Stockport County v Bromley

Official Matchday Programme

vs Bromley Monday 5th April Kick-off 5:30pm

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Stockport County FC Edgeley Park, Hardcastle Road, Stockport, SK3 9DD

Chairman: Mark Stott Chief Executive Officer: Jonathan Vaughan Directors: Mark Stott (Majority Shareholder), Jonathan Vaughan, Ken Knott, Mark Dawson Club President: Steve Bellis Brand and Communications Director: David Ancell Director of Operations: Richard Simkin Life Presidents: Angela White, Robert Smith Bewley, Arthur Collister, Steve Cree, Richard Hill, Mike Flynn, George Hudson, John Rutter Director of Football: Simon Wilson Club Ambassadors: John Fitzpatrick, Freddie Goodwin, Alan Ogley Head of Football Administration: Alex Cowdy First-Team Manager: Simon Rusk Assistant Manager: Dave Conlon Assistant Manager: Mark McGhee Goalkeeping Coach: Shwan Jalal Physio: Luke Smith Strength & Conditioning: Nick Donnelly Kit Manager: Richard Landon First Team Scouting Consultant: Alan Lord Head of Performance Analysis: Sean O’Callaghan Club Doctor: Amjad Choudry Head of Commercial and Ticketing: Olivia Hanvey Conference and Events Manager: Melissa Ellison Retail & Photography: Mike Petch Online Shop: www.stockportcounty.com/shop Marketing Manager: Alice Gregory Content Executive: Carl Gozem Media Executive: Liam Richardson Ticket Office (matchdays only, from 12:30pm): Sarah Dibben Stadium Safety Officer: Steve Walker Facilities Stadium Maintenance & COVID Manager: Rick Hinks Head Groundsman: Liam Cash Community Foundation: Dave Wardle Website: www.scfcfoundation.com Junior Supporters Club: Ian Butterworth, Brenda Williams Stockport County Lottery: Tom Quayle Historian & Statistician: Ian Watts & Marcus Heap Website: gogogocounty.org Stadium Announcer: Kenny Boxshall Turnstile Manager: Pete Kidd Half-Time Draw: Tony Malone Mascot Supervisor: Louise Mellor Customer Relationship Management Executive: Theo Bielby Videographer: Dan Powell

county

Editor: Keith Chapman Editorial Contributors: Andy Monks, David Ancell, Alice Gregory, Neil Simms, Gareth Evans, Steve Beswick, Mike Petch, Paul Dean, Olivia Hanvey, Ian Watts, Mark Heys, Luke Smith, Liam Richardson, Ian Butterworth, Brenda Williams, Ian Brown, Greg Hall, Oshor Williams, Steven Davies, Dave Wardle, Stephen Kenneth, Steve Bellis, Alex Cowdy, Chris Ridgway, Sam Byrne, Harry Barrett.

Thanks to: James Tanner & Alex Exadactylos at Bromley FC Design by: Daniel Parker, Duplexity Artwork.

Stockport County FC is the trading name of Stockport County 2010 Ltd (7254012), which is wholly owned by Stockport Community Leisure Company Ltd (7240006), a private company limited by shares. The registered office is: Edgeley Park, Hardcastle Road, Edgeley, Stockport SK3 9DD

Inside...

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Club Honours

Football League Division Two Runners Up 1996-97 Football League Division Three (North) Champions 1921-22, 1936-37 Football League Division Three (North) Runners Up 1928-29, 1929-30 Football League Division Four Champions 1966-67 Football League Division Four Runners Up 1990-91 Football League Two Play-Off Winners 2007-08 Football League Division Two Play-Off Finalists 1993-94 Football League Division Three Play-Off Finalists 1991-92 Football League Trophy Finalists 1991-92, 1992-93 Football League Division Three (North) Cup Winners 1934-35 Football League Division Three (North) Cup Finalists 1933-34 Lancashire League Winners 1899-1900 Lancashire Combination Winners 1904-05 Cheshire League Runners-Up (Reserves) 1909-10, 1927-28, 1936-37 Manchester Senior Cup Winners 1897-98, 1898-99, 1914-15, 1922-23 Cheshire Senior Cup Winners 1905-06, 1914-15, 1946-47, 1948-49, 1965-66, 2015-16 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, 2010-11 Vanarama National League North Winners 2018-2019

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Simon Rusk Hello again, and a warm welcome back to Edgeley Park – I hope everyone’s had a great Easter.

I’d also like to welcome Andy Woodman and his group of players, as well as anyone else from Bromley travelling to the game.

There will be a minute’s silence before the game today in memory of Yeovil captain Lee Collins, who sadly passed away last week. We were all deeply saddened to learn of Lee’s passing, and I’d like to personally send my condolences to his friends, family, and everyone connected with Yeovil Town during this difficult time.

Looking ahead, and today we face a tough test against a really strong Bromley side who will consider themselves right in the mix for a play-off place.

As ever though, our main focus will continue to be on ourselves and our own strengths, plenty of which have been evident in recent displays.

We’re going through a really demanding schedule right now with a relentless fixture list, but every single player has continued to show great character and professionalism over the last few weeks, and these characteristics were again on display during Friday’s win at Aldershot.

There were still areas in that game I feel we can improve on moving forward, but we showed great resilience to ride their late

momentum and come away with the three points. We’re on a really strong run at the minute and there’s lots to be positive about, although I still feel there’s more to come from us over the coming weeks.

There will still be plenty of ups and downs to come between now and the end of the campaign, as is normal in any season, but I think we can be

really happy with the progress we’ve made so far, and I believe there’s plenty to be excited about in the weeks ahead.

Hopefully that starts with another good performance, and another three points, in front of the television cameras this evening.

Enjoy the game.

Simon 05

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Club News County launch virtual P.E sessions

With schools breaking up for Easter we wanted to ensure our junior fans were staying active during their Easter break. The Club’s strength and conditioning team have created a series of virtual fitness sessions that fans can follow at home. Our strength and conditioning coach, Dan Thomas, along with two County players, takes us through a series of fun and challenging football-fitness sessions that last for around 25 minutes.

Take part in the first session and let us know how you get on. The first video can be found on our YouTube channel.

Museum plans

County Heroes: Lily-Ann Betts Our next County Hero is Lily-Ann Betts, who has raised over £800 for local Stockport charities. The pandemic has prevented many of us from doing the things we enjoy and that matter to us, but County fanatic Lily-Ann Betts hasn’t let it stop her from fundraising for local charities. Incredibly, Lily-Ann has been fundraising since she was just 12; now at the age of 17 she is still dedicating her time to raising money for local charities in Stockport. Read the full story on the Club’s website.

Richie Bennett joins Pools on loan

The Club is currently doing extensive renovation works at Edgeley Park, and as part of these plans the current museum is being moved from its location in the Danny Bergara stand to a new visitor centre in the Pioneer Group Cheadle End. The new visitor centre will combine a new museum space, celebrating the rich history of County through the years, with a new coffee shop and club offices. The new museum facilities will cater for wheelchair access which was unable to be provided in the current museum space. The Club will be working alongside club historians and supporters’ groups to curate memorabilia and exhibit an engaging history of the Club.

The plans are still in draft form, but the Club hopes to have these finalised in the coming weeks with an aim to open the new visitor centre by the start of next season.

Striker Richie Bennett has joined National League Hartlepool United on loan until the end of the season.

Richie, 30, joined County last March from Port Vale, and has so far made 31 appearances for the Club, scoring four goals during his time at Edgeley Park.

His temporary move to the North-East includes a recall clause, which becomes available any time after 28 days.

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Paddy Madden It was a major coup when County announced that prolific Football League striker Paddy Madden had joined the Club from League One Fleetwood Town last month.

Madden has had a prolific scoring record throughout his career in the Football League, with over 100 goals to his name whilst playing in League One, and he has already made an early impact at Edgeley Park, scoring County’s vital equaliser in last weekend’s draw against Hartlepool and creating assists in Hatters’ victories against Eastleigh and, more recently, at Aldershot Town.

“It’s been great,” said Paddy, who started his career in Ireland with Bohemians. “I’ve been put straight into games which is obviously the best scenario for me.

It’s been easy to settle in, I knew a few of the lads already, which helps. We have a great group of lads who all have the same goal in getting this Club back into the EFL. “I was happy to get off the mark against Hartlepool.

Those strikes can end up in row Z, but it was great to see it hit the back of the net. I was always confident that the goals would come. I’ve been happy with my performances, I’ve got a couple of assists as well as

the goal, and I’m looking forward to scoring more goals in the weeks ahead.”

Paddy’s move to Edgeley Park stunned many outsiders in the game but he said it was an easy decision to make once County’s interest was known.

“Once I heard of the interest from County, I knew all about the fan base, how big it was and the size of the Club. The squad is very strong with a lot of quality and the training ground has everything you would want as a professional footballer, it’s fantastic.

“The Chairman is very ambitious, he’s investing in the playing squad, the training ground and the stadium. These are exciting times and once I had the opportunity to join County it was something I wanted to be a part of.”

Madden knows all about County having had a preseason trial in 2008 when he was starting his career with Irish club Bohemians.

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“It’s weird the way football works out,” he said.

“I was about 16 or 17, I came over on trial. I remember watching Stockport in League Two against Rochdale, Liam Dickinson scored and the place erupted. I was thought to myself I’d like to play at this club in front of that crowd one day.”

Having started his career in Ireland, Paddy first made the move to English football in January 2011, signing for League One Carlisle United. After struggling to break into the Cumbrians’ first team, he made the loan move to fellow League One club Yeovil in October 2012 and had an immediate impact, scoring twice on his debut in a 3-1 win against Colchester United. After an impressive run of nine goals in 16 games for the Somerset club, the deal was made permanent.

From then on the Irishman went from strength to strength, with his 23 league goals helping to fire Yeovil into the play-off places, and earn him the League One Golden Boot in the process. He then

“While his experience, and track record speaks for itself, I am drawn to Paddy’s attitude and hunger for the game. When he walks into our dressing room, he will find similar spirits. We have a strong, together and like-minded group, and this is what makes Paddy a fantastic addition for us.”

SIMON RUSK

capped a magnificent season by scoring the winner in the Play-Off final against Brentford, to secure promotion to the Championship for the Glovers for the first time in their history.

His form whilst at Huish Park was enough to see him earn a cap for the Republic of Ireland national team, coming on as a sub in an international friendly against Wales in August 2013.

With Yeovil struggling to adapt to life in the second tier, Madden signed for League Two Scunthorpe United. Again, Madden’s arrival had an immediate impact, with his five goals that season helping the Iron to finish second and secure promotion back to League One. Back in the third tier, Paddy scored 16 goals in his first full season at Glanford Park before following that up with another 23 the season after, finishing as the Club’s top scorer in both campaigns.

Favourite TV programme? Friends.

Any superstitions? Put on right-hand side boot and sock first.

Best goal? In the League One Play-Off Final for Yeovil against Brentford.

Biggest influence on your career? My brother Chris.

Best stadium played in? Wembley.

If you could buy a ticket for one sporting event what would it be? The Masters Golf.

Boyhood team? Manchester United.

Twitter or Facebook? Facebook.

If you could offer any advice to any young County fan looking to get involved in the game what would it be? Enjoy your football, enjoy it as much as you can, and if you get a setback, drive through it.

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After scoring 11 goals in his final full season at Scunthorpe, he eventually left the Club to join Fleetwood in January 2018, with his 60 goals whilst at Glanford Park enough to leave him 10th in Scunthorpe’s all-time scorers list. He left Fleetwood as their all-time leading scorer in the EFL with 43 league goals, and just ten goals shy of the all-time League One scoring record.

There were some familiar faces when Paddy first met the squad at first-team training. “I played with Macauley at Fleetwood and Connor Jennings at Scunthorpe,” said Paddy, who played at Edgeley Park for the first time in his career on his home debut against Barnet. “I’d played against many of the lads before too and I played at the training ground in the summer for Fleetwood in a pre-season friendly and I scored a penalty.”

This season has been difficult for clubs and fans, and Paddy says that playing behind closed doors has affected the players too. “Yes, it has,” he said. “I’m a player who thrives off the atmosphere and I like to have dialogue with the fans. But hopefully it won’t be much longer and we can’t wait to play in front of the fans. I’ve got family in Ireland back home so I’m sure they will be coming over when the restrictions allow them to do so.”

This evening County welcome Bromley in front of the live BT Sport cameras, and the visitors will be aiming for their first-ever win against County. Paddy is expecting another difficult game in a hugely competitive National League.

“We’re looking forward to the game. I know their centre half Byron Webster, who was at Yeovil Town with me and we’re good friends.

Courtney Duffus also played for Yeovil so I know what he can do as well. We’re expecting a tough game, there are no easy games in this league, but we’re in good form ourselves and there’s no reason why we can’t pick up another win.”

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Welcome...

Bromley New Bromley boss Andy Woodman takes charge of just his second game since joining the club, and his first away from home, this afternoon.

The 49-year-old former goalkeeper and Arsenal goalkeeping coach was recently announced as the successor to long-serving manager Neil Smith, who had been with the club for five years before being relieved of his duties on March 25th.

Woodman’s first match saw struggling Wealdstone visit Hayes Lane on Good Friday and the away team gave him the worst possible start to contend with, racing into a two-goal lead within 18 minutes, though goals from Byron Webster and National League top goalscorer Michael Cheek ultimately earned Bromley a draw.

Management is a relatively new venture for Woodman, having only previously overseen 18 games at National League South side Whitehawk in 2017, though he has an extensive background in coaching, having worked at West Ham, Charlton and Newcastle prior to joining Arsenal nearly five years ago.

