Stockport Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Woodley, a town just outside of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. They are currently members of the North West Counties League Premier Division, the ninth tier of English football, and play at Stockport Sports Village. Nicknamed "the Lions", the club was founded in 2014 and were accepted into the North West Counties Football League a year later.[1]
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| Full name | Stockport Town Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Lions, Town | ||
| Founded | 2014 | ||
| Ground | Stockport Sports Village, Woodley, Stockport | ||
| Capacity | 2,384 (192 Seats) | ||
| Owner | Mark Stott | ||
| Chairman | Carlos Roca | ||
| Manager | Paul Turnbull | ||
| League | North West Counties League Premier Division | ||
| 2023–24 | North West Counties League Division One South, 2nd of 18 (promoted) | ||
| Website | www.stockporttownfc.co.uk | ||
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History
editStockport Town was founded in 2014. Based at Stockport Sports Village, the club began with ambitious aims to begin life at the tenth tier of the English football league system. Stockport Town suffered a setback in their plans after being unsuccessful in applying for the league. After positive meetings, the FA told Stockport Town they were not convinced that the club met the required standards for a new club attempting to join the North West Counties. Despite this, the club board were convinced that a year of development would only benefit the club's application chances. On 29 April 2015, three of the club's representatives travelled to Wembley to meet with the Leagues' Committee. They highlighted how the club had been successfully run over the past year, with encouraging results against some high-profile clubs from the region.[2]
On 14 May 2015, was accepted into the North West Counties Football League Division One for the 2015–16 season.
Early beginnings
editCalum Sykes was manager of the club for its first two full seasons. On 17 December 2016, Sykes announced that he was to resign, and later that same day he was announced as the manager of nearby club New Mills.[3] On 6 January 2017, the club announced that Dave Wild, with previous experience of coaching at Northwich Victoria and Maine Road, would replace him.[4] Wild's reign began away at FC Oswestry Town, where a rebuilt squad put a stop to consecutive defeats and earned a point in a 0–0 draw.
Wild would lose just 4 out of 18 matches in his half-season in charge of the Lions, ending with a win rate of 50%, securing a tenth-place finish having scored 92 goals throughout the season.
On 29 March 2018, it was announced by the club that Wild and his backroom staff were to depart with immediate effect, joining Division One North club Mossley with U21s boss, Jake Davies, put in interim charge alongside his assistant Tom Upton. During their 11 games at the helm Jake and Tom finished with a better win percentage of previous managers Dave Wild and Calum Sykes combined in which concluded a tough season for the Lions.
Concluding the 2017–18 season, the club appointed Alan Lord as manager for the new 2018–19 season with interim manager Jake Davies and Tom Upton taking up first team coaching roles for the upcoming season.
Robbie Savage signing
editFormer Wales international Robbie Savage signed for the club in November 2019. He signed because he "wants to help young players to get back into football after they have been released by a club". His last professional game had been in May 2011.[5]
In October 2020, Macclesfield Town's stadium and all available assets were purchased by Robert Smethurst, the owner of Stockport Town, with the aim of returning professional football to Macclesfield by creating the phoenix club as Macclesfield F.C.[6] Smethurst appointed Savage as a member of the board for the new phoenix club.[7]
Stadium
editStockport Town play their home matches at Stockport Sports Village, in Woodley, on a 3G Pitch (artificial turf). The stadium has a capacity of 2,384 spectators which includes 192 seats. In addition to the first-team pitch, the Stockport Sports Village Campus also accommodates 16 floodlit 3G pitches which are used by the local Charter Standard football teams and members of the public. The stadium was previously used by Stockport Sports before the club was liquidated in 2015.
The ground has two stands, the seated main stand located along the halfway line, which houses the club’s changing rooms, bar and toilet facilities, and a terrace located on the southern end of the ground.
Shirt sponsors and manufacturers
edit| Period | Kit Manufacturer | Shirt Sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 2015–2016 | Joma | Metro Taxis |
| 2016–2017 | Leemic | |
| 2018– | Nike | kitlocker.com |
Current squad
editThis article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2019) |
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Club officials
editBoard and management officials
edit| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Chairman |  Rob York
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| Secretary | Rob Clare
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| Director | Ian Dixon Seb Rowe
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Source: [citation needed]
Coaching staff and support staff
edit| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Head of Management team | Alan Lord
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| Player Manager | Paul Turnbull
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| First-team Coach | Jordan Robinson
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| Goalkeeping Coach | Jim Nasium
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| Physiotherapist | Tanya Audas Chris Pownall
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| U-21s Head Coach | Lesley Clayton
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| U-21s Assistant Manager | Josh Bramely
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| Head of Scouting and Recruitment | Christian "Bigsy" Batt
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Source: [citation needed]
Managerial history
edit| Dates | Name |
|---|---|
| 2014–2016 | Calum Sykes
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| 2016–2018 | Dave Wild
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| 2018–2018 | Jake Davies
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| 2018– | Alan Lord
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Club records
edit- Best FA Cup performance: Extra preliminary round, 2023–24, 2024–25[9]
- Best FA Vase performance: 1st round, 2016–17, 2024–25[9]
- Record victory: 7–0 vs Whitchurch Alport (30 April 2016)
- Record defeat: 0–10 vs City of Liverpool (31 December 2016), 0-10 vs Stockport County (9 July 2019)
- Most goals scored in a match: 6–6 vs Eagley (6 September 2014)
- Highest home attendance: 904 vs Abbey Hey (27 April 2024)
References
edit- ^ Ian Templeman (15 May 2015). "www.nwcfl.com - News - Stockport Town Admitted To The NWCFL". nwcfl.com. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
- ^ "Stockport Town's club information page at www.hallmarksecurityleague.com".
- ^ Paul Lawler, NWCFL (18 December 2016). "Calum Sykes resigns as Stockport Town Manager". Retrieved 21 December 2016.
- ^ Ian Templeman, NWCFL (6 January 2017). "New manager at Stockport Town". Retrieved 7 January 2017.
- ^ "Robbie Savage signs for Stockport Town in 10th tier". BBC Sport. 24 November 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- ^ Scapens, Alex (7 October 2020). "Footballing future in Macclesfield given boost as the Silkmen are bought". Cheshire Live. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- ^ "Macclesfield FC: Robert Smethurst takes over club as Robbie Savage joins board". BBC Sport. 13 October 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- ^ Squad Stockport Town F.C.
- ^ a b Stockport Town at the Football Club History Database