PICK up any newspaper this week and you'll discover there's a dark cloud hanging over the blue half of Manchester. There's a club in decline, we're told. Things ain't what they used to be.
Don't let Stockport County fans catch you feeling sorry for Manchester City from behind the sports pages. It hasn't rained but it's poured for years over Edgeley Park.
Blue moon rising?Theirs has been nose-diving since 2009. Allow County die-hards to tell you a thing or two about coming up short against your near neighbours.
They used to love nothing better than turning over the likes of the Premier League champions from up the road, they were doing that as recently as 2002 in Division One, don't forget. Now? Well they were lucky to fluke a 1-1 draw with rock bottom Hyde in midweek.
No relegation threat, true. But this year has almost been as tortuous as the six seasons before it. So how exactly do you solve a problem like Stockport County?
Alan Lord thinks he knows, by moving upstairs. Well, if someone held in such high esteem can't get to the bottom of it, then who can?
“That's what we've got to try and find out –it's a big question, a very big question but we now need to try and come up with the answers,” he said.
“I have enjoyed managing the club, it's been a wonderful privilege. I've been here 16 great years and me being manager was only ever going to be until the summer. It was always about stabilising.
“It's not just a crucial appointment, it's a critical one. It has to be right and next season is the biggest one that I can remember. We have got to get promotion, we need to get this club back to what it used to be. We have to.”
Lord feels the fans' pain. He is one of them and that helps, saving them from the unimaginable drop into the Evo-Stik Premier last term, but a middleof-the-road Vanarama Conference North campaign for a club of Stockport's size and support can never be seen as a victory.
Optimism
Liam Watson was linked with Lord's job before he took the Stalybridge Celtic role, while ex-County striker Andy Preece – currently at Welsh Premier club Airbus UK – is another name that won't go away. An appointment won't be dragged out.
“I am disappointed that I couldn't be the one to get this great club climbing again, I am not going to lie to you,” said the former Cheadle Town and Warrington manager.
“But this was never about me living out a fantasy, it was about playing my part in getting the club back on the straight and narrow.
“I have absolute confidence that if we get the right manager through the door in the next few weeks that we will challenge next season. The reason is that the club, for the first time in a long time, is in a healthy position off the pitch.
“Everyone is pulling in the same direction, there are people in the appropriate jobs and there's commercial revenue in place that gives me confidence that there's something to look forward to. They are honest and hardworking, I can see there's a much stronger determination to get this place back to how it used to be.”
It's not uncommon, of course, for clubs to pay lip service to optimism at this time of year. Season ticket renewal forms are falling through letter boxes, but these aren't false promises says their new director of football.
“We can't guarantee challenging at the top of the table but there are Stockport County people running Stockport County now,” he added.
“The playing budget will be increased and when we get the right man, and if he gets the three or four key players, I don't see why we won't be challenging.
“We need to win promotion – this club has suffered long enough and sooner rather than later we have got to push on, we need to see some progression.
“The thought process is that enough is enough. We've had too many bad years so we need to get out of this league next season, for sure.”
County's long suffering fans may be fed up but to their credit, they're not showing it. Edgeley Park attendances are still double that of their nearest challenger, league leaders Barrow.
With an average of 2,648 coming to see the club at its lowest ebb, the prospect of what happens when they do finally get it right is tantalising, like the offers you cans see on certain gambling sites.
Coincidence
“The year we went down there were over 6,000 there for a game when we were getting relegated,” he added. “Your guess is as good as mine what we would be getting once we finally get it right on the pitch.
“Whatever league you are in, whatever the standard of opponent, nothing draws people in like a winning team and that's now what we need to produce.
“I don't think we're a million miles away from the squad we need and if we get high quality in a number of positions we have a chance. The team has not been winning regularly for a long, long time. I think people sometimes forget that the highs have been so few and far between.
“There are an awful lot of people waiting for when we are able to produce a side that is. It's an exciting prospect.”
Lord has turned 65 but it would be a mistake to think his football involvement will be winding down from his new perch just because he has hit retirement age.
“It's a coincidence I'm moving upstairs into a more senior role on this year of all years but this isn't me opting for the easy life,” he adds.
“I still run the Pro Football Academy, which has a direct link with the club and that will keep my involvement daily there's no doubt about that.
“I very much still have the drive to help this club get things right. Put it this way, don't bother sending me any brochures on stair lists just yet!”