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FACT FILE

Nickname: The Ravens Founded: 1892 Stadium: Hayes Lane Capacity: 5,000 Address: Hayes Lane, Bromley Postcode: BR2 9EF Distance from Edgeley Park: 238.4 miles (4 hours 12 minutes) Current league position: 10th

He has friends in high places too, with England manager Gareth Southgate being a close companion, ever since their Crystal Palace days in the late 1980s. Indeed, Woodman was best man at Southgate’s wedding, and Southgate was best man at Woodman’s wedding!

The Londoner has inherited an effective and efficient team in Bromley, a team still in contention for a play-off place, having enjoyed a very solid season so far.

After Friday’s draw, The Ravens arrive here today in tenth position, with 11 wins and 9 draws from 30 games. They are five points shy of the final play-off place as things stand, having played the same amount of games as the current occupants of seventh place, Wrexham.

The Gaffer: Andy Woodman Andy Woodman was appointed as Bromley’s First Team Manager last week, replacing Neil Smith.

The 49-year-old holds 15 years of coaching experience, most of which has been in the Premier League.

In his playing career, Woodman started out at Crystal Palace and went on to play for Northampton Town, Brentford, Southend United and Colchester United among others.

He started his coaching journey in 2006 with Football League outfit Rushden & Diamonds, where he was assistant manager. Following this, he reunited with former team-mate Alan Pardew as goalkeeping coach at West Ham United. The pair then moved on to Charlton Athletic, where they spent three years together, before being appointed at Newcastle United.

Following a five-year stint at St James’ Park, Woodman then returned South with Pardew to continue his Premier League coaching career, becoming a coach at Crystal Palace.

Woodman arrives at Hayes Lane from Arsenal, where he was appointed Head of Goalkeeping in 2018, working alongside some of the country’s top goalkeepers and professionals.

With his breadth of experience at the very top level in the professional game, Andy has all the necessary skills and knowledge to progress the Club further on its journey.

Bromley faced Wrexham in their last away trip, losing 3-0 in the interim period between the old and the new manager. Indeed, away from home Bromley have struggled for victories a little recently, winning only two of seven since the turn DID YOU of the year. Mind you, KNOW? both wins do serve to Woody and No highlight the quality rd, a book about Andy W within The Ravens’ oodman and Gareth So uthgate’s ranks, having ended friendship, wo n the best spor Yeovil’s six game ts autobiography category at home winning streak the British Sp orts Book and become one of Awards in 2004 . just four teams to win at Eastleigh this season.

It’s up front where Bromley are at their best, with striker Cheek boasting a fine record of 18 goals in 31 games, to add to the 13 he bagged for the club last season. January recruit Courtney Duffus is also a reliable source of goals. He too struck 13 last season, whilst at Yeovil, and has netted nine times so far in this campaign, five of which have been for Bromley. Only Sutton and Torquay have scored more league goals than Bromley this season.

However, defensively Woodman will no doubt aim to tighten his team up, as Bromley have shipped 42 goals so far - the worst tally in the top half of the table.

If the new manager can inspire his first victory in charge this afternoon it would also be a first for the club against County, at the fourth attempt. Goals from Alex Reid and John Rooney helped The Hatters to a 2-0 win at Hayes Lane in December, in one of just two games we’ve played in front of a crowd all season.

4,611 were in attendance here at Edgeley Park last February to see Liam Hogan net a début winner in this fixture. Similar, if not greater, numbers would be here this afternoon under normal circumstances, with an entertaining game expected between these two play-off chasing teams.

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The Players JAMES ALABI (b:Nov 1994 s:Sep 2020) Two spells with Stoke City split by time at Glasgow Celtic’s academy started this forward’s career. The Potters loaned him to Scunthorpe United, Mansfield Town, Forest Green Rovers and Accrington Stanley.

JUDE ARTHURS (b:Aug 2001 s:Sep 2020) Another former Gillingham youngster who played for the Under-23 side of today’s visitors. He also had a spell at Ramsgate.

BILLY BINGHAM (b:Jul 1990 s:May 2019) Was based in his home area before a move to Crewe Alexandra, from where he joined Gillingham.

A midfielder, he had already been with West Ham United, Crystal Palace, Dagenham & Redbridge and Grays Athletic on loan.

JACK BRIDGE (b:Sep 1995 s:Jan 2021) Central midfield man who started by coming through the ranks at Southend United. They loaned him to Soham Town Rangers and Chelmsford City.

He then made his way to today’s opponents via Northampton Town, Carlisle United and Concord Rangers.

CHRIS BUSH (b:Jun 1992 s:May 2019) Central defender who can cover other defensive positions. Most of his early football came in loan spells from Brentford with Salisbury City, Woking,

AFC Wimbledon and Thurrock. He moved on to Wimbledon then Gateshead with loan spells at Lincoln City and Hereford United, whom he joined permanently. Found his way to Bromley via Welling United, Lincoln again, Chelmsford and Ebbsfleet United.

MICHAEL CHEEK (b:Aug 1991 s:May 2019) After starting at Stanway Rovers, this striker came to prominence with Heybridge Swifts earning a move to Chelmsford. He continued to score regularly with Braintree Town, Dagenham and Ebbsfleet.

LUKE COULSON (b:Mar 1994 s:Dec 2018) Right wing-back who began his career with ten years at Manchester City, before heading to the United States to study. Soon after first appearing for his University side, Michigan Wolverines he returned home and signed for Cardiff City. Dropping into non-league he has added Oxford City, Eastleigh, Barnet in the EFL, and Ebbsfleet to his CV. MARK COUSINS (b:Jan 1987 s:Jun 2019) Started with Fulham before turning professional with Colchester United. During nine years there he was loaned to Whitton United, Staines Town, Enfield Town and Yeading. The keeper then spent four years with Dagenham and he then played for Barnet.

COURTNEY DUFFUS (b:Oct 1995 s:Jan 2021) Bought by Yeovil Town from Oldham Athletic this forward had started with Everton. He was loaned to Bury, before being sold to the Latics from where he had a loan stint at League of Ireland side Waterford. He was sold on by the Glovers after two seasons.

HARRY FORSTER (b:May 2000 s:Sep 2020) Midfielder on loan from Watford originally until January, but later extended for the season. They previously sent him out for a spell with St Albans City.

Michael Cheek

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JOE KIZZI (b:Jun 1994 s:May 2019) Joined from Billericay Town and can play at right or centre back. His earlier football was played with Waltham Abbey, Cheshunt and Wingate & Finchley.

the Academy. Injury hampered his progress for a while but he returned last season and the central defender has now joined today’s opponents.

OLLIE TANNER (b:May 2002 s:Aug 2019) Attacking midfielder or forward who broke into firstteam reckoning during season 2019-20. He played for the club’s Academy after being with Arsenal.

LIAM TROTTER (b:Aug 1988 s:Sep 2020) Starting with Ipswich, gained more experience out on loan. He had stints at Millwall, Grimsby and Scunthorpe. A second spell at The Den led to a permanent move, and the same happened when he was loaned to Bolton Wanderers. After a loan spell with Nottingham Forest the midfielder switched to Wimbledon and then Orange County Soccer Club of the USA. Liam Trotter

TAYLOR MALONEY (b:Jan 1999 s:Oct 2020) Defensive midfielder who started with Charlton Athletic. He had time away on loan at Concord and Newport County before joining today’s opponents.

TAREK NAJIA (b:Jul 2001 s:Aug 2019) Keeper who joined permanently after switching from Dagenham initially as a non-contract player.

He had an earlier spell on work experience from the Daggers.

TOM PURRINGTON (b:Oct 2000 s:Sep 2020) Starting out with Plymouth Argyle. The defensive midfielder has moved on after ten years which included a loan spell with Dorchester Town.

FRANKIE RAYMOND (b:Nov 1992 s:Jul 2017) Midfielder who joined from Dagenham and Redbridge. He started with Reading, being sent out to Horsham, Basingstoke Town, Eastleigh and Hungerford Town on loan. Next stop was Gillingham and then he moved on to Eastbourne. Whilst at Dagenham he had a loan spell at the latter side.

KORY ROBERTS (b:Oct 1999 s:Sep 2020) Played first-team football for Walsall after progressing through

Ben Williamson

LIAM VINCENT (b:Mar 1997 s:Sep 2020) Academy midfield product who signed first-team forms during pre-season preparations after a year with the club.

CHARLIE WAKEFIELD (b:Apr 1998 s:Jan 2021) Full-back or winger who joined Wealdstone in October 2020 after leaving Coventry City. His previous side were Chelsea where he came through the academy and was loaned to Stevenage.

BYRON WEBSTER (b:Mar 1987 s:Sep 2020) Joined from Carlisle. He came through the youth ranks of York City before switching to Harrogate Town. A dual registration spell at Whitby Town preceded time with FK SIAD Most in the Czech Republic and Motherwell on loan. The defender made his way to Millwall via Doncaster Rovers, Hereford on loan, Northampton and Yeovil.

Aside from a loan spell back with Yeovil his other club was Scunthorpe.

BEN WILLIAMSON (b:Dec 1988 s:Nov 2019) After being connected with Millwall and Croydon Athletic this player began with Worthing. He spent time with Glenn Hoddle’s Academy side Jerez Industrial in Spain, returning to join AFC Bournemouth. The forward then had games for Hyde and Port Vale, before finding his way to Eastleigh via Gillingham and Cambridge United.

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Rebellious Jukebox Gareth Evans selects Bromley on the County Rock-Ola, and presses (extended) play to dis-cover a link with, and test the credentials of… DAVID BOWIE. So, what’s the connection?

Bowie, as one of the best-selling and most influential musicians in modern times, was known by a variety of monickers during his career - and, on starting out, he was to change his surname to avoid confusion with The Monkees’ vocalist Davy Jones - but it was as plain David Jones that he entered the world in Brixton on 8 January 1947.

His family moved to Bromley when he was six with one-year spells following in houses around Bickley and Bromley Common, before a 10-year stay at 4 Plaistow Grove, Sundridge Park where a Blue Plaque marks his decade of residence.

He received the bulk of his education in the town, too - attending Raglan Infant School, Burnt Ash Junior School and Bromley Technical High School. The latter was also the scene of a noteworthy event for the future, when

His family moved to Bromley when he was six - with oneyear spells following in houses around Bickley and Bromley Common, before a 10-year stay at 4 Plaistow Grove, Sundridge Park where a Blue Plaque marks his decade of residence

the 15-year-old Master Jones’ friend George Underwood (who was, de-spite the incident, to remain a good mate - and subsequently did some artwork for some early Bowie albums) punched him in the left eye in a fight over a girl, and left it permanently dilated, so that the young, and then adult, David’s irises appeared to be different colours. As a result of a Bromley playground punch-up, then, he already had a distinctive, other-worldly feature with which to wow pop kids, before dressing up or playing a note. But Rebellious, too? Let’s ‘Take Five’…

1. “Heroes” They say “Never meet your heroes”, and to that I would add, from penning this column since last October, “Take care when writing about them, too!” - especially when there is a word-count to observe (although, thanks to our esteemed Editor, I have an extra page today!), and, as in this case, the subject remains an icon to countless others five years after his untimely passing. Trailblazing musical trends and pop fashion for as long as Bowie did, he will mean different things to fans from different eras - but those of us old and fortunate enough to have been around in the 1970s were the ones to see him go stratospheric.

Most specifically, he became a nailed-on youth hero during his Top Of the Pops slot broadcast on 6 July 1972. Appearing to the nation that Thursday evening with backing band The Spiders From Mars, and performing ‘Starman’ as his intergalactic glam-rock alter ego, Ziggy Stardust, Bowie provided, in four minutes, an instant, lifechanging experience for a pop generation.

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2. Golden Years Sticking for a couple more paragraphs with the ‘70s, for this was the decade that saw Bowie who, in earlier years, had flitted between several bands while singing primitive rock ’n’ roll and bluesy numbers, and also trying his hand as a mime and cabaret entertainer - truly power ahead as a singer-songwriter… and not just of hit singles. (Those were invariably gems, though with, for prime example, ‘The Jean Genie’, ‘DriveIn Saturday’ and ‘Life On Mars?’, released in succession and all going top five, to help ensure that the charts’ upper reaches were rarely without quality in 1972-73.)

He was a glam rock pioneer (‘Queen Bitch’, a track on 1971 album ‘Hunky Dory’, arguably signalled that genre’s birth), who veered into funky territory - using a Paul McCartney reference from 10 years earlier to describe his ‘Young Americans’ long-player of 1975 as “the definitive plastic soul record” - before moving to West Berlin in 1976 and co-creating with Brian Eno and Tony Visconti an innovative trilogy of LPs that drew upon elements of electronic, krautrock, ambient and world music. On one of those, ‘Low’, the entirety of the second side comprised tracks that were wholly or mostly instrumental and the album’s two singles featured wordless backing vocals from wholesome folkie, and Visconti’s spouse, Mary Hopkin (‘Sound and

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A glam rock pioneer… who veered into funky territory - before moving to West Berlin in 1976 and co-creating an innovative trilogy of LPs Vision’), as well as Bowie singing in a detached, vaguely cockney tone over a barrelling barroom piano (‘Be My Wife’). Commercial suicide, one might have imagined - and, indeed, neither Bowie nor his label, RCA Records, re-ally bothered promoting the experimental art rock of ‘Low’ - but it excited, intrigued and ultimately sold in large measures. And it’s one of his bestever works.

