Stockport County knock-on effect is obvious after Paddy Madden news: View | OneFootball

Stockport County's announcement that captain Paddy Madden will not renew his contract ahead of the new season has sent shockwaves through the Hatters fanbase and means that a new candidate for the captaincy must be selected.

Madden arrived at Edgeley Park in March 2021, while the club was still in the National League, and became a pivotal figure in the subsequent two promotions that have now seen the club enter the third tier.

Both his goals and leadership were pivotal in the club's triumph in League Two, and it will now need to be decided who will fill that void as the club steps into League One.

It appears that County's initial plan was to keep Madden on, as the announcement states that the two parties "could not come to a satisfactory agreement" over a new contract, so selecting a new captain may have been an unexpected task until recently for manager Dave Challinor.

Another departure further complicates matters

At 34 years old and with several attacking options at the club, Madden was not guaranteed a placing in the starting XI, particularly at the beginning of the 2023/24 season.

That meant that a strong deputy was required, and he came in the form of Ryan Croasdale this season, who captained the side on multiple occasions in Madden's absence and even jointly lifted the trophy with the Irishman at the end of the season.

Often, when a captain leaves a club, the baton is naturally passed down to the vice-captain and barely warrants a second thought. However, County's released and retained list confirmed that Croasdale will also depart the club on the expiry of his contract this summer.

Aside from anything they offered on the pitch, it leaves a clear leadership void in the Edgeley Park dressing room and new leaders will need to be established quickly by Challinor.

The new candidate appears clear

Despite the departure of that duo, County do still have a number of senior figures capable of leading on and off the pitch, so Challinor will not be short of options when it comes to appointing a new captain.

One clear candidate for the job is Fraser Horsfall, who has become a pivotal character at Edgeley Park since arriving in the summer of 2022.

The 27-year-old is senior enough among the squad to take the role and his leadership on the pitch is clear for all to see. He did on occasion pull on the armband for his previous club, Northampton Town, so he has some experience of what the job requires.

Another candidate who could stake a claim to the captaincy is Antoni Sarcevic, who has already been vice-captain in previous seasons and was club captain at League One outfit Bolton Wanderers before he joined County, so has extensive experience both in the role and at this level.

Sarcevic's contract is set to expire this summer. Negotiations for an extension are still ongoing, so it remains to be seen whether he will still be at Edgeley Park for the start of the new season but, should the 32-year-old remain, both he and Horsfall look likely to be the frontrunners for the gig, and the centre-back may just edge it on account of the consistency of his playing time.

The loss of Madden will be felt on multiple fronts next season

Losing Madden means also losing the squad's most prominent leader, but more than that, the former County captain also proved this season his innate ability to find a goal when the pressure's on, when it really matters.

His goals in the latter half of this season are undoubtedly what dragged County over the line, and they will need to find a replacement for that instinctive goalscoring ability coupled with the temperament to shoulder all the pressure in a crunch fixture.

Even harder to replace is the Irishman's connection to the fans and the town, displayed for all to see in the replies to his statement put out to fans when news of his departure was announced.

Madden has extensive experience in the third tier, something that would have been key for guiding the club into the level for the first time in over a decade, making contract renewals for the likes of Sarcevic and signings with League One experience or higher all the more important.

The shock departure of Madden means a new captain will be required to fill his shoes. That is no easy task, but thankfully for Challinor, there are already a couple of natural candidates inside Edgeley Park.