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The descent into regional football had come as more than a shock to many County fans, but to those of longer standing, who had been keeping an eye on the behind the scenes activity, it was, on reflection, the natural conclusion of management ineptitude on a biblical scale since coming out of administration in 2010. All sorts of false dawns had come and gone. The 2010 Group had singularly failed running up a loss over two years which came to well over £1.25m. We had seen the chancer Tony Evans be allowed free rein with the appointment of Didi Hamann, and then the advent of Spencer Fearn, followed by the ‘Boy Wonder’ Ryan McKnight. All semblance of any strategy on the football side had come and gone, as Gannon was fired in January 2013; Kalezic, a singularly unsuitable appointment lasted but weeks, and then Ian Bogie came in but fialed to keep us in the Conference.

But it was the decisions in the couple of weeks after relegation which set the scene and indeed the framework for the next few years. These are recounted in full on my post relating to 2013. In essence Fearn led the Club into part time football and then departed the scene. Bogie had been left high and dry and had to cobble a team together from part time players assembled from an area of the country of which he had scant if any knowledge. It frankly was the recipe for a debacle, and so it transpired.

The season had started with a thumping at the hands of Boston; a point up at Workington and then defeats to Altrincham and Colwyn Bay. The latter, which was at EP, left the County fans in a dark mood as we travelled for a first ever trip to Wetherby Road on the last day of August 2013.

It was more of the same. The hosts rattled in 3 in 4 minutes towards the end of the first half with the only cheer being a goal from Iain Howard as the second half wended its weary way to a conclusion.

The real events came a few minutes later. Bogie resigned on the pitch after the game at Wetherby Road, and there were tales of an almighty row with McKnight at the same time. I can neither confirm, nor deny that as Jeff; Mark and I were on the road within seconds of the game finishing. A couple of days later he gave an very insightful interview to the Manchester Evening News, a part of which is reproduced below.

Ian Bogie admitted abuse from a section of County fans was the final straw for his reign at Edgeley Park. His five-month spell in charge at Stockport came to a shock end when he resigned on the pitch following last Saturday’s 3-1 loss at Harrogate Town. Bogie revealed it was the abuse – and his decision to react – which convinced him it was time to move on.

“Stockport County has a great fanbase and the supporters have been massively frustrated over the years,” he said. “I’d have to say, though, that the venom that was spouted at myself and the players – which I’ve heard in a number of games – is not on. I have a real passion for football but what came from the supporters knocked the stuffing out of me. I was disappointed because I reacted in terms of having a right go back, which isn’t me; I should have been more professional because I’ve got higher standards than that. This isn’t a dig at the supporters because there are a few things which ultimately tipped me towards the edge.

“I was a manager travelling 1,000 miles a week from Newcastle to Stockport and back and I was taking my disappointment home with me – I was reliving things in my head while on the motorway. Under the circumstances I think Stockport County needs someone local to the area; if we’d stayed up, I’d have been there every day because I’d have relocated to Stockport. Unfortunately, I’d say Ian Bogie isn’t the man to take Stockport County forward and it disheartens me to say that.”

“When you go from full-time to part-time it drastically affects your revenue streams and you have to cut your cloth accordingly,” Bogie said. “The bottom line is we couldn’t compete with teams like Harrogate and Altrincham to sign players but we got on with it, never moaned about it and assembled a team.  They have huge outlays with the stadium and overheads that other teams don’t have but, in terms of bringing in players, I knew I had a tight budget.  A fifth of that was taken up with two players I inherited from someone else who were part of the structure last year.  There was nothing I could do about that but I assembled a squad of players in a short space of time who I thought could do a job.  A lot of them have proven credentials in the Conference North or higher but, for whatever reason, it hasn’t worked out – though not for the want of trying.

It says a lot in my view. The phrase “The bottom line is we couldn’t compete with teams like Harrogate and Altrincham to sign players…” sums things up. What Fearn and McKnight had delivered essentially laid the base for the next few years. It was going to be a hard road…..

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Memories of trips to Wetherby Road

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THE GAMES

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Where the date is in bold click for highlights of the game

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	Date	Venue	Ground	Competition		F	A	Att:
Sat	31/08/13	a	Wetherby Road	The Skrill North (Tier 6)	L	1	3	918
Sat	26/04/14	h	Edgeley Park	The Skrill North (Tier 6)	W	3	1	3,604
Sat	27/09/14	a	Wetherby Road	FA Cup (Qualifying Round 2)	W	2	1	604
Sat	01/11/14	a	Wetherby Road	Vanarama Conference North (Tier 6)	L	1	2	927
Sat	25/04/15	h	Edgeley Park	Vanarama Conference North (Tier 6)	W	2	1	2,601
Sat	26/12/15	h	Edgeley Park	Vanarama Conference North (Tier 6)	L	1	2	3,326
Tues	02/02/16	a	Wetherby Road	Vanarama National League North (Tier 6)	L	1	2	570
Mon	26/12/16	a	Wetherby Road	Vanarama National League North (Tier 6)	W	1	0	1,055
Sun	01/01/17	h	Edgeley Park	Vanarama National League North (Tier 6)	D	1	1	3,725
Sat	12/08/17	h	Edgeley Park	Vanarama National League North (Tier 6)	D	2	2	3,107
Sat	02/02/19	a	Wetherby Road	FA Trophy (Round 3)	W	4	2	1,142
Sat	24/08/19	a	Wetherby Road	Vanarama National League (Tier 5)	L	1	2	1,326

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