Stockport County F.C.


Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, that competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport County in 1890 after the County Borough of Stockport. Stockport have played at Edgeley Park since 1902, traditionally in blue and white, though until 1914 the team wore red and white. The club are nicknamed "The Hatters" after the town's former hat-making industry.
Stockport first joined the Football League in 1900 but had to seek re-election to the league at the end of 1903–04. The club was not re-elected and spent one season outside the League before returning at the end of 1904–05. Stockport then played League football continuously for 106 years from 1905 to 2011, mostly in the lower divisions, and occasionally having to seek re-election. The team won their first league championship in 1922, topping the newly created Third Division North. Two league championships followed in 1937 and 1967. The 1990s was the team's most successful period, with the club competing in the First Division for five seasons, reaching the League Cup semi-finals in 1996–97, where they lost to Middlesbrough 2–1 over two legs. During this period Stockport also made four appearances at Wembley Stadium, two in the Football League Trophy and two in the Football League play-offs, losing on each occasion.
After financial difficulties in the early 2000s, the club fell back down the divisions, being relegated out of the Football League at the end of 2010–11 and dropping to the sixth tier in 2013. Having stabilised on and off the pitch, Stockport won promotion at the end of 2018–19, winning the National League North title.

History

Football League years

Stockport County was formed in Heaton Norris in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers at McLaughlin's Cafe, by a group of pupils from Stockport Sunday School who were also members of the Wycliffe Congregational Church. After playing home matches for several years in different parks in the Stockport area, Heaton Norris Rovers moved to Green Lane in 1889. This is recognised as the first official home ground of the team. The club changed their name Stockport County in 1890 after the County Borough of Stockport, and played in the Lancashire League and local cup competitions until 1900, when they gained admission to the Football League Second Division.
Stockport left their Green Lane home in 1902 and moved to Edgeley Park, which at the time was home to Stockport RFC. Stockport finished in the bottom three for their first four seasons and failed to gain re-election at the end 1903–04 season After spending one season in the Lancashire Combination. The club was re-admitted to the Football League, having been re-elected after a second voting ballot. In October 1908 it was confirmed that Stockport County would become a 'limited liability company'. The club remained in the Second Division of the Football League for seven years until the 1912–13 season, when they again had to seek re-election. Stockport gained 22 votes and retained their football league status.
David Ashworth was appointed as the team's first manager in 1914. After the outbreak of World War I, competitive football was suspended. Stockport did however complete in the Lancashire section of the Wartime Football League which was played from 1915–16 to 1918–19. Ashworth would manage the team throughout the war, up to the end of 1919, when he joined Liverpool.
An unsuccessful 1920–21 campaign saw Stockport finish bottom of the Second Division; however, instead of facing re-election,they were placed in the new Third Division North. In the 1921–22 season Stockport won their first Football League title when they beat Darlington in front of 18,500 fans at Edgeley Park. The manager Albert Williams was presented with the trophy seven days later before the final home game against Lincoln City.
The 1923–24 season, saw Ernest Barlow elected as the club chairman, a position he would hold for 30 years. Stockport's goalkeeper Harry Hardy was called up to play for the England national team. He kept a clean sheet in a 4–0 win against Belgium. The club closed out the 1920s in the Third Division North, with two consecutive second placed finishes but failed to gain promotion.
From the start of the 1930s, Stockport County played in a home kit of white and black and were briefly nicknamed the 'Lilywhites'. Shortly after midday on 23 July 1935; three weeks before the start of the 1935-36 season, the wooden main stand at Edgeley Park burned down, also causing damage to houses opposite. The fire also destroyed the club's records up to 1935. The current Main Stand was built in 1936 and officially opened by Charles Sutcliffe, then president of the Football League.
During the 1939–40 season, Stockport played only two matches before war was declared. The Football League was then suspended and did not resume until after World War II. Regional league competitions were set up; the FA Cup was also suspended and replaced with the Football League War Cup. In 1945–46, Stockport hosted Doncaster Rovers in a League Three North Cup match, reputed to be the longest professional football match, lasting 203 minutes.
