With Stockport County being drawn to play against Leicester City in the 2nd round of this season’s Carabao Cup, it got my memories swilling and made me think back to 2009 to the last time both sides met in which I was a starter. Until tonight, this was the last time both sides met in a competitive fixture and unknowingly at the time, would arguably prove to be a watershed moment in the history and fortunes of both clubs.
The date was the 3rd of March 2009. The venue was ‘The Walkers Stadium’, or what you all know today as ‘The King Power Stadium’, and the opposition facing Leicester that night was a fresh faced, newly promoted Stockport County side.
MATCH REPORT AVAILABLE AT:
http://www.skysports.com/football/leicester-vs-stockport/report/14818
Undoubtedly, not many people will remember that game or hold it in high regard, but the fans of both probably should. For this was a game that, you could argue, defined the rise of one club and the decline of another.
Going into the game, Leicester City, under the guidance of Nigel Pearson, were flying high at the top of League One. They were nine points clear of second placed Peterborough United and had the additional benefit of a game in hand. Further to this, they were unbeaten in 21 games and seemingly coasting towards promotion. Nevertheless, it was this apparent coasting which was unnerving Leicester City supporters. It was clear that the previous years of underachievement were the root cause of this strange sense of angst amongst Foxes supporters,and on the night of that Stockport clash, those feelings provided a very apprehensive atmosphere in the stadium.
In contrast to the Leicester City juggernaut, Stockport County went in to this game in 8th position. We found ourselves three points outside the play offs only a mere eight months after gaining promotion from League 2. The reason I say ‘in contrast’ is that, we, as a club, had just gone through a January jumble sale to stave off administration and the general consensus was that the team’s performance and play off push would be adversely affected. However, two months after the club saw it’s most saleable playing assets stripped, we were still managing to continue our grapple with the League One big boys. The off-field financial troubles seemed to galvanise both fans and players and in spite of the uncertain future, everyone was still enjoying the ride.
Going into that game, I distinctly remember our tactical brief, outlined by our manager Jim Gannon, which was to simply “out football” them. For him, it was clear the score was immaterial. What he wanted, on a stage like ‘The Walker’s Stadium’, against the league leaders, was to silence the crowd and prove his side played the better football. He wanted us to showcase our ability as players and his ability as a coach. And by the end of the night, he got his wish. The teams for that night were as follows and I’m sure you’ll recognise a few names

The rain lashed down and with the wind swirling, we went behind as early as the first minute to a deflected cross which was far from the ideal start.
The stadium relaxed. You could sense the relief. An almost collective sigh, signalling a ‘we should stuff these now’ mentality which reverberated around the ground. But, that’s as good as it got for the home side. From that point on they were out played in every department. We equalised within five minutes through a superbly taken goal by another Leicester City old boy Chris O’Grady. With that, we just relaxed into the role of underdog. Nothing to lose but a lot to gain. The crowd grew in frustration and this transferred itself onto the players.
We went about executing Gannon’s instructions with great confidence and composure, and should really have taken all three points. The two styles contrasted greatly that night. Leicester’s tactic of hitting Steve Howard early for Matty Fryatt to feed off was severely affected by the conditions. Both he and Matty Fryatt were, for the most part, unplayable that season but on this night, there was no Plan B. This up and at em style was shown up against our style of playing out from the back, switching play and interchanging positions akin to some sort of footballing red arrows. In the end, we had to settle for a draw and on the whole, the result bore little significance in the promotion race. However, what happened at the end of that 90 minute showcase proved very significant indeed.
As we went to applaud our away fans in the corner section of the ground, we were applauded by all sections of the stadium. As the home side trudged off to unsatisfied grumblings, the vast majority of the crowd that night stayed to clap us off the pitch and down the tunnel. It truly was a surreal situation, a real moment of footballing appreciation.
In the dressing room after the game, our manager gushed in his pride of his team’s performance. We spoke about sticking together and continuing to try and achieve the seemingly impossible. We were a team full of belief in our own ability and in how our manager wanted us to play. The arrogance of youth you may say, to go and take on a League One super power at playing football in the right way, but that’s exactly what we did. If you take our elder statesman at the time, Matty McNeil, out of the equation, then the average age of that Stockport County match day squad was a shade over 21 years of age. The future looked bright. Everything about that tie was David versus Goliath, and to use a boxing comparison, although the result may have said 1-1, we certainly won on points.
However, the aftermath of that game, couldn’t have been more different to the performance on the field and the fortunes of both clubs. Leicester City went on to win the division and gain promotion to the Championship. In 2014, they gained promotion to the Premier League, in 2016 completed the seemingly impossible dream of winning the Premier League with the FA Cup following in 2021. Quite simply, the club has never looked back.
As for Stockport County, well, you can’t help but think what might have been. After that March night in 2009, we went on to lose 8 of our next 11 games and went into administration before the last game of that 2008-2009 season, just avoiding relegation despite a ten point deduction. The following season, after a significant turnover of players and management, the club were relegated from League One with a record low points total and in the following 2010-2011 season, finished bottom of League Two and were relegated out of the Football League.
It’s taken 11 years of navigating through the non-league wilderness for Stockport to get back to this point. The club that lost it’s way for so long is finally back in the EFL and they need not look further than tonight’s opponents to realise that even the seemingly impossible can be achieved. Here’s hoping for a great game of football in front of a packed out Edgeley Park under the lights. Them were the days.
Ramblings of a Footballer 