This article is about the history of Stockport County F.C., who are a football club based in Stockport, United Kingdom. For an overview of the club, see Stockport County F.C. A player (wearing the red kit) has penetrated the defence (in the white kit) and is taking a shot at goal. ... Stockport is a large town in the north west of England. ... Stockport County Football Club are an English football club based in Stockport, England. ...

Early days

Stockport County were formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers by members of the Wycliffe Congressional Church, and played their first recorded game in October the next year. Shortly after they merged with a similarly named club, Heaton Norris, and on the 24th May 1890 changed their name to Stockport County to reflect Stockport becoming a County Borough. Heaton Norris is a mainly residential area of Stockport, England bordering on Heaton Moor and Heaton Chapel. ... County borough was a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom to refer to a borough or a city independent of county administration. ...

The club adopted 'The Hatters' as their nickname, owing to Stockport's history as the centre of the hat-making industry, a nickname that is shared with Luton Town. Stockport supporters generally refer to the team simply as 'County'. Luton Town Football Club are an English football team based in the town of Luton in Bedfordshire. ...

Stockport played in the Lancashire League until 1900. They then gained admission to the Football League Second Division. Unfortunately, the club finished in the bottom three for their first four seasons and at the end of the 1903-04 season they failed to gain re-election. They then had one season in the Lancashire Combination, and were league champions. They were re-admitted to the Football League for the 1905-06 season, and the club have now been in this league for over a hundred years, although they have had to seek re-election on four further occasions. The Lancashire League has been the name of two separate football competitions for clubs based in northern England. ... From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football. ... // Time Line The County of Lancashire. ...

Danny Bergara

Uruguayan manager Danny Bergara took over during the 1988/89 season, saving County from what looked like probable relegation to the Football Conference. The following seasons brought relative success, with County narrowly missing out on automatic promotion in 1989/90, but succeeding the following season. 'Danny Bergara's blue and white army' made an immediate impact on the third division, winning their opening fixture against Swansea City 5-0. County reached both the playoff final and the Autoglass Trophy final (both played at Wembley) in 1991-92. Another Autoglass final followed in 1992-93, and a further playoff final in 1993-94. Unfortunately, County lost all four of those matches, and promotion to the promised land of the second tier of English football had to wait for the arrival of a new manager. Danny Bergara (born in Montevideo, Uruguay) is a former footballer and manager. ... The Football Conference is a football league at the top of the National League System of non-League football in England. ...

1995-96 & 1997-98: The Dave Jones Era

The 1995/96 season was Dave Jones' first full season as manager, having taken over from Bergara in April 1995. Although the league season was unremarkable, the club reached the 3rd round of the FA Cup, where they faced holders Everton. County held the Toffees to a 2-2 draw at Goodison Park, and for the replay ten days later over 11,000 squeezed into Edgeley Park to witness Everton's late winner in a 3-2 victory. The 1995-1996 season was the 116th season of competitive football in England. ... Dave Jones (born August 17, 1956 in Liverpool) is an English football manager currently in charge of Cardiff City F.C. // Playing career Like most professional managers in the game, he enjoyed a career as a player in his early years. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Everton Football Club is an English football club located in the city of Liverpool. ... Goodison Park is the home ground of Everton F.C. in Liverpool. ... Edgeley Park (Capacity 10,852 seats) is the home of Stockport County Football Club and Sale Sharks Rugby Union club. ...

