footballer ( photographed below when he was Stockport County's player-manager in the early 2000s ).

Several historical Stockport County crests. Top: 1978 – 88, 1989 – 91, 1994 – 2006Bottom: 2006 – 10, 2010 – 11, 2011 – presentStockport County's traditional kit colours are blue and white, although they have played in other colours throughout their history.

County were watched by 22, 000 in Yingkou against their then sister side Stockport Tiger Star whom they beat 4 – 0 ; perhaps this high attendance was down to Stockport County's association with their affiliate team, and Tiger Stars ' name change to include ' Stockport ' two years previously.

While Daz became a life member of the Stockport County Supporters Trust after he released ' The County Song '; The song pays tribute to Stockport County's football league record of nine consecutive wins without conceding a goal.

The Main Stand of the ground, which at the time was made of wood, burned down in a fire in 1935, destroying all of Stockport County's previous records ; therefore, apart from having to rebuild a significant section of the ground, the club had to undertake a massive task to piece together information about previous results, playing squads, etc.

In November 2005, Gannon was appointed as director of Stockport County's centre of excellence for girls.

Gannon also branded approaches from Manchester City and Liverpool questionable and unprofessional after the two Premier League clubs swooped for youngsters being trained in Stockport County's development squads.

After which he managed Stockport County's Chinese affiliate club Stockport Tiger Star, before becoming a pundit for BBC Radio Five Live.

After Notts County's 2 – 0 home win against Stockport County in December 2005, he did not feature in the first-team for three months, making a 78th minute substitute appearance in a 1 – 0 home defeat to Grimsby Town.

In the 2007 – 08 season, Stockport County had an average away attendance of over 900 ; the highest in the league.

* May 5 – Only thirteen spectators attend the soccer match between Leicester City and Stockport County, the lowest attendance in The Football League's history.

An eventual finish of 23rd, and a club record low attendance of 790 for the game with Stockport County on 5 May 1984, showed a club that looked to be going nowhere.

The record attendance is 27, 833, when Liverpool visited Edgeley Park to play Stockport County in the 5th round of the FA Cup in 1950.

However, on 7 May 1921, the ground hosted a Second Division match between Stockport County and Leicester City for which the official attendance was just 13.

The first match at this level was against Stockport County, with an attendance of 9, 750.

When the new metropolitan counties ( Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Tyne & Wear, West Midlands, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire ) were created in 1974, their sub-divisions also became metropolitan boroughs ; in many cases these metropolitan boroughs recapitulated abolished county boroughs ( for example, Stockport ).

* IKEA was refused planning permission for a future store in the United Kingdom in 2004 ( to be based in Stockport, near Manchester ) by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

In Stockport, he joined local bands The Rainmakers and then The Motown Sect who enjoyed playing northern clubs for three years.

The band had their first recording session with Hannett in January 1985 at Strawberry Studios in Stockport, aiming to record tracks for a debut single and an album.

The major urban centres of Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Blackburn, Rochdale, Ashton-under-Lyne, Oldham and Stockport, with a combined population of almost one million, were represented by either the two county MPs for Lancashire, or the two for Cheshire in the case of Stockport.

: Mottram is situated twelve miles from Manchester and seven for Stockport, on a high eminence one mile to the west of the Mersey, from which the river ground begins to rise ; half the way being so steep as to make it difficult to access.

* John Horatio Lloyd, British Member of Parliament for Stockport

Hat making was the main trade in Stockport, near where Carroll grew up, and it was not unusual then for hatters to appear disturbed or confused ; many died early as a result of mercury poisoning.

Watkin served as a Liberal Member of Parliament for the constituencies of Great Yarmouth ( 1857 – 1858 ) Stockport ( 1864 – 1868 ) and later that of Hythe in Kent ( 1874 – 1895 ).

Cantona's brother, Joël, was also a professional footballer who played for Olympique de Marseille, Újpesti TE and Stockport County.

