MATCH REPORT: Harrogate Town 3 - 1 COUNTY

Bogie - The Geordie quit at the final whistle

By Chris Larkin

Stockport County fans had an overwhelming feeling of deja vu on Saturday as the team reached a new low - losing another match and another manager in a mad 90 minutes.

Ian Bogie resigned just minutes after County slumped to a 3-1 loss in North Yorkshire.

County were on the backfoot right fromthe kick off, as Harrogate wasted a good opportunity by blasting over the bar, soon after winning the first corner of the game.

But almost immediately, County were on the break as young Rhys Turner bombed down the wing, winning County a corner which Fagbola did connect with but couldn't turn into the net.

County continued the momentum with Turner once again involved and desperately unlucky not give  the Hatters the lead with a header following some excellent work down the left from fan favourite, Adriano Moke.

County were almost made to pay for their profligacy within two minutes as Ian Ormson had to be alert to a cross-cum-shot from the Harrogate wing.

County were soon back on the front foot winning two free-kicks in a short space of time before the best chance of the match fell to Aman Verma - a lovely team move ending in a Verma run on goal. But in trying to place the ball around the goalie, he instead placed it wide of the net. And his luck didn't improve a couple of minutes later as he had a header acrobatically tipped over by the impressive Harrogate goalkeeper.

Verma squandered yet another opportunity10 minutes before the break - played in by Rhys Turner, Verma had another crack but again pulled the ball wide of the post.

It was clearly not going to be County's day despite playing well in the first half - a feeling which was compounded in five minutes of madness just before half-time, as Harrogate caught County flat footed and fired a long range shot beyond Ian Ormson. 1-0. Heads down.

And just a minute or so later it was 2-0 as Town once again broke through the Hatters backline to give them a 2-0 cushion. Then,  just two minutes later it was 3-0 as sloppy play from County gave the ball away cheaply for a simple tap-in and the end of County's day.


Domination to defeat in five disastrously amateur minutes. Story of the season so far.


The Second half started like the first half ended, with the Yorkshire hosts on the attack.

County's first sub of the game saw the hugely disappointing Ian Craney being replaced by youngster Bobby Lofthouse for his competitive first team debut - and the youngster's impact was instant as he laid the ball off to Jevons who just couldn't connect well enough and blazed it over the bar.


There was just no way back from this point on.

What turned out to be Ian Bogie's last action as Stockport County manager was to bring on Ian Howard and Brandon Windsor for Phil Jevons and Adriano Moke.

But County finally got on the scoresheet with a late consolation goal after Jacobs did well down the right and crossed the ball for sub Howard who turned and shot well beyond the reach of the keeper.

Despite playing well for periods,  lack of goals and defensive concentration cost County once again on the pitch.

Who knows what exactly caused Ian Bogie to walk out on the club just minutes after the final whistle but those looking for reasons  for the seemingly endless slide towards non league oblivion don't need to look much further than their own boardroom for the start and continuation of the disastrous domino effect.

Attendance: 918

County Line-up: Ian Ormson, Kyle Jacobs, Stephen O'Halloran, Keiran Charnock, Jordan Fagbola, Aman Verma, Ian Craney (Bobby Lofthouse) , Adriano Moke (Iain Howard), James Tunnicliffe, Phil Jevons (Brandon Windsor), Rhys Turner.

Unused Subs: Jamie Hand, Scott Duxbury.

MATCH REPORT: COUNTY 1 - 4 Boston Utd

Dennis - notched his first League goal

By Chris Larkin

County came down to earth with a huge thud as they were given a wake-up call by Boston United who welcomed them to the Skrill North with a 4-1 thumping at Edgeley Park today.

Remember when you were a kid, the anticipation on Christmas Eve, the excitement and joy at getting the toy you REALLY wanted?

Well in the familiar surroundings of a rain soaked Edgeley Park, it was more akin to the feeling of being excited on Christmas Eve and then waking up to realise that your present is actually a kick in the bollocks - it wasn't a good feeling.

The opening day of the season always brings hope and excitement, that this year is the year, that this player is going to be a star, that it can't possibly get any worse.

Well for the opening few minutes you could be forgiven for thinking things may turn around, we were playing some decent stuff and looked like we could do something going forward, the fans were also playing their part with a fair amount of noise coming from the 3,317 people inside Edgeley Park.

