The 2009–10 season is Stockport County's 128th season in football, and the second in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

's third tier of football since gaining promotion via the League Two Play Offs in 2008. Stockport completed the whole season in

Administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

. This season ran from 8 August 2009 to 8 May 2010. Gary Ablett was named manager of Stockport for the whole of the season after his Predecessor

Jim Gannon James Paul Gannon (born 7 September 1968) is a professional football manager and former player who most recently was manager of Hyde United. He started and finished his career as a player in Ireland but made most of his professional appearanc ...

was made redundant in the summer of 2009.

Background

''This is a list of the significant events to occur at the club during the 2009–10 season, presented in chronological order. This list does not include transfers, which are listed in the

transfers Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies * ...

section below, or match results, which are in the

results A result is the outcome of an event. Result or Results may also refer to: Music * Results (album), ''Results'' (album), a 1989 album by Liza Minnelli * ''Results'', a 2012 album by Murder Construct * "The Result", a single by The Upsetters * "The ...

section.'' After ending the 2008–09 season in 18th position with 50 points (60 points without the ten-point deduction),

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...

were placed into administration following a battle to repay creditors. A creditor of the club wrote a petition to repay a loan of around £300,000 to him. The club has also struggled to repay a tax debt of £250,000 to

Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (commonly HM Revenue and Customs, or HMRC, and formerly Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) is a department of the UK government responsible for the collection of taxes, the payment of some forms of state ...

. On 17 June the Administrators agreed terms with the Melrose Consortium for the sale of

. The club also announced that they will play

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

away in the League Cup First Round., As well as announcing the fixtures for the season On 3 July Administrators agree Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) with previous shareholders and creditors. On 8 July

appointment Gary Ablett as new manager. On 22 July Stockport Announced their new kit for the season which was manufactured my

Macron Macron may refer to: People * Emmanuel Macron (born 1977), president of France since 2017 * Brigitte Macron (born 1953), French teacher, wife of Emmanuel Macron * Jean-Michel Macron (born 1950), French professor of neurology, father of Emmanuel ...

. The home kit was a traditional blue and white, while there was a new away kit which consisted of orange and black. On 27 July Gary Ablett appointed

Paul Gerrard Paul William Gerrard (born 22 January 1973) is an English football goalkeeping coach and former player. He is the goalkeeping coach EFL League One side Peterborough United. Gerrard started his career in the Premier League with Oldham Athleti ...

as the club's goalkeeping coach, Gerrard also carried on his playing career for the club as he registered as cover for first choice goalkeeper

Owain Fôn Williams Owain Fôn Williams (born 17 March 1987) is a Welsh professional football coach and former professional Association football, footballer who is the Head of Goalkeeping for EFL League One side Bolton Wanderers F.C., Bolton Wanderers. Williams pl ...

. On 3 September

Carl Baker Carl Paul Baker (born 26 December 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger or as an attacking midfielder. He made over 350 career appearances in the Football League, including 160 appearances for Coventry City. ...

became the first

player to score consecutive away hat-tricks, after he scored Three in a 4–2 win over Brighton in the

League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

and also three in a 4–1 win over Crewe in the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and U-21 teams from the Premier Le ...

Due to Carl'shat -trick against Crewe, Stockport advanced to the second round where they faced

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

However a day later Assistant Manager John Ward left the club to take up same position at

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

. On 18 September Gary Ablett was handed a one match touchline ban after he was dismissed to the stands against

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

away from home. On 16 December 2009 the team's training ground was put up for sale.

Summary

Results summary

Round by round

League One table

Statistics

Goalscorers

Penalties Awarded

Assists

Disciplinary record

''Note: Cards from all competitions are included.''

