Stockport County F.C.

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Stockport County
logo
Full name Stockport County Football Club
Nickname(s) The Hatters
Founded 1883
Ground Edgeley Park
Stockport
Capacity 10,651
Chairman Norman Beverley
Manager Flag of Republic of Ireland Jim Gannon
League League Two
2005-06 League Two, 22nd
Team colours Team colours Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
　
Home colours
Team colours Team colours Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
　
Away colours

Stockport County Football Club are an English football club based in Stockport, Cheshire, currently playing in League Two, after dramatically avoiding relegation to the Conference in the 2005-06 season.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Early days

Stockport County were formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers by members of the Wycliffe Congressional Church, and played their first recorded game in October the next year. Shortly after they merged with a similarly named club, Heaton Norris, and on the 24th May 1890 changed their name to Stockport County to reflect Stockport becoming a County Borough.

The club adopted 'The Hatters' as their nickname, owing to Stockport's history as the centre of the hat-making industry, a nickname that is shared with Luton Town. Stockport supporters generally refer to the team simply as 'County'.

The club first played in the Lancashire League until 1900 when Stockport gained admission to the Football League Second Division. However, the club finished in the bottom three for their first four seasons until they failed to gain re-election at the end of the 1903/04 season, going back to the Combination for one season. Stockport County won the league & were re-admitted to the Football League for the 1905/06 season and where the club stayed for the next hundred years, although they had to be re-elected on four occasions.

[edit] Danny Bergara

Uruguayan manager Danny Bergara took over during the 1988/89 season, saving County from what looked like probable relegation to the conference. The following seasons brought relative success, with County narrowly missing out on automatic promotion in 1989/90, but succeeding the following season. 'Danny Bergara's blue and white army' made an immediate impact on the third division, winning their opening fixture against Swansea City 5-0. County reached both the playoff final and the Autoglass Trophy final (both played at Wembley) in 1991-92. Another Autoglass final followed in 1992-93, and a further playoff final in 1993-94. Unfortunately, County lost all four of those matches, and promotion to the promised land of the second tier of English football had to wait for the arrival of a new manager.

[edit] Dave Jones

Dave Jones
Dave Jones

The 1995/96 season saw Dave Jones take over as manager from Danny Bergara. Although the league season was unremarkable, the club reached the 3rd round of the FA Cup, where they faced holders Everton. County held the Toffees to a remarkable 2-2 draw at Goodison Park, and for the replay ten days later over 11,000 squeezed into Edgeley Park to witness another commendable County performance, somewhat unluckily losing 3-2.

The 1996/97 season proved to be possibly the most memorable in the club's history. The season began in a forgettable fashion, recording 2 draws and 4 defeats in the first six league matches. A 2nd round League Cup tie against Sheffield United proved to be a catalyst, and Stockport won with a 7-3 aggregate win, including a 5-2 victory at Bramall Lane. Although County reached the northern final of the Auto Windscreens Shield, losing 2-0 on aggregate to Carlisle & just missing out on a visit to Wembley, it was the League Cup which provided the major highlights of the season, with 4 victories over top-flight opposition. A 1-0 win away at Blackburn Rovers in the 3rd round was followed by a 4th round 1-1 draw away to West Ham & a 2-1 victory in the replay at Edgeley Park, a quarter final 2-2 draw against Southampton at Edgeley Park followed by a 2-1 victory in the replay at The Dell, and then a semi-final meeting with Middlesbrough. Although County lost the first leg at Edgeley Park 2-0, they won 1-0 at the Riverside Stadium, failing to convert several chances to equalise on aggregate.

The league season was also going very strong, and the Hatters eventually gained promotion with a 1-0 victory at Chesterfield in the penultimate match of the season. If they hadn't won, they could have faced a deciding match away at promotion rivals Luton Town on the final day of the season. County could still have won the title, but having played 21 cup games tiredness played its part & the match finished 1-1, meaning Stockport County finished 2nd overall behind Bury.

[edit] First Division era

1997/98 saw County playing in the top two divisions for the first time in 60 years, facing the likes of Nottingham Forest, Sunderland, Birmingham City, Manchester City, Middlesbrough, Portsmouth and many others. However, even before the season had started things had taken a turn for the worst - Dave Jones had been poached by Premiership Southampton, taking goalkeeper Paul Jones & full back Lee Todd with him. Gary Megson left Blackpool to take over the reins, and in his first season County finished 8th, just two places off the playoffs to reach the Premiership - the club's best ever league placing. The season also saw the first of several memorable derby matches with Manchester City, a 3-1 victory at Edgeley Park in front of more than 11,000.

