Stronge Reports

  Billed by some fans as the best signing of the Mark Stott era, Stockport County have agreed terms with Stockport Council for a 250-year lease of Edgeley Park, allowing them further freedoms to renovate and expand the stadium.  From what was a hideous start to the season under Simon Rusk, under the new leadership of Dave Challinor has turned into the most promising position Stockport County have held over the past few years.  Despite some turbulent times on the pitch since Mark Stott took over the club, things off the pitch have been consistently improving, only solidified by this announcement.  As fans in the Cheadle End will be well-acquainted with, huge investment has gone into taking the concourse from the tired shell that it was, into a pre-match experience that could rival that of many Premier League grounds.  The Cheadle End improvements only form a percentage of the £3 million invested into the infrastructure of the club since the arrival of Stott....

Dame Cressida Dick, the supremely well-connected incumbent Metropolitan Police Commissioner. Already au fait with the presence of controversy in her professional career, she finds herself at the centre of yet another brewing nationwide scandal for the second time in a matter of months.  Before becoming embroiled in the 'Partygate' scandal that she currently finds herself tangled up in, there was already a strong contingent of the public, not only from London but also much further afield, that felt it was time she tendered her resignation from the top job within the Metropolitan Police.  Such ill-feeling presented itself against her following the Met Police's handling of the vigil for Sarah Everard, the 33-year-old woman subjected to a grotesque kidnap, sexual attack and subsequent murder by then-serving 48-year-old Met Police officer Wayne Couzens. Couzens was a firearms officer, working for a Met Police unit based in Westminister that is given responsibility for protectin...

Dubbed, "Stockport's most successful businessman" the founder of Select Property Group and VITA Group is quickly earning himself a new title; Stockport County's Saving Grace. Unlike many of the wealthiest in this country, Mark Stott didn't inherit any family fortune.  Born in Hazel Grove and raised in nearby Poynton, the 49-year-old spent his formative years living on the Parklands estate. Despite not being one of the most deprived areas in the borough, Mark and his sister were not free of money issues, requiring food tokens whilst attending Poynton High School.  Stott's introduction to making his own money was working in the kitchen at the Strawberry Pig chip shop . Shortly after this Stott took a role, which he bills as his first career move, at the Stockport Express Advertiser selling newspaper advertising space to companies.  It was here, shuttling through Romiley in his Ford Escort, that Stott found his natural gift for selling, having, by his own admissi...

It was a troubled nine- month tenure for Simon Rusk. A turbulent time for Stockport County, which saw far more lows than it did highs. The Stopfordian faithful now look forward to a brighter future with a new man at the helm. It was a deflating 2-1 home defeat, at the hands of a struggling Barnet side, that delivered the final nail in the coffin of the 39-year-old's first venture into professional first team management. Rusk began his reign at the end of January this year, taking over from sacked club legend Jim Gannon, much to the bemusement of a large section of the Hatters' fanbase. There were fears that the former Brighton U23s manager didn't have the required relevant experience managing at the senior level, even less in the ultra-competitive National League.  Those fears were justified. Rusk consistently cut a reclusive figure in the dugout, and never managed to make a true connection to the fans, creating a damaging contrast between himself and the charismatic Gann...

Littered with an ever-changing cast of building sites, road closures and empty buildings, Stockport can occasionally feel a frustrating place to travel around. However, it in fact signals that exciting times lie ahead for the South Manchester town. Much of the work being carried out around the town centre is related to the Town Centre West regeneration programme, which is being put in place by Stockport's Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC).  An MDC is a statutory body created with the sole purpose regenerating a specific area, in this instance Town Centre West. Stockport is the first and currently the only MDC to have been created in Greater Manchester. This project is focused on six particular sites: Weir Mill, Mailbox, Stockport Exchange, Interchange, St Thomas Gardens and Royal George Village. Along with giving these once neglected sites a much needed facelift, the MDC intends to deliver 3500 new homes for 7000 residents. To serve both new and existing local tenants, a ...