Simon Barnes

Left Midfielder - Stockport County U18
30 Sep 2026
Wednesday
Process

Marked for Simon Barnes

3 Edition

The Stockport County Herald

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Nowhere to hide for Stockport County

0‑3 against Cardiff City, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.

The terraces

The ground has had enough

“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 6 of the 29 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.

Squad

Tempers go at Stockport County

Kyle Wootton was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Player ratings

Malik Mothersille runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Boardroom

Graduation day at Stockport County

4 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.

Squad

Oliver Norwood gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Market

Robert Hall steps up from the Stockport County academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Robert Hall has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

Market

Robert James steps up from the Stockport County academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Robert James has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.

Market

Stockport County promote Richard Smith from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Richard Smith has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

In brief