Chester FC is a football club from the historic Roman city of the same name who were formed in 2010 following the demise of Chester City in March 2010.
The club are owned by the supporters of the club under the CFU (Chester Fans United) banner and were given a huge boost in the form of support from Cheshire West and Chester Council who gave them the lease of the old club home of Deva Stadium.
Initially the FA placed the new club in the North West Counties League Premier division, but on appeal they gained admission a step higher into the Northern Premier League Division One North. The club was officially launched on the 20th May 2010, with Neil Young being appointed as the team manager.
Chester were promoted as champions on the final day of the 2010-11 season on goal difference after a defeat at Garforth Town had fans biting their nails. Crowds flocked back to the Deva Stadium as they rejoiced in having owners that they could trust.
The 2011-12 campaign realised a second successive promotion as champions as a tremendous gate of 5,009 at Deva Stadium saw a 1-1 draw against Northwich Victoria to send Chester up with three games remaining.
Amazingly Chester won Conference North at the first attempt in early April 2013 following a victory against Boston United. The club remained part time as they prepared for their inaugural season in the Conference National, which led to a struggle on the pitch for the first time.
In January 2014 Young was sacked as manager to be replaced by Steve Burr. Chester finished the season in the relegation places on goal difference but were reprieved as Hereford United were demoted owing to financial irregularities.
Chester FC will play in the Football Conference in the 2014-15 season.
My visit
Wednesday 3rd December 2014
I was into the second day of my trip to the north west and woke up in the stunning city of Chester. I hadn't realised just how pretty it was. My only other visits had been briefly for a match or when we stopped off for beers and a curry en route to Holyhead for the ferry to Dublin to watch England play.
After a walk into the city centre and a breakfast at Wetherspoons it was time to walk to the Deva Stadium. I didn't realise just how far it was. However, the first part of the walk was tremendous through the old city and past the excellent racetrack, which brought back happy memories of backing Top Cees to win the Chester Cup in 1995.
On reaching the retail park where the old Sealand Road ground once stood and headed down the long Bumpers Lane. It seemed to go on forever. The ground appreared to be locked up, which was not exactly ideal.
Fortunately some gents were in the club office, with one kindly volunteering to take me inside and show me around. He was so proud of his club and to be one of the voluntary supporters helping to run it. I empathised greatly!
It was a cold morning with frost on the floor but the sun was bright. The stadium had signs of needing a tidy following Chester's match against AFC Telford United the previous evening. My guide collected the keys so we could walk out through the players entrance to go pitch side.
Deva Stadium was similar to my previous visit. Two identical constructions were behind the goals. The away end was seated, whereas the home Harry McNally Terrace was for standing. The far side had a low seated stand, with the Main Stand being larger with facilities at the rear. There were boxes at the rear of the stand opposite that had been installed by a previous owner without planning permission. The new club were hoping to get consent to use them, but my pal explained that because half of the ground was in Cheshire, but the other half in Wales it meant a complicated process.
I walked along the track to get a better angle for photos before being taken upstairs and introduced to an official in the boardroom. The facilities were just about right for a club of 'The Seals' size.
I said my thank you's to my kind hosts and headed back into town; only this time I took a bus to the centre from the bottom of the lane.
No comments:
Post a Comment