Player Awards

Overall statistics

{, class="wikitable" , - , style="width:125px;", Statistic , style="width:100px;", Total , style="width:100px;",

, style="width:100px;",

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

, style="width:100px;", League Cup , style="width:100px;",

, - , Games played , , 51 , , 46 , , 2 , , 1 , , 2 , - , Games won , , 7 , , 5 , , 1 , , 0 , , 1 , - , Games drawn , , 10 , , 10 , , 0 , , 0 , , 0 , - , Games lost , , 34 , , 31 , , 1 , , 1 , , 1 , - , Goals scored , , 46 , , 35 , , 5 , , 1 , , 5 , - , Goals conceded , , 106 , , 95 , , 4 , , 3 , , 4 , - , Goal difference , , −60 , , −60 , , 1 , , −2 , , 1 , - , Clean sheets , , 7 , , 6 , , 1 , , 0 , , 0 , - , Yellow cards , , 63 , , 59 , , 1 , , 2 , , 1 , - , Red cards , , 7 , , 7 , , 0 , , 0 , , 0 , - , Biggest win , , colspan="5" , 4–1 vs

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

, 1 September 2009. , - , Biggest defeat , , colspan="5" , 0–6 vs

, League One, 24 April 2010. , - , Most appearances , , colspan="5" ,

— 46 (46 starts, 0 substitute) , - , Top scorer , , colspan="5" ,

— 13 , - , Top assists , , colspan="5" ,

Danny Pilkington Daniel Luke Pilkington (born 25 May 1990) is an English semi-professional footballer who plays as a winger. He previously played for Atherton Collieries, Kendal Town, Chorley, Stockport County, York City, Kidderminster Harriers, Hereford Unit ...

— 3

Liam Bridcutt Liam Robert Bridcutt (born 8 May 1989) is a former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He is a coach at National League side Gateshead. Born in England, he represented the Scotland national team. Bridcutt started his ...

— 3
David Poole — 3 , - , Worst discipline , , colspan="5" , Johnny Mullins — 8 0
David Poole — 4 2 , -

Review

Pre-season

During Stockport's Pre-Season campaign they wore a limited edition kit containing the colours of pink and black which was manufactured by Prostar. This was worn until the official kits were announced. The pink and black kits were used to raise money for leukaemia research. These kits were then auctioned off after pre-season. Stockport began pre-season with a 0 – 0 away draw against Barrow in Gary Ablett's first match in charge. Stockport's next Pre-Season match was away to Nostell Miners Welfare in which Stockport won 5 – 0. With Goals coming from Oli Johnson,

Peter Thompson (Northern Ireland footballer) Peter Thompson (born 2 May 1984) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a striker. Besides Northern Ireland, he has played in England. He was capped 8 times by Northern Ireland. Club career Linfield Thompson made ...

(Who scored two) and

Tom Fisher (footballer) Thomas Michael Fisher (born 28 June 1992) is an English footballer who plays as a striker. He has previously played for Stockport County and Macclesfield Town, FC United of Manchester, Mossley and had loan spells at Hyde and Droylsden Club ...

(Who also scored two). Four Days later Stockport won their third consecutive Pre-Season match when they won 1 – 0 away to

Vauxhall Motors Vauxhall Motors Limited , ;Company No. 00135767. Incorporated 12 May 1914, name changed from Vauxhall Motors Limited to General Motors UK Limited on 16 April 2008, reverted to Vauxhall Motors Limited on 18 September 2017. is a British Automoti ...

. Craig Roberts scored the only goal of the game for Stockport from 30 yards. On 25 July Stockport won their first Pre-Season home game when they beat

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

1 – 0. David Poole scored the only goal for Stockport. Matty Mainwaring would suffer a serious leg injury in this match ruling him out for the season. Stockport would then travel to

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

to play against striker Peter Thompson's former club Linfield in

Glenn Ferguson Glenn Ferguson (born 10 July 1969) is a Northern Irish former football player and manager. Ferguson amassed over 1,000 domestic appearances in a career where he played for Ards, Glenavon, Linfield and Lisburn Distillery, and scored a tot ...

's testimonial match. Stockport ran away with a 3 – 1 win with,

Greg Tansey Gregory James Tansey (born 21 November 1988) is an English former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Tansey started his career at Stockport County F.C., Stockport County, progressing through the youth syste ...

and

Adam Griffin Adam Griffin (born 26 August 1984) is an English semi-professional footballer who last played for Ashton United FC. He started his career at Oldham Athletic, having loan spells with Chester City, Oxford United and Stockport County. After a s ...

scoring for Stockport.

scored the home sides consolation. Stockport's final Pre-Season match was against

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

outfit

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid (), is a Spanish professional List of football clubs in Spain, football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León that will compete from the 2025–26 season in the . The club ...

in a match they lost 3 – 1. Gianluca Havern scored Stockport's only goal after 20 minutes.

