What would Harry say?

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.