That all ended in the eighth minute when young Ian Ormson failed to claim the ball in what should have been a straightforward bit of goalkeeping and Scott Garner capitalised on the mistake to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Chin on the floor.

County didn't let the set back affect them too much and were soon back on the attack. In fact only 10 minutes later, the referee judged that a cross from Kyle Jacobs was handled by a Boston player and awarded County a penalty, which Kristian Dennis diuly dispatched to score his first league goal for County.

Things were pretty even until half-time, Boston having a couple of good chances at the end of the half, one requiring an outstanding last ditch tackle from Fagbola to take away an excellent goal-scoring opportunity.

The expectant Cheadle End hoped they could help suck the ball into the back of the net once the second half kicked off but, it was Boston who did all the pressing. With just 10 minutes of the second half played, an excellent weighted through-ball found Marc Newsham who comfortable slotted under Ormson to put the Pilgrims 2-1 up.

Barely 2 minutes later and it was 3-1. Spencer Weir-Daley saw Ormson hesitate and backtrack, then took his opportunity and swiftly doubled his side's lead.

Edgeley Park has rarely been so hushed in disbelief.

Ormson may have been hanging his head in shame but the defence will also have a lot to answer for after a gift of a goal.

In a bid to get back into the game, Ian Bogie took off Kieran Charnock (already the recipient of a yellow card which may have swayed Bogie's decision) for the attacking flair of Rhys Turner and in search of a bit of creativity in a County team which had run out of ideas.

With 25 minutes left, the visitors put the game out of reach after yet another goalkeeping error from the calamitous Ormson, who failed to hold onto the initial shot and placed the ball nicely in the path of on-rushing United player, Ricky Miller.

Three goals in just nine minutes had wiped out any hopes County had of realistically getting anything from the game.

Bogie played the only card he had left and shortly after the goal brough on Adriano Moke for Ian Craney.

To County's credit they didn't give in and at least battled a little bit more. The change in tactics from the inexplicable 3-5-2 the team had begun the match with made a big difference too - most of the Cheadle End clearly thought the experiment of playing three centre backs and two wing backs had been attempted and written off as a dead-loss in the pre-season but, mysteriously, Ian Bogie had other ideas.

The cries of exasperation could be heard echoing around the entire ground. Let's hope Bogie realises that playing 3-5-2 with this squad is a three-point gift for any half decent opposition team playing a traditional 4-4-2.

County did go close once the changes had been made -  Dennis saw a fantastic effort from a free-kick thump off the post and in the closing minutes Turner came close with a towering header only to be denied by a great piece of goalkeeping from Timms in the Boston goal - but it was all too little too late.

There was one final bit of excitement as Charley Sanders was sent off for elbowing James Tunnicliffe just seconds after coming on the pitch.

A bad day at the office for County and Ian Ormson in particular.

Despite the catastrophe on the pitch the attendance of 3,317 was a fabulous effort from the County faithful. And on a note of hope for those amazing Royal blue fans -  Kidderminster Harriers didn't win any of their opening five games last season and ended up only missing out on the Conference title by goal difference. There is still 41 games to go - but performances will have to improve substantially if County hope to progress.

Ian Ormson, Kyle Jacobs, Stephen O'Halloran, James Tunnicliffe, Jordan Fagbola, Kieran Charnock (Rhys Turner 59), Jamie Hand, Ian Craney (Adriano Moke 69), Aman Verma, Phil Jevons (Iain Howard 78), Kris Dennis.

Unused Subs: Lewis King, Brandon Windsor

A NEW HOPE

We can't help but be excited about the start of the new season this weekend.

Yes, it's the Skrill North. Yes, it's the lowest league Stockport County has ever featured in.

Yes, we're far from safe from the spectre of financial mismanagement tripping us up as we round the corner of renewed hope.

Yes, this is Stockport County; something has to go wrong, doesn't it?

But it is a new season. We have a manager we are all, every single one of us, behind 100%.

We have a new team who have shown in pre-season that they are prepared to chase a lost cause and bust a gut for this club.

This is Stockport County.

Today we have hope. A new hope.

TRIALISTS GET ANOTHER CHANCE AT CHEADLE

Trialist Tom Donegan

Ian Bogie is giving four of the current trialists at County another crack at securing a contract in the friendly match against Cheadle Town tomorrow night.

