Chester Chronicle - Deva Fever

The "Fit & Proper" rollercoaster continues!

2009-11-12T10:17:12Z

Yet again it's been a busy week in the history of Chester City Football Club!

With just four days to go until the Conference & Football League meet to decide on the future of the club, we now hear that Stephen Vaughan has been disqualified from acting as a company director for 11 years - now I'm not going in to the ins and outs of that, but it does appear that Stephen Vaughan is losing his grip on CCFC.

Something has to give soon, there is the possibility that Stephen Vaughan Junior or even James Vaughan could become majority shareholders in the club, if Vaughan Senior is forced to sell at least 70% of his shares, that opens up a whole new can of worms as to whether that is still being involved indirectly with the control of the club.

I hope for their own sakes that Stephen Junior and James do not have this thrust onto them, it's the last thing we, the fans want, and I'm sure it's not an ideal situation for them either.

Can you imagine if your father put a loss making company in your own name, consider your own credit status, this will surely not only fail the "Fit & Proper Persons" test that the FA are investigating, but also fail the "Fit & Proper Father" test, as I'd go ballistic if my Dad was forcing a company onto me that was forecasting to lose half a million in the next year!

On the pitch things had been improving with those three BSP wins propelling us to within four points of the magical "zero" point, and the Wimbledon game was a joy to watch, with both teams going all out for the win, and despite the chants of "Going Down & Going Bust" from the Womble fans - who should know better - it was still a good atmosphere inside the ground for the first time in ages!

I was actually down in the big smoke over the weekend, sadly not at the Grays match, but having a weekend of leisure, so I was glued to the texts & internet on my phone, and was so pleased when I saw that Nick Chadwick had put us 3-1 up, that being the clincher of the points, how spoilt are we to experience three league wins on the bounce?

We did of course come down to earth on Tuesday night at York, but we'll excuse them for that one, as a lot of us thought York may prove to be too much at this stage, but hopefully we can do a job on Tamworth on Saturday, and get to within touching distance of that big "zero"!

It's also been a busy couple of weeks with the CFU and Junior Blues too, as membership applications have been flowing through at a pace, and with the online applications now being taken, we are expecting a lot more to fly through!

So, what's next in this rollercoaster of a season?

Oh yes, the simple question, will we have a club in five days time?

Two sweet victories bring smile to the Exiles

2009-11-10T14:01:17Z

I'd almost forgotten what it felt like to enjoy watching a Chester game - then suddenly I get greedy and watch two wins in a row, with an amazing six goals scored by the Blues!

The victory against AFC Wimbledon was the sweetest one for me, as I've lived in Wimbledon for eight years and it felt like my own derby match. In the week that followed, I have to admit to singing Chester chants in my head as I drove through Wimbledon town centre every day to and from work. It's probably not an urge that many would understand!

As if that wasn't good enough, I then watched City play a great game of football at Grays to secure another three points. Away victories really do feel like something more personal as they're often in front of 100 or so lucky Chester fans - the chosen few.

It was tremendous to see some smiling faces on the away terrace at Grays as City played one-touch, attractive, football. I can't remember such a dreamy display since the days of Keith Curle, and it's not something I ever thought I'd see this season.

Aside from seeing a City win, and catching up with some fellow Exiles, my day was capped off by Jim Harvey and most of the players dropping into the Grays social club after the match. Gentleman Jim came over for a chat with the group of Exiles who'd made the effort to troupe round the ground in search of the bar. His enthusiasm is infectious and in his cheery Northern Irish brogue, he told us he believes City can actually stay up.

Well, if they can maintain the form they showed in the last two games, that prospect does not look impossible. But we have to be realistic and not forget that Chester are still on minus four points and life off the football field is far from rosey.

Madowl Blue's last blog about "Papering Over the Cracks" is also very valid. Chester may have applied two huge tubs of Polyfilla in the last two matches, but I think the walls are still flakey. Another away win tonight will see more cracks covered over. But a full-time York City team who have just knocked Crewe out of the FA Cup are a different proposition from a team of part-timers watched by less than 500. I've feeling Jim may be queuing up at B&Q for more Polyfilla before Saturday's next awayday at Tamworth.

Papering over the cracks

2009-11-02T21:45:58Z

Hello, Madowl Blue here. I'm back and I'm grumpy.

Since my last entry (back in the somehow-less-gloomy time of February this year), Chester City have plunged down into the root of the Blue Square Premier about as quickly as its dignity, having its good name dragged through acres of mud during the off-season.

