WELCOME!!
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To say football is a way of life for most Brits would be a gross under-statement. It evokes a level of passion and camaraderie that can baffle someone who doesn’t support a football team.
Choosing a team is often a family affair or a matter of where you live. But once you have chosen a team it is a life-long commitment. You will support them through thick and thin!
Not my words. I found them on greatbritishmag.co.uk . But it sums things up for me.
I’ve put this site together for my own interest. Some years ago I started writing about the grounds I had been to whilst following County. It had been more about doing something useful after retirement, but the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic was going to leave me with a lot of time on my hands as I knew I would be confined to the house for a long period. So I picked up where I had left off, and decided to expand my original scope.
So this site reflects my 57 years of watching the team to which I have a “life long commitment”. I’ve supported them “through thick and thin“ – and it’s been more thin than thick.
There’s been the camaraderie found on trips the length and breadth of the land.
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THIS SITE IS ABOUT ……. 57 YEARS FOLLOWING STOCKPORT COUNTY
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Here’s when it started. The programme from my very first game at Edgeley Park on 12th October 1963. We played Aldershot. It ended 2 – 2 with John Evans scoring both, (one was a penalty). I stood on the Railway End with a friend and his father. Many of the players that day I never saw again.
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It was quite a while until I went again. Nine year old boys, even nearly 60 years ago, weren’t allowed to take a two bus trip from my home in Gorton, and especially over the next few years given what I describe in my trip to Leeds Road. But I date my support from that day. The County result was always the one I listened to when Sports Report came onto the radio at 5 o’clock each Saturday. It’s been a long journey since then, and has been a central part of my life.
57 years; 1,957 games; 181 grounds, (including the hallowed turf of Edgeley Park); 737 players and 36 managers .. and plenty of reference to the people who have run our Club from the “good uns” to the chancers and charlatans who almost destroyed my club.
The highest highs and the lowest lows. From the heady heights of the Championship to 6 years in regional semi-professional football. We played at a level I never thought possible when I started out and ended up facing teams where I could walk to the game.
So as at March 2020, I had seen the Hatter in action on 1,957 occasions; on 181 different grounds, and had witnessed 722 wins; 518 draws, and 717 defeats. Over the period of 57 years 737 players had worn the shirt, ranging from Andy Thorpe who featured in 429 of them right down to the 56 whose appearances were but from the bench.
There’s been the highest highs and the lowest lows; great games that live long in the memory and plenty which were forgotten as soon as i walked through the exit gates. You can find out about my journey on this site. It’s been written as a personal project, but I felt it was worth sharing.
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HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN FIND
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The main Menu Bar will guide you round the site. There are 11 sections. Here’s what they cover:
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Find out more about why I put this site together on the “About 57 Hatters Years“ section on the main menu. There’s a bit about me and my background; how this site came to be; why my writings stalled for a fair period, and how the Covid-19 pandemic was the catalyst for making progress. Things aren’t finished yet – I’ve still got to put down my reflections on a fair number of places I’ve visited but with a fair degree of effort over the last few months I thought that it was about time to make my musings more widely available.
I set myself a series of criteria for what should and what shouldn’t be included. These covered the games that counted for the purposes of the site; how I’ve gone about putting things together, and, (a particular hobby horse of mine), the use of traditional ground names. There’s a sub-page, My Rules, which explains these fully.
Over the years I’ve journeyed to watch County in the company, at different times, of my sons and a number of friends. A sub-page, My Fellow Travellers, thanks them for their company and also, because they feature throughout, a bit of background about them.
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Each and every County game I have seen, and there have been 1,957 of them to date, is listed on the site. To aid navigation the Summary of the County Games I Saw page is the starting point. with links to each of the decades – doing it that way makes things more manageable. It also includes a link to a page which lists every team that I have seen County play, all 188 of them, with the playing record in the games I watched..
There is a wealth of video footage available on-line. Throughout this site I have linked any coverage I have found to the particular listing of games, (whether by year or opposition, and home and away). The nature of You Tube means that videos can disappear – all the links worked when I compiled this site, but in the event they have disappeared then please let me know!
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Each of the home games I’ve seen is listed by competition; result and attendance. These are on the Edgeley Park Home from Home page.
