Stockport landed the first psychological blow in the buildup to the League Two playoff final when six-month-old Lottie Simpson pledged her allegiance to the club over Carlisle. Dad Jake is head of performance at County, while Grandad Paul is the manager of their opponents, making Sunday a peculiar family affair at Wembley.
The teams reached the final in dramatic circumstances: Stockport advanced past Salford via penalties after a late equaliser from Jack Stretton, who started the season at Carlisle, while at Brunton Park, Ben Barclay, on loan from County, struck the winner against Bradford in extra time. There is no shortage of links between the two clubs but none is stronger than father and son.
“We bought Lottie a Carlisle babygrow but she’s grown out of it,” Paul says. “I had the sad news that they’ve found a Stockport shirt on eBay that she is going to be wearing, so I am not sure she will be allowed in my house before the match and hopefully I can change her over time.”
Paul is back at his hometown club for a second spell as manager. He was born five minutes from Brunton Park and would go to matches with his dad. “The football was obviously the reason that brought us back but there was also the pull of Jake and his partner, Alice, who were expecting at the time with Lottie,” Paul says. “I think it is more special for my family: my parents are 83 and it’s given them a new lease of life. I am quite sure they will enjoy the experience of going to Wembley, not only seeing their son but their grandson on the sidelines.”
Family means everything to both and they live a “stone’s throw” from one another. Paul walked up to the directors’ box at Brunton Park for an emotional embrace with his wife, Jackie, after defeating Bradford. Jackie has made multiple sacrifices to follow her husband, not every player and manager can say the same.
“Jackie and I have been married for 35 years and we’ve had 27 moves,” Paul says, “and the boys always moved with us. It was only at the end when the boys were all old enough, we asked: ‘Did we mess you up by having to move schools and stuff?’ and they said: ‘No, it was a brilliant adventure.’ It has worked out OK when it could have been a disaster.”
In June 2021, Paul was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma, a form of kidney cancer, and had an organ removed. “It hit everybody hard but we all dealt with it really positively. We said from the first phone call: ‘This is going to be a good news story,’ and that’s how I decided to deal with it. I wasn’t prepared to think about the negative, or at least not discuss it.
“If I did have any dark moments, I did them on my own. I know I am a really lucky bloke to have had it diagnosed, treated and it hadn’t spread. It could have been a lot worse. I just try to get on with life now.”
Jake played under his father at Shrewsbury and Stockport, during the season they dropped out of the Football League, in a short-lived playing career. “Some might have thought I’d get some preferential treatment,” Jake says. “I would say he probably went the other way and was tougher on me than others. I was really determined to make a career in football as a player but unfortunately I wasn’t good enough and I’ve come to terms with that over the years.”
Because of Stockport’s financial situation, Jake was playing for free. “As his dad, I was supporting him financially and it wasn’t costing Stockport anything,” Paul says. “We always had this thing that if I was the manager, he couldn’t live at home, so he lived with Dave Timmins, the goalkeeping coach, and then when I got the sack he was quite pleased because then he could move back home.”
Stockport is a completely different club to the one Jake left. They are aiming to leave League Two in the right direction at the first time of asking. “It is unrecognisable,” says Jake. “It wasn’t a great time when I was playing here, so it is nice to go full circle and come back with a new regime. If anyone has watched any footage in the past two seasons, the place is bouncing and it has a real ambition to keep moving forward. It’s a really exciting place to work.”
Paul’s parents, Jackie and Jake’s brothers, Joe and Dominic, will be at the final but Lottie is too young. The family met for a Chinese takeaway at Jake’s house after the semi-finals and a drink will be shared at Wembley but on this occasion only one will be celebrating.
“I am incredibly proud of what he has achieved in his career but when it comes to Sunday’s game, I am really hoping that he’s not got a smile on his face at the end,” Paul says. The feeling is mutual.
