Chester City F.C.

Chester City

File:Chester City FC.png
Full name	Chester City Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Seals/The Blues
Founded	1885 (as Chester F.C.)
Ground	Deva Stadium, Chester
Capacity	5,376 (4,170 seated)
Owner	Stephen Vaughan
Manager	Mark Wright
League	League Two
2007–08	League Two, 22nd
Home colours Away colours

Chester City Football Club is an English football club from Chester. The club participates in League Two, which is the fourth tier of English football. Chester were founded as Chester F.C., however they changed their name to Chester City F.C. in 1983. Chester joined the football league in 1931, and have spent most of their history in lower divisions. Chester won their first league championship in 2004, the Conference National.

Chester play their home games at the Deva Stadium. The club offices are the only section of the ground which is situated in England. Until 1990 the club played at Sealand Road.

History

Further information: History of Chester City F.C.

Chester City in Action

Deva Stadium

Chester F.C. were founded in 1885 as an amalgamation of Chester Rovers (whose players initially made up virtually all of Chester's side) and Old King's Scholars F.C. and initially played their home games at Faulkner Street. After a few years of playing only friendly and occasional cup matches, Chester joined the Combination League in 1890. In 1898 the club moved to The Old Showground, but were forced to leave a year later when the ground was destroyed to make way for housing, leaving the club temporarily disbanded. In 1901, however, they moved to Whipcord Lane, again their stay was only brief, as they moved out in 1906. Their new stadium on Sealand Road, called simply The Stadium became their first long-term home and provided them with their first league success, as they won the Combination League in 1909. In 1910, Chester moved to the Lancashire Combination League and stayed there until after World War I, when they became founder members of the Cheshire County League. Charlie Hewitt was appointed manager in 1930, and in 1931 he guided Chester City to the Football League, in place of Nelson F.C..

Throughout the 1930s Chester never finished outside of the top ten in Division Three North. During this period Chester recorded their biggest win in the FA Cup, beating Fulham F.C. 5–0 in 1933, and in 1936, they recorded their highest league victory; beating York City F.C. 12–0.

The period also saw Chester win the Welsh Cup for the second time after beating growing rivals Wrexham at Sealand Road in May 1933 and successive Football League Division Three North Cup wins. Unfortunately, the side was to be split up by the outbreak of the Second World War. Although the 1946–47 brought a third place finish and another Welsh Cup triumph, grim times lay ahead. No top half placings would be achieved until the lower divisions were merged in 1958, when Chester were placed in Division Four. They would still have to wait another six years until they finished above halfway in a league table.

Chester's fortunes began to take a turn for the better after the surprise appointment of South African Peter Hauser as manager in 1963. He was to provide an entertaining period for the club, as they challenged for promotion from Division Four. The most memorable campaign was 1964–65, when all five forwards managed 20 goals (a unique achievement) as Chester managed 119 in Football League games alone. Sadly though the club missed the promotion boat, and the following season saw them slip from a near-certain elevation after failing to recover from the broken legs suffered by full-backs Bryn Jones and Ray Jones in the January 1 win over Aldershot.

Apart from missing out on promotion by just a point in 1970–71 the next few years were largely disappointing. Chester kicked off the 1974–75 season as the only Football League team to have never won promotion — they finally broke their duck by finishing fourth in Division Four and pipping Lincoln City to promotion by the narrowest of goal averages. Ken Roberts had the honour of being the first Chester manager to win promotion in the Football League, although much credit went to inspirational coach Brian Green.

That season was perhaps more remembered though for Chester's incredible run to the League Cup semi-finals. After beating Walsall, Blackpool and Bobby Charlton's Preston North End, Chester hosted Football League champions Leeds United in round four. On an incredible night, two goals from John James and one from Trevor Storton gave Chester a 3–0 win that is regarded as one of the greatest shocks in the competition's history. The magic continued in the next round, when a goal from James meant Newcastle United were defeated in a home replay to set up a semi–final tie with Aston Villa. Chester once again performed admirably but suffered heartache, as Brian Little's late goal in the second leg at Villa Park sealed a 5–4 win for eventual cup winners Villa. Chester's goalscorers in the two legs included Terry Owen, the father of England striker Michael Owen.

