2013 So it begins

[J-savage]

Great season

[Archie Graveluth]

Congrats, doing good. 

[Prevalence]

I live in Wrexham at the moment, so I am very excited for the Wrexham v Chester. I hope they beat you

[the united guy]

Fantastic season mate, you absolutely walked the Blue Squire Premier and you will walk league two aswell   

[Devil]

Nice season, KIU.

[Lewiitom]

Great season good luck in league 2!

[Flows]

 

 

Good morning, everyone and welcome to the press conference for the new players of Chester FC.

 

After a wonderful season in the conference, Chester FC will face even tougher challenges in the Npower League 2, but we are ambitious and I've told the board that I want to achieve promotion!

But besides the ambition we also have to be realistic, Chester FC needs to improve on and off the pitch. But for now I'm happy to introduce to you fourteen new signings; four players on loan and ten on a transfer.

The board give me a whopping 90k to improve the squad and I think with these signings I managed to improve Chester FC enough to face every challenge in the Npower League 2

 

Ambition also comes with a price, the price others have to pay. We lost M. Fearon (GK), R. Bayly (MC), A. Sarcevic (MC), J. Danby (GK), C. Martin (GK) and W. Baynes (DR). 

I received an offer for Sarcevic, Danby, Baynes and Bayly which I simply couldn't refuse. Fearon left on a free transfer and Martin was used in a swap deal.

They have been thanked for all the things they did for Chester FC and we wish them all the luck for the future!

 

 

And now the moment you all have been waiting for 

L. Hornby

In my opinion you never have to many midfielders, especially when I play with 2 Box-to-box midfielders

Hornby has solid stats which come in handy when I need him as back-up

 

J. Jones

Is another player who joins Chester FC on loan and will mainly be used as a back-up for Luscombe 

 

J. Fernandes

After a long period of negotiating with him about a contract he finally agreed terms, I really needed a good new goalkeeper after J. Danby, M. Fearon and C. Martin left. 

Fernandes is now 2nd goalkeeper after A. Cureton.

 

M. Foran

On the DMC position, I only had M. Powell but when I saw this 16 year old lad I didn't hesitate to sign him.

He has been outstanding for me so far.

 

C. Nelson

Nelson is really a player to improve Chester FC immediately, he has good stats and has been playing wonderful.

 

A. Cureton

I kept searching for decent goalkeepers when I stumbled on this wonderkid. 

I swapped him for C. Martin so I didn't pay a single euro which is  turning out to be a very good deal for me.

 

R. Vauls

Last year on loan, this year a full Chester player. His performance last year convinced me to sign him.

 

T. Darlington

The same story as R. Vauls. Together with C. Nelson he is now at the heart of the Chester defense 

 

T. Phipp

Phipp is a all-round midfielder but he is mainly a back-up for MacDonald.

 

S. Cole

Reasons; Young, midfielder, a lot of potential in my opinion (he will be available for loan in January)

 

D. Fletcher

Mills and Jarman are getting old, so I wanted a new fresh attacker, I'm very happy I managed to sign Fletcher. 

He has a lot of potential.

 

A. Stewart

Last year we also got Stewart on loan and this year Chester FC and Wycombe Wanderers agreed terms another season. Stewart is the 5th central defender and will mainly be used a back-up for injuries.

 

B. Reid

Done shopping for midfielders? No if you see another one who is also solid, try to sign him on loan! Reid rotates with March, Deery and Brennan on the midfield positions.

 

 

Pending:

J. Curtis

I'm so happy, my scouts found this wonderkid for me! At first it seemed he didn't want to move to Chester but after a good talk and a new contract offer he decided to sign for Chester FC! He will be joining Chester FC in January.

 

 

Transfer overview

 

 

Transfer rumours

Newspapers say Chester FC also wants these players:

 

 

 

(next update will come soon)

 

_________________________________________________________

 

@Ashez: Thank you

@J-savage: Thank you, hopefully the season in the Npower league 2 will also be great

@Graveluth: Thanks

@Prevalence: All I can say is next update

@the united guy: Thank you, all I can say for now League Two is more challenging.

