STRUGGLING Stockport County are to get a loan in the region of £180,000 from their cash-strapped council – the loan being secured against money due from Town connected to the transfer of winger Anthony Pilkington in 2009.
The Blue Square Premier outfit are to be offered the cash to help them through a financial crisis after negotiations with leaders at Stockport Council.
The council’s Lib Dem executive agreed to the loan, which is not interest-free, and it is expected to be repaid when a sell-on clause from the transfer of Pilkington to Town is due in August.
Blackburn-born winger Pilkington left County for the Galpharm Stadium in 2009 and the 23-year-old has since moved to Premier League side Norwich City in a seven-figure deal plus add-ons. He netted in Saturday’s 3-2 win at Swansea.
A council insider at Stockport said there was ‘no risk’ attached to the loan, adding: “It’s going to help Stockport County out of a massive hole and help them strive and thrive until the autumn.
“Next season they start a big fightback.
“It sends a message to the town that the council and community are supporting them and are proud and will help their survival. This club have been here over 100 years and the council support them.”
The move is the latest in a long line of attempts to prop up the club.
Since going into administration three years ago after defaulting on a £300,000 bill, they have suffered a string of relegations and failed takeovers.
In 2010, the council paid £80,000 to have its logo on shirts, matchday advertising and programmes in a bid to keep the club going. Last summer, a political row scuppered another similar deal, worth £40,000, when opposition groups refused to support it.
Finance councillor and deputy leader, Clr Sue Derbyshire, said the council was working with the club’s chairman Chris Bramall and the club’s community foundation to bring County on to a ‘viable financial footing’.
She said: “The presence of a professional football club within the borough is of significant importance.
“There are great benefits to the town. Apart from the significant local pride it fosters, the business it generates, particularly on matchdays, helps Stockport businesses to thrive, bucking the national trend.
“We are committed to doing all that we can to ensure that Stockport County has a long future.
“This loan brings the council a commercial return for its money and is fully secured against a transfer payment due from another football club later in the year and is guaranteed by the Football League. This will be at no cost to the Stockport Council tax payer.”