3. Changes Having declared, sometime after releasing his debut album, and novelty single ‘The Laughing Gnome’, in 1967, that “I didn’t know if I was Max Miller or Elvis Presley”, Bowie was subsequently

to bring a cast of classic characters to his music.

We have already met in this piece the glittery and flamboyant Ziggy Stardust - to whom listeners of the day were introduced in a song when the needle found ‘Suffragette City’ on the 1972 loose concept album named after the androgynous alien musician who had been sent to Earth as a seductive teen messiah. A similar technique was used later in the ‘70s to announce the arrival of Bowie’s more sinister Thin White Duke persona, courtesy of his longest audio recording, ‘Station to Station’, that weighed in at over 10 minutes - with flame-haired Ziggy’s make-up and jumpsuit ditched for The Duke’s white shirt, black waistcoat and slicked-back blond barnet. In between those two came Aladdin Sane - dubbed

by Bowie as “Ziggy goes to America”, and sporting on his face an iconic red and blue bolt of lightning. And before all of them was fictional astronaut Major Tom, who had been central to Bowie’s commercial-break-through hit, ‘Space Oddity’, in 1969, before being referenced again 11 years later by chart-topping ‘Ashes to Ashes’, and once more during the mid-‘90s by ‘Hallo Spaceboy’ - later to be reissued as a remix with Pet Shop Boys.

Bowie was dubbed ‘rock’s greatest chameleon’ in the press - albeit a little lazily, as he was not one for painting himself a particular shade in order to blend into a fashionable background of the day.

‘Master of reinvention’ and the ‘Picasso of Pop’ were better descriptors used for someone who led the field and stayed in front of it as he did.

4. Cracked Actor It’s becoming the norm that subjects of this column have taken to the stage or screen in addition to singing. And Bowie did so quite extensively, as well as to general acclaim. His first headlining film performance, as a stranded alien in ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’ during 1976, was followed two years later by starring in ‘Just a Gigolo’ and, at the beginning of the 1980s, by a well-received stint on Broadway as John Merrick as ‘The Elephant Man’. A score of subsequent movie appearances included main-actor showings in ’Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence’, ‘The Hunger’, Labyrinth’ and ‘The Linguini Incident’, together with supporting roles in ‘The Last Temptation of Christ’ and ‘Zoolander’.

More bizarrely, he appeared as The Shark in ‘Yellowbeard’, and voiced the character of Lord

Royal Highness for cartoon hero ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’. Not that he wasn’t picky about the roles offered to him, mind - turning down, as he did for 1985, the chance of a Bond appearance as Max Zorin in ‘A View to a Kill’ because of his lack of enthusiasm about the script.

5. The Prettiest Star Bowie’s death from cancer, two days after his 69th birthday in 2016, rocked the world well beyond its arts sphere. And on that birthday, he had left it the ‘Blackstar’ album - which, following his triumphant long-playing comeback with ‘The Next Day’ three years previously, showed he had retained to the end his gift for making creative and challenging music. On hearing the news that he had gone, leading figures from most walks of life - be they music, literature, film, dance, comedy, technology, politics or philosophy came forward to talk of Bowie’s impact on their lives and how he always managed to stay ahead of the curve. Most notably, but also appositely, of all, the Pope tweeted lyrics from ‘Space Oddity’ in tribute.

‘Five Years’ on, you can be sure Bowie will be ‘Dancing Out in Space’.

Rebellious Jukebox Rating:… naturally, a Rebel Rebel TEN! 19

GAME CHANGER footballfoundation.org.uk

Tommy Sword

Phoenix From The County Flames This season we talk to past County players about their favourite memories from their time at Edgeley Park. Ahead of this evening’s televised game, we caught up with County legend Tommy Sword, who takes a trip down memory lane to recall his favourite County memories...

Tommy Sword was by far the most successful penalty taker in County’s history, scoring 25 penalties which greatly contributed to his 51 league goals at Edgeley Park.

A fine centre-half, he was perhaps best known for being the king of the spot-kicks, including that memorable winning strike at the famous Roker Park as Fourth Division County defeated First Division Sunderland in the League Cup. The huge upset meant that Sunderland became the first team from the top tier of English football to lose to a Fourth Division team in the Football League Cup over two legs when the final score in the second leg of the Second Round tie at Roker was added, which County won 2-1.

“It was a great night and important goal,” said Tommy. “Although my wife is a Mackem, most of my family are Newcastle supporters so they were over the moon I scored the winning goal!

We were not expected to win which made it even more special. I got tickets for the game for my family which were in the Sunderland end so when I scored they all jumped up!

“Roker Park was a lovely stadium to play in. It hosted a World Cup game in 1966 and it had a great pitch. Sunderland were really fancied to beat us but we played well and deserved it over the two legs. Obviously, I’m from the North East so it was good to score there!”

Two other games stand out, against Sheffield United and Liverpool.

21

“Sheffield United at home was an excellent day.

They were top of the league but we beat them 1-0 at Edgeley Park. I fouled the ‘keeper in the lead up to the goal but the referee allowed it.

There was hell on!

“And there was the League Cup tie at Liverpool who were the European Cup winners and it was like the Alamo! We earned a 0-0 draw at Edgeley Park and we held Liverpool at Anfield before eventually losing in extra-time.”

But it was the Sunderland game which brings back the fondest of memories. By 1980, the Football League had already introduced the two-leg format for the second round of the League Cup, a change which is weighted heavily against the lower division teams.

County progressed following a 1-0 extra-time victory against Chester in the first round and few gave County a chance against top-flight Sunderland. The first leg at Edgeley Park was a hard-fought game that ended in a 1-1 draw, Sunderland’s Kevin Arnott cancelling out David Sunley’s opening County goal.

Over 17,000 fans who came to Roker Park would have expected to see Sunderland progress in the competition but it became clear that the top-flight side would have to play at their best to defeat a stubborn County side.

With just over 20 minutes left on the clock, Stan Cummings scored an impressive header to put the hosts in front. However, County’s spirit,

THE GAME: Sunderland 1 County 2

THE DATE: Wednesday 3rd September 1980

THE COMPETITION: League Cup Second Round Second Leg

THE MOMENT: I’ll have to go for the Sunderland game, scoring the winning penalty, as a Newcastle fan at Roker Park, was pretty special!

22

admirably, did not break. Within five minutes, a flowing Stockport move ended with Les Bradd putting David Sunley through to fire a low shot past future County manager Chris Turner.

In the 78th minute, County took a shock lead when a poor back-pass from Sunderland’s Shaun Elliott gave Sunley possession and, as the Stockport striker moved towards goal, Elliott brought him down. The referee immediately pointed to the spot and, though loudly jeered by the Roker crowd, Tommy Sword kept his nerve to fire the ball past Chris Turner to put County in dreamland.

Sunderland tried to force an equaliser but it was not to be, and County were through to the third round and a prestigious home tie against Arsenal.

Although the Arsenal game was a step too far for County, with the Gunners leaving with a 3-1 win, the League Cup run was just one of a number of happy memories from his time at Edgeley Park.

Tommy looks back on his time at Edgeley Park with great affection.

“They were great days and it’s a great club,” he said. “I played in some great games and I loved it there. County have always been well supported and I hope they get back into the Football League as soon as possible.

“We always seemed to be punching above our weight and we always seemed to have our struggles money-wise where we had to move players on such as Quinny.

“I still get asked about the penalties and I used to practise them all of the time. I never used to change my mind and I always used to practise placing them into the corner inside the post.

Goalkeepers cannot save them if you place them there!”

Tommy was a hugely popular figure with the Hatters faithful, making 270 League and Cup appearances.

When Sword joined County at the beginning of November, he was a little-known non-league player with Bishop Auckland, albeit one who had scored 50 goals for the Northern Football League club.

Tommy added: “I turned pro late. I played for Whitley Bay and then on to Bishop Auckland where we had a good side. I played up front, County wanted me to go there on trial and to take me from Bishops. I signed a two-year contract then went on to spend nine years at Edgeley Park altogether.”

The blond 6ft 2ins defender’s enthusiasm and dedication were major factors in at least a ‘minirevival’. His full debut saw him return to the North East to play Hartlepool in a game which demonstrated everything about his quality.

With County trailing 1-0, Sword scored twice to give the team a 2-1 win.

His never-say-die attitude and passion for the game inspired others around him, bringing him both respect and affection from the supporters and fellow professionals.

Tommy says that he still keeps in touch with some ex-team-mates who played for County during that era. “Yes I still keep in touch with Oshor Williams, we’re best of friends and he is my daughter’s godfather. He’s a great lad and I’ve attended games at County with him. I also attended the funeral of Paul Bowles earlier this year. I don’t hear from many of the other players if I’m honest apart from Micky Quinn.

Seven seasons after he had joined County, he was transferred to Hartlepool United for £5,000 but, a little over six months later, Sword returned, playing his last game in November 1987.

But when he retired from football in 1988, moving back to the North East to run a pub in Newcastle, he was granted a well-deserved testimonial that August against Manchester City.

This enabled County fans to show their appreciation for the brilliant service and memories he had given to the club.

But over 20 years on Sword still keeps an eye on County’s results and is hoping to get to some of County’s home games when the government’s covid-19 restrictions are lifted to allow supporters back into stadiums after a year of games largely being played behind closed doors.

Who knows in the future, County’s class of 2021 may create similar memories as Tommy Sword that will be talked about for years to come.

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Harry Barrett reflects on the Northern Section County kicked off their 1921/22 season, the first of 25 Northern section campaigns, with a 2-0 win at Barrow. Ernie Gault scored in the first half with Joe Kearslake securing the points. An estimated 10,000 watched the Holker Street fixture, a figure possibly boosted by the Cumbrians allowing the unemployed in for free.

Attendances were healthy on that last day of August with 12,000 witnessing Nelson’s home defeat by Wigan Borough and over 10,000 at the Racecourse where Wrexham lost to Hartlepools. The Durham club name then was always listed in the plural and even had the prefix ‘West’ in some publications. Despite having a partially completed grandstand Halifax, a rugby league stronghold, regularly attracted five figure gates.

But the depressed post-war economy soon had several clubs strapped for cash. The Football League were approached to sanction the unemployed being admitted at reduced rates but the minimum 9d charge (3 pence) was rigorously enforced. Barrow’s directors were asked for an explanation of their admission policy after some disturbances, resulting in “hooligans entering the field of play”. Barrow toed the League line.

But being members of the Football League was seen as important. Many a town mayor was accorded special privileges, brass bands frequently added to the occasion and local businessmen wanted to be involved, though not always financially.

Cotton magnate William Rhodes at Stalybridge was an exception. He had bankrolled Celtic with £25,000 (£3million today) as they joined the Northern Section and was not disappointed. On the opening day, Celtic hammered Chesterfield 6-0 and by the end of September were in fourth spot, behind Durham, Nelson and County, that trio bracketed on nine points.

24

County though were top of the pile, without conceding a goal. Harry Hardy, taking time off from playing the oboe, was an ever present, keeping 23 clean sheets in the 38-game programme. The goals against column eventually totalled 21, by far the best in the division.

Teams frequently met home and away on successive Saturdays with revenge often meted out in the return. Thus Chesterfield beat Stalybridge 4-0 at Saltergate following that Bower Fold humiliation. Accrington, beaten 6-3 at Rochdale, also bagged four without reply when ‘Dale visited Peel Park. Successive Saturdays in early November brought County down to earth.

With only one league defeat, the visit of Grimsby, beaten 7-1 at Southport on their last away day was a home banker. Not quite. The Mariners won, Jimmy Carmichael, a centre half converted to centre forward scoring. The striker also netted at Blundell Park, going on to head the Northern Section goalscorers with 37.

When County were bundled out of the FA Cup by non-league Lancaster in December, rapidly improving Grimsby and Darlington were also bracketed on 19 points. Accrington and Southport had 18. With just one promotion place available and the season approaching the halfway stage, consistency was essential.

County embarked on a 15-game unbeaten run, beginning at local rivals Stalybridge on New

County embarked on a 15-game unbeaten run, beginning at local rivals Stalybridge on New Year’s Eve while many challengers fell away

Year’s Eve while many challengers fell away. Celtic themselves were still in contention, but before their best gate of the season – 7,500 – were beaten 4-0. Two weeks later the same scoreline at Edgeley Park secured local bragging rights for County and ended Mr Rhodes’ hopes of promotion.

Joe O’Kane scored a brace in each game, after a debut hat-trick at Walsall. The 25-year-old Scot eventually top scored with 12 in 16 starts, one more than Ernie Gault, who was coming to the end of his Football League career.

Darlington and Grimsby kept winning. On Easter Saturday, Darlington beat County at Feethams by the only goal and seven days later visited Edgeley Park. Grimsby were at Accrington and the one promotion place could be settled in County’s favour, if the results went the right way.

Charlie Jones, later winning the First Division with Arsenal, didn’t mess around. His goal after 30 seconds, according to The Athletic News, put County in pole position. Later, news came through Bob Brown had scored for Stanley. The Hatters were back in Division Two. Edgeley’s best gate of the season, 17,500, celebrated and couldn’t have cared less that an Accrington newspaper considered Brown to “lack skill in beating an opponent”.

So ended the first Northern Section season.

Next time, financial struggles with clubs falling by the wayside.

25

Official Partners of The National League

Stockport County Colts & Junior Academy

In our first week back after a long absence, a lot of our players are finding the return to football exhausting!

This has been no exception for our Under-11s Academy team who returned to training on Monday and have now played three games!

team play: including support at all angles and the quality delivery of passes.

Of course, so many children have been without team exercise that this has been a welcome return, but we have immediately got the boys playing in game situations so that they can develop and regain their touch in pressured situations.

