraction for many.

 

[AdamStag]

I was thinking about this in relation to Crewe after we got called 'local rivals' in the press (which we aren't really). The only place of any size close to them is Stoke but Stoke and Port Vale have each other, so who do Crewe count as rivals?

i was under the impression they count port vale as their rivals. But again vale are another one, whereas they care about stoke but it’s not really reciprocated

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

Vale haven't played Stoke in the league since 2002 and until Stoke end up in League One it won't happen again. If it ever did happen though I'm sure it'll be reciprocated. They HATE each other.

Vale is the big game for the kids these days but it never used to be. Until a controversial penalty derailed their season in 2009-10 we didn't give a shit about each other. It was nasty under the Adams era but it's subsided now. Sharing the same media exaggerates the animosity though.

Wrexham's official website called our fixture a different kind of cross-border derby the other week. Not sure I'd call it that when we've been above them in the league pyramid for nearly 30 years until this season. It's an inoffensive local game just like Tranmere, Shrewsbury, Stockport and Walsall.

Personally I grew up hating Stoke and still do. We haven't played them since 2006 but I still love to see them lose every week and hope they go down this season. I dont have that level of hatred for any other local side. Not even Vale.

Not arsed about not having a truly reciprocated derby anyway. Even the famous Leeds United play third or fourth fiddle to their biggest rivals' rivalries!

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

I was thinking about this in relation to Crewe after we got called 'local rivals' in the press (which we aren't really). The only place of any size close to them is Stoke but Stoke and Port Vale have each other, so who do Crewe count as rivals?

Made me cringe last season when some idiots on social media from both clubs started calling Stockport vs us a "Cheshire Derby". Firstly, they were expelled from this fine county in the 70s so it makes no sense. Secondly, we've never really had animosity with them except for two flash points where we sent each other down within the space of three seasons. As you would in those circumstances. Always respected anyone who supports them over United and City.

It's both the Clayheads if you supported Crewe after 1997 but the old boys before then probably hated Wrexham and Chester more back in the day as we didn't really play the Clayheads regularly before we got to the Championship. But we'll only ever play Chester again in preseason now so they're irrelevant with Macclesfield who always tried to start something with us which was never really reciprocated.

 

[lordofthepies]

I was thinking about this in relation to Crewe after we got called 'local rivals' in the press (which we aren't really). The only place of any size close to them is Stoke but Stoke and Port Vale have each other, so who do Crewe count as rivals?

When I was growing up, we saw Wrexham and, to a lesser extent, Chester, as our main rivals. However, they hated each other much more than Crewe.

As we left Wrexham and Chester behind, it was Stoke and Vale. However, they hated each other much more than Crewe.

Vale are the only ones we've played in recent years, so most younger fans would say it's them. Maybe the Wrexham one will get a bit revived a bit and we're not realistically likely to be in the same league as Stoke or Chester any time soon. All of these clubs have other rivals they care a lot more about than they care about us although Vale fans talk about us a lot these days, since they haven't played Stoke in a long time.

 

[lordofthepies]

Wrexham's official website called our fixture a different kind of cross-border derby the other week. Not sure I'd call it that when we've been above them in the league pyramid for nearly 30 years until this season. It's an inoffensive local game just like Tranmere, Shrewsbury, Stockport and Walsall.

Games against Wrexham definitely mean a lot more than games against any of those clubs.

 

[lordofthepies]

Made me cringe last season when some idiots on social media from both clubs started calling Stockport vs us a "Cheshire Derby". Firstly, they were expelled from this fine county in the 70s so it makes no sense. Secondly, we've never really had animosity with them except for two flash points where we sent each other down within the space of three seasons. As you would in those circumstances. Always respected anyone who supports them over United and City.

Yeah, nobody cares about County.

 

[ForzaCounty]

There’s a fair few, rotherham and crewe probably another few. Maybe could start to the billy no mates brotherhood?

Us (despite Wrexham's best attempts) and Gills

Also, wouldn't it be "Billy No-hates"?

 

[PuB]

Us (despite Wrexham's best attempts) and Gills

Also, wouldn't it be "Billy No-hates"?

Hey we’ve got distinct BEEF with Barra, despite Mansfield fans trying their best.

 

[Conker]

Hey we’ve got distinct BEEF with Barra, despite Mansfield fans trying their best.

Mansfield fans have way too much on to even considering Gillingham, our hands are full unfortunately.

 

[PuB]

Mansfield fans have way too much on to even considering Gillingham, our hands are full unfortunately.

Probably still busy counting all that Hawkins and Lapslie money

 

[AdamStag]

Hey we’ve got distinct BEEF with Barra, despite Mansfield fans trying their best.

nowt wrong with a trip to barrow.

Wetherlodge already fully booked for the final game of the season up there.

Imagine a wethersooons that has not 1, but 2 toilets downstairs.

What a place.

 

[Conker]

Probably still busy counting all that Hawkins and Lapslie money

brushing Notts County to the side is very time consuming also.

 

[TheEndIsNigh]

I was on the football forum way back in 2006 (albeit under a different username), and love to be a wind up merchant, especially from our new found rivals Nottingham Clownty.

Describing yourself as a wind up merchant? Why don’t you give yourself a nickname while you’re at it, the Archbishop of Banterbury or something similar.