Chester began to consolidate their position in the Third Division and enjoyed runs to the FA Cup fifth round in both 1976–77 and 1979–80 under former Manchester City midfielder Alan Oakes. They achieved their best position since the lower divisions were re-organised in the late 1950s by finishing fifth in 1978, missing out on promotion (in the pre play-off era) by just two points. Chester were also one of just two sides to win the short-lived Debenhams Cup, a competition competed for by the two sides from outside the top two divisions to go farthest in the FA Cup. They beat Port Vale 4–3 on aggregate in 1977 to win their first English national trophy. Chester also continued their giantkilling exploits by knocking First Division Coventry City out of the League Cup in 1978–79 and Second Division leaders Newcastle United from the FA Cup a year later. One of the goalscorers was homegrown teenager Ian Rush, who would move for £300,000 to Liverpool at the end of the season and go on to be one of the most famous British strikers in history.

After Rush departed the goals dried up for Chester and they were back in the basement by 1982. Two years later they finished bottom of the entire Football League but were comfortably re-elected. By this point the club was known as Chester City, having added the suffix in 1983.

Thanks to the signing of players including Milton Graham, John Kelly and Stuart Rimmer, and astute management of Harry McNally, Chester returned to the Third Division in 1986. Three years later they narrowly missed out on a play-off spot as McNally worked miracles on a limited budget, but further bad times lay ahead. In 1990, Chester were moved out of their Sealand Road home and temporarily shared Macclesfield's Moss Rose ground. Despite regularly attracting tiny crowds, Chester defied the odds to avoid relegation from Division Three in both 1990–91 and 1991–92. They returned to the city, the new brand new Deva Stadium in 1992 in the re-named Division Two after a Football League restructure. The first competitive match at the Deva Stadium took place on 25th August 1992 against Stockport County, with the visitors running out 2-1 victors. The following Saturday saw the first League game at the new home of Chester City, which saw the Blues overcome Burnley 3-0. The Deva Stadium is notable for crossing the England-Wales border: while the pitch is in Wales, the main stand and offices are in England.

Sadly, Chester suffered a landslide relegation in their first season back in Chester, before winning promotion straight back as Division Three runners-up. Unfortunately, the shock resignation of manager Graham Barrow and the departure of several key players in the close-season of 1994 left Chester with a threadbare squad, and they were comfortably relegated back to Division Three in 1995. They would stay there for five years.

Amid crippling financial problems under owner Mark Guterman, Chester entered administration in October 1998. Despite their off-field problems, Chester comfortably avoided relegation from the Third Division under Kevin Ratcliffe in 1998–99 and their appeared to be fresh hope when Terry Smith became new owner in July 1999. Unfortunately, American Smith (whose background lay in American football) was to oversee a disastrous period for the club. He became manager after Ratcliffe resigned in August 1999 and managed just four league wins in as many months in charge. Despite improved showings under new boss Ian Atkins, Chester lost their 69-year long Football League status on May 6 2000 on goal difference after losing to Peterborough United.

The first season in the Football Conference saw Chester finish 8th, but the campaign was overshadowed by continuing problems. By the summer of 2001, Chester were in grave danger of going out of business and the appointment of his friend Gordon Hill as manager was deeply unpopular with fans. Fortunately, the arrival of new chairman Stephen Vaughan in September 2001 was to herald a new period in the club' history.

Revived by Vaughan and new manager Mark Wright, Chester avoided relegation in 2002 and qualified for the Conference play-offs a year later. Unfortunately they missed out on promotion by losing a penalty shoot out to Doncaster Rovers.

They began the 2003–04 season as favourites to win the Football Conference. Thanks to the prolific striking duo of Daryl Clare and Darryn Stamp the goals flowed and they had a rock solid defence composing of players. Despite heavy pressure from Hereford United, Chester held their nerve to clinch the title and their return ticket to the Football League with a 1–0 victory over Scarborough. It was the club's first national league title.

Chester were tipped by some experts to win a second successive promotion in 2004–05, but their season was to be a bitter disappointment. Mark Wright resigned the day before the season started, with Ray Mathias in caretaker charge for Chester's 1–1 draw at Notts County. By the end of August, Chester were bottom of the Football League but their fortunes improved under new manager, Ian Rush. Although Rush helped steer City to safety, the bland style of football played was not appreciated.

