20 Questions: Chesterfield

Today we’re taking a closer look at Paul Cook’s champions, back in the EFL next season after six years away

The Scarf My Father Wore

Apr 04, 2024

Thursday 4 April 2024

NEXT HOME GAME: Morecambe – Saturday 13 April, 3pm

NEXT AWAY GAME: Sutton – Saturday 6 April, 3pm

If you’d like to write an article for The Scarf My Father Wore, share a few snippets or photos, or advertise your business, please email thescarfmyfatherwore@substack.com.

Dear County fans, Stopfordians, Chesterfield supporters, and anyone else from The Football Family joining us today, a very warm welcome to your Thursday edition of The Scarf My Father Wore.

Before we start, I feel I should inform you that I have a rather serious medical condition that requires me to watch the following video every single time there’s any mention of Chesterfield, so please excuse me for the next fifteen minutes.

Ah, that’s better. For any non-County fans joining us today, I’d probably choose that game at Saltergate in April 1997 as my greatest ever moment watching County – the night we clinched automatic promotion to Division One. I guarantee a handful of our readers will be watching that again now, still getting goosebumps reliving those incredible scenes at the final whistle.

In years to come, Chesterfield fans will be doing the same with videos from the last couple of weeks, with the Spireites heading back to the Football League after six seasons in the fifth tier. Congratulations to our own National League title-winner Ash Palmer, the man who scored THAT goal against Man City Paul Cook, and also to Chesterfield fan and Legends Of The Spire editor Dave Garratt, who joins us today for the latest instalment of our ‘20 Questions’ series.

Our first live event of 2024 is taking place this month. ‘Flynny at the Finger’ – an evening with County legend Mike Flynn – is at The Fingerpost on Wednesday 17 April. Start time 7.30pm. If you’d like to join us, please email thescarfmyfatherwore@substack.com. Tickets are £10 (or £5 for paid subscribers plus anyone who’s written an article for The Scarf My Father Wore). That includes a full colour souvenir programme, and even a little bit of stand-up comedy!

Today’s edition is sponsored by Three Shires Chimney Services, joining The Scarf My Father Wore for the first time! A big thank you to Perran. Give him a call on 07718 614063 or email info@threeshireschimneyservices.com for a free, friendly no-obligation chat, or to get booked in!

Thanks also to Focus Food Services, who sponsor our Chesterfield content on the website.

Finally, I’m currently walking every street in Stockport to raise money for mental health charity Mentell. If you’d like to make a donation to help me reach my target, please click here.

Total distance so far: 136.36 miles

Total steps so far: 217,174

Total raised so far: £1,666

Total completed streets so far: 271 (Click here for the full list, which includes reports and photos from every day of the walk.)

Further information on the walk can be found by clicking here.

Des Junior

Chesterfield currently play in the National League, which is the fifth tier of English football. What’s that like as a division?

I’ve quite enjoyed the six seasons we’ve had in this division, although that’s probably easy to say when you’re on the way out of it! I’ll admit that I’d not heard of all the clubs we were to face when we entered the league, but that has been part of the charm of it. Lots of new clubs to face and new people to meet along the way. It’s certainly one of the hardest divisions to get out of and you need to get your house in order to earn the opportunity to go for the title. I have a newfound appreciation of non-league and the people that make our national game what it is so it’s not the end of the world to fall through the trapdoor, even if it does feel like that at the time.

Describe a typical matchday for yourself in Chesterfield.

I live up in Leeds so travel down to the game with family after the usual swimming lessons and the like that take up your weekends. I meet up with my folks, who still live in Chesterfield, and take in the game with them. My eldest son has just started taking an interest this season so to see his interest grow in the club and to see him find his first favourite player has been lovely to see. He’s just been a mascot for the first time so it’s been an amazing ride this season.

Who are your club’s biggest rivals?

Mansfield Town for sure. The after-effects of the miners’ strike in the area still lingers on, even a few generations down the line. I’m sure the local police will be hoping that Mansfield go up to League One this season so that we avoid the derby, but the fanbase will want to lock horns with them again. There have been plenty of little rivalries in the meantime but nothing even close to the scale of what a Chesterfield v Mansfield match brings.

What’s your best memory following Chesterfield?

I really loved our League Cup run in 2006-07. That year we knocked out Wolves, Man City and West Ham and only narrowly exited the competition against Charlton on penalties. Derek Niven, a club stalwart, scored an amazing late volley to win the game against Man City. This season has been incredible, though, so nothing much will top our National League title.

What’s your worst memory following Chesterfield?

Relegation to the National League in 2017-18 was crushing. The club had been dysfunctional for a long time and the slide from League One play-offs to National League just felt like a long, slow death. A 4-1 defeat at Forest Green in April put the final nail in the coffin and there was no way back from there. Dark times at the club which I hope we never go back to.

If Chesterfield was a TV show, which one would it be?

For a good period of time we were like a terrible episode of Hollyoaks. If you can think of a scandal that’s ridiculous and quite funny at the same time, that’s us. From fake raffle winners to the club secretary abusing people online and then saying someone in Scunthorpe had hacked his phone. It was a laughable time at the club. We’ve never been far away from something appearing online like furloughing players or closing concourse facilities for away fans and then giving them fairy cakes. I can assure you it’s as bemusing to us fans as it is everyone else but we are good at making light of it, and have come out of the other side… hopefully.

What’s your ground called, and how would you describe it for someone who’s never visited before?

It was the B2net, then the Proact, then the Technique, and now the SMH Group Stadium. We’ve had it for 14 years now and I love it. It’s a well presented 10,000 capacity stadium that already holds plenty of memories. We’ve got a big Tesco next door and plenty of pubs and places to grab food. It’s not in the town centre but the walk isn’t that far from the station. Well worth a visit, even as a neutral.

