Cod Almighty | Article

by Richard Dawson

18 July 2007

In a nutshell
Chesterfield are modern professional football in a nutshell alright. Plagued with fraud; skint as hell (so they set about building a new stadium); large turnover of journeymen players who couldn't give a fuck; long-suffering fans who always come back for more, musing: "Is it our turn to get relegated or promoted this season?" They even pioneered the fans owning the club. Pity it didn't work out.

Goodwill hunting
Made a lot of friends in 1997. Lost all their friends in 2001 (see below). Like to call their neighbours Mans-failed. That is really poor. Very, very poor.

Previously
Chesterfield were formed in 1866, they reckon. A very old club indeed, which has pottered about in the lower divisions most of the time. Nearly everything interesting that has happened occurred in the last ten years so here is a blow-by-blow account pasted from the official website.

1997: Chesterfield capture the hearts of the nation by reaching the FA Cup semi-finals and enjoying a stirring 3-3 draw with Middlesbrough. The price for the team's success is the loss of its better players, including Kevin Davies, who moves to Southampton for £750,000. Around £2million comes into the club from player sales and the cup run.

1998: The Council refuse planning permission for the Wheeldon Mill scheme. With no "plan B" in place, the club seem stuck in limbo as the Recreation Ground (Saltergate) crumbles. Despite this, the Council pledges £1 million towards the club's stadium development plans. Jason Lee is signed for a club-record £250,000.

2000: A club-record 21 games pass without a win as the club are relegated to Division Three. John Duncan pays the price when Nicky Law takes over as Manager, with relegation inevitable. Darren Brown's UK Sports Group buys out Chairman Norton Lea.

2001: Promotion to Division Three is completely overshadowed by off-field traumas. Under Darren Brown's chairmanship hundreds of thousands of pounds disappear from club accounts and the club is docked points for attempting to cheat Chester City FC out of a proper fee for Luke Beckett. Brown is eventually seen off as the fans, in the form of the Chesterfield Football Supporters Society, take over the club.

2002: Fans of other clubs facing financial ruin look to recent events at Chesterfield with hope, forming their own Supporters' Trusts. Manager Law leaves for Bradford in January, to be succeeded by Dave Rushbury. After the upheaval of the last couple of years the club's 18th place finish is creditable.

2004: Roy McFarland becomes the Spireites' Manager. Chesterfield beat Luton 1-0 with an 88th-minute goal in the last match of the season to stay up. The Creditors' Voluntary Agreement hanging over the club since 2001 is paid off, thanks to financial input from the local council. Former Chairman Darren Brown is sentenced to four years' imprisonment for fraud.

2005: A site at a derelict glassworks one mile from Saltergate is identified for the new stadium as the club and council begin to co-operate on the matter.

2007: In a season of contrasts the club equals its best League Cup run, knocking out two Premiership sides on the way, but suffers relegation to League Two. Top scorer Caleb Folan is sold to Premiership Wigan for £500,000 in January. Fan ownership proves unable to sustain the club and former Chairman Barrie Hubbard resumes full control.

Ins and outs
The top and bottom is that Chesterfield think they have signed a decent striker in Jack Lester to replace Bosman departee Colin Larkin. But our Jack doesn't score that many (not from open play anyway) and his missus says his legs are really dodgy these days. Losing Mark Allott to Oldham means the heart of the midfield has gone – the fans are desperate for some decent midfield players to be signed to balance up the squad. On the other hand have they realised that you don't have to be as good in division four? There was a rumour that Thomas Pinault might sign but, weirdly, he has ended up at Crawley Town where Steve Evans is reputed to have five grand a week to spend on wages, but has already signed nine players...

This is what the manager Lee 'Rico' Richardson has to say on the subject: "Now Mark has gone, I've got at least one spot to fill and I think we really need two and I've been working hard to bring someone in. I have spoken to a player with a Championship club who does not want to come and another who has been released by a Championship club who is dilly-dallying. And I hope to speak to a Premiership manager about a player.'' Says it all really, doesn't it? Time to lower one's sights, methinks.

Their expectations
Fans on the Spireite messageboard are busy arguing whether their pint pot is half full or half empty. Like every other club messageboard. They are worried about having lost Allott, that's for sure. They worry about their chairman who, shall we say, 'keeps his cards close to his chest'. They just don't know what will happen next. The new ground was supposed to be built by now but not a brick has been laid and there is a £4m funding gap. Plenty of fine words though from Mr Barrie Hubbard: "the investors are waiting in the wings".

Our expectations
They ought to be good enough to be in the hunt come the end of the season. But we can all say that in division four. Easy to drop in to – a bit harder to climb out isn't it?

Spotters' guide
Am I supposed to mention the crooked spire here?

Step back to the Middle Ages on Tuesday 24 July at the biggest free show in the area – Chesterfield's Medieval Market. Find out what life was like in the Middle Ages at a medieval encampment in the grounds of the town's famous 'Crooked Spire' church where you can watch the arming of the knight, see him fighting and talk to his Lady (what?). You can even have a skirmish if you really want to. I'm past skirmishing now, though. Cheerio.