The latest chapter has been the miserable, yet somehow fully-deserved, 0-4 thrashing against Barrow to deny the club an FA Cup 1st round draw, and more crucially, the revenue such a cup tie could have brought.

For Barrow, it was poetic justice to get revenge on Stephen Vaughan, who had effectively brought their club to the brink of extinction before he moved on to bigger and better things. Like saving Chester City. Lucky us...

And so, following a dismal performance and anger at the way a couple of protesting City fans were treated during the match, a protest movement was organised at short notice. A mobilised, united force to meet outside Chester Town Hall, marching valiantly toward the Deva Stadium with a clear protest message against the way the club is being run.

Except it all fizzled out quite quickly.

Maybe it was the short notice given to fans, maybe it was because the march didn't have the backing of the newly-formed City Fans United (who understandably don't want to jeopardise any potential future negotiations with Stephen Vaughan), maybe it was because City fans have been too apathetic about the situation (feeling numb from too many defeats and broken promises over the years), or maybe because, most unlikely of all, the club played excellently against AFC Wimbledon!

But let's not kid ourselves. True, Chester reduced their points deduction to 'only' -7 with a convincing 3-1 win over AFC Wimbledon, another club whose fans know full well what it's like to go through the hard times. It also meant it was the first back-to-back league wins for 99 matches, and means Chester's run of form recently looks in decent shape. Compared to Liverpool, anyway.

But all of this means diddily-squat if the club faces further sanctions or even expulsion from the Conference if it doesn't cough up the money needed to pay two outstanding debts by Monday, November 16. Fans can't suddenly think everything's all wonderful at the Deva again because Chester City is now only 16 points behind 23rd slot. Sorry to burst the bubble like that, but it's a harsh reality.

And what's available if the club can't pay up? City Fans United have already admitted they won't be in a position to do much if the club folds tomorrow, instead building up a 'war chest' for a possible August 2010 bid. Besides that, there's only the slim chance a potential buyer for the club is found in the meantime, with (an even skinnier chance) Vaughan prepared to reduce the club's asking price.

Until then, future protest movements need to be focused and simple. Saturday's involved too many stages and too much of a timetable, and so not many bothered. For the fans, a simple statement such as the red card distribution idea would get the message across more succinctly and more easily. Just a thought.

How low can Chester City go?

2009-10-29T10:29:52Z

The economic forecasters keep saying that Britain has reached the trough of the recession and is to climb out. Well I'm now wondering if the same is true of Chester City - has it reached the low point with the only way being up?

When last night's 4-0 defeat sank in, I honestly don't think I have ever felt so low about my team since they were relegated to the Conference back in the Terry Smith era.

I'd actually been quite optimistic about the Cup replay and cheerfully carried on with a long-planned night out in Fulham. My companions including three followers of Premier League teams, who barely even realised that the FA Cup road to Wembley had started.

One of my fellow revellers was a Hull City fan and she told us about her recent visit to watch Fulham v Hull. It's hard to think that it's not long since we were playing both those teams in the same division - but now the only hope for Chester to get something out of the season wrested on a home match against Barrow in the 4th qualifying round of the FA Cup.

Thankfully I could concentrate on my night out until around 9.15pm when my phone bleeped three times in the space of five minutes - and it was not good news each time. It felt like City's season was over for me and by the time the 4th Barrow goal came, I had no choice but to sink another pint.

It was a sad tube journey home as I reflected on Chester's plight and it felt like a kick in the teeth when I arrived at Wimbledon station to be confronted with dozens of AFC Wimbledon revellers celebrating their FA Cup victory against Crawley.

Ironically Chester's next match is against AFC Wimbledon - not a league match I ever seriously expected to see when I joined the pro-AFC Wimbledon marches seven or so years ago. I'm sure the AFC Wimbledon fans will know that the footballing community supported them in their campaign, and I hope they will do the same for us now the tables are turned. Chester needs all the help it can get to help it rise out of the current trough - but it can be done!

Remember, Remember, the 16th November!

2009-10-29T07:57:56Z

Is everyone else feeling as low as I am this week about our beloved football club?

We've seen the club flick from one disaster to another recently, and the latest one was on Tuesday night in the FA Cup, when hopes of reaching not only the first round, but second round also, were blown to pieces by Barrow - ironically, the club, Stephen Vaughan dragged into liquidation.

It must have been sweet revenge for all those from Barrow on Tuesday night, and nobody can deny that they certainly got the game by the scruff of the neck in the second half, and as soon as the first goal went in, there was never going to be any other outcome than a Barrow win.