August

Stockport earned a point in their first

match of the season with a 0 – 0 draw against

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

. Stockport exited this season's Carling Cup in the first round when the lost 3 – 1 away to

Jordan Rhodes Jordan Luke Rhodes (born 5 February 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker. He will become a free agent when his contract with Blackpool expires on 30 June 2025. Born in England, he represented the Scotland national team. ...

scored 2 for the home side and Theo Robinson extended the lead to 3. David Poole scored a consolation for Stockport in the 88th minute. Stockport then lost 2 – 0 at home to

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

. Danny Coles and Jo Kuffour scored the Rovers goals. Three days later, Stockport then lost for the second time in succession in the league when they lost 2 – 1 at home to

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

Kevan Hurst Kevan James Hurst (born 27 August 1985) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Career Hurst was born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Chesterfield, Derbyshire. A versatile player, he can play ...

opened the scoring but one minute later Stockport were lever via a

Richard Keogh Richard John Keogh (born 11 August 1986) is an Irish professional footballer who played as a defender. He is assistant head coach at Barnsley. He formerly represented the Republic of Ireland national team. His main positional role was at centr ...

own goal.

Joe Anyinsah Joseph Greene Anyinsah (born 8 October 1984 in Bristol) is an English footballer who plays as a striker who last played for Hayes and Yeading. Career Bristol City and Preston North End Anyinsah started his career at Bristol City making his d ...

rounded off the scoring to give Carlisle the points. Stockport won their first match of the season when they beat

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

4 – 2, in a match that was full of instances. Three of Stockport's four goals were scored by

(One of which was a penalty) the other was scored by Oli Johnson.

was sent off on his Stockport début.

Nicky Forster Nicholas Michael Forster (born 8 September 1973) is an English former professional footballer who was most recently the manager of Staines Town. Forster has also been player-manager at Brentford and manager of Dover Athletic. Career Early ...

and Former Stockport star Liam Dickinson scored while

Tommy Elphick Tommy Elphick (born 7 September 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back and currently an assistant manager at Premier League club AFC Bournemouth. Elphick started at the Brighton & Hove Albion academy and ...

and

Colin Hawkins Colin Joseph Hawkins (born 17 August 1977) is an Irish retired footballer and current manager of Shamrock Rovers B. Hawkins was a central defender with Shamrock Rovers along with a number of other clubs in the League of Ireland and cross-chann ...

were sent off for the home side. Stockport finished the month with a 1 – 1 draw at home to

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

scored his second penalty in a week to salvage a point in second half stoppage time. Former Stockport midfielder

Rickie Lambert Rickie Lee Lambert (born 16 February 1982) is an English former professional footballer who is currently an Academy Youth Development Coach at Wigan Athletic. A striker, Lambert was known for his large stature and physical performances, drawin ...

scored a penalty for Southampton in first half stoppage time.

September

Results

Legend

{, class="wikitable" , style="background-color: #CCFFCC;", Win , style="background-color: #FFFFCC;", Draw , style="background-color: #FFCCCC;", Loss

Pre-season friendlies

League One

FA Cup

League Cup

Football League Trophy

Team

Due to Stockport starting the season in

, the club had to sell some of its best players to accommodate everyday running costs and wage budget. Tommy Rowe was the first to leave after he was bought by

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

for an undisclosed fee 10 days after the previous season ended. Four days later

Leon McSweeney Leon McSweeney (born 19 February 1983) is an Irish former footballer who made more than 200 appearances in the Football League. McSweeney now serves as the U21 Senior Development Phase Coach at former club Leicester City. Ireland Leon McSweeney ...

left for

Hartlepool United Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They were founded in 190 ...

on a free transfer

Squad

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" , - !rowspan="2" , Number !rowspan="2" , Nationality !rowspan="2" , Position !rowspan="2" , Name !colspan="2" width="85", Total !colspan="2" width="85",

!colspan="2" width="85",

!colspan="2" width="85", League Cup !colspan="2" width="85", League Trophy , - !Apps !Goals !Apps !Goals !Apps !Goals !Apps !Goals !Apps !Goals , -

Transfers

In

{, class="wikitable" !Player !From !Date !Fee !Notes , - ,

, ,

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...