This strategy has seen the boys develop continuously since the start of the season in the East Manchester Premiership and today was no exception, where with a slightly depleted side the boys signed off their first return game in the league with a 3-1 victory against Bury.

The Academy team usually play a formation of 1-2-4-2 at nine-a-side, which gives protection for the two centre-backs from the wide players as well as giving the opportunity for these players to get forward and support the two central strikers.

Whilst undoubtedly their fitness levels will return steadily, it was good to see that they haven’t forgotten the style of play that the coaches Joppe and Steve want to see as part of the developmental pathway for these County youngsters.

With their warm-up games this week the boys had clearly not lost all that they had gained prior to lockdown as they have simply played some superb football.

If you are interested in your child following the County pathway from Colts to Junior Academy to post-16 Academy (and then hopefully the first team!) we are trialling all age groups from now throughout the summer so please contact damien.allen@stockportcounty.com for Academy or info@stockportcountycolts.co.uk for the Colts.

These boys have excellent technique and touch already and are now steadily combining this with

27

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The Mad Hatter’s Quiz with Paul Dean

TRIVIA

WHO AM I?

1. Which League One side signed former Bromley player Reeco Hackett–Fairchild?

2. For which club did Andy Woodman play when winning the Division Three play-offs in 1997?

3. Who has scored the most goals in World Cup tournament history?

4. Who is the only player to have won the World Cup on three occasions?

5. Jamie Carragher made his first team debut for Liverpool under which manager?

6. Which player holds the record as the youngest player to play in World Cup finals tournament?

7. What is the name of Micky Quinn’s autobiography released in 2003?

8. For which club did former Hatters favourite Oshor Williams sign when leaving the club in 1984?

NOTTS COUNTY OXFORD UNITED PETERBOROUGH PORTSMOUTH ROCHDALE ROTHERHAM SHREWSBURY SOUTHEND SUNDERLAND TRANMERE WYCOMBE

U B S B M W G Q F U L Y J D T C O Q K C

S O U T H E N D U R T P N E J F Y S B J

A I E L V F X H O N A Z B T N O I L G O

T N X Y I I D C U C M U R I K V T I K M

G H B I Q E H O W U N R I N P F G B D R

F F E K R D C A B I E I K U F X E F T C

C C D E A S F C H J B B D D U R U M G N

P G E L T O D G S G B P M R H A Z I T Q

X J E T L P M D E H U X Z O L C W D G W

J G O H T U O M S T R O P F C W B X Q D

R N A R R P W A E M W E R X D Y F U N P

K G L A O D I R R G S L W O H C W A V S

Y M I L T O N K E Y N E S S B U L D W A

G I U Z H Q D S M A V F I G B R S A K D

A V Y O E Y K H N F I T F U E U E Y J B

N T K Z R C L G A J Z Q R D K M R T C A

J U H U H T H H R H B W N B O Q W Y E Y

X C M D A V M I T A H U R U M Y Y H Z P

U C H K M K M E P U S F M J D B X P N B

S O Y I H N B T A D Z V J I U W G M I M

Answers:

MILTON KEYNES

Who Am I? Jim Fryatt

WORDSEARCH

Trivia 1: Portsmouth 2: Northampton Town 3: Miroslav Klose 4: Pele 5: Roy Evans 6. Norman Whiteside 7. Who Ate All The Pies?

8. Port Vale

I signed for the Hatters from Torquay United and I was famous for my bullet headers.

29

Steve Bellis Fantastic Fridays, Ingrowing Toes and Blue Paint!

Well, we finally did it and it only took 62 years!

Yes, we have finally won a game at Aldershot, a venue that has been the scene of much misery during our long history.

Some of our longer-in-the-tooth fans will have been there for our 7-0 thrashing in 1964. My worst memory at the Recreation Ground is slightly less disastrous as we actually scored a goal.

That was back in 1986 when David Mossman was on target in a 6-1 defeat... now that was a long journey home. In fact it was so long we came up with a new verse for song which went: ”so we went away to Aldershot in a transit full of (insert the word of your choice that rhymes with icks) and we would have got a victory if we’d scored another six, singing Stockport County, we’ll sing this song all night and we’ll always follow County until day we die”.

long ‘awwwwwwww’ from everyone we asked how old the grandchildren were. He responded with: “six months and eight months”.

Apparently he thinks that they are going to call him pops when they are actually old enough to speak.

Things didn’t improve for Jonesy who discovered that the baddie on Emmerdale (whoever that is) had died in the episode the night before. Poor Jonesy had ‘taped’ it and didn’t expect his breakfast news spoiler.

However, the comment of the weekend came from Stuart Guest (aka Cheggers), our primary school healthy living presenter.

We were discussing what we were ordering for dinner when the subject of burgers came up, to which Cheggers commented: “That’s the thing about a burger, you can always heat it up in the fridge.”

Anyway, back to Good Friday and it wasn’t just good, it was absolutely fantastic.

It’s never dull travelling with these two.

We had travelled down the previous evening staying at the team hotel, the same hotel we stayed at prior to the Sutton game.

They were on the ball when it came to predicting the result though with both predicting a 2-1 win for the Hatters.

We had the pleasure of the company of former County player and Bolton legend Paul Jones.

We politely asked after the welfare of his partner Kate to which Jonesy sighed and told us she was seeing a podiatrist.

We asked what was wrong and he informed us that she has ingrowing toes.

We nearly spat our wine gums out at the thought of such an awful condition until he clarified that he meant ingrowing toe nails.

On a more positive note he also informed us that Kate’s grandchildren were calling him ‘pops’. After a 30

It only took 62 years... Ash powers home to secure our first ever win at Aldershot

It was a beautiful day down in Hampshire and we were given a warm welcome by our friends at the Recreation Ground.

The gaffer had selected a very attacking line-up with Paddy Madden, Harry Cardwell and Jack Stretton forming a menacing trio up front.

The latter was bundled over in the box in the first half after his pace stunned the home defence. The ref however waved away the pleas but not even he could prevent the on-loan youngster from finding the back of the net later in the half following a neat through ball from Paddy Madden.

It was a lead we deserved and there were no complaints from the Shots who had no shots!

Half-time was therefore hugely enjoyable as our hosts supplied some posh biscuits and cakes to go with our tea and coffee.

As we settled down for the second half we dared to dream and with just 20 minutes left (or so we thought) Ash Palmer rose above everyone (like he does) to power a header into the Shots’ net to double our advantage.

Dare we dream about actually winning at Aldershot?

Five minutes later it was 2-1 and the tension was unbearable. The minutes crawled (as they do when you are 2-1 up) but soon the 90 minutes were up and we looked on anxiously as the fourth official (why would anyone want that job by the way, you just get shouted at by both managers for the duration of the game) bent down to get his electric thingy to show how much time was to be added on.

There had been a number of injuries and substitutions so we expected five minutes but nope, the board said seven... seven more minutes.

We could hardly watch as the home side, who had offered little threat for most of the afternoon poured forward intent on preserving their record against us.

They came close too, hitting the post with just a couple of minutes remaining but these players of ours are made of strong stuff these days and they held on to secure all three points there for the first time in 27 attempts.

Bizarrely our hosts seemed almost as pleased with us breaking our duck as we were.

The hugely impressive Number ten media room... it even has a Henry

It was a most pleasant journey home and a wonderful start to the Easter weekend.

It was also a wonderful week for referee Rebecca Welch who today will officiate a Football League match for the first time.

Rebecca produced the best refereeing display we have seen at EP for a long time when she took charge of our game against Yeovil in February.

I was extremely impressed and if she had needed a reference I would definitely have given her one.

We wish her all the best as she takes charge of the Harrogate match against Port Vale this afternoon.

It was a momentous week in Downing Street too with the unveiling of the new media suite at number ten.

It would appear that bumbling Boris has spaffed a cool £2.6 million on a few Union Jacks and some blue paint. It was largely unimpressive, and they still haven’t managed to install buttons in the podiums so the speakers can change the slides.

It completely baffles me that Chris Whitty (he’s a professor for god’s sake) and Jean Claude Van Tam or whatever his name is can’t press their own buttons and despite the incredible expenditure on the new media room have to ask some minion to move to the next slide during presentations.

I can understand them not letting Boris press the buttons, however, as he would undoubtedly cock it up.

Anyway, back to this evening and we warmly welcome our friends from Bromley and the team from BT Sport, as ever we are thankful for their excellent coverage.

I am sure the lads will rise to the occasion and put on a worthy display.

31

Opposition View Bromley FC Media Assistant Alex Exadactylos gives us his thoughts from a visiting perspective ahead of this evening’s big game.

How do you assess Bromley’s season so far?

Honestly, it has been inconsistent. We have not had a run of games where we could find that consistency that we so desperately desired. Our season has been full of ups and downs, but there have been some incredible individual performances by some players that can’t go unnoticed.

What have been the highlights and games that have stood out for you so far this season?

The opening day 4-1 victory against Dover Athletic was impressive. Our away victory at Solihull Moors in front of the BT Sport cameras was also brilliant.

We ended the Moors’ impressive unbeaten home record! Our win against Sutton in the FA Cup was also a memorable moment.

What are your hopes for the rest of the season?

To try and get into the play-offs. It will be a very hard task, but it can be achieved. Personally, it was fantastic to see some of the academy players start in our last game against Wealdstone. I would like to see the academy players get more game time as they are the future of the club.

Our season has been full of ups and downs, but there have been some incredible individual performances by some players that can’t go unnoticed 32

Mark Cousins has been ever-reliable in goal

Who are the Bromley players to watch out for this evening?

There is the ever-reliable Mark Cousins in goal, Joe Kizzi is a great full-back who is adding goals to his game. Also, I am sure everyone is aware of the National League’s top goalscorer Michael Cheek!

What are your thoughts on County? Do you have any memories of games against The Hatters?

As well as being a well-known team in Britain, Stockport will always be pushing for promotion.

I unfortunately remember this season’s game at Hayes Lane when Bromley lost to Stockport 0-2.

John Rooney was outstanding that day…

Have you been to Edgeley Park before?

As a massive football fan myself, I have not! I would love to go in the future though.

What is your prediction for the game?

This season is extremely unpredictable. I am going to go for a Bromley 1-2 win in a very tense match.

Terrace Talk Following on from Friday’s trip down to Aldershot Town it’s a quick turnaround for Simon Rusk and County as Bromley are the visitors to Edgeley Park for this Easter Monday clash.

Bromley still have an outside chance of the Play-Offs and recently they parted company with Neil Smith after five years in charge at Hayes Lane and replaced him with the Arsenal goalkeeper coach Andy Woodman.

Woodman will have a few experienced players to work with in his first few weeks in charge of the London club including the former Millwall and Bolton Wanderers midfielder Liam Trotter, ex-Yeovil Town centre half Byron Webster, Billy Bingham once of Crewe Alexandra and Gillingham and goalkeeper Mark Cousins best known for four years at Dagenham & Redbridge.

Aside from that, striker Michael Cheek currently tops the National League scoring charts with 17 for the season so far so it will be an interesting test for County which perhaps doesn’t reflect Bromley’s standing in the table.

April will be a busy month for County but in many ways the matches coming thick and fast could turn out to be advantageous. There are trips to navigate with The Hatters taking to the road to face Wrexham, King’s Lynn and Boreham Wood but it’s the home games against King’s Lynn and Maidenhead United within days of each other which could prove pivotal as we

Ross Fitzsimons is another new face around Carrington

approach the final stage of the season.

the football family is with him in every step of the fight ahead.

Back in early December it was a John Rooney inspired County which nailed down victory against Bromley. Alex Reid put County ahead on 16 minutes when Rooney’s goalbound shot cleared by Joe Kizzi fell into his path and later Rooney got himself in on the act when firing low and hard past Cousins on the hour to seal the victory.

Whilst Connor will be absent for the rest of the season he will still be involved supporting the team through their final few matches.

Connor Jennings also hit the woodwork in that game and was a driving force in the victory, it goes without saying that everyone at the Club sends their best wishes to him following his recent cancer diagnosis and that

There is another new face around Carrington with goalkeeper Ross Fitzsimons joining the Hatters following a brief spell with Boston United. Ross is perhaps best known for his time at Notts County whom he served for three years up until last summer but he has also been on the books of Crystal Palace and Bolton and has had numerous loan spells.

He is going to provide strong competition for Ben Hinchliffe and Josh Barnes.

33

The County Years

1998

County Historian Ian Watts delves into the archives to bring you some of the Hatters’ more memorable moments from years gone by.

Opening game County opened the year with their first Third Round FA Cup tie without having to negotiate the earlier rounds for many years.

County: Eric Nixon, Sean Connelly, Damon Searle, Tom Bennett, Tony Dinning, Martin McIntosh, Jim Gannon, Chris Byrne, Brett Angell, Alun Armstrong, Kevin Cooper.

There were 12,180 at Deepdale as the visiting Hatters established a two-goal lead early in the second half against their lower-division opposition. Brett Angell scored the goals on 30 and 48 minutes. A PNE side that included future County players Lee Cartwright and Jon Macken ensured it was no easy passage by pulling a goal back from the penalty spot with 18 to go. Lee Ashcroft being the scorer.

First debutant Welshman Wayne Phillips (SCAN 1061) became the first new player of the year when he was brought in from Wrexham on loan, ahead of a £175,000 permanent move. His debut came on 14th February 1998 for the visit of Stoke City, when he came on for Chris Byrne in a 1-0 win. Phillips would stay until the summer of the following year having failed to hold down a first-team place. He returned to the Racecourse Ground for a much lower fee.

