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Post by timberwolf on Aug 30, 2023 7:14:45 GMT
There are all manner of "outs" and people are naive if they think the only one is "I want out". There's bugger all any of us can do about it so we may as well enjoy the ride. These kind of losses in any kind of business, football included, end only one way. Furthermore, we've lost any level of moral ground we ever felt we had about the likes of Wrexham, City, Salford and so forth. We're a different club than the Stockport County we all know and love now. Thats how I feel about it now, when we had Richard Park in charge and he was trying to get the club on a sustainable footing with Gary Burton looking for loose change in the stands after a match I felt we could do something about things, we had the players fund and HTH and Co-op events, the sums are so staggering now that we can't make a difference or influence anything either way so I'll just enjoy watching Paddy rather than Bobby Lofthouse. One good thing about those days was as a fan you felt far more important than we do now. Everytime you entered the ground, bought a 50/50 ticket, a programme or something from the broom cupboard you felt you were doing your bit for the future of the club and was helping making a difference. Now you feel not as important and the club can manage quite well without you. We all wanted more investment at the time especially when we got JG back. Must admit the last full season i was really excited at County was when we were champions of the NLN. Since the takeover things have not felt the same and covid was not the best of times to start it all off. Enjoy watching paddy, barry and a few more but possibly miss the warburtons, palmers and minihans a little bit more as well as seeing JG on the bench attempting to do the best on the minimal of resources we helped to give him.
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Post by alkringtonhatter on Aug 30, 2023 7:25:27 GMT
Grim reading this tbh. Kind of all seems a bit pointless really. Same. Between the games on the pitch and reading the constant negativity on here, there’s just nothing fun about County lately. Been like that for ages.
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TC
Contributor
Posts: 790
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Post by TC on Aug 30, 2023 7:35:29 GMT
Thats how I feel about it now, when we had Richard Park in charge and he was trying to get the club on a sustainable footing with Gary Burton looking for loose change in the stands after a match I felt we could do something about things, we had the players fund and HTH and Co-op events, the sums are so staggering now that we can't make a difference or influence anything either way so I'll just enjoy watching Paddy rather than Bobby Lofthouse. One good thing about those days was as a fan you felt far more important than we do now. Everytime you entered the ground, bought a 50/50 ticket, a programme or something from the broom cupboard you felt you were doing your bit for the future of the club and was helping making a difference. Now you feel not as important and the club can manage quite well without you. We all wanted more investment at the time especially when we got JG back. Must admit the last full season i was really excited at County was when we were champions of the NLN. Since the takeover things have not felt the same and covid was not the best of times to start it all off. Enjoy watching paddy, barry and a few more but possibly miss the warburtons, palmers and minihans a little bit more as well as seeing JG on the bench attempting to do the best on the minimal of resources we helped to give him. Agree with all of that timber - I feel just the same. I believe that MS's plan is to sell on the club (at a profit) when/if we reach the championship to someone with even deeper pockets who will aim to hit the jackpot of promotion to the PL. Problem is he has got the wrong people in charge who have told him that if you splash enough cash it will work.I'm sure though he is now beginning to doubt the ability of SW et al to realise his ambition. Time will tell.
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Post by gibbo on Aug 30, 2023 7:53:17 GMT
We're a different club than the Stockport County we all know and love now. What is the Stockport County we know and love though?? There have been a few versions of County since I've supported: mid-80's in the doldrums trying to survive, the bankrolled years of success under Elwood, heady days of the Championship, the Kennedy / Sharks farce, the even bigger Trust farce, the depressing Non-League days, and now the successful period we're "happilly" enjoying under our fantastic owner who's putting his money in to improve everything about the club. Which of the above version of it exactly was the one you know and love?