He clinched silverware for the club ; the Football League Trophy was won with a 1 – 0 victory against Stockport County at Wembley, with Mark Stein scoring the only goal of the game.

Their closest rival in the Football League years ( for just three years they were in the same league ) has been Stockport County, however as Stockport County were relegated at the end of the 2010 – 2011 season this derby will not take place in the 2011 – 12 season.

At the general election in 1841 Cobden was returned for Stockport, Cheshire and in 1843 Bright was the Free Trade candidate at a by-election at Durham.

* Rodger Wylde: physiotherapist for Stockport County.

Stockport in the 16th century was a small town entirely on the south bank of the Mersey, and known for the cultivation of hemp and rope manufacture.

Stopford retains a use in the adjectival form, Stopfordian, for Stockport-related items, and pupils of Stockport Grammar School style themselves Stopfordians.

Stopfordian is the general term used for people from Stockport, much as someone from London would be a Londoner.

Stockport is also home to Stockport bus station, which serves as a terminus for many services across the borough.

Stockport played for eight seasons from the 1895 – 96 season to the end of 1902 – 1903 season, the latter two seasons played at Edgeley Park, the club finished 17th of 22 in the initial combined league, then 5th, 11th, 11th, 9th, 12th, 6th, in the 14-club Lancashire Senior Competition, and then 18th of 18 in Division 2 of the recombined league, after which it withdrew from the Northern Rugby Football Union.

It passes through Hattersley, and mets the final junction of the M67-junction 4-at a roundabout with the dual-carriageway A560 ( for Stockport ).

In January 2008, it was reported that Marr had taken part in a week-long songwriting session at Moolah Rouge recording studio in Stockport with Wakefield indie group The Cribs.

On 8 May 2008 this referendum was held, with an overwhelming result in favour of staying within Cheshire, with less than 1 / 3 of the electors wanting to become part of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport and an even lower proportion of the population wishing the village to become part of Derbyshire's High Peak Borough.

The team reached the League Two play-offs in 2008 but were beaten 2 – 1 on aggregate by Stockport County.

Rochdale have participated in the Football League playoffs on three occasions: 2002, where they lost 4 – 3 on aggregate to Rushden and Diamonds, 2008, where they went through to Wembley on penalties, 5 – 4 after a 3 – 3 draw aet over 2 legs, with Ben Muirhead netting the crucial penalty for Dale, however at Wembley despite scoring the first Goal Dale suffered a 3 – 2 loss to Stockport.

File: EP Blue Plaque. jpg | English Heritage Blue Plaque awarded to Stockport County in 2008

Williams missed seven games until he won his place back against Stockport County when Starosta fell ill. On 29 April 2008, Williams was deemed to be surplus to requirements at Valley Parade and was released by manager Stuart McCall along with 13 other Bradford players.

** Stockport County 2008

Lambert resigned as Wycombe manager on 20 May 2008 following the club's elimination from the League Two play-offs by Stockport County.

On 9 October 2008, he was appointed as manager of League One team Colchester United to succeed Geraint Williams, before winning his first game 2 – 1 at Stockport County.

On April 26, 2008, Grazioli played his last ever home game for Barnet, as a substitute against Stockport County, in which he received a standing ovation from the fans in appreciation of his prolific goal scoring which took the Bees into the Football League.

The draft December 2008 West Coast Main Line timetable drawn up by the Department for Transport had Arriva CrossCountry's Manchester to Bristol via Birmingham trains passing through Stockport without stopping.

On 9 October 2008, Fojut began a one month loan spell at Stockport County in League One, where he managed just three games due to a hamstring problem.

His last appearance came on 23 August 2008 in a 1-0 defeat to Stockport County.

On 22 March 2008, Lee joined Rochdale on loan from Macclesfield Town and played in Rochdale's Play Off Final appearance at Wembley Stadium against Stockport County.

After spells in and out of the Crewe side, Lowe joined Stockport County on loan on March 27, 2008.