I certainly didn't feel at 9.14pm when the game was awaiting its first goal that we would be sitting there four minutes later with us being 3-0 down, and of course worse to follow, as O2 made a packet out of me texting friends not at the game the latest score!

We've all experienced some bad times in the past 20 years, but there is no doubting that this is the lowest point in the club's history, with everyone unsure if we will make the 125th anniversary of Chester City Football Club next year. If we don't, then it's a travesty.

Plan A is more like Plan Z right now, as the club lurches from one crisis to the next, with the fans being told one week that the creditors have been paid, only to then hear the following week that we haven't actually paid them, and we are being threatened with expulsion from the League we fought so hard to get out of 5 years ago.

It's clear to see that the decision to defer to November 16th, was agreed based on the fact that City would have had gate money from the Barrow match, as well as the Eastleigh game should City have made it through to the 2nd Round, it would also have taken into account the potential for a 2nd Round draw to a bigger side, meaning more money coming in via gate receipts - that though is now all non existent thanks to the thumping dished out by Barrow.

Sadly, after the other night, I have spoken to so many people who are simply refusing to return to the Deva until the current regime is gone, and sadly, that could mean they never get the chance to see Chester City in action again.

After the match the other night, I sat there thinking about past times, when City were up against it, the match at Stoke where Chester had to win & did, with the late & great Harry McNally quoted as saying "If we go down with 53 points, I'll cut my own throat", or the time when we played our last match at Sealand Road thanks to Eric Barnes, and sitting on the pitch singing "We shall not be moved" after beating Rotherham 2-0, or even the times at Moss Rose where we played for 2 years, how agonising it was to begin a bus journey at 12.30pm from the old ground, travelling a round trip of 90 miles, watching the game, and returning on the bus back to the old ground at 7pm - all for a home game.

It was hard, but we did it, and did it with pride - those at the club were still battling for it's survival - and that is where the current regime differs - the fight to keep the club up was non existent last season, and it appears this season too, and only a desire to drag things out as long as possible for their own benefit seems to be the order of the day.

The Conference will of course make their own minds up on November 16th, along with the Football League, and Chester City's future will be determined by a select few.

Talk recently has been of course about a phoenix club starting up, well that is the last thing we all want to see, we want the history of Chester City FC to continue - just with new owners.

An away win at last!!

2009-10-18T18:44:23Z

How refreshing it is to be starting this week's Blog with a win to talk about!

Before the season, a double over Gateshead would have been pretty much expected, however arrogant that sounds, anything less would have been seen as a failure on the part of Chester City.

However, since the belated start of our season, expectations of wins have gone out of the window, with us more hoping we'll take 3 points rather than expecting to.

The doubts did creep in on Thursday prior to Saturday's game, when Daryl Clare signed for Geordie boys, but thankfully he allegedly signed an agreement to not score against City for his new club - nice touch that DC!

So, Jimmy Harvey managed to get off the mark with a win, which coincided with his return to the dugout. I did have to laugh when Shane from Dee 106 told me last week that Harvey was indeed banned from the touchline, great hey, a new manager, who can't really manage on the day!

Now that we've managed to make it Lucky Seven on the away trips, let's hope that we can clinch back to back league (or non league) wins for the first time since 1947, and we can see off AFC Wimbledon on October 31st - maybe the witches will arrive early and turn the Deva into a cauldron of noise in the afternoon!

It's the FA Cup to look forward to next weekend, and despite us not being in the First round just yet, it still brings back memories of the Cup matches we've had down the years - I don't care what anyone says, the magic of the FA Cup is still there - maybe not with the big teams, but for us it is.

Remember those days where we reached the 4th Round, and after beating Wrexham in the snow in their own back yard, we played Sheffield Wednesday at Sealand Road - i remember the place went made when John Kelly stuck one away in the 7th minute - dreams of Wembley started to increase, but then Lee Chapman got the Owls back on level terms - although I'm still convinced it was a foul!

What about the time when we saw Bradford & Hull off, and the prize was a ruddy trip to Plymouth, that was a day and a half, all the way down on the coach, being stuck on the away end, with it chucking it down, losing to a 84th minute goal, then being kept in the ground for 20 minutes after the final whistle, to then being taken on a trek through the Argyle stand just to get back to our own coach.

Having got back on it, most people were portraying the image of a human sponge, and I remember quite a few of us just sat there with boxers on, having whipped the soaking wet jeans off - and then a nice 6 hour journey home - they were the days hey??