34

Summer business The manager was to release four of his out-ofcontract players in most capped player at the time Martin Nash (Edmonton Drillers, Canada), Luís Cavaco (Boavista, Portugal), Andy Mutch (Barrow) and Damon Searle (Carlisle U).

The list of new County employees were Ian Moore, the forward costing a record £800,000 fee from Nottingham Forest, Carlo Nash (Crystal Palace keeper) and wingers Graham Branch (Tranmere Rovers) and Norwegian Paul Alsaker (Flora Tallinn of Estonia).

Last debutant Current Hayes and Yeading United manager Paul Hughes made his County debut on 19th December. Paul had come in on loan from Chelsea. The midfield man would make seven

appearances in a County shirt starting with the 2-0 victory over Oxford United on that day, with national papers reporting his performance as impressive.

Closing game The fine form of that first season back at tier two of English football seemed a long way away as County ended the year on Monday 28 December.

County: Nash, Connelly, Dinning (Cooper), Hughes, Mike Flynn, McIntosh, Rob Matthews (Aaron Wilbraham), Derek McInnes, Stephen Grant, Moore, Colin Woodthorpe.

The hardy souls making the trip to Blundell Park, virtually on the coast at a bracing Cleethorpe were to watch the Hatter go down to the only goal of the game, scored for Grimsby Town by Paul Groves on 68 minutes. The defeat left the Hatters in 17th place.

Most appearances in calendar year Mike Flynn 49 (max 51), Sean Connelly 47, Brett Angell 46 Most goals in calendar year Brett Angell 13, Chris Byrne & Tony Dinning 7

Paul Hughes

Worst run 6 without win (11th - 31st August) D5 L1 Best run 5 games unbeaten (three times) The man in charge Gary Megson was appointed when County lost several of their promotion-winning management team in the summer of 1997. He came in from the same role as Blackpool to take over from Dave Jones, proving a very different personality. After the record-breaking first season (see below), it was certainly a difficult second ending in a heavy defeat at Oxford United. He was sacked in the summer of 1999 with the club announcing he had been applying for other jobs. Gary would later manage Stoke, West Bromwich, Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, Bolton and Sheffield Wednesday.

And finally...

This was the season in which County claimed their highest Football League finish of 8th. They finished just ahead of Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion, with Manchester City, Stoke City and Reading dropping to current League One level.

Thanks to all the anonymous donors who have supplied images for this article.

Gary Megson

35

Stockport CountyFC FC Stockport County Official Club Sponsors Official Club Sponsors

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Commercial Together support junior fan campaigns

Recently, Together has been supporting County on some exciting junior fan campaigns. We launched our ‘Design our Cover’ competition at the beginning of March and had lots of brilliant entries. All of the designs were showcased at half time during the stream against Hartlepool.

Congratulations again to six-year-old Lacey, who was chosen as the competition winner. Lacey’s design

was proudly featured as our official programme cover for the game against Hartlepool last Saturday. Also, a huge well done to Lottie, aged five, who was chosen as the competition’s runner-up.

Thank you to Together for sponsoring the competition and donating the prizes which included an Easter Hamper. As well as the cover campaign, Together are also supporting our new ‘County P.E Sessions’.

Sponsor Spotlight: C&C Insurance Brokers North-west based C&C Insurance Brokers, a regular sponsor of the Club, has revealed the next step in its ambitious expansion plans, bolstering its business with a new Scottish operation. The full story can be found on the Club’s website.

The Italian sponsor Bromley game The Italian is our Match Sponsor for our game against Bromley this evening.

The Italian is a family-run, independent Italian restaurant who have been working tirelessly throughout lockdown to cook and deliver the people of SK6 home-cooked Italian meals. Their takeaway menu is available from 5 until 10pm, every day except Monday. We’d like to thank them for their fantastic support of the Club.

37

Sam Byrne It’s been a while since we’ve had a cracking Easter weekend at Edgeley Park, especially following last season’s curtailment at the start of this pandemic – and while today unfortunately won’t have the fans back in and behind the team, it’s definitely a huge game in terms of the rest of this season.

County are in terrific form as of late, topping the National League form table with four wins and two draws in the last six outings – with those two draws against the top two in the table, in the shape of Sutton and Hartlepool respectively.

Unfortunately, the likes of Torquay, Hartlepool and even the rapidly-approaching Chesterfield are also stringing wins together when needed the most, and so it has been imperative that Simon Rusk’s side have found this form at the right time.

There can be a lot said for timing your run of form at the end of the season, and The Hatters are now nicely placed to push on for the remainder of the campaign and either keep the pressure on league leaders Sutton, or to give second place a massive go.

Rusk and company have made County hard to beat, and while there was that lean goalscoring spell throughout February, that period seems to have now passed 38

Friday was County’s first win at Aldershot

Friday’s first-ever win at Aldershot was Rusk’s fifteenth in charge of The Hatters, with a tally before today’s game showing seven wins, five draws and three defeats in that time.

It’s definitely an increasingly impressive start to life at Edgeley Park, but the aspect which stands out most is just nine goals conceded (alongside 21 goals scored).

Skipper Liam Hogan returned to action at the weekend

Rusk and company have made County hard to beat, and while there was that lean goalscoring spell throughout February, that period seems to have now passed and generally even our fellow top sides in the division have found it difficult to break through County’s defences at the other end of the pitch.

Of course, there’ll be no concession of the league title from any of the top sides any time soon especially with Sutton failing to win in their last two outings – but should second or third place become the spot that is up for grabs come the end of the season, that difficulty to break down may become a big positive for The Hatters in the end-of-season play-offs.

With skipper Liam Hogan and talisman John Rooney returning to action last weekend (and County fans yet to really see the potency of a potential Rooney/Paddy Madden partnership), and with Mark Kitching potentially returning to action before the end of the campaign, Rusk will rightly feel that everything is falling into place for his side at the perfect time.

Today represents another tough challenge against a Bromley side which has been a solid National League outfit down the last few years, albeit a side which has undergone a rather turbulent change of management in recent weeks.

Following last Saturday’s battling stalemate with promotion rivals Hartlepool at Edgeley Park, six points from the Easter Weekend would be a massive few days for County.

Six points over the weekend would also be the first time County have won games on Good Friday and the following Easter Monday since 2003, with a 0-3 win at Northampton followed by a 2-1 win over Huddersfield at Edgeley Park.

Given Rusk’s habit of ending ‘hoodoos’ at Edgeley Park, with first-ever wins at Solihull and Aldershot over the last month, let’s not bet against that happening here again today!

Enjoy the game!

39

Physio

Luke Smith Good evening everyone.

This week we have seen John Rooney return after a short spell out. His rehabilitation has gone very well and we hope to see him back in the team for the remainder of our campaign. Mark Kitching had undergone a procedure to help with his ongoing back issue.

We hope to see Mark back on the grass next week and feature at some point this season, if all goes to plan. Adam Thomas has been sidelined with a foot injury he sustained in training and is expected to return in a few weeks. Finally, Connor is training well on his own and is maintaining fitness as we await the next stage of his treatment.

Enjoy the game.

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41

SNAPPED! after scoring his first Paddy Madden is up and running with Hartlepool. draw 1-1 nt rece the in goal for County

42

Lee Collins: 1988-2021

The condolences of everyone at Stockport County Football Club are with the family, friends and team-mates of Yeovil Town captain Lee Collins, who has sadly passed away at the age of 32.

Rest in peace, Lee.

43

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Supporters’ Co-operative County are fortunate to have a vast army of supporters spread across almost every corner of the globe, keeping The Hatters’ torch alight, in the most unexpected of places.

Current lockdown restrictions have hit everyone worldwide and exiled County fans are no exception, but the global pandemic has brought with it an unexpected bonus for those supporters living abroad, via the excellent arrangements initially set up by the County Media team, which have subsequently been replicated across the National League.

Exiles are a brilliant resource that should be nurtured as should our valued housebound supporters.

The arrangement is ‘win / win’… faraway supporters get to see County, and County along with all other host clubs now streaming our away games, attract vital income.

Until that happy day, however, hopefully we will not forget the less fortunate members of the County Family!

The same, of course, applies to our housebound fans, who just cannot get to a game at all through no fault of their own. They have been able to enjoy seeing County via the current streaming arrangements, but what happens when ‘normality’, or something approaching that happy state, comes about?

Previously ‘normality’ has meant both exiles and housebound County fans have just missed out, and that is a massive shame!

When we attain Football League (EFL) status, this should cease being an issue as the EFL run their nationwide streaming service which should be available to everyone irrespective of where they might live.

My hope is that the Club will act to provide an ongoing streaming service for exiles and housebound fans meanwhile, pitched at a price that ensures the Club does not lose out on income, but affordable to supporters who otherwise would not see the County team that they love.

By doing so, County would earn themselves massive kudos!

Ian Brown Stockport County Supporters’ Co-operative 45

High Quality Corporate Accessories www.william-turner.co.uk 0161 475 3570 / corporate@william-turner.co.uk

COUNTY JUNIORS

S P O N S O R E D B Y:

Happy Easter to you all. We hope that you’re enjoying your Easter weekend and the school holidays. Did you all get plenty of chocolate eggs and do you have any left to eat whilst watching today’s game?

Today we welcome Bromley to Edgeley Park with a later kick-off than normal due to the match being chosen for live TV on BT Sport. A fixture on a Bank Holiday would usually have a big crowd and a great atmosphere. For that we will have to wait a little longer with hopefully spectators being allowed into grounds just before the end of the season. A performance, like in early December when we won 2-0 away at Bromley, would be fitting for a television audience and the three points would be very welcome.

We had two home games the week before last. Firstly, on the Tuesday night, we won 3-0 against Eastleigh. Another clean sheet and a really impressive performance. What a goal from Will Collar, there looked to be nothing on until it left his foot and it certainly hit the net. More of the same Will please. On the Saturday we had a tough fixture with one of the form teams at present Hartlepool United. I thought it was an even first half, with very few chances. At the start of the second our visitors took an early lead and looked in control. Again, as in past games, County gradually came back into the game and got a deserved equaliser with a shot from Paddy Madden, his first for the club.

You will have no doubt seen the news on Connor Jennings. We wish him all the best and a speedy recovery from all of us at County Juniors.

Happy Birthday Happy Birthday to Jamie Butterworth a.k.a. Vernon Bear, who celebrated his 40th birthday last Thursday!

We hope you enjoyed your day, from all the family.

Mascot Name: Emilia Age: 4 Attends: Banks Lane Nursery School Favourite player: Sam Minihan

That’s all for this time.

Ian Butterworth 47

All Past Players Following on from the successful All Past Opponents feature that has run over the last few seasons, we begin our All Past Players series which profiles the men who have worn the County shirts of various colours over the years.

The basis of these articles will be the years of research done by those who were or have been official or unofficial historians of the club. Starting back in the 1960s with Simon Myers, through Peter Freeman and Richard Harnwell and on to Marcus Heap and Ian Watts. These researches eventually led to Peter’s books and then to the Stockport County Appearance Number (SCAN) scheme.

HARRY BURGESS

One of the more impressive forwards in County’s history with a record of nearly eighty goals in less than 130 games. His arrival from Sandbach appeared to come in two stages but he quickly established himself in the side and started his relentless scoring regime, strangely improving after missing a few games due to flu. Interest in the forward built and he was sold to Sheffield Wednesday for a probable club record fee later reported as £3,500. Sixteen months after that move he was playing

48

for England in a 5-1 victory over Northern Ireland. He scored twice and got two more in his other three matches for the national team. After going on to play for Chelsea Harry returned to County during WW2 and a broken bone in his ankle during a war time game for County ended his career and he went on to be the landlord of the Ring O’ Bells in Wilmslow.

JOE SMITH

One of the captains in the first Wembley Cup final, Joe was sold to County after 19 years at Burnden.

He would go on to score 63 goals for the Hatters in 73 games but his arrival caused County to lose two points. He was such a big name that a crowd of 22,622 assembled at Edgeley Park for his debut against Stoke City. Chairman Barlow was handed a telegram shortly before kick-off ordering the club not to play Smith, He slipped it into his pocket without telling anyone else,

Player

Debut

Signed From

Fred Jones

02.01.1926

Aberystwyth

convinced an announcement to that effect would cause serious scenes. County said they had posted the forms on deadline day but as they did not arrive until the next morning he was deemed to be ineligible, and they were punished with the deduction and fined.

Tommy Scurr

27.02.1926

Chilton CR Ath

Tom Wilson

27.02.1926

Portadown

Harry Burgess

13.03.1926

Sandbach Ramblers

Joe Lamb

28.08.1926

Durham C

Oliver Levick

28.08.1926

Sheffield Wed

Fred Sanderson

28.08.1926

Newport Co

Willis Walker

28.08.1926

Bradford (PA)

Len Williams

28.08.1926

Sheffield Wed

WILLIS WALKER

Harold Odenrode

04.09.1926

Aston Villa ?