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Post by suedehead on Aug 30, 2023 7:57:39 GMT
Thats how I feel about it now, when we had Richard Park in charge and he was trying to get the club on a sustainable footing with Gary Burton looking for loose change in the stands after a match I felt we could do something about things, we had the players fund and HTH and Co-op events, the sums are so staggering now that we can't make a difference or influence anything either way so I'll just enjoy watching Paddy rather than Bobby Lofthouse. One good thing about those days was as a fan you felt far more important than we do now. Everytime you entered the ground, bought a 50/50 ticket, a programme or something from the broom cupboard you felt you were doing your bit for the future of the club and was helping making a difference. Now you feel not as important and the club can manage quite well without you. We all wanted more investment at the time especially when we got JG back. Must admit the last full season i was really excited at County was when we were champions of the NLN. Since the takeover things have not felt the same and covid was not the best of times to start it all off. Enjoy watching paddy, barry and a few more but possibly miss the warburtons, palmers and minihans a little bit more as well as seeing JG on the bench attempting to do the best on the minimal of resources we helped to give him. Totally agree, great post. That’s not to say I’m clamouring for Jim to come back anything, that ship has long since sailed. But there’s definitely a bit of a disconnect. Maybe too many new players too quickly? Look at the turnover we’ve had in the past 2/3 seasons. I know it was different then but compare that with 18/19 and didn’t something like 7/8 players start the first and last game of the season? We’ll never see the likes of that again. The most important team we’ve ever had, that lot. To quote The The, all the money in the world couldn’t buy back those days. It’s progress, we’re obviously better now and I don’t want us to be back in non-league before anyone misses the point. It’s just a bit less County. And ‘County’ doesn’t mean being shit or some comedy outfit, it’s about our heart.
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Post by suedehead on Aug 30, 2023 8:01:54 GMT
We're a different club than the Stockport County we all know and love now. What is the Stockport County we know and love though?? There have been a few versions of County since I've supported: mid-80's in the doldrums trying to survive, the bankrolled years of success under Elwood, heady days of the Championship, the Kennedy / Sharks farce, the even bigger Trust farce, the depressing Non-League days, and now the successful period we're "happilly" enjoying under our fantastic owner who's putting his money in to improve everything about the club. Which of the above version of it exactly was the one you know and love? Doesn’t have to be attached to any particular era or ‘version’. It’s about what it means to us as individuals. I’ve always felt we’ve had proper heart, a richness that endured even when we were dire. We’ve got all the money in the world now, we’re miles better on the pitch than we have been since 2008/09, but it’s all a bit clinical. We’re just in that position because of money. If Stott had picked Alty as his club, and poured the resources and money in to them the same as he’s done to us, they’d be in L2 now. As I said yesterday, a slower and steadier approach would mean a lot more. Grateful for the success we’ve enjoyed over the last couple of seasons, but we shouldn’t expect anything less given the money put in.
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Post by gibbo on Aug 30, 2023 8:22:14 GMT
If Stott had picked Alty as his club, and poured the resources and money in to them the same as he’s done to us, they’d be in L2 now. Agree - same as if Abu Dhabi had put their money in to an alternative club, that club would have likely achieved the same as City and City would still be a Premier League also-ran. In saying that, Stott wouldn't have invested in Alty, it was the fanbase / history / potential, etc of County that attracted him to us IMO. (my City fan mate always justifies the investment they've had by saying "they invested in us as we stuck by them all those years in the doldrums" - he therefore almost views it as self generated revenue in a strange way)
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Post by vicar on Aug 30, 2023 8:35:26 GMT
I understand the way people feel and Salford Ammies original fans will feel they've lost something equally important and a fair few City fans have fond memories of their struggles but the town will gain much more than we've lost and I'm glad Mark Stott came along.
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Post by suedehead on Aug 30, 2023 8:40:18 GMT
I understand the way people feel and Salford Ammies original fans will feel they've lost something equally important and a fair few City fans have fond memories of their struggles but the town will gain much more than we've lost and I'm glad Mark Stott came along. Me too. I’m not having a pop or wishing we were on our arse or anything like that. More that given we’re 3.5 years in and looking back on everything in that time, there’s probably a few things we could have done differently and probably still be more or less where we are now.
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Post by timberwolf on Aug 30, 2023 8:40:56 GMT
We're a different club than the Stockport County we all know and love now. What is the Stockport County we know and love though?? There have been a few versions of County since I've supported: mid-80's in the doldrums trying to survive, the bankrolled years of success under Elwood, heady days of the Championship, the Kennedy / Sharks farce, the even bigger Trust farce, the depressing Non-League days, and now the successful period we're "happilly" enjoying under our fantastic owner who's putting his money in to improve everything about the club. Which of the above version of it exactly was the one you know and love? None of them for me. Since 1959 i,d say the Go Go Go days cemented my love for the club. The Danny years were brilliant even if he only brought one promotion to us ans JG NLN champions team. Not all the non league years were bad in the same way not all the second tier games lived long in the memory either apart from the 6 against city. If i had to pick one single era i,d plump for the Danny days where we might have underachieved in promotions but the days between games dragged more than they do now.