Let's hope City can get the win we all badly want up at Barrow, it will certainly be an interesting day for our owner that's for sure.

It's a huge week this week too for City Fans United, as firstly, the Chester City ISA meet tomorrow night to vote on whether to become part of the CFU along with the Supporters Trust, who have already voted in favour of that, then Thursday night, sees the formal launch of the CFU at Divas Show Bar on Station Road (8pm ko), when hopefully they'll be a great turnout for what we hope will be a great Supporters Group, and one that will have a say in the future running of Chester City FC.

In recent weeks, I've been working on contacting ex-Blues to appear on the Legends Night in December, and I'll reveal some of the names hoping to come along on December 3rd, and there are some belters in there!

That's it for now, so City boys, go and get that win in Barrow, so we can be part of the First Round Draw, when who knows, we could end up drawing Wrexham if they are lucky enough to get past FC Halifax - come on the Shaymen!

Getting the passion back in following Chester City

2009-10-15T14:48:23Z

This time last week I said that for this blog to be more uplifting I needed Chester to get three points against Rushden as well as a decent draw in the 4th qualifying round of the FA Cup. Well, you know what's coming next.....

First Chester lost at home to Rushden and had two players sent off. Then Lady luck didn't bring them a good cup draw either - a tie away at Barrow does not exactly fire my imagination.

I'm actually beginning to wonder if I'm a jinx, or perhaps that's true of all City supporters these days. Does anyone know of any other existing team who is having it harder than us?........No, I thought not.

I actually started my Chester-supporting career during what I thought was a time of real adversity - when City were exiled at Macclesfield. Although it was a crisis era, the fans, players and management were passionate and united - and that was what made the matches all the more thrilling for me.

That united front of passion seems to have all but disappeared these days. Although I've yet to attend a home match this season from what I hear, they sound like depressing and soul-less affairs. They're hardly tempting for any half-interested football fan who wants to kill a couple of hours, and just may return if he or she enjoys the experience.

The impending launch of City Fans United couldn't have come at a better time and I hope everyone gets onboard. The Exiles committee have been talking all week about what we can do to help. It could be our last chance to play a part in keeping our club alive.

Meanwhile, another aspect of my City-supporting life got back underway this week. Yes, the Chester Exiles darts season is about to begin, and we kicked off this week with a pre-season friendly against a West End pub team who randomly found us after an internet search.

The fixture was at our home pub, the City Retreat (honest, that really is its name) and although we lost 7-4 we didn't disgrace ourselves. To make it even better, yours truly started the season well with the winning dart in the opening team game to give us a 1-0 lead.

Next up in the darts is a League Three game against the exiles of Plymouth Argyle. Before that, there's the matter of Chester playing away at Gateshead on Saturday. I've got used to feeling pessimistic about almost every Chester game this season. Come on boys, prove me wrong this time!

I want my old Chester City FC back!

2009-10-09T11:37:41Z

So, another week in the life of a Chester fan passes by, a no score draw against nine men, a newspaper report claiming that we have six weeks to live, another Manager installed at the Deva, and the worst thing of all....I've got that killer bug, known as Man Flu.

So, I'm drugged up to the eye balls with Lemsips & Beechams typing this blog, so please forgive me if this blog goes off at a tangent somewhere, and I start singing songs by The Doors!

So, Jimmy Harvey is the latest man to sit on the much used ejection seat inside the Managers office at the Deva Stadium, it's just got to be like that one in Austin Powers that Doctor Evil uses - it's been tipped up that much recently, the hinges are starting to get a little bit stressed, a bit like your average Chester fan, although I think we're a bit further down the stress line don't you?

Back on subject, I hope that Jimmy Harvey does well in the hot seat, it's clearly a poisoned chalice, but I hope he can make good of it, though recent history at the club suggests otherwise.

So the Blues then failed to see off the nine men of Hayes & Yeading last saturday, and that evoked memories of the late Derek Mann's nine men of 1995, where City famously pulled a draw from the jaws of a potential drubbing, on a drama filled night at the Racecourse in that place up the A483.

What a night that was, Gary Bennett, who I used to idolise both at Sealand Road & Moss Rose (and of course later at the Deva), in the side for the Goats, and having a penalty saved by Dave Felgate (**** tash as he used to get called by the opposing supporters when taking a goal kick), then "Eddie Eddie Eddie" Bishop put us one up from the spot to send us joyous Blues mad in the away end.

