Surely no one can fail to notice how much better the results were while John Ward was at the club. I'm afraid that County appointed the wrong manager, it's as simple as that. In Ablett we went for a rookie manager with a dodgy record in reserve team football when we should have gone for Ward who has a proven record at our level. Ablett's signings, his tactics (one up front even at home), the mentality of the team (either everyone defending in our own box or going gung ho at the other end) resembles junior football. The number of times we have conceded this season from our own kick off, corner or free kick high up the pitch is frightening. While I'm always reluctant to criticise young players, there are those who get picked each week while other more capable personnel sit on the bench. You can blame the lack of resources to a certain extent but even taking those into account we are massively underachieving since John Ward went. I agree with Alan on previous posts, Ablett is a decent guy but he's making a poor fist of the job and needs to go. John, Heaton Mersey

IF we get out of this it will be on a par with the great escape of 05/06 season. The harsh facts are that we haven't scored in the league from open play since Hartlepool at home at the end of September, I'm not including the goal scored via Thompsons' backside! Out of the side at the moment I'd only keep Rose, Mullins & Baker. I've not even included Fon Williams as he's had a few gaffes recently, he should have done better with the free kick on Saturday. Raynes is overrated? he plays as if he has his boots on the wrong feet, Poole runs around like a headless chicken, Turnbull is still dreaming of his 'Wembley Ball' Thompson couldn't score in a proverbial. Taking the rough with the smooth is a saying but am I wrong in thinking that after the Leeds game at Xmas we'll have a home record of W1 D2 L9?

Vacancy: Football Manager.
Must be able to work with a maximum of 20 players, only four of which have first team credentials and capabilities and two others on emergency loan status. Be able to work on there own initiative and operate well without funds or support from any back room management team. Keep within strict structures dictated from the administrators accounts department in Nantwich. Train and developed all available players with the help of a very good goalkeeping coach/reserve keeper. This position would suite a person who can operate from rented accommodation in the side room of the main building and function well with a brush up his a***. The successful applicant will be required to put a team out on a pitch which may previously have been subject to some rutting. Football League or European Champions league experience would be an advantage but not necessary. A good experience in the loan market and able to acquire top notch players for 5 to 6 hundred pounds a week would be essential. Access to a good washing machine would be a definite advantage. Pay would be above minimum national rates but could be subject to enhancement on completion of current and on going negotiations.

Please send all CVs to Richard Landon. Kit Man. Stockport County Football Team. C.O Cheshire Sports. Edgeley Park. Stockport. Cheshire.

PS please enclose picture of washing machine.


BRINKSWAY BOY

Bring back the Pope!! Anything but the drivel written by the ex-pat brinksway boy who probably graces the ground with his presence once a year if that. Everyone is entitled to their opinion of course. There will be those who go each week and watch the same shambolic performances that I do but they feel that GA hasn't been given long enough and want to give him into the new year to try and turn things around with maybe a few more signings in the January window. I can support that view and can see the logic therin. My feelings are this was a poor appointment in the first place and someone like John Ward would have been a better bet with his past craft and guile around the lower leagues. To say this was an impossible job before the season started is ridiculous. Leagues have been won using less than 20 players in a season. Knowing there were only 20 slots, more thought should have gone into the process but I believe the recruitment of ex players was done in haste when there were literally 100's of players looking to continue their professional careers and to who League One would have been extremely appealling, even taking into account SC were a team in administration. I am desperate to see GA do well and I will be cheering the lads on at all the home games plus the away ones I can get to. My point is only that (in my opinion) GA was the wrong choice initially and I believe if things continue the way they are doing, before too long it will be too late to turn things around. I would prefer that we look for a more experienced candidate who is used to wheeling and dealing in the lower leagues or possibly someone like Jim Gannon was 4/5 years ago, i.e. an ex player who knows the club inside out who could perhaps turn things around on pure emotion and euphoria like Jimbo did. Anyway, one thing is for sure, despite what the Brinksway Boy is inferring, there would be a queue around the block of eager candidates for the role should it become available. John, Heaton Mersey

Whoops ruffled a few feather there I think. For the record I was a season ticket holder for 14 years and now watch the game through the web site. However I have still to get an answer from the web site as to how much of my fee goes to SC which I'm not happy about. I spent £1000 on buy a pixel and offered the last consortium the gift of a season ticket a year to offer to a good supporter who could not afford one. I was at the match that saw them win the fourth division championship as a lad and my all time hero was Matt "The Wall" Woods. My father put my baby booties and an copy of SC football program in the family archive to remember my birth. The game that day was with Accrington Stanley at EP and it was a 2x2 draw, Jack Conner scored that day and the match ended in an all out fight where police were called onto the pitch. It grieves me to see what has happened with the sale of SC and where its assets have been siphoned off to. The point I was making was that John Ward or anyone else would not do a better job under such conditions. Those conditions from the administrators are that you cannot buy any players, you must work from the remaining team members at the club. Fit or not fit. Payers with experience and available from other clubs on a loan basis would come in at around 4 to 5k a week. Top trainees from other clubs would come in about 1k a week. GA has 5 to 6 hundred a week to spend on loan players.
If we go down it won't be GA's fault. He has his hands tried. You cannot make a silk purse...... His job at the moment is to take care of the day to day, train and coach, network the loan market and keep an eye on costs, as well as consider his options and plans to face the next opposition. He's on a hiding to nothing. If he gets a window in the new year and has some cash from a new management team, a team that can lift some of the work away he should be judged from there and not before. He wants the team to be around a cluster of other strugglers to have any chance of saving the situation. We should all recognise that. I'm easy about going down, I just want the team to remain. I want the team to move away from EP as we are being bled by Cheshire Sports and used as a prisoner to get council money to build a new stadium. It will never work and we should get out as quick as we can. I was in Stocky last week when we were away to Walsall and the talk in the bar was of a boycott. The logic being that the first 1400 though the gates go straight to Cheshire Sports is it a coincidence that the gate is down by 2000. Some supports in Stocky would rather see the club die than put money into CS. It's a bad situation. Keep the faith and support the man.

Aye no problem lad aye a jus 'ad me hotpot n cup o graaaaavey served it up t' youngsters a did they were well thanksfull fer it.

Then I wished 'em good luck f'tha' next match aye aye aye aye aye aye aye aye aye aye aye aye aye aye aye aye laaaaaaaaaad

Well we thought we might be here and here we are. Fon Williams' form has collapsed - he costs us a goal a game. Thompson cannot finish. I don't know where we go from here.