Former County midfielder Greg Tansey sat down with Sam Byrne of the Stockport Express recently to talk about his time at Edgeley Park, and reflect on a long playing career in England and Scotland.
As football fans go, Stockport County have taken more than their fair share of blows over the years. From record-low points totals to double relegations (and many more in the years surrounding those relegations) – although the fans themselves will be sick of being bashed over the head by the stats.
But one thing which may get overlooked amidst the trials and tribulations of following your club is the impact it can have on the players at the heart of the struggle on the pitch.
If not the players clearly out to make a quick buck before a customary show of thanks to the supporters on social media and a swift exit, then definitely the players who desperately want success for their club and feel every blow along with the fans surrounding them in the stands.
While fans of a struggling team may think that the latter are few and far between, one who certainly fits the bill is the recently-retired Greg Tansey – once a box-to-box, goalscoring youngster at Edgeley Park who rose through the ranks to take his place in a hugely promising, youthful County side.
From Michael Raynes, Luca Havern and James Vincent, to Tansey and Tommy Rowe – a youth set-up led by the likes of Craig Madden, Alan Lord, Peter Ward and overseen by manager Jim Gannon helped Tansey cut his teeth as a professional.
“Coaching definitely had a massive effect for us. There’s an element of luck because we had a group of really good players, and we were touted at the club as being a group to look out for from the age of 14 or so.”
“When you combine that ability the group already had with the guidance of Alan Lord and Peter Ward at the time, it’s going to go well. They were fantastic for me personally, they set high standards – and if you didn’t meet them, they’d tell you!”
“I’m always grateful to them for that, and I think that coaching really drilled into us from a young age the mentality you’d need to get out there and reach those standards. We then went on to have Craig Madden, who really guided us into that set-up of being an apprentice and looking up towards the first team squad with an eye on making your debut.”
Tansey’s stock continued to rise with a Man of the Match display in the Alliance Cup final – scoring two spectacular goals against Colchester in a resounding 6-2 win at Edgeley Park. The final itself captured the imagination of the town at the time, and with the club starting to succeed on the pitch under the guidance of Gannon, Tansey seized the opportunity in front of a big crowd.
“As a youngster, it’s a huge learning curve. I was loyal to the boys I’d grown up with at County, and for Craig Madden who I just wanted to run through brick walls for – we all did. But the reason we’re all there is we want to play in the first team. Being involved in the first team gave me confidence, and when I then played in the youth team again, I was always looking to make sure people watching knew I was a pro!”
Tansey made national news shortly after his introduction to the County fans, when European champions Liverpool came in for both he and winger Ryan Crowther. Whilst Crowther took the opportunity to move to Anfield, Tansey opted to stay at Edgeley Park.
At a time where many leading clubs were looking down the pyramid for the next big star, Tansey’s rejection of the Reds was a big talking point – and Tansey himself admits that the decision is one that still gives him food for thought to this day.
“You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t, in terms of a move like that. If I’m looking back now, I’d probably say to myself to give it a go and really test myself. It’s a hugely difficult one even now because I was at Stockport from a really young age – but purely because I didn’t do it during my career, then I’d maybe give it a go and would like to think that with the coaching and development you’d have in place, that I’d have done well.”
“It’s one of those things where you’d like to think you could even get a loan move to a club slightly lower down the pyramid than Liverpool and show what you can do – but with the added development in place that you’d get at a club like that, who knows how things would pan out? I definitely don’t regret staying (at County).”
Although Tansey’s later days at the club ended in on-field struggles, the former Altrincham loanee is clear on the positive effect Gannon and company had on his future career.
“Jim was very good for my career. He gave me my debut, which is something you really are always grateful for, and really helped me come along as a young player.”
“I think everyone’s circumstances are different– those who have had issues with him, you look at it and think that maybe their time at the club wasn’t successful. And there were probably deeper issues as to why they didn’t enjoy their time at the club or do well than just who the manager was.”
“But Jim’s coaching really stood me in good stead for the rest of my career. Jim has a very tactically-aware style, just a very good footballing coach – and he can also mix it up in terms of ‘having a go’ when it needs to be done, and also having a quiet word and encouraging you. It was a really good blend of coaching styles at the club with him and Peter Ward.”
Tansey became a regular in the County line-up over the following two seasons – seasons in which County ultimately tumbled out of the Football League.
Although the attacking midfielder topped the Hatters’ scoring charts in the club’s final campaign in the Football League, Tansey admits the feat meant “very little”.
“When the financial troubles hit, I was only 20. I found it so tough, especially being so young and inexperienced, to just be thrown in at the deep end of a crisis, really. It was a huge baptism of fire for me.”
“I’d been there as a child, so it really was something where I just wanted to win us games and help us drag ourselves out of the trouble we ended up in on the pitch.”
Hosting Northampton at Edgeley Park, County needed a result to give themselves a sniff of preserving their League Two status – stumbling only to a 2-2 draw.
Tansey, then a creative midfielder, almost ended the day as the hero, crashing in a stunning long-range strike late in the game to bring The Hatters back into the tie, before sending a last-gasp free-kick an inch wide of the far post.
That fateful last kick of the game sealed County’s fate, on a day of which Tansey holds some unhappy memories. One particular image which is often used to illustrate the club’s misfortune at the time is of Tansey in tears at full-time – something which the ex Inverness man says he “never wanted to hide away from”.
“That game sums up my whole time at Stockport. It was so up and down. I didn’t even think about the goal. The club was in such a bad state, and I put it on my shoulders to help us out of it. My main memory is regretting missing the free-kick at the end.”
“Our fate was sealed, and the goal meant little to me until a few years later when I could watch it back. I just wanted to keep the club up. Everything Stockport and the fans represent is a Football League club. I was just gutted and couldn’t hide my emotion, and to be honest, I didn’t want to hide it. I’ve never been one to shirk away from showing my feelings, and I think fans resonate with that. We’re just normal lads out on the pitch, we’re no different to the fans as people.”
With Tansey now studying for coaching and scouting qualifications, the 31-year-old says he’s taking inspiration from a popular figure at Stockport over the years – former manager, Chief Scout and now Head of Youth Development, Alan Lord.
Tansey also reveals a particular goal in his future career that he’d “absolutely love” to achieve.
“I’m working on my coaching and scouting badges, aiming to have that boxed off within the next year. To be honest, I’ve always thought I’d like to be back at Stockport and be a part of coaching the young kids. I think it would be great for me personally after being a part of the club’s struggles to really help in passing on my experiences and my guidance to youngsters, to help the club fly back up the leagues.”
“I’d love to be a scout, too. Something like what Alan Lord has done is really what I’d love, in being able to combine the two. I think over the career of a footballer, if you’ve had the right coaching and the right support early on, you can really spot a player throughout your career, and I’d love to do that. I’m currently going through my badges for both, and I want to have them sorted within a year.”
“Alan Lord has had a huge impact on Stockport over the years, bringing players in from non-league for not much money and helping turn them into brilliant players, both for the club and elsewhere. I’d love to do something like that combined with coaching – I think coaching the Under 14 and Under 15 sort of age group is really important in terms of when you start to get your apprenticeship, and I’d love to focus on that.”
“I’ve lived and breathed football all my life, and I’m definitely feeling ready to get back into it now – and in terms of Stockport, who knows? Like I say, I’d love to be back one day.”
Full credit for the article goes to Sam Byrne of the Stockport Express. You can read the full interview with Greg Tansey over on Sam’s blog, County Files, by clicking here.
