It was like a typical matchday - royal blue Chester scarf around my neck, Exiles banner in my bag and camera at the ready in case of an unmissable photo opportunity. But this matchday was a bit different from the norm, as I was off to the High Court in the Strand to witness the potential winding-up of a once-proud football club.

Security was tight at the High Court - the banner and camera had to be x-rayed - but I got clearance and headed off through a maze of buildings to find Court 55 on the fourth floor of the Thomas More Building.

How many twists and turns can one football club's supporters take?

Chester fans have been well and truly put through the mill in the last two decades, and any hopes that the 'tens would be any better than the Noughties & the Nineties have already been thrown into doubt following the latest crisis that has seen the entire playing squad fail to be paid for two months - and who can blame them walking into other clubs after such a dismal offering from the current owner(s) of Chester City, who have decided that they do not want to pay anyone without a surname called "Vaughan", and are happy to see young professional players struggle with their finances, and be in a position where their mortgages won't get paid, and possibly result in houses being repossessed thanks to non payment.

Remember though, the Vaughan Family have Chester City's best interests at heart.

Jim Harvey, who has done such a great job in shocking circumstances, in keeping the squad together up to this point, must be wondering what on earth he must have done to deserve this from the Vaughan family, who were seeking him out prior to the end of Mick Wadsworth's short stint as Blues manager, who remember said he had not experienced anything like this at any other football club. All the false promises made to Harvey, getting new players in - well we did see Mark Beesley return on loan of course - and who else? Errrm?

If that wasn't bad enough, in comes Morell Maison, who disrupts the team half an hour before the Boxing Day fixture after being announced as Director of Football, which anyone of us with an ounce of sense knows that this is always the killer blow for any Manager's hopes of staying in the hot seat. How many managers can you remember who avoided being replaced by Director's of Football? Then came the revelation that he was looking to bring in two players from Mansfield, without consulting team manager Harvey on the players, and this after claiming he would not be involved in team affairs.

Remember though, the Vaughan Family have Chester City's best interests at heart.

The club also recently had their capacity of the Deva Stadium reduced yet again, after failing to ensure that crush barriers were tested, meaning that the Harry McNally Terrace would no longer be open to home fans, what a tragic insult to the late, and great, Harry McNally. A stand named after the legend himself, yet the current ownership refuse to maintain the home end, imagine the scene at Sealand Road (RIP) if all of a sudden they said they were going to close the home end to home fans, there would have been riots.

The CCTV is not up to standard at the ground, no wonder, if it was, it would probably record the soul being ripped out of the club in the last few years, certainly since the Vaughan family went on a campaign to drag the club down to it's lowest ebb.

Remember though, the Vaughan Family have Chester City's best interests at heart.

This season, we've had attendances plummeting quicker than the temperature gauges around the area of Chester, and many have now most definitely had enough, with the arrival of a person who's last involvement in football was to send a club into Administration. The happiest people at the arrival of Morell Maison will surely be the Halesowen Town fans, who must be relieved that he has ended up at another club other than their own again, after racking up debts at a previous debt free club. Is that what the surely relatively short future of Chester City FC has in store for it?

Maybe, but let's remember, the Vaughan Family have Chester City's best interests at heart.

It's been a real busy time recently as far as my involvement with CFU goes, and I've been pleased that we finally seem to have burst through onto the media scene, with appearances on BBC1, The BBC's Non League Show, and BBC Radio Merseyside, which can only bode well for the group, added to the fact that we have a strong relationship developing with the local press. It's been pleasing to see the membership head towards 500, and this needs to continue upwards, but what is also great is hearing that the CFU Junior Blues are approaching 100 members, a fantastic figure, and one that the JB's Commitee deserve a hell of a lot of credit for.

Remember, City Fans United do have Chester City's best interests at heart, and are showing it, unlike the Vaughan Family.

Until next time.

Well it's been a very very busy month since I last posted, and this is pretty much the first time I've been able to stop everything, think about things, and post a blog entry!

Currently nearing the end of December 12th, a poignant date for two reasons, the first being it's a month since I last blogged, but secondly, and more importantly, five years ago today, the Legend that was Harry McNally, sadly passed away.

Harry was simply that "a legend", and will be fondly remembered by many, with so many tales told about the former Chester boss, the one who guided us back to the City of Chester after our exile in Macclesfield.

What would Harry say about our current status? Quite a lot I would imagine, I'd also guess he'd be furious at where we find ourselves, and the turmoil that the club has gone through in the last couple of years.

Harry fought to keep us in the old Division 3 as we played our two seasons in exile at Macc, and whilst admittedly failing once we kicked off football at the Deva, he will always be remembered as a battler.

McNally was without doubt a "miss" at the recent Legends Night event, which we at CFU managed to put together, and I'm so pleased we did, as it turned out to be one of the best nights I can recall, as far as fans bashes go.

Getting in touch with so many ex-players was great, but seeing them come through the door on the night was something else - the first one through being Milton, Milton Graham!

Milton was one of the best players I ever saw in a Chester shirt, and was part of the Graham, Croft, Bennett, Rimmer, attacking side of the 80's, and to see him in the flesh returning to the city 20 years later was a great feeling, and I know he loved it too, and even shared a curry with Chester fans after the Legends Night had reached its conclusion.

Other personal highlights for me were seeing Iain Jenkins travelling down from Scotland to be with us on the night, Jenks would run through a brick wall for Chester, he loves the club, and maybe sometime in the future, he'll be back here.

Seeing the likes of Gary Talbot & Elfed Morris in the same room also filled me with pride, as I tried to piece some of the best players that this club had ever seen, together at the event, and Elfed, now at Colwyn Bay didn't let me down!