The 1950s brought little league success, the regional Third Divisions were combined into national Third and Fourth Divisions after the 1957–58 campaign, Stockport finished in the top half of the Third Division North and so were placed in the following season's national Third Division. Where they spent one season, before being relegated. During the 1964–65 season, Stockport chairman Vic Bernard re-introduced the royal blue strip, and hired former Manchester City goalkeeper and FA Cup winner, Bert Trautmann as the club's general manager to improve the club's image. Trautmann and Bernard decided to move matches to Friday evenings in an attempt to improve revenue. Trautmann resigned from his position in 1966. Stockport returned to the Third Division by winning the Fourth Division in 1966–67.
After the club was relegated at the end of the 1969–70 campaign, the 1970s and 1980s were times of mediocrity and struggles against relegation. Eric Webster managed Stockport on five separate occasions, four of which were as caretaker manager during the 1980s, having first joined in 1974 to look after the youth set up. After 16 years service with the club, Webster was awarded a testimonial match against Manchester City in August 1990. Following the introduction of automatic promotion and relegation between the Football League and the Football Conference at the start of the 1986–87 season, Stockport faced the prospect of non-League football, with just six points from 13 games. However, Colin Murphy was brought in for his second spell as manager, and Stockport gained 45 points from their final 31 games to survive, although Murphy left shortly after the end of the season.
Danny Bergara was appointed as manager in March 1989. Automatic promotion was gained in 1990–91. In the 1992 Football League Trophy Final, Bergara became the first South American to lead an English team at Wembley Bergara would lead Stockport to Wembley on three further occasions, once more in the Football League Trophy and twice in the Play-Offs, losing on all four occasions. In March 1995 Bergara was sacked after an altercation with then-chairman Brendan Elwood, and Dave Jones was appointed manager in April. A new all-seater, Cheadle End, holding just over 5,000 at capacity, was opened at the start of the 1995–96 season. The following campaign proved to be the most successful in the club's history. They finished second in the Second Division and reached the semi-final of the League Cup, knocking out three Premiership teams on the way before losing to Middlesbrough 2–1 over two legs. Before the start of the 1997–98 season, Dave Jones left for Southampton and Gary Megson took over as manager. In his first season Stockport finished eighth in Division One, just two places off the playoffs—the club's best ever league placing.
The 2001–02 season was the club's worst ever at the time. With Stockport bottom of Division One, a home defeat to Millwall saw manager Kilner sacked. Former England international Carlton Palmer was appointed in November 2001, but he failed to save the club from relegation to Division Two in 2001–02. Palmer was unable to build a team capable of challenging for a return Division One the next season.
The summer of 2003 saw an ownership change. Elwood sold the club to Sale Sharks owner Brian Kennedy in a move that would see Sale play their home games at Edgeley Park. A new company, Cheshire Sport, was created, combining ownership of Stockport County, Sale Sharks and the Edgeley Park stadium.
In 2005, after reportedly losing £4 million in operating costs, Cheshire Sports chairman Brian Kennedy handed ownership of the club to the Stockport County Supporters Trust. Former player Jim Gannon was placed in charge, initially as caretaker manager. He led the club to safety in 2005–06, sustained a promotion challenge the next season, eventually missing out on the League Two playoffs on goal difference. The following season, Stockport continued their success, reaching the playoffs and facing Rochdale at Wembley in the final, coming from behind to earn promotion to League One.
In April 2009, Stockport County was placed into administration due to a loan to a creditor of around £300,000 and a tax debt of £250,000 to Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. On 12 June 2009, the club's administrator, Leonard Curtis, announced terms had been agreed with the Melrose Consortium—headed by ex-Manchester City player Jim Melrose, for the sale of the club. Three months later, administrators agreed to a company voluntary arrangement with previous shareholders and creditors. In December 2009 the training ground was put up for sale. The following March, The Melrose Consortium bid was rejected by the Football League. and a new consortium, the 2015 Group, had been given exclusivity to work towards a takeover of the club.
The purchase of Stockport County by the 2015 Group was approved by the Football League at its May 2010 meeting, with the takeover announced on 17 June 2010. Starting the 2010–11 season in League Two, the new owners pledged to "rebuild the club from top to bottom", and appointed former Carlisle United boss Paul Simpson as manager. He was sacked after only six months in charge. Ray Mathias brought in as interim manager. Despite an upturn in performances and results, Stockport were relegated into the Football Conference for the first time in their history.