That was as good as things were going to get, however, and the following 1998/99 season saw Stockport finish 16th, winning just 3 of their final 14 matches. A 5-0 defeat at relegated Oxford United on the final day signalled the end of Megson's time at Edgeley Park. The club decided to promote from within and Andy Kilner was soon put in charge. Again, he had an encouraging start to his management at County and by Boxing Day the club were 6th, holding a playoff spot, having picked up another unforgettable win over Manchester City, this time 2-1 at Maine Road. Unfortunately the team then went a club-record 19 games without a victory, eventually finishing the 1999/00 season 17th, with two late wins helping stave off relegation. The 2000/01 season saw them again narrowly avoid relegation, finishing 19th overall.

2001/02 turned out to be the club's worst ever at the time. With County already already bottom of the league, a 4-0 home defeat to Millwall saw manager Kilner sacked. Shortly after he was replaced with former England international Carlton Palmer. A 2-1 win over Norwich game some hope, but County then went on to lose 11 matches in a row, another unwanted club record. The Hatters picked up just 3 more wins during the rest of the season (one of these being another unforgettable 2-1 victory over Manchester City, having been 1-0 down with just 5 minutes left) finishing the season with just 26 points, going down on the 16th March, the quickest post-war relegation.

[edit] Two steps back, none forward

Season 2002/03 set a trend of optimism followed by great disappointment that would continue in the following years. The season started well enough, a 1-0 defeat at Colchester on the opening day forgotten after consecutive wins over Port Vale, Mansfield, Swindon & Lincoln. However, those wins turned out to be the exception rather than the rule and County languished in the relegation zone for much of the season, until another run of four victories (over Wycombe, Plymouth, Northampton & Huddersfield) helped the club climb to mid-table at the end of the season.

The summer of 2003 saw the club change ownership, as chairman Brendan Elwood sold the club to Sale Sharks owner Brian Kennedy, in a move that would see Sale play their home games at Edgeley Park. A new company was created, called 'Cheshire Sports', which would have ownership of Stockport County, Sale Sharks & the Edgeley Park stadium. The 2003/04 season saw Palmer sacked after another poor start to the season, following home defeats to Hartlepool & Blackpool in the space of one week. John Hollins, who had been Director of Football during Palmer's reign, took over as caretaker manager, but was replaced full time by former Northern Ireland manager Sammy McIlroy. After a poor start to his time at Edgeley Park & yet more relegation worries, an 11-match unbeaten run saw the club again climb to safety at the end of the season.

2004/05 was another season that promised much, with several promising signings over the summer. The previous season's excellent form failed to carry over, the new signings failed to gel and again County were in the relegation places by the Autumn. McIlroy was sacked in November and replaced by Chris Turner a month later. Turner failed to turn things around and, for the second time in three years, Stockport County finished a season with just 26 points and were relegated.

[edit] The Great Escape

2005/06 saw Stockport County change owners again. After reportedly losing £4m[1], Cheshire Sports chairman Brian Kennedy handed ownership of the club to the Supporters Trust, whose aim was to rescue the club from revenue loss, eventually breaking even & turn Stockport County into a community based football club. On the July 8 at 10:30 the deal went through, making County one of a handful of supporter-owned clubs in the country. On the pitch, despite the lower level of football the team failed to adapt. On Boxing Day 2005, already five points from safety, County lost 6-0 at local rivals Macclesfield Town, leading Turner to resign after just seven wins in 50 matches.

Former player Jim Gannon came in as caretaker manager, while the club searched for a replacement. An impressive change to both results and performances under Gannon's leadership led the club to give him the position full time, and the remarkable run of form continued. Stockport picked up 35 points from the final 23 games, compared to just 17 from the first 23 matches. On an extremely tense final day of the season, County held champions Carlisle United to a 0-0 draw; a last minute winner for Leyton Orient at Oxford United sent Oxford down and brought the Hatters to safety, sparking scenes of celebration at Edgeley Park.

[edit] 2007 Record Breakers

In early 2007, Stockport County set a new Football League record run of nine league wins without conceding a goal, with new goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey, on loan for the second half of the season from Wolves, also breaking a club record for nine consecutive clean sheets. The wins came against Boston United (2-0) (H), Peterborough United (3-0) (A), Wycombe Wanderers (2-0) (H), Wrexham (1-0) (A), Hereford United (2-0) (A), Mansfield Town (1-0) (H), Accrington Stanley (1-0) (A), Walsall (1-0) (H) and Swindon Town (3-0) (H). This saw the club's league position climb from 15th to 6th in League Two. The run came to an end, away at Barnet on 10th March.

