"The Tea Party" Podcast ttptowers

Hey up there's another one out!

Yeah, we're back with our regular trip down memory lane, to a time when the Team of the 90s had the best fanzine in the country.

It's issue 17 this time, and on the subject of Teams of the Decade, we look back at another win over Palace, managed by fedora-wearing berk Malcolm Allison, albeit in pre-fedora days. Bizarre 90s broadcasting regulations (yep the country was insane then, too) mean that Alan Rothwell makes a guest appearance, and there's a full report from the pre-season game at Morecambe, complete with "police dog being kicked up the arse" story. Oh yes, and there's more about the club trying to get us banned from selling, the rotters.

And we're serious about the Team of the 90s, by the way. Have a listen as to why.

We're back, baby! Yep, despite saying that the last episode, over 2 years ago (shocked face), would be the last standalone one prior to joining forces with "The Scarf Bergara Wore," here we are. We're liars, what can we say?

Slight change of format, as we've sacked off the guests. Dead weight, frankly. Only kidding - head on over to https://scarfbergarawore.co.uk for yer guests. This is just Dave, scratching himself on air. Er, scratching an itch. Listen to the intro if you're not sure what that's all about.

So come back with us now to September 1992, and hear how the Team of the Nineties gave Brian Clough's Forest a footballing lesson. Or maybe it was Bratfud. And note the spelling...

Here we go with the final standalone TTP podcast, and it's episode 14b, with TTP original Rob Beswick and Friend of the Podcast Stuart White. Again, we were in the Blossoms back in late March, and so weren't aware of how the season would end (although we all had a pretty good idea by then, of course)

In fanzine terms, we mainly discuss issue 16 (we thought we'd fit 15 in at a later date, which intention was overtaken by events, of course), which had a cover wholly created by Rob, ahead of the League Cup tie with Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest; the games are discussed of course, as is the standing ovation Cloughie got on the way out before the EP game.

We also discuss why people hate Jim Gannon (spoiler: we don't get to the bottom of it), and the nadir of the deteriorating relations with the club, which culminated with them attempting to ban the fanzine from being sold around the ground. Whether that was directly linked with the nascent Edgeley Park Echo and the perception that there was money in printed publications we couldn't possible say.

We also talk Burnley being okay really, County's prospects for going up and how well we were playing at the time(!), and Arthur and his memorial gate. Also, we highlight the hilarious Newman and Baddiel sketch History Today - spot the bedwetters reference...

Finally, in't modern football great!

Finally! Episode 14 arrives in your earboxes. Special guests Rob Beswick and Stuart White talks all things early 90s County, with Wembley memories - not just Stoke (sob) and Peterborough (sob), but also Vale (sob) and Burnley (FFS). We also discuss keeping in touch with County excitement from Indonesia in a pre-internet age (not easy).

Other topics include the Stoke semi and the madness afterwards, Sky TV naivety, Brett Angell's Southend tribunal shenanigans, John Peel being a TTP fan, and unfortunate (in retrospect) Jimmy Hill/Saville crossover cartoon, and Stuart's experience of decent Burnley fans commiserating with him about County's position today

Oh yes, and the exclusive John Bilsbury jingle makes its first appearance.

Sooo, after a bit of a summer break, we've started recording more podcasts. Well, if you will keep listening to them that's what's gonna happen. It's your fault.

The guest for this one was Ken Riley, County fan of many years, and someone who a lot of fans will know, even if they haven't met him directly.

Ken used to run coaches to away games in the pre-success/pre-fanzine days - and as we've heavily implied, those two things are inextricably linked of course. I think we can all agree that County's success in the 90s was down to The Tea Party. You're welcome.

Ken also contributed to TTP regularly, and in fact off his own bat set up and carried out an interview with Kevin Francis for us - and further interviews with Dave Jones and Lee Todd a bit later on, all of which we'll come to in due course. And of late, Ken's been a regular contributor to Marion's...

And why 12a? Well, mainly the humour of avoiding the "unlucky" number 13, of course. And when you consider that the weeks directly after the release of this issue saw two heartbreaking defeats on our first ever trips to Wembley stadium, you can see how effective that little ploy was, can't you?

Yes.