Non-league era

After relegation a Liverpool-based businessman tried—and ultimately failed—to buy the club, German international Dietmar Hamann, who had no prior managerial experience was named manager. He won three of nineteen matches before resigning after his position had been undermined by a fans meeting after a home match in November 2011 This meeting called for Gannon, to be re-appointed as manager; After overseeing an improvement in performances, Gannon steered Stockport away from the Conference Premier relegation zone, finishing 16th.
The club regained sole tenancy of their Edgeley Park stadium for the first time in nine years from the beginning of the 2012–13 season, after Sale Sharks relocated to Salford City Reds' home ground. On 15 January 2013, former fcbusiness magazine editor, 30 year old Ryan McKnight was named as the new chief executive officer at the club. Gannon was subsequently dismissed for a second time. Stockport employed two further managers in three months and were relegated to the Conference North on the final day of the season. The club announced it was to lose its full-time status, proceeding with a part-time model. McKnight announced his resignation in April 2014.
The summer of 2015 saw Stockport starting their third season at National League North level. Neil Young was named as Stockport's new permanent manager after having previous successes in the same division with Chester. After failing to mount a serious promotion challenge, he departed in January 2016. The club once again turned to Gannon, who returned for a third stint as manager after a successful period at Northwich Victoria.
Gannon stabilised the club on the pitch finishing around the play offs places for the next two seasons. In 2017, a local search was carried out to locate descendants of the club's founders. The 2018–19 season saw Stockport reached the second round of the FA Cup, semi-finals of the FA Trophy and winning their first league title in 52 years, and with it promotion back to the National League on the final day of the season
Local businessman Mark Stott purchased County for an undisclosed sum in January 2020, making the club debt-free in the process; Stott pledged to return the club to full-time football, help to climb back up the Football League and find a new training ground for County.

Colours, crests and traditions

Stockport County's traditional kit colours are blue and white, although they have played in other colours throughout their history. Originally competing in blue and white striped jerseys and white shorts, they experimented with red and white stripes in the early 1900s, and from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s played in white jerseys and black shorts. No set pattern has been established for the club's use of blue and white as their main colours. They have played at various times in a white jersey with a blue band and blue shorts, and a blue jersey with white pin stripes and white shorts. They experimented for a short time with an Argentina-style kit, light blue and white stripes with black shorts, after the 1978 World Cup. This was abandoned after the outbreak of the Falklands War, and the club returned to blue and white striped tops with blue shorts in the 1980s. Stockport marked their 125th anniversary during 2008 by bringing in a third kit—a gold colour with black trim. The kit was worn on 17 occasions, all away trips. The strip was retired 'undefeated' at the end of the year, having been worn for 13 victories and four draws. The kit was also worn during a match against Chester City, which was abandoned after 59 minutes.
The club crest, which was used for many years until 2010 when the club exited administration, was based on the achievement of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport. It was altered in 2006 to resemble the town's arms more closely, including the Latin motto Animo et Fide, which loosely translated means With Courage and Faith. The blue shield is taken from the coat of arms of the 'de Stokeport' family, from whom Stockport derives its name. The twin-towered castle above the shield is Stockport Castle, which stood until 1775.
After the completion by the 2015 Group takeover of the club, a new crest was adopted. It was still based on the Stockport coat of arms, though the Animo et Fide motto was removed, along with a patch of green at the base of the badge; the flag of Cheshire, featuring a sword and three wheatsheaves, replaced the golden lozenges and crosslets in the shield. The medals hanging from the lion's rampant were removed. It also saw the return of a football on the shield. This change was made in part because as of the 2010–11 season, Stockport County was sponsored by the Metropolitan Borough Council.
The crest was altered in 2011 to re-include the town motto. The new version added two white ribbons—one at the top, with Animo et Fide, and one at the bottom with Stockport County F.C.. In addition, the football was again removed from the shield. The Stockport County Supporters' Co-operative used the blue on white cross symbol from the 1978 badge as the main identifier in their company logo. Stockport's kit was supplied by local manufacturer Umbro who supplied all three kits for the 2013–14 season, replacing Nike. Stockport were Umbro's flagship partner for their relaunch in the UK. From the start of the 2014–15 season, Stockport again changed their kit manufacturer, this time from Umbro to Spanish-based manufacturer Joma, who supplied a new home, away and third kit along with training wear.
PeriodKit ManufacturerShirt Sponsor
1976–1978Buktanone
1978–1979Admiralnone
1979–1984Adidasnone
1984–1985Buktanone
1985–1986BuktaLangdale Services
1986–1987Umbronone
1987–1989En-SMessenger Newspapers
1989–1991RiberoSovereign Rubber
1990–1991RiberoGordon Ford Group
1991–1993GolaCobra
1993–1995Super LeagueRobinsons Best Bitter
1995–1996BeaverRobinsons Best Bitter
1996–1999AdidasRobinsons Best Bitter
1999–2002PatrickRobinsons Best Bitter
2002–2007TFG SportsScandia
2007–2009DiadoraJust Search
2009–2010MacronJust Search
2010–2011NikeStockport Metropolitan Borough Council
2011–2012NikeGT Law
2012–2013NikeGT Law '
Leemic '
2013–2014UmbroStockport Sports Village '
Match Day Cards '
Leemic '
2014–2015JomaRESB Ltd. '
Playerboots.com '
Robinsons Dizzy Blonde '
2015–2016JomaPlayerboots.com '
TCM Advisors Limited '
Robinsons Dizzy Blonde '
2016–2017JomaEuro Sport and Event Management '
TCM Advisors Limited '
Robinsons Unicorn '
2017–2018JomaEuro Sport and Event Management '– ESEM extend shirt sponsorship deal for 2017/18">
Pioneer Group '
Robinsons Brewery'
2018–2019JomaPioneer Group '
Project Solar '
Robinson's Brewery & Help for Heroes '
2019–2020JomaPioneer Group '
Cheshire Anilox Technology '
Project Solar '
2020–2021PumaPioneer Group '
Vita

