Stockport County
Also written as Stockport.
The club
Stockport County were founded in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers and took their present name in 1890. They play at Edgeley Park in Stockport, Greater Manchester, currently an all-seater ground holding 10,852. The club are the Hatters, after the town's hat-making trade, and play in blue and white.
Recent seasons
County spent eleven seasons in non-league football after relegation from the Football League in 2011. They were eighth in the National League in 2019/20 with 58 points in a season curtailed by the pandemic, third in 2020/21 with 77, and then champions in 2021/22 with 94 points, which returned them to the EFL. In League Two they were fourth in 2022/23 with 79 points, losing in the play-offs, and champions in 2023/24 with 92. Back in the third tier they were third in 2024/25 with 87 points and third again in 2025/26 with 77, this time reaching the play-off final: they beat Stevenage 3-0 on aggregate in the semi-final, winning 1-0 at Broadhall Way and 2-0 at Edgeley Park, then lost 4-1 to Bolton Wanderers at Wembley on 24 May 2026, Rúben Rodrigues scoring twice and Kyle Wootton putting through his own goal. So 2026/27 is a third consecutive League One season after back-to-back promotions.
Honours and landmarks
League titles: Third Division North in 1921/22 and 1936/37, Fourth Division in 1966/67, National League North in 2018/19, National League in 2021/22 and League Two in 2023/24. The high point of the modern era before the current run was the 1990s: County reached the League Cup semi-final in 1996/97, knocking out three Premiership sides before losing 2-1 on aggregate to Middlesbrough, and made four Wembley appearances in the decade, two in the Football League Trophy and two in the play-offs, losing all four. Record attendance at Edgeley Park is 27,833 against Liverpool in the FA Cup fifth round in 1950. The ground is being expanded in phases under a plan approved in August 2025: a rebuilt Railway End of around 4,500 covered seats, then the Family Stand from 2,411 to 6,500 and the Danny Bergara Stand from around 2,000 to around 3,500, for a projected eventual capacity of about 18,000. A temporary roof was added to the Railway End in 2025. Record win, record defeat, record transfer fees, most appearances and leading goalscorer are not established from the sources read here; the club's own site and the Football Club History Database pages did not yield them.
Notable scorelines
The 4-1 defeat by Bolton Wanderers in the League One play-off final at Wembley on 24 May 2026 is the most recent match of note. The 1996/97 League Cup run remains the famous one. Specific record-margin results are not established from the sources read.
Head-to-head notes
No published all-time head-to-head records were found for Stockport against their 2026/27 opponents. The most recent meetings that matter are with Stevenage, beaten 3-0 on aggregate in the 2025/26 play-off semi-final, and Bolton Wanderers, who beat County in the final. County's EFL Cup first round tie is at home to Doncaster Rovers on 8 August 2026; an all-time record against Doncaster is not established.
Right now (2026/27)
Dave Challinor, who took the club from the National League to League One and to a play-off final, left on 1 June 2026. Jimmy McNulty was appointed head coach on 5 June 2026 on a three-year contract, having won promotion with Rochdale. He has rebuilt widely. In came left-back Owen Dodgson from Burnley and winger Ryan Glover from Barnet, both on 15 June; attacking midfielder James Bailey on a free from Manchester United, centre-backs Kyron Gordon from Rochdale and Eoghan O'Connell from Barnsley, and goalkeeper Goodness Gospel-Eze from Everton, all on 1 July; attacking midfielder Jason Adigun from Chelmsford City on 7 July; Harry Wood from Shelbourne on 16 July; and midfielder Ben Osborn on a free from Derby County on 27 July. Goalkeeper Oliver Whatmuff joined on loan from Manchester City on 1 July for the season.
Out went centre-back Christy Grogan to Derry City on 5 July, Joseph Olowu to Leyton Orient on 21 July, and winger Jayden Fevrier to Blackburn Rovers for £500,000 on 28 July 2026, the notable sale of the window. Corey Addai went on loan to Burton Albion, Arian Allen to FC Halifax Town and Gospel-Eze straight out to Bamber Bridge.
Pre-season has gone well: a 2-0 win over Bristol City in San Pedro del Pinatar on 17 July 2026 and a 1-0 win at Oldham Athletic on 28 July, with a testimonial for long-serving goalkeeper Ben Hinchliffe against Preston North End at Edgeley Park on 1 August. The EFL Cup first round tie with Doncaster Rovers at home follows on 8 August, and the League One season opens away to Plymouth Argyle at Home Park on 15 August 2026 at 3pm. In the EFL Trophy County are grouped with Tranmere Rovers, Shrewsbury Town and Everton under-21s.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockport_County_F.C. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Stockport_County_F.C._seasons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026%E2%80%9327_Stockport_County_F.C._season https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgeley_Park https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025%E2%80%9326_EFL_League_One https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026%E2%80%9327_EFL_League_One https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026%E2%80%9327_EFL_Cup
Researched and written for not4quarters. Where a fact could not be established from the sources read, this page says so rather than guessing.