Harry Catterick

11.09.1926

Chilton CR Ath

William Marsland

16.10.1926

None

Alfred Martin

20.11.1926

Chilton CR Ath

Robert Hunter

25.12.1926

Ashton National

Thomas Read

25.12.1926

Darlaston

Horace Fielding

05.02.1927

Mossley

Jack Turner

05.03.1927

Silverwood Colliery

Joe Smith

19.03.1927

Bolton W

Albert Broom

02.04.1927

Welshpool

Ernest Helliwell

16.04.1927

Sheffield Wed

Billy Hayes

27.08.1927

Accrington S

Jack Jobson

27.08.1927

Hartlepools U

Billy Newton

27.08.1927

Grimsby T

Billy Wilson

27.08.1927

Manchester C

Jimmy Scullion

30.08.1927

Lytham

William Molloy

03.09.1927

Ashington

George Kay

10.09.1927

West Ham U

Jack Duffus

15.10.1927

Norwich C

Charlie Ramsden

07.01.1928

Manchester U

Bert Kirby

24.03.1928

Crook T

Frank Newton

31.03.1928

Ashton National

Ernest Cawley

09.04.1928

Leek Alex

Sammy Bond

23.04.1928

Eccles U

Arthur Allport

25.08.1928

Darlington

George Crowther

25.08.1928

York C

Billy Tompkinson

25.08.1928

Rochdale

Alf Townsend

25.08.1928

Nottingham For

Walter Cook

03.11.1928

Ashton National

Jack Everest

03.11.1928

York C

Leslie Raisbeck

24.11.1928

Arsenal

New Mills

Goalkeeper who before the war played for Sheffield United, Doncaster Rovers and Leeds illfated City. When City were closed down by the authorities he moved to South Shields and had only moved to Bradford Park Avenue a year before joining County. He was not a regular custodian for the club, playing just 20 games, and after being transfer-listed at the season’s end any future clubs have not yet been traced.

GEORGE KAY

The other Wembley captain at that White Horse Final.

He also moved directly to County from the team he led that day, West Ham United. The centre half was also a former Bolton player and had been with the Hammers since the end of the war.

He would get just two first-team games for us before moving on to Luton Town.

Wigan Bor

Nelson

49

County Heaven Sandbach Hatter writes: Good evening, everyone, and welcome to tonight’s televised National League clash between our beloved Hatters and ‘The Ravens’ of Bromley. Let us hope we can Carrion with our recent run of good form at Edgeley Park!

In the County Heaven Games Room, the conclusion of March last week meant it was time to crown another winner in Macc & Archie’s Prediction League - and, despite an impressive final-week performance from co-host Archie, it was Market Harborough who managed to cling on to take the title.

Meanwhile, in Ceefer’s County Prediction League, it is again the host who has been outperforming everyone else recently, but his impressive score of 225 points from the Hartlepool fixture wasn’t enough to catch the overall leader, Maccy. Still, there’s plenty of the season left for that to change!

Over in the Limerick Lounge (where it was Lennie’s birthday recently), our two most recent winners were Gazz and Archie - with their winning rhymes for the fixtures against Eastleigh and Hartlepool, respectively while Lennie has also updated the season’s stats and it is currently Epworth Hatter who 50

has claimed the most wins so far in 2020/21.

Finally, we’ve added another player to my recent quiz, the sadly-departed Papa Bouba Diop, and with his predecessors being Mikel Arteta, Charlie Adam and Victor Moses, do you think you can work out what connects them together?

With that, it is now time to hand you over to a man who was well known for ravin’ in his younger days – heeere’s Maccy!

Hatter in Macc writes: Indeed I was, Sandy - although I don’t like to Crow about it!

Our Easter Monday match, in the best footballing traditions for this holiday weekend, comes rather hot on the heels of the preceding fixture - which saw Friday assume added Good-ness, as the Hatters ended over 60 years of hurt by finally triumphing at Aldershot’s Recreation Ground on their lucky 27th visit.

The only pity was that there were no paying Hatters - many of whom would have endured fruitless trips to ‘The Rec’ in days of yore - able to enjoy this small piece of history. But importantly, of course, victory by the odd goal in three - following a draw here with second-placed Hartlepool

one week ago last Saturday - keeps present-day County handily placed at the business end of the National League’s form and actual tables.

By stark contrast to our past travails at Aldershot, it took us only two attempts to enjoy a win where today’s visitors ply their trade. But the trilogy of contests we have had with Bromley to date - be they at Hayes Lane or in SK3 - have proved consistently tight on the balance of play, so do not bet against more of the same this evening.

That said, it would be good to emulate the result of our most recent televised fixture - when a solitary Alex Reid strike was enough to claim all three points here in early February. But it is truly sobering to know now that it was the final game the visiting Yeovil captain, Lee Collins, would ever play before his shock, untimely passing last week.

The legendary Bill Shankly rarely got it wrong - but, actually, there are times when football is not ‘much, much more important than’ life and death. And this is one of them.

RIP, Lee. Animo et Fide. www.countyheaven.com

Strawberry Radio Chris Ridgway

Happy Easter everybody, I’m looking forward to seeing County back in action tonight after finally breaking the Aldershot curse!

There was something quite special, other than obviously it being a goal for County, seeing Ash Palmer thunder that header home down in Hampshire. I’ve spoken with Ash a fair bit over recent months, he’s had a spell out the team but he’s proven again why he’s not out of place in this new-look team, and I’m delighted for him.

The win down south was also pleasing when you take in the John Rooney return and the Jack Stretton performance. I had the pleasure of interviewing Jack after a recent home game, and he’s as down to earth as he is confident on the pitch.

I was speaking with my brother over the weekend, who described his performances as ‘a guy playing with his mates, no fear in his game’ - and I couldn’t have put it better myself (I actually would have claimed it if I knew he didn’t read this).

The composure, the physical attributes to his game and the confidence - you can see why Wayne Rooney’s Derby rate him so highly and their fans seem keen on social media to see him back.

I still find it crazy that despite all he brings to the team and the impact he’s had on the players and fans alike, he’s never played in front of crowds - if he carries on this trajectory, the future surely promises him that, and big ones to boot.

off top is an ask, we’ll have to do better than the teams above us by a point a game on average, but as the lads keep telling me - it’s focus on one game a time, and if it has to be the play-offs then let it be the play-offs.

Ash Palmer

John Rooney coming back is big, you don’t need me to tell you that.

Without doubt he’s been County’s best player this season and I can’t wait to see him linking up with Stretton as well as other players that have come in like Harry Cardwell, Paddy Madden and Elliot Newby - all of whom have impressed.

I don’t envy Simon Rusk’s task of having to find a space for him in a team that is really beginning to look impressive, but I know he will.

John has the ability to turn a game on its head, and with the striking options we now have available he’ll be a dream to play in front of. With the business-end of the season looming, I hope I’m not speaking too soon when I say I’m really confident of promotion at this moment in time. Eleven points

We spoke about what six points over Easter would do for us on the pod with Dicko and Matty this week, as ever the lads were confident of seeing it come in and they spoke about the professionalism being what was needed. We showed that in abundance on Friday, and I’m confident that again tonight, even with Bromley having their own goals to play for, we’ll have enough to do it again.

Just finally, I’d like to give a mention to Connor and James Jennings. In my last programme notes, before the news on Connor had been released, I spoke about James and the importance of him in the team. To know that he has been playing like that, while knowing about Connor, is an added testament to his immense character, and tells you the kind of make-up of the family. Connor will get nothing but love and support from the County family through his upcoming journey. From all of us at County Live, I wish him all our best wishes.

Let’s get a win tonight!

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51

Oshor Williams When Sergio Aguero arrived in the UK in July 2011, he was more widely known to the English public as Maradona’s son-in-law than as a talented and highlyrated international football player.

Ten years and 181 goals later it’s fair to say he is now a footballing legend in his own right. When he leaves Manchester City it will constitute the end of a modern day Holy Trinity incorporating Vincent Kompany and David Silva who, despite the incredible talent paraded

by City over the last decade, have been their three most influential players in a phenomenal Blue journey to the top of English football.

Not long after City announced Aguero’s exit, Celtic revealed that they were losing their own talisman Scott Brown who will be leaving the club at the end of the season. Replacing him may ultimately prove more difficult than replacing their highly successful manager Neil Lennon who stepped down recently. Little known

by English fans, Brown has been a fantastic servant to Celtic and the national team for nearly 20 years and many people, not least myself, are amazed that one of the big English clubs were unable to tempt him south to ply his trade in the Premier League.

When a long-serving player leaves a club either through retirement or to take up a new challenge elsewhere, it’s like a long-standing friend telling you they’re emigrating 52

Sergio Aguero

Scott Brown

When a long-serving player leaves a club either through retirement or to take up a new challenge elsewhere, it’s like a long-standing friend telling you they’re emigrating. You feel like you’re losing that ever-present figure who you can depend upon through thick and thin. It’s usually someone who has come to embody the culture and philosophy of the club, indeed its very spirit. They are always high performing, low-maintenance individuals and are reassuringly ever-present season upon season. Unsurprisingly they are also extremely difficult to replace.

Long service to one club is becoming increasingly infrequent. Most people attribute this to freedom of contract which came into force in 1995. However, there are other factors which have impacted on player movement, not least the managerial revolving door which sees the average manager retain his job for little more than 18 months. A change of manager usually heralds a change in playing personnel particularly in the lower leagues

where players are operating on one- and two-year agreements. That’s why we value players who, despite other options, remain loyal to the club. We as supporters want to develop a bond with them so that they know how we feel. More accurately put, we want them to feel what we feel.

I served County for five extremely happy years and it’s testimony to the spirit of the club that three of my teammates, John Rutter, Tommy Sword and Andy Thorpe, gave more than 30 years of combined service to the club despite being courted by other suitors at various times. We all developed a special relationship with the club and the surrounding community that provided us with a sense of enrichment which transcends the fluctuating fortunes of the game itself. It’s a feeling which remains with you long after the final whistle has blown.

Enjoy the game.

Osh 53

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Deadly Duos Steven Davies

Gareth Owen & Anthony Elding So, for today’s deadly duos, we are going to be looking at one player who was an excellent defender, and would stop the other teams from scoring on numerous occasions. To a player at the other end of the pitch who was a brilliant striker and in turn scored some brilliant goals, and they both helped us break records that are still yet to be broken!

When Gareth Owen was signed from Oldham, the Stockport-born player had previously came through the youth ranks at Stoke City, with loan spells at Torquay and Oldham before he signed for the Latics on a permanent basis. Failing to find a place in the starting Xl Gareth was initially signed to County on a season-long loan deal and made his debut alongside Michael Rose at home against Hereford. The Cheadle-born (but former Wales Under-19 international) defender played over 40 games for us and soon fitted into the squad, so much so that he was named Player of the Season before becoming a favourite amongst the fans.

Around the same time during the 2006/07 season we signed a striker from Boston called Anthony Elding, who coincidently made his debut against Boston alongside a young goalkeeper called Wayne Hennessey.

This was what was to be the start of the famous record-breaking nine in a row, where we went on to win nine games straight all without conceding a goal to break a Football League record.

Elding scored seven goals in those nine games and we wouldn’t have been able to achieve this record without his contribution. He also went on to score a further four goals before the season ended meaning that he had scored 13 goals in his first 20 games.

Gareth Owen also played in those nine games making some crucial tackles and clearances meaning that we didn’t concede a goal for over an amazing 13 and a half hours of football (and which was partly down to him).

Gareth was then signed permanently in June 2007 and during the 2007/08 season helped keep 16 clean sheets whilst captaining the Hatters to promotion via Wembley in the play-offs, where we Anthony Elding beat Rochdale in the final.

Gareth Owen

Elding also picked up where he left off and scored eight goals in his first 12 starts, including a hat-trick against Brentford where we won 3-1. He went on to score another five goals in five starts before it became too difficult to keep the other clubs from sniffing around, and after two failed bids from Hartlepool were rejected - Anthony signed for Leeds just before the transfer deadline.

During the 2008/09 season Gareth Owen sadly had a disagreement with the manager at the time following a substitution, and this led to him moving to Port Vale where he stayed till his career finished in 2013.

Anthony Elding played for a number of clubs after he left County including returning briefly to Edgeley Park in 2011 on loan, before going over to coach in Ireland whilst progressing through his UEFA coaching badges.

Two very dynamic players who both helped us achieve the amazing “nine in a row”, which possibly wouldn’t have been done without them in the team.

55

Community Foundation scfcfoundation.com

56

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Stockport County Community Foundation

0161 286 8888 option 3

57

Thank you, Alan Lord!

The club can confirm it has reluctantly accepted a request from Alan Lord to end his current involvement in order to develop his scouting and coaching business, Prosoccerscout.

Alan has been a wonderful servant to Stockport County Football Club, serving in a number of roles over a 15-year association, including a two-year spell as first-team manager. Alan will officially step down from his most recent role as Scouting Consultant in July.

Alan served non-league football well for many years as a long-time manager in the North West.

He was a coach at the then Centre of Excellence

Lord’s impact was immediate, with four wins and two draws from his opening seven matches, before going on to stabilise a Club in free-fall, securing County’s place in the division – and guiding the Hatters to mid-table safety 58

back in 2000. After more than a decade as centre of excellence coach, he also enjoyed roles as youth boss, development manager, recruitment manager, consultant scout, caretaker manager, head of development and assistant, before he answered County’s call in 2013 with the Club one place off the bottom of Skrill North with one point from five games, and manager Ian Bogie’s subsequent resignation. Lord’s impact was immediate, with four wins and two draws from his opening seven matches, before going on to stabilise a Club in free-fall, securing County’s place in the division – and guiding the Hatters to mid-table safety. Lord’s achievements in stabilising the Club and pointing it in the right direction were pivotal in County’s history.

Towards the end of the following season, Alan was appointed as Director of Football and paved the way for the next man to come in and continue his good work.

When County set up their youth system again in 2015 Alan was the man at the helm, not surprisingly as it was a coaching system he was running that moved under the club’s banner.

Alan then moved on to become First Team Scouting Consultant, supporting the club with the identification and transition of talented young players into the first team squad, leveraging his years of spotting talent to advise on player recruitment.