In April 2005, Keith Curle took over and played better football. Unfortunately, a dreadful run between December 2005 and March 2006 saw Chester fall from fourth to bottom in Football League Two. Mark Wright surprisingly returned to the club and a run of five successive wins late in the season secured another campaign in the Football League. The 2006–07 season was largely forgettable, as Chester (following the loss of key players Roberto Martinez and Jon Walters) slumped into a lower mid-table position in front of dwindling crowds. The main highlight was the club becoming one of the few in history to be reinstated into the FA Cup after Bury (who had beaten Chester 3–1 in a second round replay) were thrown out for fiedling an ineligible player, Stephen Turnbull. Wright was sacked on 29 April 2007, being replaced by Scotsman Bobby Williamson.

Williamson's first game in charge ended with Chester winning a friendly 5–3 at AFC Telford United on 17 July 2007. His first Football League match at the helm ended in a goalless draw with Chesterfield the following month. Buoyed by the management of Williamson and influence of new signings such as Paul Butler and Richie Partridge, Chester made a flying start to the current season but would end the season fighting relegation.

In December 2007, Steven Vaughan submitted his surprise resignation from the club, amid questions over the club's ownership. His successor is yet to be announced, and he remains the majority shareholder of the club.

Williamson was sacked as manager on March 2 2008, after Chester had won only one of their last fourteen games. Club coach Simon Davies replaced him after a spell as caretaker manager . Survival was clinched in the penultimate game of the season after a 0–0 draw with Stockport County. They ended their season at 22nd, their lowest position since returning to the Football League in 2004-05.

Their current campaign got off to an unfortunate start despite the signing of several new players, including AS Nancy's Damien Mozika, as their first three matches in the new season saw the Blues concede eleven goals with only one response during a 3–1 defeat to Rotherham United. It also saw a televised match against Leeds United in the Carling Cup, which they lost 5–2 to suffer a first round exit from the competition. Stephen Vaughan has made it known in an interview with BBC Radio Merseyside that he has held talks with former manager Mark Wright about a return to the Deva Stadium, but no return was made in the weeks that followed.

The fourth league match of the season brought Chester's first victory, a 5–1 success over Barnet, but just two more wins followed before Davies was sacked on November 10 2008 with the club out of all cup competitions and struggling in the league table. Former manager Mark Wright then returned to the club for his third spell as manager on a non-contract basis.

Colours and crest

Chester's original home colours

Chester's original colours were red and white, and these colours were used until the club temporarily disbanded in 1899. The colours were changed to green and white, in 1901 when the club moved to Whipcord Lane. Various combinations were used until, the outbreak of World War I, these included green shirts and white shorts, green and white stripes and green and white halves. In 1919 the colours changed again, with their new dark green shirts earning Chester the nickname the Ivies. 1920 saw another change of colours, this time to black and white, which earned Chester the nickname Magpies. Black and White remained the colours until 1930, when they were changed to blue and white stripes. For the next thirty years the colours remained unchanged, with the exception of the 1952–53 season, when Chester adopted white shirts and black shorts.

The colours were changed yet again in the 1959–60 season, when it became green shirts and socks with gold trim and white shorts. 1962 saw Chester revert to blue and white stripes, albeit with a much thinner blue stripe, and blue shorts instead of the previously used black shorts. The 1968–69 season saw Chester change to an all sky blue kit, which remained for four years. In the 1972–73 season the club again reverted to blue and white stripes, and in 1974 the seals badge appeared on the kit for the first time. A shirt sponsorship first appeared on Chester's kit in the 1982–83 season. The blue and white and seals badge disappeared in the 1983–84 season, as the re -named Chester City F.C. changed to blue shirts and white shorts. The shirt became predominately blue in the 1988–89 season for the final season at Sealand Road. The first season at the Deva Stadium saw the colours change a blue shirt with white speckles. The colours returned to blue and white stripes the following season. Since 1995, the club has appeared in blue and white stripes of varying thickness and shades.

In the 1958–59 season the city's coat of arms was augmented onto the shirt. During the early to mid 1960s, the supporters association badge was used. From 1974–75 to 1982–83, the club used the seals badge. The design was picked from a competition held by a local newspaper, with the winner coming from the school of art in Handbridge. The current crest is an adaptation of the City of Chester crest.