The 1996/97 season proved to be possibly the most memorable in the club's history. The season began in a forgettable fashion, recording 2 draws and 4 defeats in the first six league matches. A 2nd round League Cup tie against Sheffield United proved to be a catalyst, and Stockport won with a 7-3 aggregate win, including a 5-2 victory at Bramall Lane. Although County reached the northern final of the Auto Windscreens Shield, losing 2-0 on aggregate to Carlisle and just missing out on a visit to Wembley, it was the League Cup which provided the major highlights of the season, with 4 victories over top-flight opposition. A 1-0 win away at Blackburn Rovers in the 3rd round was followed by a 4th round 1-1 draw away to West Ham and a 2-1 victory in the replay at Edgeley Park, a quarter final 2-2 draw against Southampton at Edgeley Park followed by a 2-1 victory in the replay at The Dell, and then a semi-final meeting with Middlesbrough. Although County lost the first leg at Edgeley Park 2-0, they won 1-0 at the Riverside Stadium, failing to convert several chances to equalise on aggregate. The 1996-1997 season was the 117th season of competitive football in England. ... The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup, is an English football competition. ... Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire. ... Bramall Lane Stadium is the home of Sheffield United Football Club in Sheffield, England and is the oldest major stadium in the world still to be hosting professional football matches. ... The Football League Trophy is the generic name of an English football competition for clubs in the two lower divisions of The Football League and, in some seasons, the leading sides in the Conference National. ... Carlisle United F.C. are an English football team based in Carlisle, Cumbria, play in the Football League One this season, after gaining promotion from the Football League Two at the end of the 2005-06 season. ... Blackburn Rovers Football Club are an English Premier League football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. ... West Ham United Football Club are an English football team based in Upton Park, Newham, East London and have played their home matches at the 35,146 capacity Boleyn Ground stadium since 1904. ... Southampton Football Club is a professional English football team, nicknamed The Saints and based in the city of Southampton. ... The Dell in Milton Road, Southampton, England was the home ground of the Southampton football club. ... Middlesbrough Football Club are an English football club, commonly known as Boro, that play in the Premier League. ... The Riverside Stadium has been the home of Middlesbrough F.C. since the beginning of the English Premier League season 1995-96. ...

The league season was also going very strong, and the Hatters eventually gained promotion with a 1-0 victory at Chesterfield in the penultimate match of the season, a game which, had COunty failed to win, they would have faced a deciding match away at promotion rivals Luton Town on the final day of the season. As it turned out, County travelled to Kenilworth Road with a chance to win the title, but a 1-1 draw meant that local rivals Bury finished top of the table. Chesterfield Football Club are an English football team currently playing in Football League One. ... Luton Town Football Club are an English football team based in the town of Luton in Bedfordshire. ... Kenilworth Road is a stadium in Luton, England which is home to Luton Town F.C., a professional football team in the English League One. ... Bury Football Club are an English association football team based in Bury, Lancashire. ...

1997-98 to 2001-02: First Division era

1997/98 saw County playing in the top two divisions for the first time in 60 years, facing the likes of Nottingham Forest, Sunderland, Birmingham City, Manchester City, Middlesbrough, Portsmouth and many others. However, even before the season had started things had taken a turn for the worse - Dave Jones had been poached by Premiership Southampton, taking goalkeeper Paul Jones & full back Lee Todd with him. Gary Megson left Blackpool to take over the reins, and in his first season County finished 8th, just two places off the playoffs to reach the Premiership - the club's best ever league placing. The season also saw the first of several memorable derby matches with Manchester City, a 3-1 victory at Edgeley Park in front of more than 11,000. // Premier League Arsenal overhauled Manchester Uniteds lead during the final weeks of the season to win the Premiership title. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Sunderland Association Football Club is a football club based in Sunderland, on Wearside in the North-East of England. ... Birmingham City Football Club are an English football club based in Birmingham, in the heart of the West Midlands. ... Manchester City Football Club is a large, English football club based in the city of Manchester. ... Middlesbrough Football Club are an English football club, commonly known as Boro, that play in the Premier League. ... Portsmouth Football Club are an English football club based in the south coast city of Portsmouth. ... Southampton Football Club is a professional English football team, nicknamed The Saints and based in the city of Southampton. ... Gary Megson (born May 2, 1959) is a former association footballer and currently manager of Nottingham Forest F.C.. He followed his father Don Megson into management. ... Blackpool Football Club are an English football club from the Lancashire seaside resort of Blackpool, who will next season be playing in The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, after winning the 2006-07 League One play-off final. ...

That was as good as things were going to get, however, and the following 1998/99 season saw Stockport finish 16th, winning just 3 of their final 14 matches. A 5-0 defeat at relegated Oxford United on the final day signalled the end of Megson's time at Edgeley Park. The club decided to promote from within and Andy Kilner was soon put in charge. Again, he had an encouraging start to his management at County and by Boxing Day the club were 6th, holding a playoff spot, having picked up another unforgettable win over Manchester City, this time 2-1 at Maine Road. Unfortunately the team then went a club-record 19 games without a victory, eventually finishing the 1999/00 season 17th, with two late wins helping stave off relegation. The 2000/01 season saw them again narrowly avoid relegation, finishing 19th overall. The 1998-1999 season was the 119th season of competitive football in England. ... Oxford United Football Club are an English football team who are playing in the Conference National for the 2007-08 season. ... Andy Kilner is a former manager of Stockport County FC. Category: ... The 1999-2000 season was the 120th season of competitive football in England. ... The 2000-2001 season was the 121st season of competitive football in England. ...