However, in the coming months, Alan’s near-21year involvement at Edgeley Park will be coming to an end. He leaves a wonderful legacy. His discovery of Anthony Pilkington and Tommy Rowe and to develop and bring through many more emerging young players into the County first team such as Festus Arthur is one of his many stand-out contributions to his time at Edgeley Park.

On a personal note Alan has been a big supporter of so many people who work behind the scenes at the Club. He has also been a huge supporter and contributor to the Matchday Programme, both as Manager and his work in the Academy, and his help and support is greatly appreciated. He will be sadly missed, but it is pleasing that his unique skills

and expertise will not be totally lost in football as he goes back to concentrate again on his pro football player development system.

Thank you Alan. We will never forget your contribution to Stockport County Football Club!

For more information on Alan’s Prosoccerscout programme please visit: tinyurl.com/prosoccerform Director of Football Simon Wilson said: “Along with the many contributions he has made in his time over the years with County, Alan is recognised for the help in this most recent period in building the scouting database, particularly with regard to young, local talent, leading into this summer window.

“He should be highly credited with the progress of Academy graduates such as Festus Arthur, who was sold to Hull last season, and Jack Hinchy who made his first-team debut this season in the third round of the FA Cup v West Ham. I thank Alan for his work with us this season, and strongly endorse his skills and capabilities as he grows Prosoccerscout.”

Alan Lord said: “I would like to thank all the Stockport County board, management, players, staff, fans, friends and indeed all who have been connected with the club during my time here for the happy years and memories.

“I would also like to thank the club for supporting my decision now to pursue and develop my Prosoccerscout programme.

“Thank you all.”

59

The Hatters v The Ravens

Facts & Figures Head to Head

Goals scored

Previously at EP

Played (all competitions): 3

County: 5

Played (all competitions): 1

County: 2

County: 1

Draws: 1

Draws: 0

Bromley: 0

Bromley: 2

First competitive meeting

Last time out

Tuesday 29th October 2019 National League Bromley 2 County 2

Bromley 0-2 County Saturday 5th December 2020, National League

Previous games Saturday 5th December 2020 National League Bromley 0 County 2 Saturday 15th February 2020 National League County 1 Bromley 0

County roared back into National League action after over a month away with a superb 2-0 win at highflying Bromley, in a fixture which saw the return of spectators at Hayes Lane.

Goals either side of the interval

by Alex Reid and John Rooney secured three points for The Hatters in London, in what was County’s first taste of league action since Halloween.

They played for both clubs Joe Dolan, Antonio German, Michael Malcolm, Norman Wood.

60

Bromley: 0

County line-up (3-4-1-2): Hinchliffe; Hogan ©, Keane, J. Jennings; Thomas, Rooney, Maynard, Kitching (Williams, 80), C. Jennings; Reid (Minihan, 46), Bennett (Britton 75).

Subs not used: Barnes, Croasdale.

2020-21

CHE

Statistics Home L 2 3 4 2 6 5 2 3 4 6 6 4 5 6 4 7 5 3 9 6 6 12 0

F 31 25 23 17 25 24 22 23 18 26 17 13 25 24 19 21 15 17 22 24 20 8 0

A 12 14 13 10 15 11 8 16 12 26 15 14 20 20 12 23 16 10 27 25 25 32 0

W 9 6 8 8 5 7 6 6 4 6 6 6 5 4 3 5 5 3 2 2 3 1 0

D 4 6 3 3 5 2 3 4 5 3 5 6 4 4 4 3 2 1 4 4 1 2 0

Away L 2 4 4 5 1 6 7 6 5 4 7 4 5 8 9 7 8 10 7 10 10 9 0

2 0 3 1 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 0 5 0 6 1 6 4 0 3 2 0 0 6 6 5 0 2 0 6 0 5 0 2 -

0 1 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 3 3 0 0 1 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 3 -

0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14

A 14 15 17 16 8 17 21 19 19 16 24 17 19 29 22 21 22 21 17 37 33 35 0

W 18 17 16 14 14 15 13 12 11 11 11 9 11 11 11 11 10 8 8 8 6 3 0

D 8 9 6 9 7 3 8 8 10 9 8 13 6 6 5 5 7 7 6 6 6 4 0

Total L F 4 51 7 43 8 49 7 43 7 37 11 41 9 40 9 45 9 35 10 45 13 37 8 35 10 41 14 45 13 32 14 38 13 29 13 26 16 33 16 36 16 33 21 21 0 0

Total

0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 4

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Subs

Goals

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

Subs

0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 18 7 3 2 0 4 0 0 4 3 2 1 6 4 1 2 19 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 31 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 28 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 14 3 2 1 14 5 2 2 22 3 1 5 15 2 2 1 4 1 1 2 21 0 1 5 24 6 0 3 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 2 2 1 26 5 11 4 23 1 11 2 1 1 0 0 10 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 11 0 0 1 2 3 3 1 3 10 1 1 9 1 1 0 6 9 0 1 0 - 46 38

F 20 18 26 26 12 17 18 22 17 19 20 22 16 21 13 17 14 9 11 12 13 13 0

A 26 29 30 26 23 28 29 35 31 42 39 31 39 49 34 44 38 31 44 62 58 67 0

GD 25 14 19 17 14 13 11 10 4 3 -2 4 2 -4 -2 -6 -9 -5 -11 -26 -25 -46 0

Play-Offs: Elimination Round (5th v 6th, 4th v 7th)

Cup

Goals

League Starts

Josh Barnes Nyal Bell Richie Bennett Louis Britton Harry Cardwell Will Collar Ryan Croasdale Alex Curran Sam Dalby Jordan Downing Ross Fitzsimons Harvey Gilmour Max Greenhalgh Ben Hinchliffe Jack Hinchy Liam Hogan Jack Hopkins Connor Jennings James Jennings Jordan Keane Mark Kitching Paddy Madden Lois Maynard Sam Minihan Elliot Newby Adam Owen Ash Palmer Alex Reid John Rooney Nathan Shaw Macauley Southam-Hales Finley Stanyer Jamie Stott Jack Stretton Adam Thomas Tom Walker Jordan Williams Own goals Total

D 4 3 3 6 2 1 5 4 5 6 3 7 2 2 1 2 5 6 2 2 5 2 0

Play-Offs: Semi-Finals (2nd v 5th/6th, 3rd v 4th/7th) Starts

Player Roll-Call

W 9 11 8 6 9 8 7 6 7 5 5 3 6 7 8 6 5 5 6 6 3 2 0

Starts

Promotion

P 30 33 30 30 28 29 30 29 30 30 32 30 27 31 29 30 30 28 30 30 28 28 0

Biggest Win

Goals

National League Team Sutton United Hartlepool United Torquay United Stockport County Notts County Chesterfield Wrexham FC Halifax Town Eastleigh Bromley Altrincham Boreham Wood Maidenhead United Yeovil Town Solihull Moors Aldershot Town Dagenham & Redbridge Woking Weymouth Wealdstone King's Lynn Town Barnet Dover Athletic*

Subs

# 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

STERFIELD FC

2 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 21 9 4 2 1 5 0 0 4 3 2 1 6 4 1 2 25 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 36 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 33 0 2 2 0 1 0 0 20 4 3 2 15 5 2 2 28 3 1 5 19 3 2 1 4 1 1 2 24 3 1 6 26 9 0 3 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 25 3 4 1 32 6 15 4 28 2 16 2 1 1 0 0 12 9 1 0 0 0 0 0 17 0 0 2 2 3 3 1 8 11 1 1 9 1 1 0 8 12 0 1 0 - 60 42

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

Most Goals

Highest Attendance Lowest Attendance Top Goalscorer

Pts 62 60 54 51 49 48 47 44 43 42 41 40 39 39 38 38 37 31 30 30 24 13 0

W D D W W L D W D D D D D L L L W D W W L L -

Form Last 6 Matches W D W D D D W W D W L W W L W W D W D W D W D L W L W W W W W W D W L W W W L D D W L L L W W L L D L D L W W D D D D D L W W L L W L L D W L L W W W D L L W L D W L W L L D L W L L D W L W L L L L D L D L L W D L L L L - - - - -

Relegation

National League Records Saturday 12th December 2020 Chesterfield 6-0 Barnet Tuesday 13th October 2020 Wealdstone 2-5 Stockport County Saturday 17th October 2020 Wealdstone 4-3 Wrexham Wednesday 2nd December 2020 FC Halifax Town 5-2 Barnet Saturday 26th December 2020 Torquay United 6-1 Yeovil Town Monday 28th December 2020 Weymouth 3-4 Torquay United Saturday 23rd January 2021 Wealdstone 3-4 Aldershot Town Saturday 26th December 2020 Torquay United 6-1 Yeovil Town 1,323 Tuesday 15th December 2020 Weymouth 2-3 Wrexham 337 Michael Cheek (Bromley) 16 = 12 Goals + 4 Penalties

Lois Maynard played the full 90 minutes in both World Cup qualifying wins for Saint Kitts and Nevis last week, becoming the 12th player representing their national team whilst playing for the Club

# 1 2 22

National League Fair Play Team Boreham Wood 43 Stockport County 38 Yeovil Town 83

0 2 3

Pts 172 172 362

*Dover Athletic’s results for this season have been expunged for failing to meet fixture obligations, the player roll-call still includes our 3-0 win statistics against them Cut off dates for number of yellow cards in league matches only, cups are different: 5 = Following 23 fixtures, 10 = Following 37 fixtures, 15/20 = End of the season Automatic league suspension starts next match after an offence, automatic cup suspension starts next match after an offence in the same competition Yellow cards are specific to each competition, red cards apply across all competitions All details up to date as of Sunday 4th April 2021

61

Kit Sponsorship Ben

Sam

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02

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03

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08

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HELP THE HATTERS

OTIS ALUN WALKER

16

Josh

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Harvey

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Tom

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ANDY F & CATH H

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Richie

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30

31

To sponsor a player, please contact Olivia Hanvey on 0161 266 2700 or olivia.hanvey@stockportcounty.com Liam

Ash

Hogan HOME

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04

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HJS JOINTING SERVICES LTD

05

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MORTGAGES ・PROTECTION ・INVESTMENTS ・ pensions

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34

63

2020-21

Fixtures & Results Date Opposition October 2020 Sat 3 Torquay United Tue 6 FC Halifax Town Sat 10 Dover Athletic Tue 13 Wealdstone Sat 17 Chesterfield Sat 24 Chesterfield Tue 27 Solihull Moors Sat 31 Weymouth November 2020 Wed 4 Chesterfield Sat 7 Rochdale Sun 29 Yeovil Town December 2020 Sat 5 Bromley Tue 8 Barnet Tue 15 Notts County Sat 19 Guiseley Tue 22 Hartlepool United Sat 26 Altrincham Mon 28 Wrexham January 2021 Sat 2 Altrincham Mon 11 West Ham United Sat 16 Notts County Tue 19 Dagenham & Redbridge Sat 23 Boreham Wood Sat 30 Woking February 2021 Tue 2 Sutton United Sat 6 Yeovil Town Sat 13 Aldershot Town Tue 16 Maidenhead United Sat 20 Eastleigh Tue 23 Notts County Sat 27 Chesterfield March 2021 Sat 6 Weymouth Tue 9 Solihull Moors Tue 16 Barnet Sat 20 Sutton United Tue 23 Eastleigh Sat 27 Hartlepool United April 2021 Fri 2 Aldershot Town Mon 5 Bromley Sat 10 Wrexham Tue 13 King's Lynn Town Sat 17 Maidenhead United Sat 24 Boreham Wood Tue 27 King's Lynn Town May 2021 Sat 1 FC Halifax Town Mon 3 Wealdstone Sat 8 Dover Athletic Tue 11 Dagenham & Redbridge Sat 15 Torquay United Sat 22 Woking Sat 29 Yeovil Town

64

Comp Score A H H A A H H H

Att Pos

NL NL NL NL NL FAC4Q NL NL

0-1 2-1 3-0 5-2 2-1 1-1 0-0 1-2

- 21 Hinchliffe - 10 Hinchliffe - 6 Hinchliffe - 2 Hinchliffe - 1 Hinchliffe - - Hinchliffe - 2 Hinchliffe - 2 Hinchliffe

