Hats off to the Hoppers
Or Hops off to the Hatters… either way, we were visiting Stockport County this weekend.
The Hatters have had some troubled seasons since the big rivalry with my team, Stoke City, back in the nineties.
One of my favourite ever away days following Stoke came against County.
The occasion was the Autoglass Trophy at the old Wembley Stadium in May 1992. Three days earlier, the Hatters had denied us in the Division Three playoffs. (Remember when naming divisions was as simple as one to four?)
With over thirty thousand Stokies in attendance, the Golden One, AKA Mark Stein fired us to victory and gave us a little solace for the previous disappointment.
It was a day where we had the pleasure of being in a pub that was split evenly between the two sets of fans and we had a great time together.
A fantastic day!
With Stoke now in the bottom three and Stockport in the promotion chase, this is a rivalry that has every chance of being renewed next season.
So, let’s see how a Stoke fan would be welcomed in Stockport… 👀
The Journey
Our long day began around 06:30 and after stumbling around getting ready, we left to catch the 07:38 bus to Durham.
We arrived at 08:05 and set off for Greggs. A couple of steak bakes in the morning somehow manage to stave off hunger for most of the day. This makes me rather partial to that pastry munch on a Saturday morning, as I’m sure our regular reader will know…
It was a cold, frosty morning and we decided to sit in and eat our breakfast before scaling Mount Durham.
After wiping the last crumbs from my beard, we scaled the east-face ascent of Durham train station. After catching our breath for a few minutes it was time to hop on our 08:59 train.
Good Offer?
For this trip, we had taken advantage of Trans Pennine Express’ fabulous £2.00 per ticket offer.
To offset the financial losses, they obviously decided to sell far more tickets than the train could hold…
Reservation lights were turned off and people were told to grab any free seat. Spoiler alert, there weren’t any free seats after Durham. Mrs Hopper and I were once again forced to sit apart from each other as we snatched two of the last remaining bum rests.
After having someone’s body odour far too close to my nose, it was a relief when we reached York and a good number of people got off. I even managed to get a seat next to Mrs H before the next load of £2 customers piled on.
We arrived at Manchester Victoria station at noon, just forty-five minutes late. From there we caught the handy Metrolink to Manchester Picadilly, arriving at 12:15.
Our booked train to Stockport had long since departed but there was another on the platform, so we got aboard.
Our advance tickets were checked without any problem and we finally arrived in Stockport at 12:30.
Stockport
Stockport is a town lying seven miles south of Manchester.
Technically, it is part of Greater Manchester, although some still claim it is in Cheshire.
Stockport has a population of over 137,000. It is also the spawning grounds of the River Mersey where the Rivers Tame and Goyt converge to form the more famous river.
The UK’s one and only hat museum is located here and it is because Stockport was a major manufacturing area for hats.
With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, Stockport was part of the booming 18th-century cotton industry. The town also had one of the first mechanised silk factories in the country.
By 1884, the town’s industry was producing more than six million hats per year to be shipped worldwide. Remember all those old black-and-white photographs of men wearing hats? I wonder how many of them must have been made in Stockport.
Yet another town’s industry that no longer exists. I feel like I say this in nearly every review. The last hat factory was closed in 1997. The legacy remains though, with not only the museum but the nickname of the town’s football club.
Stockport has transformed its World War Two bunker system into a tourist attraction and also has some magnificent Tudor buildings, including Underbank Hall.
The town’s railway viaduct stands at one hundred and eleven feet high and carries four railway tracks over the River Mersey. Eleven million bricks went into making this colossus (the largest brick-built structure in Europe) at a cost of £70,000. Built between 1839 and 1840, it is now a Grade II listed structure.
Compare this to Durham bus station, which recently cost £10.4 million and took years to build…
From the Station
Originally, we had planned to visit The Magnet Freehouse. I am reliably informed that this establishment stocks “the best selection of beers this side of the equator”.
Now, I’m not sure of the veracity of that statement but I was hopeful of finding out. Unfortunately, due to arriving later than expected, we decided to head straight to our second planned pub.