@ManUnitedguy: Thanks

@Lewiitom: Thank you 

[MerlionMaple96]

Solid signings mate

[the united guy]

Great signings mate  . But letting Sarcevic go! imo I think he is good enough for league 1, but I suppose you have got Beckham who is a bit better   

[Flows]

Sarcevic is an outstanding player but an offer of 90k is difficult to turn down.

I saw he turned out to be great in AlexP's career and I saw he won player of the year in your career @the united guy.

But still it was hard to let him go.

[the united guy]

It was tough for me too when I had to let him go 

[J-savage]

Strong signings, hopefully they will make up for your loss

[Flows]

 

Sorry for waiting so long to post the update, I already finished the first half of the season last week but  those nice summer days and parties weren't helping at all.

Also sorry if the update is a bit messy, I'm writing almost 2,5 hours now so I have been doing a lot of switching and rewriting.

______________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

A new season, a new challenge.

 

Before we could begin our new season in the Npower League Two, there were some friendlies that had to be played. Hayes & Yeading United (3-0), Liverpool (2-4) and Havant & Waterlooville (1-1). Three friendlies in which we made sure the new and old players got to know each other.

 

And there it was the 9th of August 2014, the first game of Chester FC in the Npower League Two and to make it even better we faced our rivals Wrexham AFC.

 

Mini Wales vs. Mini England! Our goal was simply try to win in Wales, it would be wonderful to defeat Wrexham in the own stadium in front of their own fans, wouldn't it?

 

And so it begins:

It was a real clash of the titans, lots of cards, fouls and free kicks. Two sides that really wanted to win or let me rephrase that one side that really didn't want to lose, which after the 19th minute was Wrexham. The succeeded by scoring the 1-1, but the joy of the 1-1 did not last long within 5 minutes Brennan scored the 1-2 and from that moment on Chester FC outstanding. 

A solid defense, a strong midfield and an effective forward sealed the deal for Chester FC.

 

 

Capital One Cup

After Wrexham we face Barnsley FC in the first round of the Capital One Cup. On paper we didn't stand a chance but I can tell you it was a real thriller.

 

 

Penalties are for Dutchman, what Waterloo was for Napoleon but thank God not this time!

 

After defeating a Championship club, we faced a Npower League One club; Ipswich Town. Two fast goals from Luscombe and Deery was enough to get Chester FC to the next round

 

In the third round Leyton Orient was the opponent. All I can say is this the lads were outstanding

but I really hate late goals.

 

 

Johnstone's Paint Trophy

We began against Rochdale in the northern section, it took us till the 72nd minute to score the first goal, Deery made sure Rochdale couldn't level by scoring the 2-0.

 

In the northern quarter final Oldham Athletic much easier then Rochdale, strangely we won while playing with back up players because we had a difficult game within four days.

 

To make a long story short in the semi final Shrewsbury Town wasn't difficult either despite a very early goal of Shrewsbury

(3-1). 

 

Chester is only two games away from the Johnstone's Paint Trophy! Our next opponent is Bury, who have been struggling in each round maybe they will ren out of luck this time!?

 

 

And they have indeed ran out of luck, now we are only one game away from the final!

 

 

FA Cup

The FA Cup is a prestigious cup to win for Chester FC but we have to be realistic. We are the always the underdog!

First round:  

Crawley Town (L1) - Chester FC

'45 - N. Bignall -- goal denied

'68 - Elford-Alliyu -- 1-0

'80 - M. Powell -- 1-1

Full time: 1-1

 

Replay first round:

Chester FC - Crawley Town

'44 - N. Bignall -- 1-0

'53 - B. Reid -- 2-0

'84 - T. Phipp -- 3-0

Full time: 3-0

 

I didn't expect to win against Crawley Town but when you do it is always a real morale boost for the players. I think the increase of morale could be seen in the competition and also in the second round against Portsmouth

 

Portsmouth - Chester FC

'5 - R. Vauls -- 0-1

'11 - B. Reid -- 0-2

'29 - A. Macdonald -- 0-3

'33 - N. Bignall -- 0-4

'48 - N. Luscome -- 0-5

'63, '69 - D. Fletcher -- 0-7

Full time: 0-7

 

A smashing 0-7 victory over Portsmouth, it is very sad to see Portsmouth struggling in the Npower League Two.

