It's been a great start by the blues and they will no doubt be hoping to continue to put points on the board this Saturday. It will be a long and testing trek for the team and every bit of support on the day will be invaluable to the players and management as they take to the pitch.

For those travelling on the Lowestoft Town coach, supporters coach or making their own way to Saturdays game; here's some helpful information, along with some history about Stockport County Football Club:-

Admission Prices:-
Adult - £15
Concession* - £10
* Students in full-time education, OAP's, disabled supporters and 18-21 year-olds
11-17's - £3
Under 10's - £1 with a paying adult

Programme Cost:-
£3.00

Ground:-
Edgeley Park
Capacity - 10,841
Segregation: Under normal circumstances visiting supporters will be accommodated in the all seater Railway End (East Stand) - please be advised this stand is an uncovered stand. The allocation is restricted to 1200 in this stand with a further 800 being made available in the South Stand. In the event of inclement weather, a Ground Safety Officer may decide to permit away fans to the South Stand.
Car Parking: Supporters should take note that there is no parking at the ground and they will need to use the nearby 'Booth Street' car park (SK3 9DF) for which a charge of £4.00 is payable. This is a secure car park which will be manned throughout the day from 12 noon until 7pm. Supporters Coaches will also be directed here, where they can park for a fee of £20.00.
Pre-Match: Away supporters have been invited to drop in at the Bungalow Club (Edgeley and Shaw Heath Labour Club) prior to the game. The Bungalow Club is at the far end of Hardcastle Road right next door to the ground and the front door is only 20 yards from the away fans turnstiles. They have a public license on matchdays so away supporters are invited into the club free of charge, with accompanied children also welcome. The club does not serve food but are happy for customers to bring food into the club that has been purchased outside. The club is open from 12 noon. Stewards sometimes control access to the streets near the ground but if you are stopped just tell them that you are going through to the Bungalow club and they will allow you through.

Form:-
Stockport County LLWWL
Lowestoft Town DWWDD
Stockport County started their season with a 1-0 home defeat against North Ferriby United and followed this with another defeat away to Guiseley. Those two opening defeats were then put to bed as they register two wins with a 1-0 win at Tamworth and a 3-1 win at home to Bradford Park Avenue. However, in their last outing on Saturday they found themselves three down at half time and despite a good second half fight back, they lost for the third time in five games, going down 3-2 away to Stalybridge Celtic.
Lowestoft Town are unbeaten in their opening five games of the season with two home wins against Solihull Moors and AFC Fylde and a home draw in their last outing against Leamington. In their two games on the road they have taken two solid points with a 1-1 draw at Chorley on the opening day of the season and a goalless draw at Gainsborough Trinity last weekend.

Travel:-
If you are heading to the ground using SATNAV type in SK3 9DD but please note the above parking restrictions and the parking facilities on offer at 'Booth Street' postcode SK3 9DF.
Travel directions can also be seen in more detail on the Stockport County website http://www.stockportcounty.com/tickets/parking-directions/

Club History:-
STOCKPORT COUNTY FOOTBALL CLUB was established in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, in 1890 the name was changed to Stockport County to reflect the town gaining County Borough status. After winning the Lancashire League in 1900, the County gained admittance to the Football League, drawing their first match 2-2 away to Leicester Fosse (now Leicester City). After finishing in the bottom three in their first four seasons, County failed to gain re-election in 1904 and so spent a season in the Lancashire Combination; they won the League at the first time of asking and made an immediate return to the professional ranks. County would be proud Football League members for more than a century.

Joining the League meant the club soon outgrew their ground behind the Nursery Inn on Green Lane in Heaton Norris and, in 1902, they moved south of the River Mersey to Edgeley Park, then home of Stockport RLFC. County have played there ever since.

Having played in a variety of kit colours in the club's early years, usually a variation on blue & white, County switched to white shirts and black shorts from the '30s until the mid '60s. Throughout this period they were often referred to as the Lilywhites. In 1965 flamboyant chairman Vic Bernard, as part of his GO GO GO COUNTY revolution, reintroduced the Hatters' famous royal blue strip; colours they still adopt today.

The club stayed in the 4th Division doldrums until the turn of the 90s, when Uruguayan manager Danny Bergara turned the Hatters into regular top-of-the-table challengers. Promotion came in 1991, and was followed by four visits to Wembley in two years - twice in playoff finals, twice in the Football League Trophy. Unfortunately County lost on each occasion.

Following Bergara's departure in 1995, Dave Jones took charge and gave the club its most memorable season. In 1996/97, the Hatters won four games against Premiership opposition, including a 1-0 win at Middlesbrough in the League Cup semi-final - unfortunately, the tie was lost 2-1 on aggregate. Other runs in the FA Cup and League Trophy meant County played almost 70 games that season, and finished 2nd in the Second Division - the large amount of games almost certainly costing them the title.

After Jones' departure for Southampton, County consolidated in the First Division until relegation in 2002. What followed was a largely downward spiral back to the bottom division, twice finishing a season on just 26 points, and by Boxing Day 2005 County were well adrift at the bottom of the Football League. In came former player Jim Gannon as manager, who led the team to a remarkable run of form and, with an incredibly tense 0-0 draw on the final day against Carlisle, eventual safety.

This was followed by a promotion push in 2006/07, when County memorably set a new professional record of 9 consecutive wins without conceding. But promotion was just out of touch, with a playoff place being denied by Bristol Rovers in the dying minutes of the season despite County winning 5-0 at Darlington.

That success finally came the next season. After finishing fourth, Gannon's side beat Wycombe in the semi-finals followed by a thrilling 3-2 win over neighbours Rochdale, finally ending the club's hoodoo at Wembley.

Unfortunately, the Hatters couldn't build on that success and went in to administration before the final game of the season at Brighton. In 09/10 administration took its toll, and County finished on a new record low of 25 points and were relegated back to the bottom flight.

In the summer of 2010 the club was taken out of administration by a group of local business people, ensuring the club’s survival. However, fortunes took a downturn on the pitch and the Hatters finished bottom of League Two, meaning that they would compete outside the Football League for the first time since 1905.

During 2011, Liverpool-based businessman Tony Evans headed up a consortium of new investors in the club, who appointed former German international Dietmar Hamann as manager. However, following the consortium’s failure to take charge, Hamann’s squad struggled in the league and in November he was replaced by former manager Jim Gannon. The size of the task ahead of Gannon was even bigger than the one in 2006, and the team initially continued to struggle but found resurgent form in Spring. Safety was secured with a 1-1 draw at home to Braintree, allowing the Hatters to enjoy a peaceful summer for the first time in four years.

However, that stability didn't last long and in 2012-13 more financial issues off the pitch restricted the squad on it. With his team in the lower half of the table, Gannon was sacked in January 2013 and replaced by Bosnian coach Darije Kalezic. Unfortunately results got worse, and with County staring at relegation he was replaced by former Gateshead manager Ian Bogie, but he too could not stop the slide. A 4-0 defeat to Kidderminster Harriers saw Stockport County relegated to the Conference North, meaning the Hatters would be playing regional football for the first time since 1905.

In 2013-14 Stockport County finished 14th in the Conference North and with five games gone so far this season (2014-15) they currently sit in 15th place.

Stockport County v Lowestoft Town
(Edgeley Park)
Saturday 30th August 2014
3pm kick-off

Come on you Trawlerboys!!

Terry Bullen