It was of course all to change later in the half as City then managed to end up 2-1 down just 15 minutes later, and thanks to some appaling refereeing at the Racecourse - hmmm, now there's an unusual thing as far as derby games go - we ended up having not one, but two players sent off before the break, and the language was pretty choice from the stands after that one minute of lunacy from the ref.

So, we expected a barrage in the second half, but the Chester lads kept on fighting to the end, to stop it being a humiliating night for us Blues fans, but then they surpassed everyones expectations, and most especially Andy Milner, who levelled things up late on after a great solo run!

Even then, the Wrexham thought they'd won it with Bennett scoring in the last minute, but an obvious foul on Felgate was spotted (amazingly) by the linesman (ahh that would explain it) and City held on to gain an unlikely draw - a moral victory for the Blues.

All that proved that you should never give up on Chester City, and as low as we are at the moment, we, the fans, can save Chester City Football Club.

It's going to be a hard slog, but we can do it, I want my old club back, the one where I used to get so revved up for on matchdays, singing songs til I was blue in the face, and getting behind the lads from start to finish.

Many fans have fallen out of love with the club (and in particular it's owners), but one day we will get Chester City that we all knew & loved, back.

One day.

Now where's them Lemsip's again!

Football under the flightpath

2009-10-08T14:28:07Z

How ironic that my last blog talked about being prepared to watch football at a much lower level than current expectations as I watched a match (Leatherhead v Lewes) amongst a crowd of around 300 spectators.

I should've realised that I'd actually only have a few days to wait before watching Chester with just 350 other fans.

Our visit to Hayes and Yeading really was a stark reminder of what it looks like we'll be facing next season. It was apparent right from arriving at the Church Road ground - as soon as I saw there was just one turnstile for both home and away fans, I realised this was going to be a bit of a reality check.

Still, there was no problem chosing my spec, nor where to hang our Exiles banner so the planes taking off from nearby Heathrow could spot a little bit of West London that had been temporarily claimed by a bunch of Cestrians.

A small crowd does have its advantages.

However, it was impossible for us to generate any atmosphere to cheer on the Blue Boys. Three of us bought football rattles along to help create some noise.

It was ironic that my rattle was given to me nearly a year ago at Gillingham (it actually has the date printed on it!). How times have changed for Chester in less than 12 months - Church Road felt a million miles from the Priestfield Stadium.

I did my best to encourage the team, but the ball seemed to be more attracted to the woodwork than the back of the net.

Apart from a couple of near misses, the highlight of the first half was a Hayes penalty that was so far off the mark that it almost interfered with the Heathrow flightpath.

The arrival of half-time gave me another reminder of what can go on at this level of football, as both sets of fans calmly walked past each other and swapped ends.

By the time Hayes had had their second player red-carded, Chester were really going for goal. I've no idea how it remained 0-0, but the 200-odd Hayes and Yeading fans were certainly relieved when the final whistle blew.

The City players were too deflated to thank the travelling fans, and I knew how they felt. It was a dispiriting 90 minutes and new manager Jim Harvey clearly has an uphill task ahead.

For my next blog to be more uplifting, I'll need Chester to get three points on Saturday, plus a great draw in the 4th qualifying round of the FA Cup. I'm beginning to think a good Cup campaign will be this season's only saviour.

What a difference a week can make!

2009-10-02T13:52:23Z

What a seven days hey?

Last Friday I was busy looking forward (if you can call it that) to a humiliating defeat at Wrexham, and amazingly the players put in a battling show rather than a display of shexhy football, but gave all they could bar the odd miss or two, and went back down the A483 with a point, a bonus really as I thought we'd get a hammering!

The banter between both sets of fans INSIDE the ground was pretty good too, it's the one away game where everyone really lets their hair down, and even though we had half the support compared to our last trip there, we certainly made a hell of a noise in the away end / home end, whatever they want to call it!

Had Gregg Blundell had his shooting boots on we could have stole the points, and maybe if the referee hadn't blown up like an annoying car alarm when Nick Chadwick scored a clearly legimate goal - even Sgorio on S4C showed it to be a legal challenge - and yes I did check their subtitles, they glossed over it so much, even the great Rolf Harris would have been proud!

To have been robbed of a goal there is no surprise, we've been done many times before on their patch, but I must admit I was shocked at how poor Wrexham were - I'll end the derby report on that happy note!

Then on Tuesday, just when we all thought it safe to expect a City win against Forest Green, you could see the tumbleweed flying past the Deva as the Blues failed to turn up in what must go down as one of the worst 45 minutes ever witnessed at the Deva Stadium - I turned to my niece who I'd brought down for the first time and told her that I'd be bringing her for the next 30 years so she could taste the pain for herself!!