Still I think the FA Cup comes to early for Chester FC, but after recent victories i have changed the mentality from 'Let's get it over with' to 'While we're here anyway let's have some fun'.

 

In the third round we faced a familiar face: Barnsley FC!

 

Chester FC - Barnsley FC

'11 - N. Bignall -- 1-0

'30 - S. Wiseman -- 1-1

'49 - D. Hankin -- 2-1

'76 - K. March -- 3-1

Full time: 3-1

 

The players, the fans, the board and I are having a lot of fun playing in the FA Cup so far. But now it is getting serious we're the only League Two club in the 4th round of the FA Cup. 

Next up: Stoke City (away)

 

 

We played very balanced and our goalkeeper A. Cureton had the best day of his life, he saved our ass at least 100 times. and those 100 saves proved to be enough when N. Bignall scored the 0-1! 

This is so much fun to be manager of Chester FC at the moment and I can tell you we are not going the stop having fun our next opponent is Fulham!

 

 

Games

 

 

 

Npower League Two

I'm giving my players a huge compliment on the way they are playing this season. The whole team plays as one and the tactics work perfect; the passing, the change in mentality when playing 'attacking' or 'balanced'.

Despite the game against Fleetwood Town:

 

League Table: 

 

 

Transfers & Contracts

Contracts:

Our top striker Bignall has signed a new four year contract!

Also our full/wing back S. Kelly renewed his contract with two season 

 

Transfers

Out:

M. Powell (DMC) -> Exeter City - 65K

N. Jarman (ST) -> Macclesfield Town  - 26K

 

In

R. Grant; if he develops good, he will be replacing Hankin.

He is still young so he receives all the time he need, at the moment he has been loaned out to Bradford PA

 

N. Potter

My tactics require me to play with full backs/wing back who have decent stats for crossing, Potter has them and he still has a lot of potential

 

 

Extra

Topscorer

 

The board gave me a total of 466K of transferbudget because of the (heroic) victories in the Capital One Cup, The Johnstone's Paint Trophy and the FA Cup.

 

Next update:

Has Chester FC already reached the JPT final?

And how about the making fun in the FA Cup?

Last but not least when will Chester FC win the Npower League Two?

 

 

__________________________________________________________________

 

@MerlionMaple96: Thank you, the new signings are doing very well

@the united guy, @J-Savage: Thanks, Reid and Curtis are making up for the loss of Sarcevic 

[MerlionMaple96]

This is one of the most consistently updated and quality careers atm. KIU

[J-savage]

Yes agree with MM Another nice update KIU

[Archie Graveluth]

Agreed. Its good to see a career that keeps on going like this. Congrats.

[Flows]

 

 

 

Previously on 'So it begins'; Bury ran out of luck in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, Chester FC hopes to defeat Fulham in a funny way and last but not least when will Chester FC be champions of the Npower League 2 (because be realistic we're 18 points ahead of Walsall, it is only a matter of time) 

 

Before you get to see all the action I've an announcement first: 

 

J. Knowles: My scouts mentioned this lad last season and ever since I've been thinking about signing him but I never made an offer, until now. The reason: after M. Powell left I needed a new DMC or at least a back DMC. 

My current defensive midfielder M. Foran is young and also lacks stamina to play the whole match and his tackling is still low but luckily he has a lot of potential to improve. J. Knowles is a central midfielder but I'm hoping that I can retrain him to play on de defensive midfield position especially because his tackling is 17.

 

Other news:

J. Lampe and M. Haines renew their contracts with 3 season.

 

 

 

Back to the action!

 

FA Cup:

The 5th round is about to start and this are the teams that are still in the race to win the FA Cup:

 

At home I rarely change the playing style but when facing Fulham I changed it from attacking to balanced.