Ye Olde Vic
Inside Ye Olde Vic is a huge collection of beer pump signs. They are plastered on the walls and ceiling and according to a guy sitting at the bar, there are thousands more in the cellar.
I was amazed to see that two of the beers for sale here were from Uttoxeter Brewing Company.
Why amazed? Well, one of the beers was Uttoxeter American Pale Ale. I am from Uttoxeter and, as previously stated, Mrs Hopper is American.
What a perfect combination!
We tried one of each of the two Uttoxeter brews. I had the Dr Johnsons and Mrs H went with the other.
Disappointingly, they were nothing special, though not bad either. We moved on to the two Pils for our second pints.
With a real open fire roaring in one corner, that was where we decided to sit. I’d forgotten just how pleasant a real fire feels compared to artificial ones.
A cold pint and warmth from the fire… bliss.
We struck up a conversation with a couple who came and sat by us and they were joined by friends shortly after.
A chance to test the water with my Stoke allegiances…
I’m glad to say all was good and we weren’t booted out. In fact, they were a friendly crowd in the pub and it was nice chatting with them all.
With just a five-minute walk from the station and ten minutes to Edgeley Park, this really is the perfect place to stop off for a few pre-match pints.
With pints drunk, it was time to make our way to Edgeley Park.
As we got near to the ground, we came across Bergara Close.
Danny Bergara
To anyone who knows nothing about Stockport County, Danny Bergara is their biggest club legend.
Born in Uruguay in 1942, Bergara spent his playing career mostly in Spain, with spells at Sevilla, Tenerife and Mallorca.
His management career began at Rochdale in 1988, following a spell as assistant at Middlesbrough.
He joined Stockport County the following season and spent six years at the club. Ironically, this was the same time as that spell of rivalry with Stoke.
In that 1992 Autoglass Trophy Final I mentioned, Bergara became the first manager born outside the British Isles to lead an English club out at the old Wembley Stadium.
In his first season with the Hatters, he managed to stop their slide into the Vauxhall Conference.
The following season Stockport reached the playoffs, although they were beaten heavily by Chesterfield in the semis.
1990/91 saw County go one step further and gain promotion outright, only one point from snatching the title.
1991/92 saw them join Stoke in Division Three and they took to it like a duck to water.
They reached the playoffs, beating Stoke in the semis before losing the final against Peterborough.
1992/93 saw Stockport again reach the playoffs. This time they were beaten by the Potteries’ other club, Port Vale in the semis. Vale also beat them in the Autoglass Trophy Final
No wonder they are sick of Stoke-on-Trent!
They made it a hat trick of near misses in 1993/94, losing 2-1 in the Playoff Final against Burnley.
Bergara was dismissed by the club in March 1995 after an ‘incident’ at a hotel made his position ‘untenable’.
If you wish to know more about this iconic figurehead of Stockport County, you can order his biography here – The Man From Uruguay: Danny Bergara – A Footballing Journey.
Stockport – Edgeley Park Stadium Exterior
Edgeley Park is an old-school stadium for the most part.
Built in 1891 for the town’s Rugby League club, County moved in when the rugby team went bust in 1903.
We only saw two sides of the exterior, unfortunately, but it oozes nostalgia and memories.
After walking past the main stand, we turned the corner and went behind the Cheadle End stand.
The main reception and the club shop are built into this stand.
There is also a fan zone here, including a bar called ‘The Blue & White Tap’, which was very well populated on the day.
A statue of that man, Danny Bergara, stands outside the club shop. Ironically, this depiction has him waving a hat.
Club Shop
The County Store is Stockport’s official club shop.
It stocks all the traditional goodies to be found in most club shops. From here we purchased a pin badge and a programme, costing £3.00 each.
Programme
£3.00 gets you sixty-eight glossy pages, although, that includes twenty-one pages of adverts.
If advertising subsidised the continued printed matchday programme, then I can live with that.
There is a six-page introduction to the opposition, with the rest being full of news, info and interviews.
All in all, a great production and despite the amount of adverts, good value.
Stockport County – Edgeley Park Exterior Gallery
Stockport County – Edgeley Park Stadium Interior
Getting In
We bought our tickets online via the Stockport County ticketing website.