Even the post match interview with Mick Wadsworth went disastrously, with the wife ringing my mobile not once, but twice, whilst in the middle of questioning him - ah well, I guess it doesn't matter a jot now, but little did I know I'd get the last interview with him prior to his sacking.

That alone made my blood boil on Wednesday morning, we all know who should be walking out the doors of the Deva, and it isn't Mick Wadsworth - one man has made countless wrong decisions when it comes to appointing managers, and he has to take full responsibility in this respect. 11 Managers sacked in 7 years?

It's about time the decks were cleared at the Deva, which used to house such a great little club, and yes, we know our place, we are a little club, however, we were once a proud club, we are no longer, and haven't been for a good 2 or 3 years now.

It's time for a change, and I don't mean another Manager change - the Vaughan Family have to leave the Deva for the good of the club.

Our club.

To see the demise of this club recently is truly heartbreaking, and many more will join the exodus of the masses as the Vaughan's continue to put their own wishes above the club & it's supporters.

The magic of the cup starts early for the Exiles

2009-09-30T11:23:58Z

I do enjoy a dose of Tuesday night football - what passion, commitment and desire to win I saw a couple of nights ago.

Sorry to disappoint you, but I wasn't at the Deva - but watching Leatherhead v Lewes in a replay of the FA Cup's 2nd qualifying round.

There's nothing to beat the magic of the Cup, at any level. When Lewes finally scored the match winner in the first period of extra time, you could see what it meant to them.

I don't think it was the excitement of playing Wealdstone in the next round - but just knowing what could lie ahead on the long road to Wem-ber-lee.

Of course, my attention was half on my mobile phone for news from Chester v Forest Green Rovers. I'm getting resigned to knowing that any bleep on my phone is usually bad news, and my instincts didn't let me down again.

But once I heard that first bleep and knew we were 1-0 down, I was glad I'd not made the effort to get to Chester and was getting my midweek football fix elsewhere.

Once it got to 2-0 to Forest Green I started thinking about the game I was watching and comparing it with what I might be seeing next season. Lewes, of course, were relegated from the Blue Square Premier last year, so Chester could well be playing their northern equivalents in 2010-11.

As I looked round, I realised it will feel very strange to watch Chester at this level.

There's no official attendance been given so far, but it must have been around 300 (good by Ryman South Leatherhead standards), and the crowd included people with dogs, children playing football and teenagers more interested in whatever they were listening to on their i-pods than the action in front of them.

It was only £8 to get in, and some even got in for free at half-time!

It was actually cracking entertainment, with a disallowed goal, a player suffering an awful cut head, a saved penalty and countless shots on target in 90 minutes of football.

By the time the referee blew for 90 minutes at Fetcham Grove, it was already 2-1 to Forest Green and game over in Chester. As the Deva devotees reflected on another poor result, I still had 30 minutes of extra-time cup football to savour.

In the end the Lewes victory was a fair result, with the two-league gap between Leatherhead and their opponents eventually beginning to tell.

I do wonder how City would have fared in an FA Cup scrap at the 2nd qualifying round stage, and I'm seriously worried I will find out next season.

I'll be off to Hayes on Saturday, where a victory will be crucial if Chester are to have any chance of avoiding that even longer road to Wembley next year.

A day out in Salisbury

2009-09-25T08:34:38Z

My build-up to City's first ever game against Salisbury went far too swimmingly. For about the first time ever, both the M25 and M3 were totally devoid of traffic enabling me to spot the spire of Salisbury on the approach to the city with nearly three hours to spare before kick-off.

I decided to pay an early visit to the ground, via the twistiest of roads complete with thatched cottages, roses and ducks. The memorably-named (not) Raymond McEnhill Stadium has to be THE most isolated ground in the BSP and above.

It's obviously a real community club and was nice to see schoolboys having organised football practice on the training pitch next to the stadium car park. The only downer was that two of the boys participating were sporting Man United shirts and another a Chelsea top. We were hundreds of miles from Old Trafford, but their "supporters" seem to get everywhere!

With still more than two hours to go to kick-off, there was chance to head into town for a pre-match visit to a friendly hostelry. It took the landlord a while to work out that his pub was working as a meeting-point for City fans from far-and-wide, as supporters from Wimbledon, Leatherhead, Potters Bar and, yes, Chester gathered to talk tactics.

