Post by hatter_in_macc on Aug 11, 2022 10:56:55 GMT
Rather belatedly - and for those who may have missed its appearance in the Barrow programme and last week's Express - here is the piece I wrote up on the launch event last month for Phil Brennan's latest book.
By way of some Heavenly co-working, Ceefer was also there as the official photographer, and may wish to supplement my words with his excellent pics.
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‘STOCKPORT COUNTY 100 CLUB’ BOOK LAUNCH: 24th JULY 2022
By Hatter in Macc
It was not so much a gathering of the great and the good in the traditional sense at Stockport’s Bask bar - but, rather, a reunion of much-loved County footballing legends whose service and deeds as Hatters were being celebrated in the course of a book launch.
‘Stockport County 100 Club’, the latest work of renowned County authority, and the club’s former Media Manager, Phil Brennan, provides a complete record of all players to have notched up a ton of appearances or more while plying their trade at Edgeley Park.
There have been 175 of them in all, covering a century and a quarter or so - beginning with representatives from County’s Lancashire League days in the late 1890s and ending with current members of the squad preparing to embark on the Hatters’ return to Football League action after an 11-year absence.
Two non-league title wins in the last three years have put the club back on a spectacular upward trajectory - and five holders of medals from one or both of those champions’ campaigns, in Jordan Keane, Sam Minihan, Ash Palmer, Paul Turnbull and Sam Walker, were among past and present players attending the sold-out, ticket-only launch event, as well as participating in light-hearted on-stage interviews for an appreciative audience.
From rather further back in time, retired goalkeeper, ‘Sir’ Alan Ogley, now 76 and a Club Ambassador, regaled those present with a memory of an early appearance among the 269 he made between the sticks for County from 1967 to 1975.
“I remember going to Torquay, and thinking how much better our players were treated than those at my previous club”, recalled ‘Sir’ Alan, who had joined the Hatters from Manchester City! “We stayed at a top hotel down there for two nights, and after winning 1-0 the Chairman (Vic Bernard) got out the champagne for us!”
Other former players looking in at the event included two defenders boasting remarkable personal milestones - with John Rutter having gone some four years without missing a game after signing in 1976, and Cheadle Heath-born Andy Thorpe having clocked up what remains a club record of 555 appearances during two County spells interrupted by a stint at Tranmere from 1986-88.
The date of the launch was carefully chosen to coincide with what would have been the 80th birthday of the late Danny Bergara (1942-2007), whose managerial watch sparked a decade of boom for County in the 1990s. And, by way of a further nod to his remarkable impact on the club’s fortunes, all proceeds from ticket sales are going towards the DB Statue Fund.
Tribute was paid on the night to The Man from Uruguay by children Ellen and Simon, and his achievements were also well represented by the presence of Thorpe, Chris Beaumont, Mike Flynn and Bill Williams, whose playing careers had all thrived under him. As Bill Williams succinctly put it to the audience: “We wouldn’t have been here tonight, if weren’t for Danny Bergara.”
County’s early 21st Century Football League centurions in attendance included Keith Briggs and Michael Raynes. But current manager, and former defender from the ‘noughties’, Dave Challinor, had to content himself with applause for his ongoing achievements from the touchline - having agonisingly fallen fewer than 20 playing appearances short of earning a place in the ‘100 Club’!
For Phil Brennan, compiling the book has been a labour of love - brought on by an idea he had generated in conversation with late County match commentator Richard Harnwell 20 years previously, when the Hatters were playing in the Championship. And, who knows, if all goes to plan, they could well be back there by the time an update on the Club’s distinguished membership needs to be written two or three years from now…
‘Stockport County 100 Club’ has been on general sale since the end of July.
By way of some Heavenly co-working, Ceefer was also there as the official photographer, and may wish to supplement my words with his excellent pics.
*****************************************************************************************************
‘STOCKPORT COUNTY 100 CLUB’ BOOK LAUNCH: 24th JULY 2022
By Hatter in Macc
It was not so much a gathering of the great and the good in the traditional sense at Stockport’s Bask bar - but, rather, a reunion of much-loved County footballing legends whose service and deeds as Hatters were being celebrated in the course of a book launch.
‘Stockport County 100 Club’, the latest work of renowned County authority, and the club’s former Media Manager, Phil Brennan, provides a complete record of all players to have notched up a ton of appearances or more while plying their trade at Edgeley Park.
There have been 175 of them in all, covering a century and a quarter or so - beginning with representatives from County’s Lancashire League days in the late 1890s and ending with current members of the squad preparing to embark on the Hatters’ return to Football League action after an 11-year absence.
Two non-league title wins in the last three years have put the club back on a spectacular upward trajectory - and five holders of medals from one or both of those champions’ campaigns, in Jordan Keane, Sam Minihan, Ash Palmer, Paul Turnbull and Sam Walker, were among past and present players attending the sold-out, ticket-only launch event, as well as participating in light-hearted on-stage interviews for an appreciative audience.
From rather further back in time, retired goalkeeper, ‘Sir’ Alan Ogley, now 76 and a Club Ambassador, regaled those present with a memory of an early appearance among the 269 he made between the sticks for County from 1967 to 1975.
“I remember going to Torquay, and thinking how much better our players were treated than those at my previous club”, recalled ‘Sir’ Alan, who had joined the Hatters from Manchester City! “We stayed at a top hotel down there for two nights, and after winning 1-0 the Chairman (Vic Bernard) got out the champagne for us!”
Other former players looking in at the event included two defenders boasting remarkable personal milestones - with John Rutter having gone some four years without missing a game after signing in 1976, and Cheadle Heath-born Andy Thorpe having clocked up what remains a club record of 555 appearances during two County spells interrupted by a stint at Tranmere from 1986-88.
The date of the launch was carefully chosen to coincide with what would have been the 80th birthday of the late Danny Bergara (1942-2007), whose managerial watch sparked a decade of boom for County in the 1990s. And, by way of a further nod to his remarkable impact on the club’s fortunes, all proceeds from ticket sales are going towards the DB Statue Fund.
Tribute was paid on the night to The Man from Uruguay by children Ellen and Simon, and his achievements were also well represented by the presence of Thorpe, Chris Beaumont, Mike Flynn and Bill Williams, whose playing careers had all thrived under him. As Bill Williams succinctly put it to the audience: “We wouldn’t have been here tonight, if weren’t for Danny Bergara.”
County’s early 21st Century Football League centurions in attendance included Keith Briggs and Michael Raynes. But current manager, and former defender from the ‘noughties’, Dave Challinor, had to content himself with applause for his ongoing achievements from the touchline - having agonisingly fallen fewer than 20 playing appearances short of earning a place in the ‘100 Club’!
For Phil Brennan, compiling the book has been a labour of love - brought on by an idea he had generated in conversation with late County match commentator Richard Harnwell 20 years previously, when the Hatters were playing in the Championship. And, who knows, if all goes to plan, they could well be back there by the time an update on the Club’s distinguished membership needs to be written two or three years from now…
‘Stockport County 100 Club’ has been on general sale since the end of July.
