“Third Time Lucky in the Trophy? County Head Back to Wembley”
With County heading to Wembley again, this time for the final of the Vertu Trophy, thoughts obviously turn to our previous trips there, particularly in this competition.
With all the name changes it’s gone through and the often misguided attempts to improve the format in search of relevance, it’s easy to lose track of its history and our part in it.
Going back to the 1960s and 70s there was a desire from clubs in the lower leagues for a competition that would give them a chance of a trophy and a trip to a Wembley final. After a brief flirtation with the Football League Group Cup, itself a replacement for the Anglo-Scottish Cup, the Associate Members’ Cup began in the 1983-84 season.
The creation of the Premier League in 1992 caused a name change to the Football League Trophy and in 2016 it gained its current title of the EFL Trophy.
The competition gained its first sponsor in 1984, becoming the Freight Rover Trophy. Since then, it’s had periods as the Sherpa Van Trophy, Leyland DAF Cup, Autoglass Trophy, Auto Windscreen Shield, LDV Vans Trophy, Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, Checkatrade Trophy, Leasing.com Trophy, Papa Johns Trophy, Bristol Street Motors Trophy and now, the one we’ll be aiming to win next month, the Vertu Trophy.
As all County fans of a certain age will remember, we’ve reached the final twice before, in 1992 against Stoke City and 1993 against Port Vale, losing by the odd goal on both occasions. It would be good to exorcise some of those memories by winning the thing this time.
At the time of writing, our opponents in the final, Luton Town, have sold over 32,000 tickets for the final, a total we’re unlikely to match for a number of reasons.
There has been some dissatisfaction among our fanbase with the ticketing arrangements for the game, the main complaint being the inability to choose particular seats. This is a step backwards; the facility existed for the playoff final against Carlisle and some fans have resorted to contorted methods to game the system and secure the seats they wanted.
There has also been confusion around which blocks are reserved for families. It would be a great pity if our attendance at a great occasion was limited by shortcomings in the club’s ticketing system. These and other issue have been raised with the club by the Co-op and are still under discussion.
Above all, though, the day itself offers another chance for County to write a new and happier chapter at Wembley, one that fans can remember with pride for years to come.
Tickets for Wembley are available from;
https://tickets.stockportcounty.com/match-tickets/7f231c9b-0049-4c98-b1fc-a1c4d6ce7d46