They cost £22.00 each.
Our home-printed tickets were scanned at the turnstile by a gateman and we went inside.
Cheadle End
Once inside, we found ourselves in the corner between the Cheadle End and the Danny Bergara Stand.
To our right, the Cheadle End is the biggest stand on the ground, towering above the other three sides.
It is a fully roofed, double-tiered, all-seated stand, that stretches the length of the pitch behind the goal at the west end of the stadium.
Built in 1995, this is the newest structure at Edgeley Park and is where the more vocal element of the County supporters congregate.
Popular Side
Opposite us was the stand known as the Popular Side.
It is a single-tier, fully covered and seated stand that runs along most of the southern side of the ground.
The seating is split between home and away supporters with Swindon fans allocated seats on the east end of the Popular Side.
Railway End
The Railway End is the only uncovered area at Edgeley Park.
A converted terrace that is now all-seated.
Parts of the terrace can still be seen in the corner between the Popular Side and the Railway End.
A large electronic scoreboard stands above the rear of the seating area.
Danny Bergara Stand
The stand named after Danny Bergara is the main stand at Edgeley Park.
A single-tier, all-seated and covered stand that was rebuilt after a fire destroyed the old stand in 1935.
All the club’s records were destroyed in the fire and a painstaking effort was made to regather as much information of County’s early history as possible.
The dressing rooms and players’ tunnel are located in this stand.
The Danny Bergara Stand doesn’t run the full length of the pitch, cutting just short at both ends, with the larger gap being at the Cheadle End… end.
As ever, the stand we were in was the hardest one to get a decent photograph of.
Edgeley Park has a capacity of 10,900.
The playing surface is natural grass and there are four floodlights, one in each corner.
Stockport County – Edgeley Park Stadium Interior Gallery
Stockport Tidbits
The Stockport County Football Club was formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers.
They kept that name until 1890 when it changed to the now-familiar Stockport County.
Originally, County played in a red and white kit, changing to their blue and white colours in 1914.
In 1900 County joined the Football League, losing their League status in 1904 when they failed to get re-elected. This demise only lasted a season and they were back by 1905/06.
They went on to retain their Football League status until 2011 when they finished bottom and were relegated to the Football Conference.
County’s first league success came with the capture of the Third Division North title in 1922. They followed this up with another Third Division North title in 1937 and a Division Four title in 1967.
The nineties ushered in the Hatter’s most successful period, as detailed in the Danny Bergara section. On top of what I’ve already said there, they reached a League Cup semi-final in 1996/97. They were beaten 2-1 on aggregate by a Fabrizio Ravanelli-inspired Middlesbrough.
Financial difficulties led to Stockport’s demise and slow slide back down the League, culminating with that 2011 relegation to non-league football.
Things got even worse in 2012/13 when the club were relegated once more.
That was as bad as things got though, and County managed to rebuild itself on and off the pitch. Promotion back to the fifth tier came in 2018/19 and they regained their Football League status in 2021/22 after winning the National League.
In 2022/23, they almost went a stage further before losing out in the playoffs to Carlisle United.
Stockport fans have to really hate the playoff system!
They will be hoping that the 2023/24 season will be the year they get back to the third tier of English football.
Stockport – Pre-Game View of Edgeley Park
Stockport County v Swindon Town – The Game
Form
Coming into today’s game, Stockport were top of the league.
However, a few poor results have let the pack close in behind them and another bad result today could see them knocked off their lofty perch.
February hasn’t been kind to Stockport, with just four points from a possible twelve.
A draw at Harrogate was followed by their lone win at Grimsby Town. A distressing 4-0 defeat at Tranmere was followed by a 0-0 draw at Gillingham.
Hardly title-winning form.
Today’s opponents, Swindon Town, fared even worse in February with just two points from twelve.
February opened with a loss at Newport County, followed by draws with Salford and Gillingham.
The Robins’ most recent result was a 1-2 reverse at home to MK Dons.
All this being said, my pre-match prediction was a 2-1 win for Stockport.
Oh dear, oh dear.