The page starts off by providing a link to each decade, which then list each year. If your preference is to go directly to a particular year then the links at the bottom of the page provide that facility.
The history of County, both on and off the field during these years, is a crucial element. The off the field mismanagement, particularly in the latter years, has born direct correlation to the on field performance. I have used the year pages for the home games to trace this, adding in my own analysis of how this has impacted the Club.
As a sub-page I have pulled together information and images on the way Edgeley Park has changed over my 57 years. The Main Stand, in terms of construction, is unchanged, but the Cheadle and Railway Ends, and the Pop Side have seen a number of different ‘iterations’. This can be found on the ‘Edgeley Park – Stockport County’ page
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Discover my recollections and memories of nearly 850 away games in the “Away Days” section. There’s a page for each of the 180 grounds I’ve visited following County .. and as the site title suggests these range from Brunton Park to the Goldstone Ground and from Home Park to Croft Park … and the 176 arenas / stadiums / enclosures in between.
The front page provides a choice of following links to each decade, (and then to individual years), or directly to look at the page I have created for each ground visited. On these are my memories, (both football and otherwise), of the trips to these grounds.
I have also illustrated my thoughts with photos of the grounds as I first remembered them. Some grounds that have fallen to the bulldozer and others that have changed out of all recognition. I didn’t want to include images of grounds as they are now. These are readily available and familiar to football fans. Hopefully the images of times past will jog your memory as well.
I’ve put a photo of the programme from the first game at that ground. There’s a handful missing – they’re in the loft somewhere so as I when I find them they will be posted too.
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737 players have participated in the games I have seen. The Players: 1963-2020 page lists each and every one, providing details of the number of times I saw them play. There are also links to sub-pages for each decade, where there is further detail, plus photos of the leading players together with a small commentary from me.
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Over the years 36 individuals have occupied the Edgeley hot-seat. These are listed on The Managers page, together with their record in the games that I saw, together with photos of each one.
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ADMINISTRATION & BEYOND: 2009-14
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The Club went through an appalling period in the early 2000’s. Brendan Elwood sold the Club to Cheshire Sports, (which provided a ground for Sale Sharks Rugby club). The ground was separated from the Football Club, and Brian Kennedy then passed ownership, without assets, to the Supporters Trust. It was a business plan doomed to failure, and the Club went into administration in April 2009. It took over a year for the Administrators to put in place new ownership. Hopes that this would end the travails were more than optimistic as we then went through a 4 year period of total turmoil both on and off the field. The whole story is worth a section of its own on this site. Click on “Administration and Beyond: 2009-14” to discover the gruesome tale.
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In the 57 years County have played on 195 different grounds, in addition of course to EP. I’ve seen them on 181 of these, (including the hallowed turf!). The Grounds I Missed page provides a small commentary on why these didn’t cross my path .
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Over the years, but particularly in the 90’s I wrote a fair few pieces on matters County. These were mainly for the fanzine, The Tea Party. I also contributed twice to Survival of the Fattest, a compendium of fanzines. These covered the 1996/97 and 1998/99 seasons. The Other Published Words page links to my pieces which have been transcribed from the originals. The Tea Party articles are accompanied by photos of the front cover of the relevant issues
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There’s a lot of other stuff about these years at County – the Other Listens Watches and Reads page provides links to ones which I have found not only interesting, but a valuable source of information as I have been compiling “57 Hatters Years”
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I have relied on my own memory and records for much if what appears on this site. However, the whole process has not been possible without referring to a wide range of information. There will undoubtedly be others that I have missed, but I have included in this section the key sources that I have used.
There are a multitude of photos included, many sourced off the internet. There is no intentional breach of copyright. If you wish for a photograph to record a credit let me know. Alternatively, if you wish it to be removed then also let me know. All I would ask is that you recognise that this has been a labour of love; it is not intended to be, (nor will it!), be revenue generating!! It has been compiled to give me a degree of sanity during my enforced confinement to barracks arising from the Covid pandemic, and to provide a source of interest for County fans, and football followers in general.
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LET ME KNOW …..
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If you’ve got any comments; maybe about my thoughts; or indeed to correct any factual errors, (I have tried to be accurate but …), then let me know through the comments facility. Please let me know as well if any of the links are broken, or become unavailable.
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