One of the most moving moments on the night itself, was Ernie Allen, a Blues fan of over 64 years, who got up to talk about his donation to the Auction, a piece of the Sealand Road end at the old ground (God, I miss that place), and everyone was transfixed on Ernie, and would have loved him to talk all night I think!

I was so pleased everyone had a great time on the night, there was a lot of work involved in the set up and it would be remiss of me not to personally thank Dave Cartwright for his help, and also to Chas Sumner & Grenville Millington for their help in the build up & on the night.

I'd also like to thank the Chester Chronicle who did a superb feature on the event itself, and photographer Rick Matthews, who captured all the Legends on camera, and I know Rick really enjoyed the event too!

Finally on the subject of the Legends Night, I'd like to thank the CFU Working Group, who many of you may not have realised, were working their backsides off on the night from start to finish, helping to make the night go to plan, and also to raise valuable funds for the group.

Now, with all that behind us, things on the pitch haven't progressed very much at all, in fact, we've slipped back to 24 points from safety, and now exited the FA Trophy - were we really bothered about that anyway?

400 Chester fans who attended on Friday night quite clearly states that they were not that bothered, and the owners should take note of the alarming fall in attendances recently, at a club that used to regularly attract over 2500 Chester fans, many of whom have turned their backs on the club due to the present & previous owners with the surname Vaughan, who have completely mis-managed what was once a proud League club.

Eralier I talked about the battling spirit of Harry McNally, well that battling spirit was evident from the young lads who managed to grab a draw (and could have won had it not been for a terrible decision not to award a last minute penalty for the Blues) against Luton. Many people, including myself, thought we'd get turned over by the newly relegated side, but the kids of Chester proved what a poor decision it was to close the Centre of Excellence midway through 2009, as seven of them took to the field and held Luton to a draw.

Jack Rea & Jo Freeman, as well as Shaun Kelly were pretty impressive in that game, and that bodes well for their future, whether that future lies with Chester City depends I guess on whether or not they actually get paid for the efforts, it wouldn't surprise me if the PFA were actually involved in more talks with the lads in the very nesar future - if they are not already.

Turning to CFU matters, and things have progressed slightly, with the new Committee being ratified at the Home Guard Club on Thursday, and a good meeting was held, with opinions being shared about the current state of the club. Expect to hear more soon as the new committee are set to meet prior to Christmas.

It's with Christmas I finish off with, as we are nearing that time of the year again, and when asked what I'd like for Christmas, my response is quite clear:

A change in ownership of the club I love please.

Chester City 0 Luton Town 0 (match report and picture gallery)

Chester City FC: Blues survive Football Conference axe

Chester City FC: On D-day for Chester City FC we send Stephen Vaughan an impassioned plea...

Chester City FC: City Fans United ready to act if the Blues are expelled from Football Conference today

Chester City FC: Blues fan and Chronicle reporter gives his view on the fallout of Saturday's abandoned game with Eastbourne Borough

What a week of football it has been, with crazy results, poor performances and controversy abound. But how do the events compare? Let's find out:

* Case 1: Wigan Athletic being pummelled, thumped and destroyed in a 9-1 drumming.

Sunday's result wasn't the greatest for Wigan. Things looked alright at half-time, having been thoroughly outclassed but only one goal down. Their worst ever second-half sees the result become a more eye-popping 9-1 in favour of Spurs by the final whistle. It's the sort of result the videprinter likes to rub in for fans on the losing side, as it slowly types out Tottenham Hotspurs 9 (NINE) - Wigan Atheltic 1.
Result: - Wigan Athletic fans feel about one-fifth as despondent as Chester City fans do right now. They lost 9-1, with a defensive performance their manager Roberto Martinez hasn't seen so wayward since his playing days at Chester City, under 'team captain' Stephen Vaughan Junior. But, they score the same number of points as they would have done if they'd lost 2-1, and they'll get over it.

Case 2: Ireland vs France and something to do with someone called 'Henry Handball'

Yes, yes, it's ol' Thierry Henry and using his va-va-voom to cynically cheat and unfairly put the Republic of Ireland out of the 2010 World cup with a blatant, disgusting act of cheating. It was an act so disgraceful even the French were quite embarrassed about the whole thing (but not too embarrassed to insist on a match replay, obviously).
Result: Republic of Ireland fans feel about half as despondent as Chester City fans. Yes, this bad result will sting now, but there's still a good team there, and Euro 2012 will be around before they know it. They weren't going to win the World Cup anyway.

Case 3: Swindon Town and the winding up order threat

Swindon Town are facing a winding up order over a £2.45m debt bill which threatens to strangle the life out of the club. Depressing stuff. That's it.
Result: Swindon Town fans feel almost as despondent as Chester City fans. The debt is just over half the size Chester City's was over the summer, but at least good, honest people are trying to sort out the matter for the benefit of the club, without resorting to unsavoury loopholes.

Case 4: Chester City

Well, where to start? Who's the owner of the club now- is it Stephen Vaughan, or is it his son Stephen Vaughan Junior, who in a desperate attempt to show that while dad is officially not a fit and proper person to run a football club (no, really?), has 'bought' the club and will apparently have no influence from Vaughan the Elder.

Assuming Vaughan the Younger did buy the club over the weekend, according to a local radio station, then how much was it for? A consortium failed to buy the club for a rumoured £250,000 last week, with the offer described as 'silly'. Well, clearly Vaughan Junior must have been saving up his pocket money very well, or has been earning £40,000 a week while at Northwich Victoria, if he's made an offer that's matched the asking price (supposedly £750,000)!

Oh, and on top of that, the threadbare team is losing to part-time squads, the players are holding crisis talks, loan players are departing and none can be brought in to replace them, and the crowds are paltry.

Suddenly a one-off handball cheating incident doesn't sound so bad, does it?

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?

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!

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.

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.

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.