County battle for survival

Reporter: Matthew Chambers
Date online: 16 March 2010

STOCKPORT’S home fixture with Athletic hasn’t been blessed with good fortune.

Twice postponed due to bad weather, tonight represents the third time this season that Edgeley Park officials have tried to get the derby game played.

As it currently stands, the club appear doomed to relegation to Coca-Cola League Two. Under the guidance of Gary Ablett, bottom-of-the-table Stockport have struggled to only five league wins all season.

County’s last win was a 4-3 home triumph over Wycombe Wanderers at the end of February, a game in which on-loan Plymouth striker George Donnelly scored twice.

Since then, the Hatters — who currently have five players on loan from other clubs — have lost two out of three, drawing 0-0 with Gillingham on Saturday at Edgeley Park in a game they could and possibly should have won.

But the battle against relegation aside, the club has huge worries off the field in terms of its overall future.

In administration since last April, those currently running County have thus far been unable to reach an arrangement to sell to a consortium led by Jim Melrose.

The Football League didn’t ratify the sale at a meeting last week, prompting administrators Leonard Curtis to issue a statement appealing for new potential buyers to come forward quickly.

The struggles Stockport are facing are familiar to Athletic manager Dave Penney, who managed Darlington at a time when the League Two club were themselves in administration.

“It is tough and you just have to get on with things,” Penney said.

“It is difficult to manage. But I wouldn’t have thought it would affect the players as they are getting paid, whereas at Darlington we weren’t.

“Things are completely different if you know you are getting a wage at the end of every month.

“Stockport have changed things round a lot since we were originally due to play them at their place, fetching five or six permanent and loan players in.

“It is a completely different side to the one we would have played two months ago.”

Athletic drew 0-0 with Stockport on the opening day of this season, Penney’s first match in charge.

Of the team that started the game that day, six men — Dean Brill, Reuben Hazell, ever-present Sean Gregan, Chris Taylor, Keigan Parker and Pawel Abbott — turned out in Athletic’s last game, a 2-2 home draw with Wycombe.