www.county4life.com

"United's Shit, City's Worst,We Always Put The County First"


***Your Longest Serving Non-Franchised County Website***

COUNTY WEB LINKS

THE "COMPETITION"

The Good, The Bad And The Downright Stupid

This section will be used to review the other players in the Stockport County online circuit, all of the websites have been deeply researched and the reviews will be totally fair.

Anything negative is most likely a bit of banter but if you really have a problem with something that has been written or you would like your website linked and reviewed then please contact me.

STOCKPORT COUNTY.COM - The Official Website known to many as 'COWS' is fantastic for up to date news and the first to confirm breaking news, but it is exactly the same as every other football league club and is full of several dead links and features players that aren't with the club anymore for up to a month after departing the club, features some excellent sections on the club but overall a bit of a let down for the official website of the club.

*** (3 Stars, boosted by the official tag)

STOCKPORT COUNTY TRUST - Just like Don Corleone, this Trust based website is above the law, and whilst it's brought to you through County folk who are uprooting trees in support of keeping The Hatters afloat, then really it can't be criticised. What made this website popular was its sadly defunct message board, which took over from Marions Board temporarily when the Trust were attempting the take over the club. Now it's mission accomplished, the forum moved back to Marions, maybe the popularity of the website would have crumbled? Not really. Some of the stuff on here is more up-to-date than on COWS! Superb, well written and informative, The Trust have a great website here and also recognises County4Life too, labelling it as 'A Well Maintained Fan Site! ****

THE YELLOW BOARD -  Contrary to the belief of the previous reviewer, I am not a fan of Yellowboard, 99% of the 'facts' on there are in fact bollocks and it's not a case of what you know, it's definately a case of who you know, I am not a fan of the idea that to join you must first be 'approved' by someone, what makes them better than any other County fan so they can say who can and can't express their opinions, they are just worried someone will come on a challenge their beliefs and break the big circle-jerk they have going on.

I am being a little unfair in my review as they do have some quality posters on the website and as the previous review said it is something you can just drop in on and have a quick browse during a lunch break but overall a website I am not a fan of but for reasons beyond me it is popular amongst County fans.

*1/2 (One and a half Stars - Poor Effort)

HATTERS MATTERS - H.M. was recently dragged from the Rivals football franchise to be placed on the 'clubfanzine' circuit. This is possibly the best name for a County based web site and now it's freed itself from the dying and unoriginal 'Rivals' franchise after six years. I really like this one. Loads of information here, is (and should be) regularly updated by WebMaster Andy and is really well worth a browse. Has a very lively forum which attracts fans of opposing teams which just adds banter to the website, and as it is relatively new, it still has to be cleaned up, and recently graduated with another Brownie Point as it has now started to recognise its peers. Lovely! ****

COUNTY MATTERS -  Indeed County matters to me too, but when the domain name was up for renewal when Hatters Matters left Rivals for another network, was this the best alternative name they could muster up? I feel sorry for the new editor as he has had to lift what was a very good site that quickly turned sour after Sky moved in and then the young editorial staff upsticks and County Matters was left for dead. In his defence, the editor has turned this page around to something finally worth reading, but at the moment still a tired and flagging fish in the large ocean of County websites. ***

VITAL FOOTBALL - I was kindly offered first dibs when the franchise was up for renewal. After much sleep loss (sic) I declined their kind offer as I thought it wouldn't give me 100% artistic licence with all those horrible pre-defined links and adverts and the usual crap that usually comes with a shitty franchise. Vital may have more hits than others, but let's face it, that's where the similarity ends. If truth be told, it's a poor mans Rivals with very little action on the forum. To the editor's credit he has certainly taken the site forward and developed a well written site but it just plagarizes other sites, which is very loose and lazy journalism (tut tut). Another strange thing here is the links page - where County 4 Life has been snubbed...! **½     

TR'S BOARD - Before, County4Life have (rather cruelly) quoted TR's Board as being "Blue Mercedes" to Marion's "Wham", and although it still a poor relation to The Yellowboard, has rose though the popularity divisions and has now seen more action than Jodie Marsh's thong. It would have very easy to look at Marion's success, lose heart and for TR to pull the plug, but as there is a special bond between their posters and often have quizzes and stuff. 'Nuff respek' for persevering with your project as this is proof there still is a nice niche in the market for another (albeit similar) open forum, although the adverts that litter the forum is still a little annoying. ***½  

STOCKPORT INSIDER - I am a big fan of StockportInsider, Jon has done a very good job for such a young man and I can see big things for the website in future if he can maintain the high standards he has set himself with an impressive online 'debut', Jon needs to lay off the advertisments a bit wherever I go I will see an advert, a bit of subtlty wouldn't go amiss, but overall fantastic effort from Jon, a bit of experience and a bit more maturity will surely see StockportInsider grow into one of the leading County fansites.

****(4 Stars - Excellent Website)

STOCKPORT COUNTY-MAD - fuelled by the Footy-Mad franchise, but before we go tar this with the same brush as the other bastard franchises,.this one is actually very good. Colourful, bright and very easy to navigate, but in my very humble opinion (for what it's worth), SC-M is far too busy...! I realise the pre defined links come with the website and there is loads of stuff on here, but it's not a website you can read in your lunch break. Has changed hands recently but hasn't seemed to have lost any of the va-va-voom. Very well done. ****

COUNTY BLOG - A brand new, all singing, all dancing regularly updated blog, possibly the only blog designated to God's Own team. Devised and written by James Bisphop, who used to be co-editor of County Matters before he and his oppo jumped that nasty franchise shite and went their own separate ways. At the moment the website looks particularly vague, but with a bit more artistry and articles, will be a huge success. James seems like an ambitious bloke, and I'm sure he's glad to had ridded himself of the bastard franchise network. ***½

PEELS ON WHEELS - An age old County establishment, which has been part and parcel of Stockport County Football Club since the days old yore has been the Sir Robert Peel drinking establishment on Castle Street. The Peels On Wheels has arranged alternative transportation to most away games for a num,ber of years but only recently have encroched onto the world wide web. But I hear you ask, 'is this website dedicated to the transportation?' By Jove, no, it is arguably one of the neatest and easiest to read County sites and apart from being 100% County, they also arrange charity functions, like sponsored walks to nearby grounds from EP. Well done to you all...! ****  

STOCKPORT COUNTY LADIES - Some of the more cynical County fans might say that County Ladies are more successful than the fellas and it's true they have made a remarkable rise through the divisions in recent years, but this website isn't just about the first team. What it good about this website is that it focusses on all the levels of the girls from the Juniors to the Ladies First team. The Ladies rarely play at Edgeley Park, so home at the moment is at Lambeth Grove, home of Woodley Sports, but this very good website is a clear indication of where their ambitions lie. ***½  

FANS ONLINE - A new franchise, yet state they are independent, which is a laugh. Yet on closer inspection, this is not only 'just another franchise site', but it's actually a clone of all the others. It has the old Rivals' forum style, the links like Footy-Mad and the annoying adverts like them all. Now, hopefully this relative new County website will fall short of being 'another franchise' and move away with its unique writing and forthright views. The editor has got a lot of hard work to do to bring this site up to scratch. Total dedication and T.L.C. 24/7. ***  

and finally...

COUNTY 4 LIFE - and by no means the least, (warning, own trumpet being blown alert) What is there to say about this award nominated website? Vastly superior to its peers. Updated every day, ever improving, superb reviews, has its controversial Hall Of Shame, and truly is a brilliant read. Ran by Stretford's answer to Ant and Dec. Funny, quick, witty, humourous. Every man wants to be them, and every woman wants to sleep with them. *****