October 2010 Archives

Gillingham, Bolton Wanderers, Southampton, Burnley, Exeter City - sound familiar? They are the teams coming between the Chester Exiles darts team and promotion to the next rung of the darting ladder.

Yes, the overlords of the darts league run by the Association of Provincial Football Supporters' Clubs in London, allowed the newly-named Chester Exiles darts team to keep their place in Division Three for season 2010-11, despite their new identity.

Neil Young has vowed to replace the players he feels are under-performing after Chester FC blew the chance to move level on points at the top of the Evo-Stik League First Division North on Saturday.

He said: "I'm not going over the top - this is my job and I'm not prepared to put my neck on the line for those sorts of performances.

"Ultimately the buck stops with me. I'll be the one getting criticised - rightly - because I put the team on the pitch, but if I'm going to take criticism I'm going to take criticism for the right reasons.

Just before half time the announcer at Harrogate informed us that all the pies were already sold out. Rather mournfully he added: "You've eaten us out of house and home."

This lark of suddenly being a 'big club' is taking some getting used to but, I have to admit, I'm enjoying it. So, it seems, are my fellow fans as more than 600 made the journey to Yorkshire on Saturday.

Yet again we hugely outnumbered the home support and I felt a warm glow as I explained to the owner of our hotel how many Chester fans were in town. He was impressed!

We're 10 games into Chester FC's league campaign now, and so far it's gone quite well. OK, the team is one place lower than most fans would like the club to be, but it's early days yet, and there's still a long way to go to overtake our new bitter rivals Chorley!

It is easy to take for granted the fact this team, and the whole management structure, are all-new, given the players have won seven of their 10 Evostik Division One North matches. Possibly because in the last few Chester City FC seasons the squad kept chopping and changing every summer anyway.

Nonetheless, for Chester FC to maintain the momentum, it's vital the team keep putting pressure on the opposition. There have been too many matches so far this season where the first half has been a bit lacking, with the team unable to get a strangehold on the game.

It's a bit like when I was watching my 'other' sport, Formula One, through my bleary eyes at silly-o-clock on Sunday morning, to see Lewis Hamilton struggling without third gear in the Japan Grand Prix. And that, to bring home a slightly dodgy analogy, is what Chester FC are missing too. They are either right up to speed and scoring goals for fun (particularly via the impressive Michael Wilde), or they get held to 0-0 at half-time by Harrogate Railway Athletic, who currently prop up the table.

Minor quibbles aside, it's absolutely great to see how many fans continue to support the club both home and away, even after the initial novelty has faded. The initial budgeted average home crowd figure of 1,100 is beginning to look quite tiny...