A. Cureton made some good saves in the first minutes of the game but couldn't hold a hard shot of A. Dejagah. Who had a very good day he was a nightmare for our defense especially in the first half. Chester FC couldn't play their own game and were forced to play the Italian way. 

But still Fulham managed to score; M. Trotta.

One minute before the coffee break Chester broke free of the tight grip of Fulham which resulted in a superb combination between Deery and Bignall, Bignall was through on goal and with a powerful shoot made sure our honor was restored.

Half time: Chester FC 1 - 2 Fulham FC

After the break I changed the mentality from 'balanced' to 'attacking' because If we're going the lose we will do it with pride! The change in mentality was visible right from the start, Fulham didn't answer fast enough. We had some very good combinations and shots on goal but the goalkeeper unlucky for us made some fine saves.

Fulham had nothing to say in the second half but unfortunately we didn't score.

 

At least we've had a lot of fun!

 

Results: 

   

 

Npower League Two

 

This really sucks, especially when we play MK Dons in the JPT Final in less then 4 weeks.

 

It was only a matter of time

Walsall lost points which made us champions of the Npower League Two!! The whole pitch was crowded with fans! 

I gave the lads a day off to celebrate but I made sure the focus was set for the Johnstone's Paint Trophy.

 

League Table

 

Johnstone's Paint Trophy

Bury really ran out of luck, which happened in the 4th minute:

 

Chester's road to Wembley, the road to the final! 

 

The tickets were sold out in record time! Sunday 5th of april was a strange day in Chester, streets were empty, thank God all of the pubs were full. Full of Chester supporters who didn't managed to get a ticket.

The mayor called me to wish me luck and said no matter what the result would be the whole city was proud to be a Chester supporter.

 

And so it begins!

I told my lads that they had to expect a difficult game, MK Dons is currently second in the Npower League One. 

But I also encouraged to give everything because almost 40,000 people would be standing behind Chester FC. 

40,000 people who would be cheering their lungs out, as a coach I'm happy to I have 40,000 12th man!

The line-up:

Playing style: balanced

 

As we entered the pitch I was just a wonderful sight on the right you could see the blue of Chester FC and on the left everything was full of white MK Dons supporters. The noise was overwhelming and the stadium was immense.

 

You could see the lads were also blown away by the vivid atmosphere, which resulted in sloppy playing. We gave MK Dons to much space, they made some good combinations but thank God the defense and the goalkeeper got their strength from the Chester supporters! 

And then it happened:

 

From the 25th minute Chester FC couldn't play their own game and was facing a 1-0 in favor of MK Dons. I managed to tell Kevin (Deery) that he had to focus the lads because if this would continue MK Dons would win.

Kevin did a fantastic job in motivating the lads, this led to a few good combinations which put J. Curtis in front of the goal a powerful shoot made the whole stadium explode! At least the Chester side of it.

 

MK Dons was stunned and didn't have an answer to it. The lads were outstanding and were playing like Barcelona FC, combinations one the right side and within a second they were playing some tiki-taka on the left side. The crowd loved it.

A high cross from Luscombe and Bignall puts his head to it and

 

A second bomb (not literally) exploded in the Chester side of the stadium!

 

Half time stats:

 

After the break the Chester FC players were playing like real lions, even Bignall a true striker was sometimes seen in the defense. Every player made sure that a strong MK Dons couldn't shoot and when the managed to shoot A. Cureton made sure he saved them. 

The Chester crowd was cheering so loud that the players got unlimited energy and then finally the referee blew for the end of the game!

 

Chester FC thank you:

 

There are no words to describe that feeling, that atmosphere and that moment. You really had to be there!

The mayor later told me that whole Chester was celebrating in the streets!

 

Full time stats

 

Next update:

All I can say at the moment: Npower League One

 

__________________________________________________________________

 

@MerlionMaple96, @J-Savage, @Graveluth: Thank you very much guys for that huge compliment! I means a lot! 