Kick-Off
I won’t say a lot about this game because, quite frankly, there isn’t a lot to say about it.
Swindon Town came into the game with a clear game plan to frustrate the home side and hope to pinch a goal on the break.
They succeeded in frustrating the home fans, too.
Time wasting began as early as the first half with players slow to get up and equally slow to take set pieces.
I will take a moment to praise the Swindon goalkeeper, Jack Bycroft though.
He made a few excellent saves to keep his team in the game and he earned my man-of-the-match award.
Half Time – Stockport County 0 Swindon Town 0
Depressingly, the same old story as I check my phone and see that Stoke are losing yet again.
This time, Cardiff City was the prize winner of the ‘Kick us while we are down’ award.
I have no idea when this years-long depressing run will end, but looking at Stockport’s recent past does at least give us some perspective.
Maybe next season, they will be rubbing our noses in that perspective…
The toilets in the Danny Bergara Stand are in the corner at the Railway End. They are near to the food kiosk and queues were forming for both.
This made the area quite congested and I waited a while for the queue to die down a bit before trying again.
Second Half
We struck up a conversation early in the game with a gentleman who sat beside us during the game and yet again, I tested the water with my Stoke allegiances.
He was another friendly guy who found out that I was a Stoke fan after telling us that Stoke and Burnley are Stockport’s most hated teams. 😂
We chatted throughout the game and exchanged stories of rivalries past and yet to come (maybe).
Nick Powell
It was interesting to see ex-Stoke player Nick Powell playing a deep midfield role for the Hatters.
He played just behind the strikers in his time with Stoke and according to our new friend, this was due to injuries. Quite ironic as our Nick spent much of his time at Stoke injured himself.
You can see his class even playing out of his normal position but my favourite moment came when he threw the ball gently at the back of a Swindon player who had annoyed him.
In keeping with the rest of the game, the Swindon player acted like he had been hit with a bowling ball instead of a football, much to the mirth of the fans around us.
Good to see that Nick has retained his devilish attitude.
Another moment of laughter came when a Stockport player headed over the bar and someone behind us shouted that he had “Got a head like a sheriff’s badge!”
Made me laugh anyway!
We left a few seconds before the final whistle to ensure we had time to catch our train at 17:15.
I shook hands with our new friend and wished him luck for the rest of the season before we left.
Rivalries are all well and good, but friendships are far better.
Full-Time – Stockport County 0 Swindon Town 0
Attendance – 9,389
Entrance Fee – £22.00
Programme – £3.00
You can read a more detailed Match Report here, from the Swindon Town website.
Stockport County v Swindon Town – Match Highlights
Up Next
Next up for Stockport is an away trip to Colchester United on March 2nd.
This is followed by a home game with Newport on the 9th before successive away games at Salford City (14th) and Crawley Town (18th).
They will be hoping that March is kinder than February and ‘Springs’ them back to the top of the table. (See what I did there? Sorry!)
At the other end of the table, Swindon should have enough about them to steer clear of the relegation threat. They are ten points clear at the moment and with performances like today’s, they will prove difficult to beat, even if they don’t win many.
They end February with a home game against Tranmere Rovers on the 27th. March begins with another home game against Harrogate Town on the 2nd.
The new league leaders, Mansfield Town await them on the 9th before another home game against Accrington Stanley on the 12th.
Stockport County – Thoughts
Edgeley Park retains a character that most new-build grounds just don’t have and is a real throwback.
All that is missing are the terraces…
Everyone we spoke to was friendly and welcoming, both in the pub and in the ground. Something that should be valued in football.
One thing I did notice, was the sparsity of younger fans. I realise that most of them would be located in the Cheadle End Stand, but even so, I didn’t see too many walking around the ground either.
Maybe the club needs to do more to attract a younger fan base. After all, youth is the fan of the future.
Being so close to Manchester, County suffer from the ‘Glory Hunter Syndrome’ and many people choose to support one of the big two rather than the local town’s team.
I remember from that 1992 day at Wembley, that many Stockport fans were also Manchester City fans, or had a soft spot for City. None claimed to like Manchester United for some reason.