Minihan Minihan Minihan Minihan Minihan ³ Minihan Minihan Minihan

Jennings J Southam-Hales ¹ Stott Jennings J ¹ Stott ¹ Stott ³ Stott Stott ²

Maynard Maynard Maynard Maynard 1 Maynard Maynard Croasdale Maynard

Palmer Palmer Palmer Palmer Palmer Palmer Keane Palmer 1

Hogan Stott Hogan Hogan Hogan Hogan 1 Hogan Hogan

Kitching Kitching 1 ² Kitching ² Keane Kitching 1 ² Thomas Thomas Kitching

H FAC4Q A FAC1 H FAC2

4-0 2-1 3-2

-

Keane Keane Keane

Stott Stott Stott

Croasdale Croasdale ² Croasdale ¹

Palmer Palmer Palmer 1

Hogan Hogan Hogan

Thomas Kitching Kitching ³

A A A H A A H

NL NL NL FAT3 NL NL NL

2-0 2-1 0-1 3-1 0-4 1-1 2-0

Thomas Minihan Minihan Keane Minihan Minihan Southam-Hales ¹

Jennings J Jennings J Williams Southam-Hales ¹ Williams Williams Stott

Maynard Maynard Maynard Croasdale Croasdale Maynard Maynard

Keane Keane Palmer Palmer Palmer Keane Keane 1

Hogan Hogan Hogan Stott Hogan Hogan Hogan

Kitching ³ Williams ¹ Kitching ¹ Kitching Kitching Kitching Kitching

H H H A H A

NL FAC3 FAT4 NL NL NL

2-2 0-1 1-2 2-0 1-1 4-1

-

4 4 4 3

Hinchliffe Hinchliffe Barnes Hinchliffe Hinchliffe Hinchliffe

Southam-Hales ¹ Minihan 5 Southam-Hales ³ Minihan Keane Minihan

Stott Williams ³ Jennings J ¹ Stott ² Southam-Hales Southam-Hales 1 ¹

Maynard Maynard Maynard Maynard Maynard Maynard

Keane Keane Palmer 1 Keane Palmer Keane

Hogan Hogan Stott Hogan Hogan Hogan

Kitching Kitching Williams Kitching Kitching ¹ Kitching

H H H A A H H

NL NL NL NL NL NL NL

0-2 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 2-0

-

5 3 4 4 6 6 4

Hinchliffe Hinchliffe Hinchliffe Hinchliffe Hinchliffe Hinchliffe Hinchliffe

Minihan Southam-Hales Southam-Hales Southam-Hales Southam-Hales Minihan Minihan

Southam-Hales Stott Jennings J Stott Stott ¹ Jennings J Jennings J 1

Maynard ² Croasdale Maynard Maynard ³ Minihan Croasdale Croasdale

Keane Palmer Palmer Palmer Palmer Palmer Palmer

Hogan Hogan Hogan Hogan Hogan Hogan Hogan

Kitching ¹ Williams ¹ Williams Collar ² Collar ³ Walker ¹ Walker ²

A A H A H H

NL NL NL NL NL NL

0-1 5-0 2-1 1-1 3-0 1-1

-

4 4 5 4 4 4

Hinchliffe Hinchliffe Hinchliffe Hinchliffe Hinchliffe Hinchliffe

Minihan Minihan Minihan Minihan Minihan Minihan ³

Jennings J Jennings J Jennings J Jennings J 1 Jennings J Jennings J

Croasdale Maynard Maynard Maynard ³ Croasdale Croasdale

Palmer ³ Keane Keane Keane Palmer Palmer

Hogan Hogan Hogan 1 Hogan Keane Keane

Walker ² Walker 1 Walker ² Stretton ² Walker ² Shaw ¹

A H A H H A A

NL NL NL NL NL NL NL

2-1

-

4

Hinchliffe

Minihan

Jennings J

Croasdale

Palmer 1

Hogan

Walker ³

A H A H H H A

NL NL NL NL NL NL NL

C-C

-

Hinchliffe Hinchliffe Hinchliffe

1,031 11 Hinchliffe 792 5 Hinchliffe - 10 Hinchliffe - - Barnes - 13 Hinchliffe - 9 Hinchliffe - 4 Hinchliffe

Key:

CHE

STERFIELD FC

Bold = Goalscorer 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 = 1st / 2nd / 3rd / 4th / 5th Sub / = Yellow / Red Card = Penalty, * = Own Goal = Lost 6-7 on Penalties, = After Extra Time # = West Ham United additional unused substitutes: Jennings J, Stott

Rooney Rooney Rooney 2 Rooney 3 ³ Rooney Rooney Rooney Rooney Rooney 2 Rooney 1 ¹ Rooney 1

Bennett ² Bennett Bennett ³ Bennett 1 Bennett Bennett ¹ Bennett ² Bennett ³ ² Bennett 1 ¹ Thomas Thomas ²

Jennings C ³ Jennings C ³ Jennings C ¹ Jennings C Jennings C Keane Jennings C ¹ Croasdale

Reid ¹ Keane Keane Reid ² Keane Reid ² Reid Reid ¹

Jennings C Reid 1 ³ Jennings C Reid 1 ³ 4 Jennings C 1 Reid

Barnes Barnes Barnes Barnes Barnes Barnes Barnes Barnes

Stott Jennings J ² Jennings J ² Kitching ¹ Jennings J ² Jennings C ² Hopkins Jennings C ²

Keane ¹ Croasdale Croasdale Croasdale ³ Croasdale Croasdale ³ Owen Keane

Thomas ³ Thomas 1 ¹ Thomas ³ Thomas ² Thomas ³ Southam-Hales Southam-Hales ¹ Thomas ³

Bell ² Reid ³ Reid 1 ¹ Bell Reid 1 ¹ Bell ¹ Bell ² Britton ¹

Barnes Barnes Barnes

Hopkins ³ Jennings J Jennings J

Maynard ¹ Maynard ¹ Maynard 4

Southam-Hales ² Stanyer Southam-Hales Britton ³ Bennett ² Britton

Rooney 1 Rooney Rooney Gilmour ² Rooney Croasdale Croasdale

Bennett ² Bennett ² Bennett Britton ³ Bennett ¹ Thomas ¹ Bennett 1 ³

Jennings C Jennings C ³ Keane ² Jennings C Keane Jennings C 1 Jennings C

Reid 1 ¹ Reid 2 Reid Reid 2 Reid Reid Reid ²

Barnes Barnes Barnes Hinchliffe Barnes Barnes Barnes

Minihan ¹ Kitching ¹ Jennings C ² Hinchy Stott Stott Minihan ¹

Croasdale Croasdale Croasdale ³ Hogan Gilmour Gilmour Gilmour

Williams ³ Thomas ³ Thomas ¹ ³ Rooney 1 ² Southam-Hales ¹ Southam-Hales ¹ Williams ²

Britton ² Britton ² Britton Bennett Britton Bennett Britton ³

Rooney 1 Rooney 4 Croasdale Rooney Rooney 1 Rooney 1 ³

Bennett ³ Croasdale Bennett Bennett 1 ³ Bennett Croasdale

Croasdale Jennings C ² Jennings C ² Croasdale Jennings C Jennings C 1

Reid 1 ² Reid ¹ Thomas Reid 1 ¹ Reid ² Reid 1 ²

Barnes Barnes Hinchliffe Barnes Barnes Barnes

Minihan ¹ Hinchy 4 Minihan ² Jennings C ³ Minihan Palmer ³

Gilmour Gilmour Hogan Palmer Stott Stott

Williams ² Southam-Hales ² Rooney Williams ¹ Williams ¹ Williams ²

Thomas ³ Thomas ³ Reid ³ Thomas ² Croasdale ² Bennett ¹

Rooney Rooney Rooney Rooney Rooney Rooney Rooney ³

Croasdale Bennett Bennett Keane Bennett ² Dalby Dalby ¹

Jennings C Jennings C Walker ² Walker ¹ Gilmour Gilmour Gilmour

Reid ³ Reid 1 ² Reid ¹ Reid Reid Reid ² Reid 1

Barnes Barnes Barnes Barnes Barnes Barnes Barnes

Palmer ² Jennings J ² Stott Jennings J Jennings J ¹ Keane Keane ³

Stott Maynard Collar ¹ Williams ³ Williams ³ Collar ² Collar ²

Williams ¹ Minihan ¹ Minihan ² Minihan ² Maynard Maynard Cardwell ¹

Bennett ³ Thomas Keane Bennett ¹ Dalby ² Bennett ¹ Newby

Newby Rooney 2 ² Newby ³ Newby ¹ Newby ¹ Newby

Dalby ¹ Cardwell 1 ¹ Cardwell ¹ Madden Madden ³ Madden 1

Collar Croasdale Croasdale Croasdale Collar 1 Collar

Reid Reid ³ Reid Reid Cardwell 1 Reid ²

Barnes Barnes Barnes Barnes Barnes Barnes

Keane ² Newby ² Shaw Walker ² Shaw ² Walker

Maynard Collar Collar ² Collar Stretton Stretton ³

Cardwell ¹ Stretton 1 ¹ Stretton 1 ³ Southam-Hales ¹ Southam-Hales ³ Southam-Hales ¹

Bennett ³ Bennett ³ Madden ¹ Bennett ³ Reid 1 ¹ Cardwell ²

Collar ²

Madden

Stretton 1 ¹

Cardwell

Fitzsimons

Newby

Rooney ¹

Southam-Hales ² Reid ³

Stanyer

Hopkins

Williams ² Williams ³

Minihan Minihan ¹

Williams ³

Minihan ¹

Palmer 5 Kitching ¹

Bennett ¹ # Keane

65

National League News CHE

STERFIELD FC

All of Good Friday’s games in the National League were preceded with a minute’s silence for Yeovil Town captain Lee Collins, who sadly died last week aged just 32.

It’s a stark reminder of the fragility of life and tributes have been shared from around the footballing world for the defender, with many ex-team mates, managers and supporters reflecting on their shock and dismay at the news.

Naturally Yeovil’s game against Altrincham on Friday was postponed and they aren’t due to return to action until Saturday. Poignantly, Altrincham’s players observed their own minute’s silence before a training session on Good Friday, which had been organised in place of the game.

Elsewhere, the Easter weekend started perfectly for almost all of the promotion chasers, with Hartlepool, Torquay, ourselves, Notts County and Chesterfield all winning. League leaders Sutton drew 0-0 at Boreham Wood; remarkably that was Wood’s eighth draw in their last nine games!

It all meant that Wrexham were the odd ones out in the promotion pack, losing 1-0 away to Notts County to end their seven-game unbeaten run and drop two places to seventh.

Significantly it was a first win under new management for Notts, with Ian Burchnall no doubt breathing a hefty sigh of relief come full-time after a pretty awful first week in charge. His woes started when The Magpies fell victim to a major shock in the FA Trophy semi-final last

66

Saturday, losing to eighth-tier side Hornchurch at home to miss out on a trip to Wembley, before a midweek defeat to Aldershot added further frustration.

Perhaps Burchnall will look to his counterpart James Rowe at Chesterfield for inspiration, for his impact since arriving at The Spireites has been nothing short of sensational. The Derbyshire club were 21st when Rowe joined from Gloucester City at the end of November, though fast-forward four months and they now sit sixth after 13 wins in 20 games under his leadership.

Defensively Chesterfield have improved immensely, conceding only 11 goals under Rowe compared to 17 in the nine games prior. They have also kept 13 clean sheets since the change in management. That’s some new manager bounce they’re all enjoying!

Chesterfield’s latest victory came away to Eastleigh on Good Friday, with Liam Mandeville’s volley enough to earn all three points.

It opened up a four-point gap for the club on eighth-place Halifax, and more broadly it looks like the play-off places are becoming increasingly challenging for Halifax and anyone below to reach.

Sustained runs of form, the like of which Chesterfield have been on, are urgently needed now if

anyone is to make a late dart for the play-offs.

A cursory glance at the table might indicate Solihull Moors as an unlikely prospect for promotion, sitting 15th ahead of kick-off today, though they might be the surprise package yet, having seemingly sharpened up their act considerably in recent weeks. Moors have won three on the run, without conceding, under new manager Mark Yates and have the advantage of a game in hand on most around them. They are currently nine points away from the last play-off place, so it’s undoubtedly an uphill struggle with just 15 games remaining, though they’re a side with great quality in the ranks, as evidenced by a wonderful team goal, finished off by Joe Sbarra, in their midweek win over Wealdstone.

The West Midlanders were amongst many pundits’ picks for promotion ahead of the season and have clearly come up short so far, though maybe keep an eye on them as we enter the final month of the season, as Moors’ mojo looks to have very much returned.

We’ll get a sense today of how fanciful my predictions here may be, with Solihull hosting table-toppers Sutton this afternoon! Stranger things have happened, and let’s face it... this has been a pretty strange season.

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Stockport County 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 34

Ben Hinchliffe Sam Minihan James Jennings Liam Hogan Ash Palmer Lois Maynard Adam Thomas John Rooney Connor Jennings Jordan Williams The Blue & White Army Mark Kitching Jamie Stott Jordan Keane Macauley Southam-Hales Ryan Croasdale Alex Reid Joshua Barnes Harvey Gilmour Finley Stanyer Jack Hopkins Adam Owen Ross Fitzsimons Jack Hinchy Will Collar Tom Walker Harry Cardwell Elliot Newby Paddy Madden

Bromley FC [1357] [1359] [1397] [1395] [1372] [1394] [1373] [1400] [1339] [1404] [1398] [1380] [1370] [1401] [1402] [1399] [1407]

[1405]

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Mark Cousins Joe Kizzi Charlie Fox Billy Bingham Chris Bush Jack Holland Luke Coulson Frankie Raymond Michael Cheek James Alabi Courtney Duffus Tom Purrington Tarek Najia Kory Roberts Taylor Maloney Liam Trotter Byron Webster Ben Williamson Harry Forster Jude Arthurs Ollie Tanner Liam Vincent Charlie Wakefield Jack Bridge

[1406] [1388] [1409] [1410] [1412]

The numbers in brackets are each player’s unique Stockport County Appearance Number (SCAN), showing his position in the list of players to make their debut for the club in a senior competitive game. For more information please visit www.scanscheme.org

Today’s other Vanarama National League fixtures (3:00pm unless stated)

Boreham Wood v Hartlepool United Dagenham & Redbridge v Aldershot Town FC Halifax Town v Weymouth King’s Lynn Town v Altrincham Maidenhead United v Eastleigh Solihull Moors v Sutton United Wealdstone v Barnet Woking v Notts County Wrexham v Torquay United

Match Officials Referee Adam Herczeg Assistant Referee 1 Alex Clark Assistant Referee 2 Paul Tomes Fourth Official Matthew Scholes

Next At Edgeley Park

King’s Lynn Town Tuesday 13th April 2021 Kick-off: 7.00pm Vanarama National League

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