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

Period	Kit Manufacturer	Shirt Sponsor
1976–83	Umbro	None
1979–82		Barratt
1982–83		OkOK
1983–84	Bukta	Chester Engineering
1984–89	Hobott	None
1986–87		Chester Motor Auctions
1987–1991		Greenall's
1989–92	Ribero
1991–92		Trident Metals
1992–95	En-s	Corbett's
1995–96	Le Coq Sportif
1996–97		Saunder's Honda
1997–98	Errea
1998–2000	Super League
2000–01	Socca	gap
2001–02	Vilma	Red Square
2002–04		Pentagon
2004–05	Prostar	truetone
2005–08	Nike	UK Sameday & Sekur Mortages
2008–	Prostar	Cestrian Trading & ASH Waste Services

Future Developments

New training venue revealed

Chester City has at last secured new training facilities on a long term deal with Chester Catholic High School. The arrangement will see the first and youth squads together with the Centre of Excellence teams use the venue as their training base. The new venue comes after work by City director Bob Gray and Centre of Excellence Co-ordinator Mark Newman. Club chairman Stephen Vaughan had been looking at a number of other options that would house all City’s teams at one venue but unfortunately none ticked all the right boxes

Chester Catholic High School are currently raising funds for redevelopment and part of this new partnership will see Chester City Football Club helping towards the target figure set by the school, the club have also pledged match day tickets for every home Football League game to be used by the school. Being on one site will also allow new manager Bobby Williamson to learn from being in close proximity to the full time professionals. City’s Centre of Excellence co-ordinator Mark Newman was keen to pass on his thanks to Abbey Gate College, where City’s academy have trained for the past three years.

Stadium complex expansion

The club have recently unveiled plans to invest many millions of pounds into developing the stadium. It is intended to expand the stadium to four tiers, and to also expand the complex to include office facilities, along with a gym, cafes, and retail developments. The development is currently in the early planning stages.

Reserve and youth teams

Chester's reserve team play in the Central League Division One West in 2007–08.

The club's youth set-up is enjoying its most fruitful spell since the late 1990s. The youth team compete in the Youth Alliance North West Conference, while hoping to emulate their achievements in 2006–07 of reaching the FA Youth Cup fourth round, when they surprisingly knocked out Tottenham Hotspur.

The club has operated a ladies team since 1994, having reasonable amounts of success [1] and also has supporters' teams representing it against fans of other clubs.

Rivals

Chester have a long-running rivalry with Wrexham. The clubs are just 12 miles apart but are English and Welsh respectively. Wrexham just edge the English-Welsh derby with 30 victories against Chester's 26 in Football League meetings.

Tranmere Rovers and Crewe Alexandra were traditionally strong rivals but Chester have not met either in a league game since the early 1990s. In recent times, a strong level of dislike has developed between Chester and Shrewsbury Town, following a series of controversial meetings. In November 2006, a large brawl broke out between players of both sides at the end of Chester's 2-1 defeat at Gay Meadow.

Famous fans

Chester is one of the most poorly supported clubs in the Football League, as they struggle to attract more than 2,500 fans to most home games. It is perhaps little surprise that the club has few celebrities attached to it, although several well-known individuals have expressed affection for it.

The best-known Chester fan was the late actor Hugh Lloyd, who retained a loyal support for the club despite his advancing years and being exiled in the south. Similarly, BBC sport reporters Charles Lambert and Jonathan Legard are lifelong fans who have continued to follow the club despite regularly coming into contact with sport's elite.

Another comedian, Mick Miller, guested for Chester in a Granada football quiz show in the early 1990s but is not known to have any other connection to the club.

Players

As of October 29 2008.

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
2	DF	ENG	Kevin Roberts
3	MF	ENG	Laurence Wilson
4	MF	ENG	Tony Dinning
5	DF	ENG	Paul Linwood
6	DF	IRL	Paul Butler
7	MF	IRL	Richie Partridge
8	MF	ENG	Anthony Barry
9	MF	ENG	Eddie Johnson
10	MF	ENG	Ryan Lowe
11	MF	ENG	Kevin Ellison
12	GK	ENG	John Danby
14	MF	ENG	Stephen Vaughan

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
15	MF	ENG	David Mannix
16	MF	ENG	Tony Ebbrell
18	DF	ENG	Shaun Kelly
19	FW	ENG	Paul McManus
20	MF	NIR	Mark Hughes
22	DF	ENG	James Vaughan
23	MF	FRA	Damien Mozika
24	FW	ENG	Paul Rutherford
27	MF	ENG	Ryan Williams
28	MF	ENG	Andy Mitchell
29	MF	ENG	Glenn Rule

Backroom staff

• Manager - Mark Wright
• First Team Coach - Steve Bleasdale
• First Team Coach - Billy Gerrard
• Fitness & Conditioning Coach - Julian Owen
• Physiotherapist - Ben Holt
• Youth Department Manager - Mark Newman
• Youth Coach - * Simon Davies