Tom Donegan, 21, the midfielder released by Fulham, Paris Bateman, 19, the defender from Crewe, 21-year-old Ryan Brooke, a centre-forward from Altrincham FC, Ross Fisher, 20, from Kilmarnock, and Sam Hibbert, the former County youth team member, will all be given a second chance to impress Bogie and his assistant Alan Lord.

Aliou Traore, formerly of Stockport Sports FC and Champion FC in Vanuatu, Fiji, won't be offered a second chance though and leaves the club still looking for a permanent deal.

Fisher, who impressed the most in the run-out against Northwich Victoria last weekend, is not available for the Cheadle Town friendly tomorrow but will be given his chance to secure a contract in the friendly against Nantwich instead.

The others will all appear at some point during the Cheadle Town friendly.

FANS GIVE BOGIE & LORD THE THUMBS UP

Ian Bogie has impressed fans so far

County fans have given Ian Bogie & Alan Lord's team-building a huge thumbs up, after almost seven out of 10 said they believed the team was in for a successful season.

A survey of County fans shows that 66% of fans believe the club will be in a promotion battle in their first season in the Conference North division.

In fact, 43% of fans believe the team will win promotion, the poll reveals. And a quarter think County will go back up to the Conference National at the first time of asking, as champions.

Some 18% of fans believe the team will be promoted but through the play-offs. And a further 23% believe the team will have a successful season but are likely to just miss out on promotion come May 2014.

One in five fans (20%) thinks the team is destined for a season of mid-table mediocrity - not a huge success but nowhere near the shambles of continual relegation dog-fights the club has been used to over the last few seasons.

And just over one in 10 fans (11%) say they believe little will change and the team will be, once more, in a bitter and nail-biting relegation fight despite the drop down to regional football for the first time in over a century.

It is still early days, of course. Ian Bogie and Alan Lord are continuing to build the new squad and whether they are successful or not will largely depend on how quickly the players gel.

Our poll still has 40 days to run and will not close until the morning of the first match of the new season - on August 17.

Keep the votes coming and have your say on how the team will do this coming season.

We'll present the final results - your say on our new team - on the morning of August 17.

BOGIEMAN OFFERS RELIEF FROM COUNTY HORROR SHOW

AMID the acrimony and sheer frustration at Stockport County's spectacular nose-dive into the dark and dismal depths of sub-professional, part-time, regional football, one club icon remains absolutely unblemished.

Edgeley Park – the football holy land any blue-blooded Cheadle Ender happily calls home – is, indeed, forever being beautiful.

Don't believe for one deluded minute that this is mere royal blue-tinted conjecture; a throwaway, emotional statement summoned from the tired heart of an over sensitive, overwhelmed season ticket holder.

Nope. It is stone cold fact.

So, while a section of fans aim their ire at what many of them claim are little short of pantomime villains in the club’s boardroom; and former board members fire salvos back across their bows in the form of legal threats for online name-calling, Edgeley Park remains unsullied by the in-fighting.

Don’t take this humble scribe’s word for it – just ask any of the new players recently signed up to do battle for the Hatters in next season’s Conference North Division.

Not one of them asked if the irate former board member was really intending to sue a fans forum or whether a fans organisation would actually launch a coup aimed at swiping the carpet from under the feet of those currently sitting around the boardroom table.

They were all interested in one thing and one thing only – walking out onto the pitch on a Saturday afternoon to the earsplitting soundtrack of 3,000 raucous voices inside a bear-pit of a football ground swathed in blue and white.

Ian Bogie, the proud Geordie football boss charged with the Herculean task of bringing the good times back to SK3, used the lure of atmospheric match days on the stunning green baize in front of that 3,000-strong baying mob of football mad Stopfordians to convince the new breed to sign on the dotted line.

The fans have the almost otherworldly magnetic pull of Edgeley Park to thank for the unexpected calibre of new recruits ready to pull on the team’s blue Umbro kit and fight to put County back where the club belongs next season.

Ian Bogie may not have had to try too hard to convince his chosen match-day assassins why their immediate future lay at Edgeley Park but his canny Geordie football heart knew exactly how to turn ‘interested’ into ‘where do I sign?’.

