ON THE ROAD
SPORTSMAIL GOES BEHIND THE SCENES AT STOCKPORT, THE FORMER LEAGUE CLUB NOW IN FOOTBALL’S SIXTH TIER
FOR Jon Keighren, the lowest point for his beloved Stockport is obvious. ‘Getting beat 4-0 at Kidderminster in 2013 to be relegated to this level,’ he says. ‘I never thought it would happen. We went part-time overnight. Horrific. I can feel it now on the back of my neck. Minging, absolutely minging.’ Keighren, then a journalist, immediately joined the board and has been part of a steady process that, after eight years of hell which has seen the Cheshire club drop from League One to sixth-tier National League North, has finally brought optimism to Edgeley Park. Stockport’s plummet from grace was painful. Administration, a disastrous start to fan-ownership, bizarre failed experiments, the loss of Edgeley Park and relegation after relegation. If you think your lot have had it bad, spare a thought for County fans. At the Edgeley and Shaw Heath Labour Club, where £10 will get you four shots of sambuca, PR director Adam Moss sums it up well. ‘It was like watching a mate, drunk, playing Football Manager with a club you really care about,’ he says. ‘Some of the decisions — they sacked Jim Gannon when we were fighting for our lives in the National League and brought in some pen-pusher from a football business magazine. ‘He brought in a Bosnian manager with no idea of non-League. We knew we were going down.’ Under Keighren and his fellow board members, all Stockport supporters, there has been a gradual turnaround. A group of inactive shareholders, waiting for a payday that would never arrive, have been eased out. The ground, which was separated from the club following the fan takeover, is now owned by the council. Bills have been slashed and there are just a handful of full-timers including a kit man who doubles up as caretaker. Last season, Stockport were a goal away from reaching the play-offs. Following a £107,000 loss, they last week announced a profit of £35,000, with every penny going into the playing budget. Season-ticket sales have gone up to more than 1,700. And manager Gannon is back for a third spell in the dug-out. ‘He’s a miracle worker,’ says Keighren, who, in keeping with the mucking-in mentality, also provides radio commentary on matchdays. ‘He’s that good he could make my hair grow back.’ Getting promotion may be as difficult a task for the manager, who was made redundant amid financial crisis in 2009. There are a growing number of full-time sides in National League North including Saturday’s opponents, Harrogate Town, who raced into a two-goal lead through a brace from Simon Ainge.
COUNTY
roared back after half-time and salvaged a point through two goals from Jason Oswell. Not that the striker, who doubles up as a physiotherapist at the Countess of Chester Hospital, will have time to celebrate. ‘I’m on shift at 7.30am tomorrow,’ the 24-year-old says. ‘I’m not looking forward to it but it’ll be OK because I scored two.’ For Gannon, who can only train his players twice a week, full-time status cannot come quickly enough. ‘I’m trying to professionalise everything we do. Ultimately we will need to go to full time to get out of this level.’ The match was watched by an enthusiastic 3,107 fans. Back at the Labour Club, eightyear-old William Pollitt, the only County fan in his class at Banks Lane Junior School, sums it up perfectly. ‘I don’t care,’ he says. ‘Just because a team are the best doesn’t mean you should support them. I’m from Stockport and I support Stockport. You should support the team where you’re from.’ William and his fellow County fans deserve better. For the first time in a long time, there is genuine hope they might get it.