So my day out was going well and we reluctantly dragged ourselves away from the pub and back into the wilds of Old Sarum for the game. I parked up on the very pitch where the Man United fans had been playing just two hours before, paid my £13, and tried to find a few other City fans to stand with. It wasn't easy to find any fellow Blues supporters, but a handful of us somehow managed to gather together.

If truth be told, this was where the day got a tad disappointing. The first half was as dull as ditchwater and the second half didn't really get going until the 70th minute. Thankfully Ben Wilkinson almost made the whole day perfect when he scored on the 78th minute. But the excitement didn't last long, as the Whites equalised inside three minutes. There was added drama when Danby got injured and Salisbury had a last-minute goal disallowed.

To be honest, I could have seen just the last 20 minutes of the game and I wouldn't have missed anything. But life as a Chester Exile isn't just about the 90 minutes on the park and I still enjoyed my trip to leafy Wiltshire. Next up for me is Hayes & Yeading. Leafy it won't be, but it will still be a good day out.

If you're all going Wrexham clap your hands!

2009-09-25T05:09:17Z

Well in two days time the rivalry between Chester & Wrexham is once again stepped up, as we lock horns at the Racecourse Ground at high noon, yet again, shifted from it's original saturday spot as the Police still decide that a crowd an eighth the size of those that attend Chester Races is too much to deal with on a Saturday.

Police forces across the country have to (and do) deal with larger events without fuss on it's originally scheduled date, in football, Leeds played Millwall on a Friday night & Saturday afternoon last year, so our rivalry doesn't even come close in terms of numbers, yet it's one of the first games to be shifted from the Saturday afternoon, and of course we are never going to see another evening game between the two - god forbid!

We all know that any trouble seems to happen in the town or city centres, depending on where the game is taking place, and very little trouble, if any, seems to happen at the ground these days, so I feel they should be able to stage it on a Saturday again.

Back to the game, and a lot of Chester fans I've spoken to are so disheartened with everything going on at the club, that they are avoiding the game on Sunday, mainly as they don't want to see the Blues get beat.

Personally I don't agree with this opinion, for me, it's Chester v Wrexham and any game as such should not be missed, yes we may lose, we probably won't win, but not going to the derby game just 12 miles away is like just turning your back on your family when they need you most, it's not the players fault what's going on at the club, in fact strong rumours suggest that they are not getting paid, so they need all the support they can get right now.

For those that are going, let's give the lads lots of support on Sunday, and evoke some of the spirit of '95, where we famously we went into the game at the foot of the table, and up against it being 2-1 down at half time with only 9 men on the pitch, compared to the Goats' 11, and yet the lads held firm and up popped Sir Andy Milner to level things up right at the end to send us Blues delirious and home very happy, especially after their fans had been celebrating like mad, just as a linesman's flag was busy waving for a foul on Dave Felgate by Gary Bennett as he bundled the ball into Chester's net for what he (and the red sh...ower) thought was a winning goal that night.

It's amazing how many games between the two sides end 2-1 or 2-2, not sure whether you should put your money on one of those results this time round, but you never know, where's Derek Asamoah when you need him?

It's a crying shame that we never had Daryl Clare in our team when facing "those from up the road" how I'd have loved him to stick one in the Racecourse net in a derby, although he did score a belter against them for Rushden & Diamonds a couple of years ago, so that will have to do I suppose!

Speaking of Daryl Clare, he is one of the ex-players that has been invited to the Chester Legends night, whether he'll accept remains to be seen, but it would certainly be great to see him again for the event.

The event, being organized by City Fans United, is set to take place on Thursday 3rd December, and should not be confused with the other event taking place on November 7th, and a whole host of ex-players have been invited, hopefully they'll be able to attend.

As far as City Fans United is concerned, well things are progressing well, and we are close to our official launch, which will be on October 22nd, at the Deva Show Bar, where we will reveal a number of initiatives to help protect & safeguard professional football in the City of Chester, as well as looking to create a "warchest" for eventual ownership of the club.

It's exciting times for CFU, admittedly in difficult times for City supporters, but we are aiming to make a positive difference and fight to keep Chester City Football Club alive.

Letters have gone out to those who indicated their interest in joining CFU in the August fans meeting at the Deva Show Bar, this so we can keep in touch with those that didn't include their e-mail addresses on the form, so if you're one of those, a letter should be dropping through your door shortly, as long as Royal Mail don't go on strike again!

Anyway, that's it for this week, hopefully I'll be typing the next blog telling everyone how great we played in a majestic win for the Blues at the Goats on Sunday....hey I can dream!

Spirit of '95 boys - Come on City!!!!

The best thing about relegation to the Conference is... the unification of the fans' groups!

