‘There’s A Buzz Around The Town’ – The View On Cup Opponents Stockport
- Stockport County face Leicester City in the Carabao Cup Second Round
- Tuesday’s tie at Edgeley Park is a 7:45pm kick-off
- Sam Byrne speaks to Matchday Live to preview the game
- The Manchester Evening News Reporter says everyone is up for the cup clash
The pair will meet in the second round of the competition on Tuesday evening (7:45pm kick-off), with the visit of the Foxes County’s reward for defeating fellow Sky Bet League 2 side Harrogate Town in the previous round.
The opportunity to welcome a top-flight team to Edgeley Park is one the newly-promoted side have had previously in recent years, though this one will be with supporters present, which could make all the difference to the occasion.
Byrne told Matchday Live this week: “It’s been a really good reaction (to the draw), everyone is buzzing around the town. It’s a complete sell out, 10,000 home fans, and everyone’s after a ticket.
“To have such an established Premier League side who were recently champions coming to Edgeley Park, with big players, it’s one that has really got the atmosphere building already.
“Stockport have got a good history with hosting Premier League sides and there’s always a famous atmosphere when it’s a night under the lights against big opposition. They drew West Ham in the FA Cup during lockdown and West Ham won 1-0 towards the end having fielded a full-strength side under David Moyes.
“It was behind closed doors, and I think the fans are now starting to think that this is what they missed out on. There was a feeling with that game that if fans were in the ground, Stockport would have at least forced extra-time.”
After a difficult few years in non-league, the Hatters have returned to the fourth tier following 11 years away. A journey started under former manager Jim Gannon is now being overseen by Dave Challinor, with a new owner also taking the reins to steer Stockport back on the right path.
The journalist explained: “They went up last season as National League champions through winning the title. Dave Challinor, the manager who joined the Club last November, is a former Stockport captain as a player. He moved from League 2 Hartlepool.
“Stockport were around 12th in the league at the time he came in and then went on a run of 23 wins from 24 in all competitions, taking them to the top of the table. It was a bit of a nervy run-in, but they held on to gain promotion back to the Football League.
“They dropped as low as National League North in 2013 and only made it out of there in 2019 and then pretty quickly got to grips with the National League. Local businessman Mark Stott took over at the start of 2020. He’s revitalised the club and invested a lot of money on and off the pitch.
“It’s a group of people who really care about the club and have done a lot to get back to Stockport’s old heights. I’d like to say they are riding the crest of a wave, but it’s not been the best of starts to the League 2 season – just one win out of the five games so far, and four defeats.”
Delving further into the reasons behind a poor start to the campaign, which leaves County sitting 21st in the standings, on three points after five matches, Byrne pointed to the transfer activity as a possible factor.
“It’s a tricky one,” he continued. Stockport signed a lot of players this summer after winning promotion last season. It was with the best intentions of needing to hit the ground running and making sure they were fully prepared.
“But having done that, it’s taking time for that style of play and the way that Dave Challinor wants to play to impose itself on the influx new players and for them to really bed into the group.
“There have been mitigating circumstances, but it has been all of Stockport’s own doing. It’s a long season, 46 league games, three cup competitions, so there’s plenty of time for the manager to work his magic and fire Stockport up the table.”
The tie against Brendan Rodgers’ side is one all of Stockport’s supporters are looking forward to, not least as a chance to forget about their early season struggles, and dream of a potential cup upset.
“The fans will always fancy it,” Byrne added. “They won’t be impacted by the poor start to the season. They obviously won’t be expecting a win, but they'll think the side can push Leicester through the 90 minutes and maybe beyond.
“Both sides have had mixed starts to the season, but everyone knows Leicester’s quality. Regardless of the kind of team that Leicester field, they will be clear favourites and it will be a really tough game.
“More than winning the game, the Stockport fans will think if they can just be in the game towards the back end and have something to hang onto, that will give everyone real belief.
“Cup competitions, and especially the visit of a big side, can do funny things. That could be the catalyst for the season to really get kickstarted.”