[edit] Current squad

As of February 11, 2007:

No. Position Player
1 Flag of England GK James Spencer (Y)
2 Flag of England DF Robert Clare (Y)
3 Flag of England DF Michael Rose
4 Flag of England MF Tony Dinning (C)
5 Flag of England DF Michael Raynes (Y)
6 Flag of England DF Ashley Williams
7 Flag of England MF Keith Briggs (Y)
9 Flag of Montserrat FW Tesfaye Bramble
10 Flag of England FW Liam Dickinson
12 Flag of Earth   Stockport County's supporters
14 Flag of England FW Adam le Fondre
15 Flag of England DF James Tunnicliffe (Y)
16 Flag of England DF Gareth Owen (on loan from Oldham)
17 Flag of England MF Greg Tansey (Y)
No. Position Player
18 Flag of England FW Dan Ellis (Y)
19 Flag of England FW Michael Malcolm
20 Flag of England MF Jason Taylor
21 Flag of England MF Anthony Pilkinton
22 Flag of England GK Tim Deasy
23 Flag of England DF Michael Bowler (Y)
24 Flag of England MF Adam Griffin
25 Flag of England MF Ryan Crowther (Y)
26 Flag of England MF David Poole
28 Flag of England DF Gianluca Havern (Y)
29 Flag of Wales GK Wayne Hennessey (on loan from Wolves)
31 Flag of England FW Adam Proudlock
32 Flag of England FW Anthony Elding
33 Flag of England MF Tommy Rowe (Y)
34 Flag of England GK Joe Lewis (on loan from Norwich)

Note: A 'Y' indicates that the player originally came through the Stockport County youth system.

[edit] Out on loan

No. Position Player
8 Flag of England MF Damien Allen (Y, on loan to Antwerp)

[edit] 2006/07 season transfers

In:

Out:

[edit] Notable former players

See also: Cat:Stockport County F.C. players

[edit] Recent managers

For a full list of managers, see StockportCounty.net

[edit] Club staff

  • First Team Manager: Flag of Republic of Ireland Jim Gannon
  • Assistant First Team Manager: Flag of England Peter Ward
  • U18 Team Manager: Flag of England Craig Madden
  • Goalkeeping Coach: Flag of Wales Dave Felgate
  • Centre of Excellence Manager: Flag of England Mick Wiblin
  • Chief Scout: Flag of England Russ Thornton
  • Club Physio: Flag of England Rodger Wylde
  • Club Masseur: Flag of England John Bishop

[edit] Support

County supporters
County supporters

With both Manchester United and Manchester City around 7 miles from Edgeley Park, Stockport County have always struggled for local support. Even during the 1998-99 season crowds averaged around 20,000 less than local rivals City, who were a division below County at the time.

Although the club has had great misfortunes on the pitch from 2000-01 onwards, crowds have continued to be rather healthy. In fact, during the 2005-06 season home attendances (that is, given attendances minus away support) increased slightly on the season before, no doubt helped by a 10,006 crowd against Carlisle - only the second 5-figure crowd in the whole decade so far. The club's away support actually increased by a third that season[2], including over 2,200 supporters at Macclesfield, 1,500 at Rochdale, 1,600 at Chester, 1,800 at Bury and 1,400 who travelled all the way to Barnet and not forgetting the 600+ that trekked down to Torquay[3] only for the game to be cancelled at late notice.

Other examples of notable support during the 2005-06 season; supporters organised two Tifo-like card displays - a simple white cross on a blue background using 1,300 cards away to Bury and a large '12' at home to Carlisle, which was chosen to signify the supporters acting as the '12th player'. Also during that season, Stockport's supporters were featured on various documentaries shown both domestically and in Denmark & South Korea.

Stockport supporters also have one of the largest amounts of unique songs & chants in the country, being ranked 7th on http://www.footballchants.org.

[edit] Grounds

Edgeley Park, as seen from the Railway End
Edgeley Park, as seen from the Railway End

Originally Stockport County played home matches at the Heaton Norris Recreation Ground, then played at various locations in Stockport until settling at a park by the Nursery Inn on Green Lane, Heaton Norris.

In 1902 County required a larger ground and moved to Edgeley Park, then home of Stockport Rugby league Club, who folded a few years later. Stockport County have stayed at Edgeley Park ever since, celebrating the centenary in 2000 by playing Spanish side Athletic Bilbao.