2001/02 turned out to be the club's worst ever at the time. With County already already bottom of the league, a 4-0 home defeat to Millwall saw manager Kilner sacked. Shortly after he was replaced with former England international Carlton Palmer. A 2-1 win over Norwich game some hope, but County then went on to lose 11 matches in a row, another unwanted club record. The Hatters picked up just 3 more wins during the rest of the season (one of these being another unforgettable 2-1 victory over Manchester City, having been 1-0 down with just 5 minutes left) finishing the season with just 26 points, going down on the 16th March, the quickest post-war relegation. The 2001-2002 season was the 122nd season of competitive football in England. ... Millwall Football Club are an English professional football team based at the New Den Stadium in Bermondsey, South East London. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Unified  -  by Athelstan 927 AD  Area  -  Total 130... Carlton Lloyd Palmer (born 5 December 1965 in Rowley Regis, West Midlands) is a former English professional football player who played as a midfielder, most notably for Sheffield Wednesday. ... Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. ...

2002-03 & 2004-05: Two steps back, none forward

Season 2002/03 set a trend of optimism followed by great disappointment that would continue in the following years. The season started well enough, a 1-0 defeat at Colchester on the opening day forgotten after consecutive wins over Port Vale, Mansfield, Swindon & Lincoln. However, those wins turned out to be the exception rather than the rule and County languished in the relegation zone for much of the season, until another run of four victories (over Wycombe, Plymouth, Northampton & Huddersfield) helped the club climb to mid-table at the end of the season. The 2002-2003 season was the 123rd season of competitive football (soccer) in England, from August 2002 to July 2003: // England national team Key: ECQ = 2004 European Championship qualifiers, F = Friendly; scores are written England first European club competitions UEFA Champions League Manchester United - Quarter finals Arsenal - Second group phase... Colchester United Football Club are an English football team who, after finishing 2nd in League One for the 2005/6 season are competing in the Championship in 2006/07, for the first time in their history. ... Port Vale is an English association football club who currently play in Football League One. ... Mansfield Town Football Club is an English football club who currently play in League Two of the Football League. ... Swindon Town Football Club is an English football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire. ... Lincoln City F.C. are an English football team currently playing in Football League Two (the fourth tier of the English football league system). ... Wycombe Wanderers Football Club are an English football team from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, currently playing in Football League Two. ... 1886/87 - ... - 2001/02 - 2002/03 - 2003/04 - 2004/05 - 2005/06 - 2006/07 Plymouth Argyle Football Club (commonly known as the Pilgrims, the Greens, the Green Army or simply Argyle) are an English football team, playing in the Championship league. ... Northampton Town Football Club are a football team based in Northampton, Northamptonshire, England. ... Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, currently playing in Coca-Cola League One, and are managed by Andy Ritchie. ...

The summer of 2003 saw the club change ownership, as chairman Brendan 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 was created, called 'Cheshire Sports', which would have ownership of Stockport County, Sale Sharks & the Edgeley Park stadium. The 2003/04 season saw Palmer sacked after another poor start to the season, following home defeats to Hartlepool & Blackpool in the space of one week. John Hollins, who had been Director of Football during Palmer's reign, took over as caretaker manager, but was replaced full time by former Northern Ireland manager Sammy McIlroy. After a poor start to his time at Edgeley Park & yet more relegation worries, an 11-match unbeaten run saw the club again climb to safety at the end of the season. Official website www. ... The 2003-2004 season was the 124th season of competitive football in England. ... Hartlepool United Football Club are an English football team currently playing in League Two. ... John William Hollins MBE (born July 16, 1946) is an English former football player and coach. ... Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ... Sammy McIlroy (b. ...

2004/05 was another season that promised much, with several promising signings over the summer. The previous season's excellent form failed to carry over, the new signings failed to gel and again County were in the relegation places by the Autumn. McIlroy was sacked in November and replaced by Chris Turner a month later. Turner failed to turn things around and, for the second time in three years, Stockport County finished a season with just 26 points and were relegated. The 2004-2005 season was the 125th season of competitive football in England. ... Chris Turner (born September 15, 1958 in Sheffield) is an English football manager. ...