[the united guy]

Amazing you have managed to win the JPT something I could only dream of doing

Fantastic stuff mate I love reading this career

[MerlionMaple96]

I love reading this career. Such an amazing read. KIU

[Archie Graveluth]

Great update. Still, I wish you had a bit less spoilers Perhaps only one per section?

[Flows]

@Graveluth: Will do, I've also been struggling with writing the correct amounts of

I already said to myself; 'next time just do like you did in the first update'.

I can't promise I won't use one spoiler when I'm playing another final

[Flows]

 

 

Good morning, everyone and welcome to the press conference for the new players of Chester FC, just like last season this is the opportunity for the press to see and interview the new players.

 

Before I'll introduce the new players I want to take a look at last season of Chester FC in the Npower League Two.

It was one of the best season for me personally but I take the fans will agree Chester FC was outstanding! Everything worked perfect, the right chemistry, the right morale and the ambition to achieve succes.

This led to winning the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, getting to the last 16 of the FA Cup and we made sure we were champions of the Npower League Two in the last week of march!

I only hope we continue this success but I really doubt it because of what I've seen the Npower League One is a lot tougher than the Npower League Two at least in my opinion.

 

Recap of last season

Around the world

 

Npower League Two

 

Topscorer:

 

Last season I wrote about the fact that I was happy that the board gave me a whopping 90K. This season the finances of Chester FC are really good 325K of transfer budget and 40k of wage budget.

Season expectations:

 

No way Chester FC will battle bravely against relegation, we're too ambitious for that! I ensured the board that I want to reach play-offs as a minimum everything above it will be welcomed with open arms.

 

I keep saying that Chester FC is ambitious which is still true but I think Chester FC must become realistic ambitious especially since we now are playing in the Npower League One, we must not forget that we started in back in the Blue Square Bet North League. We're doing really good!

Newspapers are writing about our success story, and the club history books are being rewritten. I can't thank the players and fans enough for a second place I can call home!

 

The story of almighty Chester FC has its ups and downs still a lot of players don't want to drop down to lower leagues but being ambitious also requires to use the your recourses to the limit!

 

Steve Sidwell got excited when we told our plans with him, the only stressful thing was the financial aspect of the meeting. I'm very happy we managed to sign him, he brings a lot of experience which always come in handy when mentally coaching the many youngsters we have in the squad. And he still has decent stats.

 

There also come a moment in the transfer period when you have to decide between accepting of refusing.

 

It was hard to let K. March go he has been playing outstanding for us! And we will miss him but an offer of 325k is hard to refuse. We wish him good luck in the future

 

Let me introduce the players for you:

 

C. Cole: After R. Black left for Plymouth Agyle, my scouts came back with a report on this outstanding lad. He is just 15 years and now playing in the first team. I wasn't difficult to get our offer accepted. This young lad has a lot of potential but the downside is I can't immediately expect him to play a lot of games, but that is why we managed to sign C. Hussey.

 

C. Hussey: He costs us 200k but he is worth it. He has decent stats and he will be a great mentor for C. Cole. 

 

L. Cros: Sometimes you'll have you use your recourses to the limit! And this is another result of offering a maximum wage. He's young, he's talented and we have a lot of wage budget so why not!

 

M. Gorgelin: Chester FC is going international (besides Irish and Welsh players). M. Gorgelin is the second French guy who is joining Chester FC for free. Olympic Lyon gave him a free transfer and I didn't hesitated to offer him a contract

 

T. Harvey: I have been scouting this lad for quite some time, I offered him a few contracts last season but he always rejected because he was happy at Plymouth Agyle but eventually he signed a contract. He is a decent striker/midfielder and will be rotating a lot with Deery and Sidwell.

 

C. Jones: A new solid defender is always welcome. 

 

J. Jones: Just like last season, just a free loan back-up for the left side

 

S. Sidwell: Experienced, decent and still capable of helping Chester FC stay ambitious

 

 

Transfer overview

 

Missing: 

T. Harvey -> Chester FC - 300K

C. Hussey -> Chester FC - 200K

 

 

The whole selection

 

 

Next update (very soon): How is Chester FC doing in the Npower League One

_____________________________________________________________________________

 

@the united guy: Thank you very much, the least thing I can do is win the JPT again

@MerlionMaple96: I hope this update is also a good one

@Graveluth: Thank you!!

