County Academy have welcomed the beginning of a new season this month, with exciting player progression, a first-team Player of the Match performance and personal development workshops.
Update from Jamie Crowther
County finished their pre-season preparations in August, after a team building trip to the Lake District and a training camp in South Wales. Lead Professional Development Phase Coach Jamie Crowther gave an update on pre-season behind-the-scenes and an exciting opportunity with the Wales National Team:
On the Pitch
Bolton Wanderers (H)
County saw the start of the EFL Youth Alliance League this month, facing off against Bolton Wanderers on the opening day. The visitors unfortunately ran our 4-1 winners as a new-look County side look to find their feet. Read more about how the young Hatters fared here.
Morecambe (A)
Next up for County was a trip to Lancashire to face off against Morecambe, where the hosts ran out comfortable 4-1 victors. Check out the highlights of the game below, and read the report of the game here.
https://twitter.com/StockportCounty/status/1692105986591625574?s=20
Port Vale (H)
Port Vale travelled to Cheshire as County wrapped up August, where the visitors emerged 3-1 winners, despite heavy pressure from County through large spells of the game. Watch the highlights below:
https://twitter.com/StockportCounty/status/1696523094721003807?s=20
Player Progression
Ashton Mee
August proved to be a promising month for the Academy, in particular Ashton Mee. The young midfielder signed his first professional contract with County following his first-team debut against Leyton Orient in April. Read more about his signing here.
The young midfielder also featured against Manchester United U21s in the EFL Cup, appearing as a second-half substitute.
Cody Johnson
Academy graduate Cody Johnson returned from loan from Rochdale earlier in the month, where he immediately made his first start of the season at Hillsborough against Sheffield Wednesday. He then produced a Man of the Match performance against County’s 1-1 draw against Bradford City at Edgeley Park.
Luke Partington & Kingston Fligg
Defender Luke Partington and midfielder Kingston Fligg travelled to Carrington this month to gain experience training with the first team. Both youngsters featured regularly in County’s B Team games towards the end of the 2022/23 campaign, with the former a regular throughout pre-season.
Personal Development
Football Agents Talk
The Academy Scholars received a talk from Head of Football Administration Alex Cowdy and Head of Professional Player Support James Jennings regarding Football Agents. This covered what to look out for when hiring an agent and the etiquette surrounding the profession.
Junior Academy
Cheadle Hulme School
The Junior Academy have made the switch to play their games at Cheadle Hulme School for the 2023/24 campaign, with state-of-the-art facilities, one 4G pitch and three 3G pitches. This covers all age ranges from U9 to U16.