New toilet facilities would be a welcome feature at Edgeley Park as the current ones are small and outdated. I’m sure Hatters fans would welcome that, too.
Stockport – After the Game
We made our way back to Stockport train station and got there with five minutes to spare before our train pulled onto Platform 4.
We arrived at Manchester Picadilly a few minutes later and headed for the Metrolink. As we were getting tickets, the tram came onto the platform and we quickly grabbed our tickets and jumped aboard just before the doors closed.
Phew!
Not phew! We had got on the wrong tram line. I realised our error as we passed the Manchester Evening News Arena and pulled into Deansgate station.
We got off and this time got on the correct tram that took us to Victoria Station. Luckily, I had allowed quite a bit of leeway for our train home for just this kind of scenario. We pulled into Victoria with seventeen minutes to spare at 18:15.
Our train home arrived at 18:30 and departed on time at 18:32.
Again, there were no seat reservations and again, we were lucky to get a seat together.
The government really does need to impose some authority on train companies who are treating customers so badly time after time. Rarely do we have any problems when we use ScotRail on our trips north of the border.
We arrived in Durham at 21:05 and made our way down to the bus station. Next, we caught the 21:35 bus to Houghton-Le-Spring and a connecting bus home, arriving at 22:25.
A quick trip to the pizza house and our first food since this morning’s Greggs was next on the agenda.
We got through the front door at 22:45 capping off a long but enjoyable day.
Next Up for Hoppers Guide
Next up for us is a third effort to make it to Greenock Morton‘s Cappielow Park.
A mixture of ill health and postponed games scuppered our first two attempts.
Morton have completely transformed their early season form and are currently flying up the division.
The visitors on the day will be Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
This is one I’ve been really looking forward to. An old-school ground and a club with plenty of tradition.
Onto the next!
Great read , and a pleasure to sit and chat and be referred to as a friend.
Thanks Graham, appreciate you making us very welcome!
This is a great read. I’m glad you enjoyed your trip and as someone who remembers the games against Stoke in the early 90s it’s a tantalising prospect to think we might play you again, not long after we were getting pumped by teams like Alfreton and Brackley.
One thing to note from your piece is that you’ve missed the first R from Bergara throughout. The spelling on the road sign in the photo is correct (thankfully!)
Thanks for the feedback Neil!
Argh! What an awful mistake, I will get on it and edit that straight away, thank you!
Hi Ian, my name is Don Livingstone, I was born and bred in Stockport. I attended County’s matches regularly until my late thirties when my family and moved to North Wales. I attended both the matches you mentioned in your article at the old Wembley stadium, sadly, I never went back to Edgeley Park until they played Crewe Alexandra, on the 13th. February 2024, my wife and I were accompanied by our two grandsons, Connor, 21, plays for Pwllheli, and Tyler 13, who had a place in the Manchester City’s Academy aged 6, he is now attached to Caernarfon Town. Sadly, the weather that evening was atrocious and to make it worse County lost to them, like Stoke, Crewe are a bogey team who are not popular in Stockport. It has to be said that County didn’t give a very good account of themselves on the night, we were all utterly disappointed with the whole trip, but at 77 I should be more accustomed to the roller coast ride that County always seem unable to extricate themselves from. Your article was very interesting, well written and brought back many memories. You make several salient points about life in times gone by and like you I am a lover of good beer, a lot of which is produced in Stockport town centre by Robinson’s, who at one time sponsored County. Thank you for your article and for stirring the memories of a lot of happy days. Regards, Don Livingstone.
Hi Don!
Thanks for your feedback, always good to see that people want to reply and let me know their feelings on my reviews.
As a Stoke fan, I can completely relate to footballing rollercoasters!
Good luck to your grandsons on their respective careers and hopefully, if you get back to Edgeley Park again, you will see a much better game and three points heading your way.
Cheers,
Ian
Excellent reading,we went to all the County visits to Wembley, finally beating Rochdale in the playoffs.
Enjoyed a couple of beers in a pub at Wembley with Stoke fans after the match.
Thanks for the memories you brought back.
All the best.
Bill.
Cheers Bill!
They were good times and good memories for both sets of fans I’m sure