Statement From Alwin Thompson

First of all, let me apologise for what is going to be a hectic few days on the site. There is a lot of news for me to cover!

Anyway, new chairman of Stockport County Alwin Thompson released a full statement at his press conference today.

First of all I would like to say what an honour it is to be the new Chairman of this wonderful Football Club.

Stockport County Football Club has over 125 years of proud history and for long periods of that time it has been at the centre of the Stockport Community.

Over recent years the Club has encountered some well-documented tribulations and these have endangered Stockport County`s very existence and disconnected the club from the community, local businesses, and most importantly, from its own supporters.

Off the pitch, supporters have become frustrated by the lack of information and poor communication from the club; this has unfortunately seen an unfounded backlash against the likes of Cheshire Sports and Stockport MBC.

On the pitch, all football teams suffer defeat, and supporters understand that, but to suffer defeat in part because of the off-field uncertainty of administration of the past season is something we all find very difficult. It is very easy to understand why and how so many County fans became disheartened and worried about their beloved club.

Our immediate intention is to rebuild the bridges between the Football Club and the local community, business sector and most importantly the supporters.

We have outlined several ways in which we want to move forward to assist us in achieving this objective. For example:

We want to encourage the youth of Stockport to connect with the club and be proud of having a League club in the town, and over the coming months we will put in place programmes and activities to ensure this happens.

We are already working more closely with Cheshire Sports, Stockport MBC and other key companies to provide an environment in which football can be enjoyed by all, and I am confident the good working relationships we have already established with them will be built upon.

Communication – by definition communication cannot be a one-way street. To help us improve, we need to hear from the supporters and the community at large. (How can the club better serve you? What should we be working on?) We already have an e-mail address through which we have collected hundreds of ideas and thoughts from supporters. Very soon we shall create a facility on the Club website for people to communicate with us.

In summary then, my fellow Directors and I do not underestimate the very difficult job we have both on and off the pitch to stabilise and then energise the club over the coming season.

With that in mind, I feel we have assembled a board and senior management team that can rebuild this club on firm foundations. The board`s first task will be to restructure the club, ensuring the business can be run within agreed budgets. This process will warrant some very difficult decisions but I can assure everyone these decisions will be made for the long-term benefit of the club.

At this point I wish to confirm that Gary Ablett and his management team have left the Club by mutual agreement. On behalf of the Board I thank them for their work during what has been a very difficult season. I wish them well in their future careers.

A key task for the Board now is to find the right manager to lead the club into the future. We will undertake that task immediately.

We are really up for the difficult road ahead of us and I am confident we can rely on the solid support of our loyal supporters and build on that support base in the future.

There is a lot of work to be done. Together let us make Stockport County great again!

Alwin Thompson

hairman

tockport County FC

Brilliant stuff.

On another note, congratulations to Dave Schofield and massive respect for what he achieved on behalf of us all. We’re really grateful Dave.