Setting out to pull this site together I gave myself a set of parameters. One thing is certain – this is not a comprehensive history of Stockport County. Yes there’s a wealth of statistical information, (derived from the records I’ve kept over the years supplemented by other sources which I hope to have covered in the Acknowledgements page), but it only relates to the games I saw.

So player records are not their full Hatters career but relate purely to the occasions they turned out in front of yours truly.

I also didn’t want the written, as opposed to the number, bit to be purely about the football. It was to be a series of reflections on life; football and whatever else came to mind as I put fingers to keyboard.

So with that general introduction to the parameters I set here’s the more specific “rules”.

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CHRONOLOGY

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About 57 Hatters Years outlines how this site came about. When I set out to write back in 2016 I wanted to approach things chronologically, from the very first game against Aldershot, (in October 1963), through the debut away game at Exeter in January 1975 all the way through to the last pre-Covid-19 game that I saw. It was against against Barnet in March 2020.

I was determined not to change a word, (other than to correct any typos!). However, re-reading my musings again there were additions I wanted to include. Updates for re-visits to some grounds. I did stick to my original intention. I took nothing out. But where there was stuff to add this is always in red in the body of the text.

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QUALIFYING GAMES

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Over the years I’ve seen a good many friendly games; a lot of Lancashire League reserve games in the 80’s; youth team matches and so on. None of these count!!

So trips to the Drill Field; National Stadium, (the one in Ashton not Wembley); the Youth Cup game against West Ham, (featuring a very youthful Joe Cole and Michael Carrick); and many, many others don’t count.

To be included the game had to be a competitive first team game. Most of those are self defining. There is a scheme known as SCAN, (Stockport County Appearance Number). You can find it HERE This catalogues the players who have turned out for the Hatters over the years.

Sadly, from my perspective, it was decided by those who run it that appearances below National League level, (Tier 5), don’t count.

Well for me they do, so the 6 years in regional football forms an integral element of this site. Equally, many would suggest that the Cheshire Senior Cup shouldn’t qualify. The rules of the competition are quite clear that a Club should field its strongest team, and from that perspective any CSC games seen since the drop into non-league qualify.

Near misses don’t count. I didn’t miss visiting many of the grounds that County played at over the years I’ve been watching. Looking back though the records I note that County, (in first team competitive action as defined above), have played on 189 different grounds in my 57 years. I’ve seen them on 181 of those.

So there are some notable exceptions. I didn’t make it to the Globe Arena, (crucial business meeting) and Wheatsheaf Park Staines. Jeff and I went down, and were sat outside the ground for an FA Cup replay in 2007 when the news came through of the postponement. I couldn’t make it for the re-arranged game 3 days later, (tied up with business again!). We played at Hurst Cross, Ashton in December 2018. I could see the lights from my house, but having picked my wife up after a biggish operation it wasn’t right to go. Equally my health in the last couple of years has meant that I couldn’t make it to 5 ‘new’ grounds in 2019/20. Those were at Dover; Bromley; Boreham Wood; Maidenhead and Sutton United. So these don’t count, although I’ve written them on “Grounds I Missed“ page

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GROUND NAMES

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The necessity for driving cash into football clubs is self-evident. It started off with shirt sponsorship, and now seemingly has stretched to every part of the game and indeed matchday experience. So the “added time”, (as or Kenny Boxhall, the legendary PA guy at EP calls it, “time allowed”), is now sponsored.

But I’m a traditionalist and Valley Parade is Valley Parade. It might have been known at various times as Pulse; Bradford & Bingley; Intersonic; Coral Windows; Northern Commercials and Utilita but I bet a pound to a penny that the Bantams fans still refer to it as Valley Parade. The renaming of grounds as an accounting artifice doesn’t count for me. So throughout this site I’ve used the traditional name.

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So, please try to bear this in mind as you wander through these pages

Thanks

Martin