We hear of fans’ inspiring stories, generosity and acts of kindness within the community and we want to help give them the recognition they deserve.
Our first County Hero is Phil Robinson, who shows us exactly how County fans stick together.
Stockport County supporters have an established reputation for looking after their own and in times of need, they are rarely found wanting. This was epitomised by the actions of seasoned County fan Phil Robinson during the second lockdown.
Phil, who is affectionately known as ‘Moon Bird’ started watching the Hatters in the early 60’s when his Dad used to take him to Edgeley Park as an infant. As Phil recalls “I have mixed memories of being whacked in the face by a defender’s hoofed clearance and watching the legendary wellie wearing, foul mouthed Arthur chasing the linesman up and down the pop side”.
However, Phil admits that it is the fans that really endeared him to the club and when he heard of a fellow supporter going through a tough time, he was desperate to help out.
The fan in question was another long time County stalwart, Andrew Rowden, affectionately known to fellow County fans as Oaf.
Oaf is well known to all the County faithful for his mode of transport, namely his trusty bike on which he travels to games, home and away. It was very much his trademark and he covered thousands of miles in his pursuit of following the Hatters around the country.
Earlier this year though Andrew had his bike stolen, depriving him of his transport at a time when he really needed it most. He was still mourning the loss of his father and the theft of his bike dealt him a blow he could have done without.
The County family is a close knit one and word soon got round about Oaf’s stolen bike. When it reached the ears of Phil Robinson, he was determined to help his fellow County fan.
He explained “As I have been unable to go to the games (Phil goes to all home and away matches) I have saved a considerable amount of money. I wanted to put some of the money saved to good use before we’re allowed back in the stadiums and where I would undoubtedly spend it again and I just couldn’t imagine Oaf without his bike. The problem was that I only knew him as ‘Oaf’ and had no way of contacting him, so I contacted Steve Bellis and following some detective work involving a number of fans most notable Stuart Holt, Dave Johnson and Joel Mitchell, Steve managed to track down his name and more importantly his address”.
Phil, Steve and the aforementioned fans even managed to work out exactly which model of bike Oaf rode, although it didn’t come as much of a surprise when it was discovered that the model was no longer being manufactured.
A visit to Woodson’s Cycles on Castle Street in Edgeley proved to be very insightful and financially helpful. It turns out that Oaf always had his repairs done there, so the owner, Simon knew exactly what kind of bike Andrew would like.
Simon also offered a generous discount on the bike to assist Oaf in getting back on the road.
At this stage there were several fans who offered their financial support, but Phil was adamant that he himself covered all the costs.
With the help of another County fan Spud Pickford, the gleaming new bike was delivered to Oaf at his home, where he lives with his mother, earlier this month. Andrew’s mother couldn’t believe that the Club had such thoughtful supporters and the man himself was delighted to receive his new bike. He said, “I can’t believe that Phil has done this for me, I am completely overwhelmed. I’m very lucky to be a part of a Club with such incredibly thoughtful fans”.
As for Phil, he was entirely modest and didn’t want to have any pictures, he even asked Steve to present the bike on his behalf. He certainly didn’t want any acknowledgement for his extremely kind and thoughtful gesture but as a Club we feel that such a wonderful act is deserving of recognition, we therefore organised a personalised video from non-other than County’s captain, Liam Hogan, as well as a signed shirt from all the players.
In our opinion, Phil is a real County Hero and an absolute credit to the club.