“I just brought them to Edgeley Park. Walked them, slowly, around the ground. Let them soak up the atmosphere of this old place,” he tells me, his words falling effortlessly from his lips like the enchanting, whispered tones of a grandfather relaying folklore and legend to his open-mouthed, goggle-eyed grandkids.

“Then I talked to them about the crowds. We’d be walking around the ground and I’d tell them about 3,000 supporters cheering them on. Tell them what the Cheadle End sounds like when it roars for a goal. It’s quite something. I didn’t have to say much more than that.”

Is it any wonder he’s got such an unexpectedly mouth-watering group of players to commit to the cause already, with more equally-impressive signatures on the way?

Sitting in Ian Bogie’s presence, listening to the way he talks about the game, how his sentences fall away into an almost inaudible hush before they reach their conclusion – it is intoxicating for anyone with a love of football.

His words give hope. His heart is big and his desire for victory, to become a hero among football-lovers, is tangible.

He compares Edgeley Park and those who come to worship at its altar to the most passionate of supporters from his home town of Newcastle.

Geordie supporters are universally renowned for their passion for the beautiful game. It is infectious and the stuff of legend how much the game means to them.

In Bogie’s eyes, the slumbering giant that is Stockport County is not much different.

“Places like Stockport and Newcastle are very similar,” he says. “The fans here live for the game on a Saturday. It is massively important for them. A way of life for many.

“Having played at Edgeley Park in front of these fans and now managed the club on match day, I can tell you without a moment’s hesitation that these fans deserve so much more.

“They’re hurting. And I totally understand why. I know what it feels like to hurt that way. This is a proper football club with proper fans. Last season we were at the bottom of the table for a great deal of it and yet this team was still the fourth best supported in the whole Conference National.

“So, if you ask how I convinced these new players to sign for Stockport County, I didn’t really have to. The ground and the fans sell this place to anyone who cares about proper football.”

Bogie aims to right a few wrongs during his tenure at Edgeley Park.

Football first.

“We are delighted with the players we have got so far,” he says. “There will be another four or five who will join us before August 17. And there’s a couple of crackers among those yet to arrive.

“They have to be the right players though – we don’t want or need anyone here who doesn’t want to be here for the right reasons. Next season will be tough, we’re not kidding ourselves, which is why we are going for mostly players who are proven at this level and above.

“Clubs will be coming to Stockport and will raise their game. Every week. This new squad of players has to be able to handle that. To expect it and be prepared for it.

“Having said that, we are really optimistic about the new season. It will be a good season for Stockport County. We will have an 18 or 19 man squad and I won’t be starting the season off with any loan players – I want players here who feel a sense of belonging to this club, feel this is their club.

“We aim to have six defenders, six midfielders, four strikers and two goalkeepers in the squad and a few of those players must have a utility aspect to their game so that they can play in a few different positions if necessary.

“We are putting together a team of players here who are prepared to run through brick walls for this team. With that attitude we will win a lot of games next season.

“Look, we have had a royal kick in the bollocks as a club over the last five years. But I am positive about how we are doing and I believe we will be more than capable of getting promotion at the first attempt. This time next season I fully intend that me and Alan (Lord) will be sitting here planning for our first games back in the Conference National.”

If, following the public shenanigans between board and supporters last season and following relegation in the final game, supporters are still unsure about which side the club’s bread is buttered, Ian Bogie has absolutely no doubt.

“The supporters are the most important part of this club.

“Come August 17 we will give them a squad that will strike fear in the heart of every team they play next season.”

And there’s a future star tantalisingly teetering on the horizon, according to Bogie.

“There’s Rhys Turner, part of the Myerscough set up, and Alan Lord reckons he’s the most talented footballer he’s seen in years. He’s a young lad but we are all massively excited about him.”

How ironic that, after the horror show of the last few seasons, the end of the nightmare could be down to the Bogieman.

THE COUNTY FAN'S DILEMMA

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL


1. Ian Bogie & Alan Lord

2. Kieran Charnock & Jordan Fagbola

3. Phil Brennan

4. Edgeley Park

5.  Help The Hatters


REASONS TO BE CYNICAL


1. The Rent

2. The Debt

3. Deja Vu

4. AFC Telford stealing our thunder

5. Dosser's Law (The same as Murphy's Law,  just older)

* Feel free to suggest your own in the comments section.