Player records

Most Football League appearances

#	Name	Years	Apps	Goals
1	Ray Gill	1951–1962	406	3
2	Ron Hughes	1951–1962	399	21
3	Trevor Storton	1974–1984	396	17
4	Eric Lee	1946–1957	363	10
5	Stuart Rimmer	1985–1988; 1991–1998	361	135
6	Derek Draper	1968–1977	322	54
7	Billy Stewart	1986–1994; 1995–1996	317	0
8	Tommy Astbury	1946–1955	303	38
9	Nigel Edwards	1968–1978; 1982–1983	299	16
10=	Graham Abel	1985–1993	296	30
10=	Billy Foulkes	1948–1952; 1956–1961	296	37

Most Football League goals

#	Name	Years	Apps	Goals
1	Stuart Rimmer	1985–1988; 1991–1998	361	135
2	Gary Talbot	1963–1967; 1968–1968	154	83
3	Frank Wrightson	1935–1938	89	73
4	Elfed Morris	1963–1968	167	69
5	Mike Metcalf	1963–1968	221	68
6	Cam Burgess	1948–1951	111	64
7=	Gary Bennett	1985–1988; 1990–1992; 1997–1999	254	63
7=	Joe Mantle	1932–1935	74	63
9	Frank Cresswell	1931–1934; 1935–1938	173	57
10	Derek Draper	1968–1977	322	54

Other player records

• Most league goals in a season - 36 Dick Yates (1946–47)
• Record signing - £150,000 Kevin Ellison (2007)
• Record sale - £300,000 Ian Rush (1980)
• Oldest league appearance - 40 yrs, 101 days Stan Pearson (April 1959)
• Youngest league appearance - 15 yrs, 350 days Aidan Newhouse (May 1988)
• Most capped player - 35 Angus Eve, Trinidad & Tobago; (home nations) - 13 Billy Lewis, Wales

Honours

Domestic

• Football League Division 3 North

Runners-up (1): 1935–36

• Football League Division 3 (now League 2)

Runners-up (1): 1993–94

• Football League Division 4 (now League 2)

Runners-up (1): 1985–86

• Football Conference

Winners (1): 2003–04

• Cheshire County League

Winners (3): 1921–22, 1925–26, 1926–27

Runners-up (1): 1930–31

• The Combination

Winners (1): 1908–09

Runners-up (5): 1903–04, 1904–05, 1905–06, 1906–07, 1907–08

• Welsh Cup

Winners (3): 1908, 1933, 1947

Runners-up (10): 1909, 1910, 1935, 1936, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1958, 1966, 1970

• Debenhams Cup

Winners (1): 1977

• Division 3N Cup

Winners (2): 1936, 1937

Runners-up (1): 1946

• Bob Lord Trophy

Winners (1): 2001

• Conference Championship Shield

Runners-up (1): 2001–02

Former managers

• Charlie Hewitt 1930–36
• Harry Mansley 1936 (caretaker)
• Alex Raisbeck 1936–38
• Frank Brown 1938–53
• Louis Page 1953–56
• John Harris 1956–59
• Stan Pearson 1959–61
• Bill Lambton 1962–63
• Peter Hauser 1963–1968
• Ken Roberts 1968–76
• Alan Oakes 1976–82
• Cliff Sear 1982 (caretaker 1984)
• John Sainty 1982–83
• Trevor Storton 1983–84 (caretaker)
• John McGrath 1984
• Mick Speight 1984–85
• Harry McNally 1985–92
• Graham Barrow 1992–94 & 2000–01
• Mike Pejic 1994–95
• Derek Mann 1995
• Kevin Ratcliffe 1995–99
• Terry Smith 1999–2000
• Ian Atkins 2000
• Gordon Hill 2001
• Dean Spink, Owen Brown and Andy Porter 2001–02 (caretakers)
• Steve Mungall 2001
• Mark Wright 2002–04 & 2006–07 & 2008–
• Ray Mathias 2004 (caretaker)
• Ian Rush 2004–05
• Dave Bell 2005 (caretaker)
• Keith Curle 2005-06
• Simon Davies 2007 (caretaker) & 2008
• Bobby Williamson 2007–08

External links

• Official website
• Unofficial website
• Chester City F.C. on BBC Sport: Club news – Recent results and fixtures
• Deva Chat - Fans Forum
• Chester City Exiles supporters club