2005-06: The Great Escape

2005/06 saw Stockport County change owners again. After reportedly losing £4m,^[1] Cheshire Sports chairman Brian Kennedy handed ownership of the club to the Supporters Trust, whose aim was to rescue the club from revenue loss, eventually breaking even & turn Stockport County into a community based football club. On the July 8 at 10:30 the deal went through, making County one of a handful of supporter-owned clubs in the country. On the pitch, despite the lower level of football the team failed to adapt. On Boxing Day 2005, already five points from safety, County lost 6-0 at local rivals Macclesfield Town, leading Turner to resign after just seven wins in 50 matches. The 2005-2006 season was the 126th season of competitive football in England. ... Macclesfield Town Football Club are an English football team. ...

Former player Jim Gannon came in as caretaker manager, while the club searched for a replacement. An impressive change to both results and performances under Gannon's leadership led the club to give him the position full time, and the remarkable run of form continued. Stockport picked up 35 points from the final 23 games, compared to just 17 from the first 23 matches. On an extremely tense final day of the season, County held champions Carlisle United to a 0-0 draw; a last minute winner for Leyton Orient at Oxford United sent Oxford down and brought the Hatters to safety, sparking scenes of celebration at Edgeley Park. Jim Gannon, (born September 7, 1968), is an Irish football manager and former player. ... Leyton Orient F.C. are an English football team promoted at the end of the 2005/6 season to League One of the Football League. ...

2006-07: Falling just short

The 2006-07 season started poorly, with the club picking up just five points from the first eight league games of the season, and back where they had spent most of the previous season, in the relegation zone,^[2] also losing 1-0 at home to Derby County in the first round of the Carling Cup. Derby County Football Club are an English football club based in Derby, who play in the Premier League. ... The Carling Cup 2006-07 is the 47th staging of the Football League Cup, a knockout competition for Englands top 92 football clubs. ...

Results slowly improved through the rest of the calendar year, and by the time County were knocked out of the FA Cup at the third round stage (4-1 away to Premiership club Watford), County had risen to mid-table.^[3] The FA Cup sponsored by E.On logo The FA Cup 2006-07 was the 126th staging of the worlds oldest football knockout competition; The Football Association Challenge Cup, or FA Cup. ... The original FA Premier League logo, used until 2007 The Premier League (officially known as the Barclays Premier League for sponsorship reasons, previously known as The Premiership), is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top echelon of the English football league system (above The Football League). ... It has been suggested that Harry the Hornet be merged into this article or section. ...

During the January transfer window, two players - goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey (on loan for three months from Wolves) and striker Anthony Elding (from Boston United) signed for County; beginning with their debut against Elding's former club, County won nine games in a row without conceding a goal. Both the nine game winning run and the nine consecutive clean sheets were and remain club records, whilst the combination of nine wins without conceding a goal set a Football League record, eclipsing the eight such games that had been achieved four times previously, most recently by Hartlepool United earlier in the 2006-07 season. Wayne Hennessey (b. ... Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. is a Wolverhampton-based football club playing at Molineux. ... Anthony Elding, born 16 April 1982 in Lincolnshire, is a British football player. ... Boston United Football Club are a football club based in Boston , England. ... Hartlepool United Football Club are an English football team currently playing in League Two. ...

At the end of the record-breaking run, County had climbed to sixth in the table,^[4] but following the end of the run, County's form dipped, picking up only one point from a possible fifteen. County remained sixth, however, and picked up four points over the Easter weekend, but the team failed to win again in April, resulting in a drop to 8th place before the final game of the season. That game resulted in a 5-0 victory away at Darlington, but it was not quite enough to secure a place in the play-offs, as a win for Bristol Rovers combined with a draw for Shrewsbury saw County finish in 8th place, losing out to Shrewsbury on goal difference. Darlington Football Club are an English football team based in the English town of Darlington, currently playing in Football League Two. ... For details of the current season, see Bristol Rovers F.C. season 2006-07 Bristol Rovers are an English professional football team, based in Bristol. ... Shrewsbury Town Football Club are an English football club currently playing in Football League Two, the fourth tier of English football. ...

References

1. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/content/articles/2005/11/22/221105_sale_stockport_feature.shtml
2. ^ http://www.stockportcounty.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Match/FirstTeamTable/0,,10419~20060912,00.html?
3. ^ http://www.stockportcounty.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Match/FirstTeamTable/0,,10419~20070101,00.html
4. ^ http://www.stockportcounty.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Match/FirstTeamTable/0,,10419~20070303,00.html