Grounds

Green Lane

Heaton Norris Rovers originally played home matches at the Heaton Norris Recreation Ground, then at various locations in Stockport until settling at a park on Green Lane, Heaton Norris, in 1889. The nearby Nursery Inn served as the team's home, with players using a barn as changing rooms. Green lane remained the club's home for its first two seasons in the Football League.
Green Lane had one main stand that ran the length of the pitch, and a raised bank behind one of the goals. The remainder of the ground was uncovered terracing, with turnstiles located at the back of the Nursery Inn.

Edgeley Park

By 1902 the club required a larger ground and moved to Edgeley Park, then home of the rugby league club Stockport, which went out of business three years later. Green Lane was retained for use by the club's reserve team, and one further first team game was played at the ground on 18 April 1903 when Edgeley Park was being used by the rugby club. The Green Lane site was later used for housing. Stockport County have played home games at Edgeley Park since the start of the 1902–03 season, celebrating the centenary in 2002.
In 1995, a new 5,000 seat Cheadle End was built to replace the terrace. This made the stand an all-seater that now included conference and banqueting facilities.
In late 2000, then Stockport County chairman Brendan Elwood considered moving the club to Maine Road, the former home of rivals Manchester City. The potential move was unpopular with supporters, and protests were staged after it was suggested that the club would change its name to Man-Stock County after the move. Ultimately Manchester City Council decreed that Sale Sharks would make better tenants. Maine Road has since been demolished to make way for a housing estate and Edgeley Park was then shared with Sale whose parent company, Cheshire Sports, owned the ground. In 2001, The Railway End, opposite the Cheadle End was the last part of Edgeley Park to be converted to seating taking the total capacity to 10,852.
There was another rumour that Stockport would leave Edgeley Park in 2012. This was dismissed by then chairman Lord Peter Snape, before Sale Sharks confirmed that they would be moving to Salford City Reds' new stadium. This left Stockport County as the only tenants at Edgeley Park. On 23 May 2012, it was announced that Stockport County would rename the Main Stand "The Danny Bergara Stand" in honour of the club's manager during a successful period for the team in the 1990s.
In the summer of 2015, Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council purchased the stadium to prevent it from being demolished and redeveloped. After a plea from fans to safeguard the stadium, an emergency council meeting was held, and the stadium was purchased for £2 million. It is currently leased back to the football club.

