Papering over the cracks

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.