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Post by timberwolf on Aug 30, 2023 8:48:24 GMT
If Stott had picked Alty as his club, and poured the resources and money in to them the same as he’s done to us, they’d be in L2 now. In saying that, Stott wouldn't have invested in Alty, it was the fanbase / history / potential, etc of County that attracted him to us IMO. (my City fan mate always justifies the investment they've had by saying "they invested in us as we stuck by them all those years in the doldrums" - he therefore almost views it as self generated revenue in a strange way) A couple of points. People in the past have thrown their millions at far worse clubs than alty when their journey began. Salford and fleetwood come the first two to mind. Then will the new city fan actually get bored if say they win everything infront of them for another 5 years or depart quickly if a couple of lean years appear.
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Post by gibbo on Aug 30, 2023 8:51:21 GMT
. If i had to pick one single era i,d plump for the Danny days where we might have underachieved in promotions but the days between games dragged more than they do now. I tend to include the 96/97 success as part of the Danny era, as that laid the foundations for it and there was still as holdover of a few players like Toddy, Jim, Alun (Brett coming back), etc - so don't view us as really underachieving. To go from bottom of the 4th consistently to the Championship in less than 10 years was a great achievement.
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Post by timberwolf on Aug 30, 2023 9:04:11 GMT
I tend to include the 96/97 success as part of the Danny era, as that laid the foundations for it and there was still as holdover of a few players like Toddy, Jim, Alun (Brett coming back), etc - so don't view us as really underachieving. To go from bottom of the 4th consistently to the Championship in less than 10 years was a great achievement. Equally getting into league 1 from the NL league under the same ownership would equally be a good achievement but i,m afraid we are not as patiant anymore.
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Post by redhatter on Aug 30, 2023 9:06:05 GMT
We're a different club than the Stockport County we all know and love now. What is the Stockport County we know and love though?? There have been a few versions of County since I've supported: mid-80's in the doldrums trying to survive, the bankrolled years of success under Elwood, heady days of the Championship, the Kennedy / Sharks farce, the even bigger Trust farce, the depressing Non-League days, and now the successful period we're "happilly" enjoying under our fantastic owner who's putting his money in to improve everything about the club. Which of the above version of it exactly was the one you know and love? Elwood put money into County, but we weren't just bankrolled. He had a clear business plan - investing in uncut diamonds, developing players, selling a star on for a profit each season and re-investing in 3 or 4 new players. The development of the Cheadle End was condemned as a white elephant at the time, but it's been an outstanding success that has paid for itself many times over and significantly raised the profile of the Club. It did fall apart towards the end of his reign, we sold too many star players each season and we ended up getting relegated from the Championship, but I think there was a very clear strategy. Even including the sale of the Club to Kennedy, even though it was a disaster for us.
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Post by timberwolf on Aug 30, 2023 9:37:51 GMT
Elwood put money into County, but we weren't just bankrolled. He had a clear business plan - investing in uncut diamonds, developing players, selling a star on for a profit each season and re-investing in 3 or 4 new players. The development of the Cheadle End was condemned as a white elephant at the time, but it's been an outstanding success that has paid for itself many times over and significantly raised the profile of the Club. It did fall apart towards the end of his reign, we sold too many star players each season and we ended up getting relegated from the Championship, but I think there was a very clear strategy. Even including the sale of the Club to Kennedy, even though it was a disaster for us. A lot can be put down to what your definition of being bankrolled actually is. I,d say we were under elwood but agree it did seem more planned than our present approach certainly on the pitch which is the reason we all attend in the first place. We never had reasons to moan about brendon bringing in a legend to manage us and the players he brought in that will never be forgotton. For many Mark Stott could not have started as bad by having his mate wilson sacking a manager that most loved as much as their club even though football itself has changed so much since the days brendon walked into the building.
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