Support

With both Manchester United and Manchester City located around from Edgeley Park, Stockport County has always struggled for local support. During the mid-1960s, the Football League introduced a minimum admission price for all clubs in all four divisions, attempting to help boost revenue for lower clubs. It had the desired effect only in small towns miles from big city teams. It had the opposite effect in larger places like Stockport, where lower-league clubs were in relatively close proximity to clubs in higher divisions. Stockport devised a solution, moving all their home games to Friday evening kick-offs, which generated larger crowds and extra business in surrounding pubs and restaurants.
In 2004, the club attracted a crowd of more than 20,000 for one of its tour matches in China. Stockport were watched by 22,000 in Yingkou against their then sister side Stockport Tiger Star. It is possible this high attendance was a result of Stockport's association with their affiliate team, and Tiger Stars' name change to include 'Stockport' two years previously.
Attendances continued to be healthy for the level the club were at. During the 2005–06 season, home attendances increased slightly on the season before, and the 2006–07 season saw the club average the fourth highest average attendance in League Two. There was further increased in attendance the following season with Stockport's away support outnumbering home supporters on a number of occasions. Stockport County had an average away attendance of over 900, the highest in the league. Stockport set a National League North record league attendance with 4,797 people attending a home fixture with FC United in December 2015. This record attendance was broken again three times in the next three seasons.
The vocal support from Stockport fans has often been cited by managers and players, with the fans influence likened to having a twelfth player on the field. Between the 2006–07 and 2009–10 seasons the squad number 12 was allocated to the 'Blue & White Army', in reference to the supporters being the team's 12th man on match days. However, for the 2010–11 season, the number reverted to one of the players. The squad number 12 was given back to the fans upon Stockport's return to the National League in 2019.
Some famous Stockport County fans include British Darts Organisation darts player Tony O'Shea and singer-songwriter Daz Sampson. O'Shea writes an article in the club programme for every home match and also wears the club colours in all of his televised darts matches. Sampson became a life member of the Stockport County Supporters Trust after he had released "The County Song", which pays tribute to Stockport County's Football League record of nine consecutive wins without conceding a goal.

Supporters' groups

Help the Hatters is a group of unpaid volunteers who raise money for the club and help with the maintenance and upkeep of Edgeley Park. They also helped organise the Players Fund used to help pay the wages of young players. The fund also used to give the Stockport County Supporters' Co-operative shares in the football club. Help the Hatters transformed the clubs legends' lounge into the Stockport County Museum, which was officially opened by former player George Haigh on his 102nd Birthday.
Stockport County Supporters' Co-operative is the other active supporters' group. The Supporters' Co-Op also assists in running the Stockport County Appearance Number Scheme where every player who has played a senior professional game is recognised with a unique framed certificate and a number which shows their position on the list of players to make their debut for the club.

Rivalries

As the two nearby Manchester clubs have rarely been in the same division as Stockport, historically there was little rivalry with either club until the 1990s. However, the rivalry between Stockport County and Manchester City took form between 1997 and 2002, when the two clubs spent three out of five seasons in the same division and during the 1998–99 season, Stockport were a division above City. The rivalry is made more complex by the number of Manchester City supporters who live in Stockport.
During their days in the Football League, the club also had significant local rivalries with Oldham Athletic, Bury, Rochdale, Crewe Alexandra and, briefly, Macclesfield Town. For more historical reasons, County supporters named their main rivalries to be more distant neighbours Burnley and Stoke City. In Stockport's current division Halifax Town and Chorley are the closest teams geographically.

Players

Current squad

Hall of Fame

This list contains the names of all past players/club staff who have been inducted into the Stockport County Hall of Fame.

Club ownership and board

Technical staff

Current coaching staff

Top 10 managers in the club's history

Based on win percentage in all competitions
*Current manager in bold. Statistics only include full-time managers. Interim or caretaker managers are not included.
*Stats correct as of 11 April 2020

First team honours

Honours are correct as of the end of the 2018–19 season.

Football League

Team records

Stockport County hold a Football League record, winning nine matches in succession without conceding a goal. This record ran from January to March 2007, when manager Jim Gannon led the club to the best form shown by a football club in Football League history. The final match in this sequence was a 3–0 home win against Swindon Town.
Wayne Hennessey, then on loan to Stockport from Wolves, kept all the clean sheets in his first nine games in professional football. He made his footballing debut against Boston United where Stockport won 2–0. During this time, Hennessey received the League Two Player of the Month Award, The other players involved in matches during the record-breaking run were: Robert Clare, Michael Rose, Ashley Williams, Gareth Owen, Stephen Gleeson, Jason Taylor, Adam Griffin, David Poole, Damien Allen, Anthony Pilkington, Tony Dinning, Dominic Blizzard, Liam Dickinson, Adam Proudlock, Tes Bramble and Anthony Elding.