What’s your thoughts on Stockport County?

I’ve always quite liked County. A proper league club with a good fanbase. One of my earliest Chesterfield memories was the 4-0 win against County at Saltergate in 2004-05. The goals were great that day, but I didn’t see any of them because the fog was so dense. I know the 2-2 draw at your place in 2021-22 added a bit of needle but I think on the whole Chesterfield fans quite enjoy having County on the fixture list.

Action from Chesterfield’s last visit to Edgeley Park (Photo courtesy of Mike Petch)

Have you ever visited the town of Stockport before?

I haven’t actually. But I did an art degree back in the day and knew a few people from Stockport on the course. If I ever went up that way to meet up with people, we’d do that annoying thing and meet in Manchester – sorry! With you looking good for promotion too it might have to be a Football League Trophy tie to get my away trip in.

What colours do you play in, and what’s the best ever kit Chesterfield have had?

Blue shirts, white shorts, blue socks. The blue has usually been a darker blue but has changed shades over the years! My favourite kit has always been the promotion-winning shirt of 1994-95, with white and red triangles coming down from the top of the shirt. The epic green and white striped away shirt from around the same time is also regularly requested as an away shirt option every year.

If Chesterfield were playing in the next FA Cup final, who’d be at Wembley as your celebrity fan?

We lack a bit in the celebrity department at Chesterfield. In the FA Cup semi-final run of 1996-97 our celebrity fan was the Page 3 model Jo Guest (and she wasn’t even a Chesterfield fan). Jason Statham was born pretty close to Chesterfield though, so maybe he would come along with a big shark.

What’s the most interesting fact about Chesterfield we might not know?

It was a Chesterfield company, Markham and Co, who made the tunnelling equipment to bore the holes for the Channel Tunnel. I was only around 10 at the time and lived not too far from the factory so always found that really fascinating growing up.

Who’s your all time Chesterfield hero?

Anyone who was a fan during the Jack Lester years will probably have him near or close to the top of their all time heroes. He was so natural on the ball but also had that nasty side to him too. You may remember the hat-trick against County in 2010-11 when he was at his prime. [Des: I certainly do. That was on New Year’s Day. I’d been out till about 6am on New Year’s Eve and remember physically shaking on the train to Chesterfield, before sitting in the away end with a stinking hangover.] I remember at the time telling myself to enjoy watching him as another player like him won’t be around for decades. The number 14 shirt is still retired in his honour.

What sort of attendances do you get, and how would you describe Chesterfield’s fanbase?

It’s been incredible this year, averaging over 8,000 fans at home. The fanbase always turn out for the big moments at Wembley and the work of the Community Trust engaging the next generation of fans has been really successful. We’re a welcoming family club with plenty of people of all ages attending matches, always travelling well to away games as well. We’re optimistic that the crowds will hold up again in League Two next season.

What’s your manager like?

Paul Cook is a motivator, and everyone loves him. Two league titles in two spells with the club puts him right up there as one of our all time greats. He loves and lives the game, gets sent off a fair bit, and is obviously best known for his voice changes during post-match interviews.

What’s your chairman like?

The Kirk brothers are local chaps and new investors to the club, now owning over 75%. They’ve made their money in North Sea oil so should have enough to take us back to League One. They want to do it sustainably though and with the Community Trust still owning a part of the club it’ll hopefully be done the right way, leaving a legacy for the town.

What’s it like for a night out in Chesterfield?

My last night out in Chesterfield was about a decade ago so I’m probably not the best person to ask. You’ll probably bump into the management team and players though as they’ve been celebrating consistently since winning the league! Danny Webb, the assistant manager, recently commented that you’re never far from a pub in the town so that probably speaks volumes.

What’s the best thing about being a Chesterfield fan?

It’s never boring! I’ve always appreciated that we haven’t sat in the middle of a league for thirty years. We go up, we go down, reach the odd cup final, and have some incredible memories along the way. I’d like to think that we’re a decent, proper football club that has finally earned its place in the Football League again. What more can you ask for.

What’s the worst thing about being a Chesterfield fan?

Some of the scandals of the last few years have been hard to stomach and personally I really disliked the times when we were signing people like Ched Evans. This seems to be a distant memory now though and we’re riding the crest of a wave so let’s hope it stays that way for a while.

What are your hopes for next season?

Hopefully we can quickly find our feet in League Two and replicate the success of teams like County. If we recruit well like we did last season then I don’t see why we can’t be aiming for the top seven, but there are so many things that can go wrong along the way so who knows. The main thing is we’re back in the league and ready to have a good go at a double promotion.

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Photo of the day

Brisbane Road, London

John Motson interviews County’s Frank Worthington on the day of our 1-1 draw at Leyton Orient in January 1988.

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Today in SK

🎬 Cinema

Two films at The Savoy Cinema (SK4) today. Kung Fu Panda 4 (PG) at 5.45pm, followed by Anyone But You (15) at 8pm. Click here for tickets.

💿 DJ

One of the all time greats, Beastie Boys, will be celebrated with a special at Bask (SK1) tonight. DJ Ron Blanco will be playing huge slices from their back catalogue alongside hip-hop anthems. Bring your best moves! 8pm. Tickets free.

🍺 Food and drink

If you’re in Stockport today, pop into The Petersgate Tap (SK1) for a couple of pints. Open till 11pm.

Pie Meal Deal at The Friary (SK3). Any pie or pudding and chips with peas, curry or gravy. Plus tea or coffee. £7.95. (Greenhalgh’s Pies £1 extra.)