A bit about you:
Name: Simon Holt
Current home town: Stockport Birthplace: Stockport
How long have you supported your team? 13 Years
Overview of your club:
Friendly, progressive fan-owned club finally going places after 10 years of football and financial mismanagement
Favourite thing about your home ground: It's proximity to multiple fine drinking establishments!
Favourite match played by your team & why:
Stockport County 2-1 Man City, Tue 19th March 2002. County, officially relegated the previous week from the Championship and well adrift in bottom place play title-chasing City, who, with Kevin Keegan as manager, have a whole host of internationals amongst their ranks. County have virtually a youth team on display. City go 1-0 up and their fans enjoy taking the p*ss. We miss a penalty. Then, 4 minutes to go, a long throw is headed over their keeper by our right-back-turned-midfielder John Hardiker…..
Cue pandemonium amongst County fans. Maybe we can hold out for an unlikely draw?! But, no, in the 92nd minute Carlton Palmer dispossesses City's new £5m-man Jon Maken as he's running through on goal, does a nice little turn and shimmy before releasing it to teenage winger Andy Welsh. He plays it up the line to Mark Byrne (who in a few months would be at Spennymoor United) who dramatically centres it to HARDIKER! who is all on his own in the penalty box. Hardiker cannot miss, County have incredibly taken the lead and, a goal-line clearance from defender Keith Briggs later, it's all over. County may be down, but City still can't beat us. We had no right to win that game, just like we had no right to be in Division 1 for 5 seasons.
Favourite player of all time who played for your club:
Kevin Francis is widely acknowledged as our greatest-ever player, but I can't say him because I never saw him play. So I'll go for Jim Gannon – a legend as a player and now as a manager.
About our forthcoming match against you:
Obviously you're the favourites ,being a 'big club' and all, but we'll see how it goes on the day. We can really play these days, you know!
Your favourite current player in your squad and why?
Gary Dicker is a very classy midfielder and is quickly establishing himself as one of our most important players.
Player in your squad we should most fear and why?
Tommy Rowe, a 19-year-old left winger from the youth team, has been attracting rave reviews and had lots of scouts interested in him. He's the best left winger in the lower divisions, I think
Player in our squad you most fear and why?
Without meaning to sound arrogant I'm not one to worry too much about opposing players. We're Stockport County and we play our stuff, and that's good enough for me.
Up and coming prospect in your squad?
Tommy Rowe, Gary Dicker, Jim McNulty, Owain fon Williams, Anthony Pilkington…. The average age of our squad is only 21/22, so you could list most of them here!
Where do you think you’ll finish this season? 10th
How do you think you’ll do against us?
Lose in the League Cup but beat you at home in the league. Let's see how we're doing by the time we play you away later this season
Any other comments?
I think League One will be more difficult for you guys than perhaps some of your supporters think. It might help if your chairman stuck with his manager for more than about 5 minutes as well!
I'd also like to state that these opinions are my own personal ones and do not represent those of the Stockport County Supporters' Trust
Many thanks to Simon from all at Foxes Trust for some excellent answers here