 

Just a quick note: for some reason he is not showing to pictures at the moment I hope it will fix itself.

[MerlionMaple96]

Some nice signings and a great read Looking forward to more!

[the united guy]

Some nice signings there flows. You are going to need them to win the JPT again

[Archie Graveluth]

Dominant in league 2. Keep it flowing

[Flows]

 

 

January 31st,

 

"A year passed.  Winter changed into Spring.  Spring changed

into Summer.  Summer changed back into Winter.  And Winter gave Spring

and Summer a miss and went straight on into Autumn." - 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'

 

Looking back august 2015 made sure we didn't forget what an English summer means; a lot of rain. Which makes the quote above sounds true. 

But for some reason the weather was really good (for English terms) on the 8th of august, in my opinion because of our first game in the Npower League One. The weather gods didn't want to miss a single minute of Chester FC, you can't blame them.

 

Carlisle United - Chester FC

 

As you can see we made some very quick goals in the between the 60th and 70th minute but for some unknown reason we let our guard down in the 90+ minute and an incredible strike from B. Potts made sure Carlisle United drew level. I think it were the nerves.

After this game I thought of buying B. Potts.

 

Before we played our first game in the Npower League One, we played some friendlies against Sunderland (1-2), Crystal Palace (2-3), Lierse (2-0). I'm very happy with the way we played against Sunderland and Crystal Palace, even when we were behind we kept fighting to score a goal. The team responded well to the switching between mentality when we were 0-1 or 0-2 behind.

This were good indicators that Chester FC is ready for the Npower League One

 

Besides playing for a respectable position in the league we also played some cup/trophy games. Winning the Johnstone's Paint Trophy last season and having a lot of fun playing in the FA cup. I told the lads that our main goal this season was the Npower League One.    

 

Johnstone's Paint Trophy

2nd Round:

 

This was the most awesome game I've ever seen as Chester FC coach!

 

Quarter Final

 

Semi Final

 

North Final Leg 1:

 

 

FA Cup

1st Round

 

2nd Round:

 

3rd Round

 

4th Round

 

Capital One Cup

1st Round

 

2nd Round

 

3rd Round

 

4th Round

 

Games

 

As you can see we conceded a lot of goals (especially in december which wasn't good for my heart!). A. Cureton our top goalkeeper has wonderful stats and will be a top class goalkeeper but unfortunately at the moment he's very young (20 years) and so he misses vital experience. That's why I started looking for a temporary replacement but most importantly a experienced mentor for A. Cureton.

 

26 years, experienced and free.

When A. McCarthy joined Chester FC, there was no more room for J. Fernandes. He joined Scunthorpe for 75K

 

In january I tried a new approach on signing players, it was a very simple strategy try to convince young european players to join Chester FC when their contracts expire. Here are the results of that strategy:

 

 

They both have a lot of potential and are very young but for Chester FC they are good enough. But I have to say my main goal is to make sure English talents get a chance, so I have to make sure I won't use this strategy too often

 

Npower League One

 

Next Update:

Johnstone's Paint Trophy!

&

A new concept I want to try.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

 

@MerlionMaple96: Thank you! I'm not happy with this update a bit too fast in my opinion, but I hope it is still okay. (Next update will be more writing again especially because of the new concept I want to try)

@the united guy: They all have been great so far let's hope they will preform in the last two games of the JPT

@Graveluth: It's always about the flow Thank you! 

[the united guy]

Well done In the JPT you are gonna win easy  . 10 point gap between you and the leader in the league, no sweat you will close the gap and come out champions 

[Flows]

Thanks the united guy!

A note to you but more importantly a note to myself: today (21/08) I'll post a new update (I have to). The update will be anout the JPT and also about the last 6 games in the Npower League One (Chester FC/Ipswich Town/Huddersfield Town are in the race for winning the Npower League One)

[the united guy]

Can't wait

[dirtboy]

Good luck with the league