In late 2000 the club considered moving to Maine Road, the former home of rivals Manchester City. The potential move was unpopular with supporters, and protests were staged after it was suggested that the club would change its name to Man-Stock County after the move. Ultimately the protests were not necessary as Manchester City Council decreed that Sale Sharks would make better tenants, only for the Rugby Union side to fail to come up with the required cash.

Maine Road has since been demolished to make way for a housing estate and, ironically, Edgeley Park is now shared with Sale. Stockport’s reserve fixtures were initially held at Woodley Sports' Lambeth Grove stadium, however upon relegation County reduced the size of their playing squad considerably and as a consequence no longer field a reserve team.

[edit] Honours

Football League

Other Competitions

  • Lancashire League Champions: 1899-1900
  • Lancashire Combination Champions: 1904-05
  • Manchester Senior Cup Winners: 1897-98, 1898-99, 1914-15, 1922-23
  • Cheshire Medal Winners: 1922-23, 1924-25, 1928-29, 1929-30, 1930-31
  • Cheshire Bowl Winners: 1933-34, 1948-49, 1952-53, 1955-56, 1956-57,
    1958-59, 1960-61, 1962-63
  • Cheshire Friendly Trophy Winners: 1965-66, 1966-67
  • Cheshire Premier Cup Winners: 1969-70, 1970-71

[edit] Club Records

Team Records

Player Records

  • Most goals (season): 47 by Alf Lythgoe, 1933-34
  • Most goals (career): 140 by Jack Connor (1951 - 1956)
  • Most hat-tricks (career): 17 by Jack Connor (1951 - 1956)
  • Most appearances (career): 555 Andy Thorpe (1978 - 1986, 1988 - 1992}
  • Most international appearances (Caps) - 9 Jarkko Wiss, Finland (2000 - 2002)
  • Youngest player: Chris Coward, aged 16 years 31 days vs. Sheffield Wednesday, August 23, 2005
  • Most consecutive clean sheets: 9 by Wayne Hennessey (On loan from Wolves) (2006 - 2007)
  • Oldest player: Alec Herd, aged 40 years 47 days vs. Crewe Alexandra, December 25, 1951

[edit] Trivia

  • Stockport hold the Football League record for the largest winning margin when they defeated Halifax Town 13-0 on January 6th, 1934.
  • The lowest ever recorded crowd at an English League match was 13, at Stockport County vs. Leicester City. County’s own ground was under suspension at the time due to crowd trouble during a game against Sheffield Wednesday, and the match against Leicester was held at Old Trafford, home of Manchester United. Man Utd had played Derby County earlier that day and around 2,000 fans decided to take in two matches for the price of one. The figure of 13 is those who paid to enter the ground for the second match. Stockport County's lowest actual attendance is 1,039 vs. Southend Utd, February 15th 1984.
  • The longest ever football match took place at Edgeley Park in 1946, when Stockport County played Doncaster Rovers F.C. in the Division Three (North) Cup. The game ended 2-2 after 90 minutes, and after 30 minutes of extra time there was still no winner, and it was decided that the match should carry on until there was a winner (penalty shootouts as tiebreakers did not exist back then). Some stories tell of supporters leaving the match, going home for tea, and returning to find the game still being played. After 203 minutes of football, the referee blew his whistle to signify the end of the game at around 7pm. A toss of a coin decided that a replay of the game would be held at Doncaster's ground, Belle Vue, which Rovers won 4-0.
  • Jack Connor & Alf Lythgoe have both scored three consecutive hat-tricks (a 'hat-trick of hat-tricks') - two of only six players ever to have done so.
  • Manchester United & Northern Ireland legend George Best spent a short period at the club in 1975, scoring two goals in three appearances before joining North American Soccer League side Los Angeles Aztecs.
  • David & Alec Herd were the first father & son to play in a Football League match together, when Stockport County beat Hartlepool 2-0 at Edgeley Park in 1952.
  • Former England goalkeeper David Seaman made his first ever appearance against Stockport back in 1982 whilst playing for Peterborough United. Posh lost 3-1.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/content/articles/2005/11/22/221105_sale_stockport_feature.shtml
  2. ^ Stockport County, 05/06 season official match programmes.
  3. ^ Last paragraph. http://www.stockportexpress.co.uk/sport/football/stockportcounty/s/209/209361_what_a_washout_but_not_at_tiverton.html

[edit] External links

Official

News

Supporters sites

Football League Two, 2006-2007

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