2009-09-24T14:35:30Z

As current Chair of Chester City Supporters Trust, my main objective whilst in the role is to see the introduction of a single fans group at our football club.

The Trust made it one of their objectives at recent Special and Annual General Meetings and, strangely enough, it's the fans' great disappointment and sense of loss following relegation out of the league which looks like making it happen!

Following on from a number of Non-League Show interviews and a members' meeting earlier this year, the Trust Board has been overwhelmed by the amount of support it has received from everyday Chester City fans looking for a glimmer of light - from anywhere.

Some fans are so unhappy with the running of the football club that they have openly declared that they do not intend to pass through the Deva turnstiles again until Mr Vaughan has left the club.

Each and every fan is entitled to their views and opinions on the current owner but it seems such a shame to have lifelong fans brought to their knees with the continual disappointment from within the football club - and that's without the below-par performances on the pitch.

Well, the glimmer of hope seems to be shining somewhere - if we all look hard enough for it. Yes, it's City Fans United (CFU)! This group is born from a merger of the two largest fans' groups - Chester City Supporters Trust and the Chester City Independent Supporters Association.

The Official Supporters Group, chaired by Barrie Hipkiss, and the Chester City Exiles, chaired by Pauline Meakins, both of whom are avid well-known Blues fans, have openly declared their support of City Fans United. Both Officials and Exiles are very much hoping to be involved in the fundraising and promotion of CFU in the future - a very welcome pledge indeed.

The fans' groups were rightly criticised for not having a Plan B in the event of our football club's possible non-existence due to financial problems but, with your co-operation, City Fans United hopes to be able to be able to restore some of the lost sense of pride in our club.

It hopes to push itself into the local community and possibly re-awaken the feelings of the "lost" fans and rekindle the desire to follow the Blues, as well as build up a reserve fund for possible purchase of the football club in the future. The idea of a club owned by its fans has worked elsewhere - why not here in our city?

Plans are well in place for an official launch of City Fans United on 22 October 2009 where all fans will be able to become members of THEIR fans' group.

Existing paid-up members of the Trust and ISA will automatically become members of CFU.

A number of initiatives are being put in place to allow fans to have their say in the running of their group including putting themselves forward for sitting on the presiding committee of CFU as the current Trust and ISA Board will be standing down to allow new faces and thoughts to take the group forward, thus ensuring the total transparency of your new group.

The youngsters will be very much involved in City Fans United as we aim to introduce the Junior Blues programme into our membership. More about this will be promoted in the coming weeks along with a Chester City Legends Night where fans can freely mix with the heroes of our past and have commemorative photographs taken with their all-time favourites.

If you want to find out more, offer your services or even put yourself forward for the new committee please register your title, name and address, contact telephone number, and email address at register@cityfansunited.com

For those fans wishing to write in with details please send to City Fans United, PO Box 3170, Chester CH4 8WP.

Don't forget, at the fans open meeting convened by the fans groups and held on 13 August 2009, just under 200 of you declared your support for this to happen. Please help us to make it work - strength in numbers!

Somewhere in a corner of London...

2009-09-21T08:55:47Z

Although it may be hard to believe, there were seven Chester fans gathered in the corner of an upmarket pub in the Pimlico area of London on Wednesday night. The landlord couldn't believe his ears when I told him we were all Chester supporters - I don't think he'd ever come across one before, never mind a Magnificent Seven!

But, as I'd gone nearly a month without seeing the team play, it was great for me to get my Chester City fix by talking to some fellow sufferers.

The reason for our gathering was a formal Chester Exiles committee meeting and, of course, we had a set agenda to follow. But the best bit is when our conversation drifted off and went into "nostalgia-zone" - aided admirably by three or four pints of top-quality ale.

Our trip down memory lane took us into some great territory......The Famous Five and Gary Talbot, that "anti-hero" Gary Bennett, the one-and-only Graham Barrow and goal machine Stuart Rimmer. No nostalgic Chester chat can end without including the great Harry McNally, and we started discussing H's famous quotes. Those who hadn't heard his famous pre-night out statement - "At worst it will be brilliant" - agreed it was an inspiring quote.

The more serious part of our meeting involved discussing the new City Fans United group and how us distant fans still had our part to play in making it a success.

I just hope all fellow Chester fans remember Harry Mac's famous line and use it as their inspiration.

Roll on Tuesday for me, when I'll be seeing the team in action in a corner of Wiltshire that's probably never seen more than seven Chester fans either. I'm sure there'll be a few more than that though!