Andrew Stephen’s Hot Off The Habbin programme article from the CUFC v Accrington Stanley match programee of 19th December 2025
“Fame means millions of people have the wrong idea of who you are.”
Erica Jong
Sadly Accrington attracted fame for all the wrong reasons as they slithered out of the Football League in 1962 mid-season, when it was discovered that they could no longer pay their bills. This was long before the Fans’ Led Review and the idea of an Independent Regulator being appointed to make sure that this kind of tragedy never befalls a club or, more importantly, its fans ever again. Since then we’ve seen many clubs collapse under the weight of an owner’s completely unrealistic ambitions, vanity or incompetence. Bury, Darlington, Reading, Sheffield Wednesday and many other clubs, including ourselves, have flirted with extinction. Stanley could have been a wake up call but things move slowly in England, where the public good has often lagged behind the need for profit. Hopefully a more even distribution of wealth and the licensing of clubs will make a big difference and no one will ever say , “Accrington Stanley? Who are they?” or the equivalent ever again.
Ironically, when we dropped into the Conference, Accrington Stanley was the ground we most wanted to visit because of its place in football folklore. We weren’t disappointed either. It is one of the friendliest places that any football fan could ever hope to visit. It’s not just David Lloyd, or Bumble, who thinks that. The Crown Inn is a place where both sets of supporters can ,and do, drink together and the ground is only a short stroll away. Sadly our record against them isn’t great. We’ve won three and lost six, although form favours us today. One of our victories came at the Abbey in 2017 when Will Norris saved two penalties to help us to a 2-1 win. Several players have turned out for both teams , including Piero Mingoia, Paul Carden, Lee McEvilly and a certain Paul Mullin. He was a bit good. Manager John Coleman served Stanley for nine and a half years, working miracles on a tiny budget. After his demise they, like us, dropped into League Two, where they have struggled. Money is always going to be a problem for clubs at our level. Maybe that will change.
Despite relegation, our infrastructure and our first team squad is better than last year. Despite some crippling injuries we are in the top six, in the Third Round of the FA Cup and playing some good stuff. Unlike last year, we are not losing many games or conceding many goals. We are becoming more consistent and with a proven goalscorer we would be even higher up the table. We are attracting large crowds and there is a feeling of optimism and expectation about the place. It has begun to feel like a promotion season because it’s clear we are a match for anyone in this division. We seem to play particularly well against the better teams because we have a lot of skill in the side. The return of key players and some astute work in the January window will help us to reach our potential. If we start taking more of our chances, no one will relish coming here, Christmas or not.
Andrew Stephen.