 

[PuB]

nowt wrong with a trip to barrow.

Wetherlodge already fully booked for the final game of the season up there.

Imagine a wethersooons that has not 1, but 2 toilets downstairs.

What a place.

Hang on, there’s a Spoons with a downstairs toilet?

 

[EnglishRed]

Made me cringe last season when some idiots on social media from both clubs started calling Stockport vs us a "Cheshire Derby". Firstly, they were expelled from this fine county in the 70s so it makes no sense. Secondly, we've never really had animosity with them except for two flash points where we sent each other down within the space of three seasons. As you would in those circumstances. Always respected anyone who supports them over United and City.

It's both the Clayheads if you supported Crewe after 1997 but the old boys before then probably hated Wrexham and Chester more back in the day as we didn't really play the Clayheads regularly before we got to the Championship. But we'll only ever play Chester again in preseason now so they're irrelevant with Macclesfield who always tried to start something with us which was never really reciprocated.

Thats a good point. If you never play that team then they aren't really rivals (like Forest and Notts County). The games against you lot back in the 90s, whilst not derby's did have a bit more about them-we just haven't played you for decades I suppose so it's lost its lustre a bit.

Having a local derby isn't all it's cracked up to be anyway. Our games against Chester after they got back into the National League were universally rubbish- just an excuse for the knuckle draggers from both sides to make a show of themselves.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

I was on the football forum way back in 2006 (albeit under a different username), and love to be a wind up merchant, especially from our new found rivals Nottingham Clownty.

Hey English Red safe to say that we have found the Wrexham anomaly I was asking you about , and self confessed to boot. Personality disorder or 12 years old?

 

[F!RTHY]

Oh, to play Leeds and Huddersfield regularly.

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

Thats a good point. If you never play that team then they aren't really rivals (like Forest and Notts County). The games against you lot back in the 90s, whilst not derby's did have a bit more about them-we just haven't played you for decades I suppose so it's lost its lustre a bit.

Having a local derby isn't all it's cracked up to be anyway. Our games against Chester after they got back into the National League were universally rubbish- just an excuse for the knuckle draggers from both sides to make a show of themselves.

As a child of the 90s my only taste of a Crewe vs Wrexham game until 2 weeks ago was that League Cup tie in 2003. In fact, if Crewe were down South when I was that age, me and my old man used to go and occasionally watch Wrexham because we knew Hector Sam, Dennis Lawrence and Carlos Edwards personally through Clayton Ince. So, whilst older fans (sorry LOTP) will always have a hatred of Wrexham, I find it difficult to have one. I find your American fanbase cringey as (as do the Wrexham fans I know) but I'm not gonna look out for your result and laugh at 5pm if you've lost like I do with Stoke.

I do think rivalries are too set in stone in this day and age though. They seemed to evolve and change a lot more years ago. Now fans, particularly on social media and I'll admit I'm guilty of this too, seem to be more dismissive of forming derbies now as a patronising or borderline humiliating put down to the opposition. But then gates are bigger in the home and away ends for local games so that sums up the deep feelings perhaps?

We've always floated between leagues though in the modern era and that's why I feel we've been unable to form an intense reciprocated derby and I think that goes for other clubs like Stockport, Rotherham and Notts County to use three examples. Vale are the only local side we've played fairly regularly in the league in my lifetime and it took a huge flashpoint for that to get heated which has since subsided now Micky Adams and Dario are no longer around.

We've gone 29 years without playing Chester and 18 years without playing Stoke. We went 17 years then 12 years without playing Shrewsbury and have barely played them in the last 8 years. We went 27 years without playing Wrexham and 12 years without playing Stockport. Lastly with Tranmere we've always had mutual respect with dating back to the day we were promoted together in 1989 so even though we've played them quite often it's just a local day out.

I'm quite happy with going under the radar. Local derbies just bring more attention from Plod, more restrictions on movement and what pubs you can go in etc. An interesting point though, as Wrexham won't be in the same league as Chester for potentially the rest of our lifetimes now, I wonder where Wrexham will look next? I feel Wrexham have more chance of playing Cardiff and Swansea in the next 10 years so will games against those two be heated in the future to compensate for the loss of Chester?

 

[AdamStag]

Hang on, there’s a Spoons with a downstairs toilet?

Well, there’s 1 with 2! who’d have thought!

Another quirk is the nearest wethers from the one in barrow is 8 miles (as the crow flies) but nearly 70 to drive.

Bet you’ll sleep well now you now that.

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

Well, there’s 1 with 2! who’d have thought!

Another quirk is the nearest wethers from the one in barrow is 8 miles (as the crow flies) but nearly 70 to drive.

Bet you’ll sleep well now you now that.

Didn't Grimsby fans get food poisoning from that Spoons last season? Cos the Spoons was shut for health and safety reasons when we played them a few days later...

 

[BarraMatt]

Didn't Grimsby fans get food poisoning from that Spoons last season? Cos the Spoons was shut for health and safety reasons when we played them a few days later...

Yep.

 

[PuB]

Didn't Grimsby fans get food poisoning from that Spoons last season? Cos the Spoons was shut for health and safety reasons when we played them a few days later...

Now the toilets being downstairs suddenly makes sense…

 

[AdamStag]

Yep.

Good effort!