, , 27 July 2009 , , Free , , , - , David Poole , ,

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

, , 1 July 2009 , , Free , , , - , Gianluca Havern , ,

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

, , 1 July 2009 , , Free , , , - ,

, ,

, , 1 July 2009 , , Free , , , - ,

Paul Huntington Paul David Huntington (born 17 September 1987) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Bradford City. Club career Newcastle United Huntington joined Newcastle United Academy on 1 July 2004. He was promoted to the re ...

, ,

, , 1 February 2010 , , Free , , , -

Out

{, class="wikitable" !Player !To !Date !Fee !Notes , - , Tommy Rowe , ,

, , 12 May 2009 , , Undisclosed , , , - ,

, ,

, , 18 May 2009 , , Free , , , - , James Tunnicliffe , ,

, , 25 June 2009 , , Free , , , - ,

Gary Dicker Gary Richard Perry Dicker (born 31 July 1986) is an Irish football coach and former professional player who is the head coach for MLS Next Pro side Crown Legacy FC, the reserve side of Major League Soccer club Charlotte FC. He started his care ...

, ,

, , 25 June 2009 , , Free , , , - , Dominic Blizzard , ,

, , 9 July 2009 , , Free , , , - , Josh Thompson , ,

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

, , June 2009 , , Free , , , - ,

, ,

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...

, , 8 January 2010 , , £300,000 , , , - , Oli Johnson , ,

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

, , 8 January 2010 , , Undisclosed , , , - , Michael Rose , ,

, , 23 January 2010 , , Free , , , - , Michael Raynes , ,

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was formed in ...

, , 1 February 2010 , , Undisclosed , , , - , Declan Edwards, ,

Northwich Victoria Northwich is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire West and Chester borough of Cheshire, England. It lies on the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers River Weaver, Weaver and River Dane, Dane, east of Chester, south of Warr ...

, , March 2010 , , Released , , , - , Peter Thompson, , Linfield , , 2 July 2010 , , Free , , , -

Loans in

{, class="wikitable" !Player !From !Start Date !Expiry !Notes , - ,

, , Chelsea , , 14 August 2009 , , 22 September 2009 , , , - , Nicholas Bignall , ,

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

, , 31 August 2009 , , 3 January 2010 , , , - ,

, ,

, , 4 September 2009 , , 31 October 2009 , , , - ,

Danny Swailes Daniel Swailes (born 1 April 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. Career Swailes moved to MK Dons from Macclesfield Town F.C. for an undisclosed fee of around £50,000 at the beginning of the 2007/08 sea ...

, ,

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...

, , 3 January 2010 , , 8 May 2010 , , , - , Richie Partridge , ,

, , 3 January 2010 , , 8 May 2010 , , , - , David Perkins , ,

, , 3 January 2010 , , 8 May 2010 , , , - , Jemal Johnson , ,

, , 18 January 2010 , , 8 May 2010 , , , - ,

Jabo Ibehre Jabo Oshevire Michael Ibehre (born 28 January 1983) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. Ibehre made over 200 appearances for Leyton Orient between 2000 and 2008, before moving onto Walsall. A successful season ...

, ,

, , 18 January 2010 , , 8 May 2010 , , , - , George Donnelly , ,

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

, , 29 January 2010 , , 7 May 2010 , , , - ,

Mat Sadler Mathew John Sadler (born 26 February 1985) is an English former professional footballer who is currently head coach of Walsall. He played as a left-footed defender, capable of playing either at full-back or as a centre-back. Sadler played in ...

, ,

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

, , 29 January 2010 , , 8 May 2010 , , , -

Loans out

{, class="wikitable" !Player !To !Start Date !Expiry !Notes , - , Declan Edwards, ,

, , 15 September 2009 , , 15 December 2009 , , , - , Peter Thompson, , Linfield , , January 2010 , , Until the end of the Season. , , , -

References

External links

Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:2009-10 Stockport County F.C. season

Stockport County F.C. seasons