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30
August 2006
RAVENHILL RETURNS TO DONCASTER
Ricky Ravenhill has returned to Doncaster Rovers followig
his loan spell at Chester. Midfielder Ravenhill made
1+2 appearances in a City shirt and was currently under
suspension having been sent-off in the home match with
Wrexham. The club wanted to sign the player on a permanent
basis but this has been refused by the Football League
as City are currently over the 60% income wage cap ruling
and as such need to lose players before any more can
come in. Both Graham Allan and Jermaine McSporran are
currently available for transfer.
Chairman Stephen Vaughan confirmed: “We have a
meeting with the Football League on Thursday but the
reality is until we move players out of the club, we
cannot register any others. We basically have less than
48 hours before the transfer window closes, and we are
working hard to try and make room in the squad, in order
to bring players in.”
29 August 2006
DEFEAT IN MINI DERBY
The reserves lost 1-0 to rivals Wrexham last night at
Buckley Town.
28 August 2006
DESERVED POINT FOR CITY
A last minute strike by Roberto Martinez brought City
a well deserved point from Plainmoor on Saturday. City
dominated possession in the opening periods without
really troubling Abbey in the home goal, Jamie Ward
gave the Gulls the lead with a goal from nothing just
before the break, lobbing John Danby but Chester were
level through substitute Drewe Broughton ten minutes
after the restart. Ward restored the home lead and it
looked like City would suffer a fourth straight defeat
before Martinez popped up to salvage a point.
City remain in 12th position in League Two and entertain
top side Swindon Town on Friday (19:45hrs). The Robins
have won all five of their opening fixtures. This will
be Swindon's first-ever trip to Deva Stadium, the last
time the sides met was back in April 1987 with City
running out 2-0 winners at Sealand Road on that occasion
thanks to goals from Ricky Greenough and Stuart Rimmer.
• League
Two table
25 August 2006
HESSEY AVAILABLE
Defender
Sean Hessey is available for first team duty the first
time this season at Torquay United tomorrow following
his five match suspension. Hessey turned out for the
reserves in their 1-1 draw with Manchester City in midweek
and was taken off at the break.
Manager Mark Wright said: “We took him off because
we didn’t want him injured. He knows me inside
out and he knows what I’m about. Sean knows he
gives me that depth as a sweeper and he’s committed
and can play in a number of positions. I think we’ve
actually missed him because Laurence Wilson can play
further forward and we haven’t had Kevin Sandwith
available.”
Torquay, managed by former City boss Ian Atkins, lie
two places above the Blues in tenth spot with seven
points having beaten Barnet (A), Rochdale (H) and drawing
at Hartlepool United. They were dumped out of the Carling
Cup in midweek at Plainmoor 2-0 by Norwich City. The
Gulls are expected to welcome back both Martin Phillips
and Craig Taylor from injury for the game which kick’s-off
at 15:00hrs.
Picture © Evening
Leader
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24 August 2006
DUO CAN LEAVE
Two players signed by Mark Wright in the summer have
been told they have no future at the club. Jermaine
McSporran and Graham
Allan can leave as City attempt to cut their wage
bill which they need to do should they make the Ricky
Ravenhill loan signing permanent, or take on any more
players before Thursday’s transfer deadline. Enquiries
from Nationwide Conference clubs have already been received
for the out of favour pair.
City have been warned that they are near to or over
the current salary level, which permits no more than
60% of turnover can be spent on wages. A meeting has
been arranged with the Football League next Thursday
to discuss the situation.
23 August 2006
CITY CRASH OUT
The
Blues’ run on the Carling Cup ended at the first
hurdle after they were knocked out by Leeds United last
night. City’s defence, with David Artell and Laurence
Wilson magnificent, held Leeds United at bay until the
56th minute when Eirik Bakke scored the only goal of
the game to send the 1,000 travelling fans home disappointed.
City looked comfortable at the back for long periods
but struggled to make any headway up front for most
of the 90 minutes, the best chance of the evening fell
to Gregg Blundell who, after receiving a superb through
ball from Roberto Martinez, opted to pass wide to Drewe
Broughton instead of testing goalkeeper Neil Sullivan
from ten yards. The introduction of Paul Rutherford
and Chris Holroyd in the latter stages of the match
did spark some urgency.
Manager Mark Wright was pleased
with the response from the side following the disappointment
of Sunday. He said: “Overall I thought we could
have got something out of the game, but I was pleased
and proud of what my players did, considering we conceded
two bad goals against Wrexham at the weekend. The
centre halves have had a telling off since the Wrexham
game, but they played the way they should against
Leeds - strong, organised and at it. Probably on another
day we would have sneaked something.”
Wright went on the praise City’s
two young substitutes: “Chris Holroyd didn’t
look out of place again when he came on, he’s
only a youngster, but he held the ball up, wants to
get at people and showed some nice touches.
Our other substitute Paul Rutherford,
was maybe a little overawed, but it’s hard to
come on that late in a game. He did show a lot of good
touched, he wants to get on the ball, and he wants to
get forward so I was really pleased with our two youngsters.”
21 August 2006
DERBY BLUES FOR CITY
City
suffered their second League two defeat of the week
on Sunday with rivals Wrexham winning 2-1 at Deva Stadium.
Goals either side of the break by Neil Roberts, from
the penalty spot, and Mark Jones gave City a mountain
to climb after they’d been reduced to ten men
on 25 minutes following the sending-off of Ricky Ravenhill
who was adjudged by referee Uriah Rennie to have followed-
through on goalkeeper Michael Ingram.
Parity was restored after a red card for Wrexham’s
Steve Evans 13 minutes from time. This signaled a fightback
for City who’d just brought on Chris Holroyd,
for a League debut, and Drewe Broughton in attack. Jamie
Hand pulled a goal back nine minutes from time and both
Broughton and Paul Linwood had chances for an equaliser
but time ran out for the Blues.
Manager Mark Wright was less than impressed by the performance
of referee Rennie: He said: “I have spoken to
the officials and made a number of points. As video
evidence has proved, Ingham was a yard and a half outside
his area. When he collected the ball, why did he chest
it before catching it? Simply because he realised he
was outside his area. It was just common sense. How
the linesman missed it I will never know.”
City have a break from league action tomorrow night
when they visit Championship side Leeds United in the
first round of the Carling Cup. Kick-off at Elland Road
is 19:45hrs.
Picture © Evening
Leader
RAVENHILL SUSPENDED
Ricky Ravenhill has received a three match ban after
his sending off for violent conduct yesterday. He will
miss the games against Leeds United (A), Torquay United
(A) and Swindon Town (H).
19 August 2006
TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE FOR DERBY
Manager Mark Wright should have both Kevin Sandwith
and Drewe Broughton available for selection ahead of
Sunday’s all-ticket home clash with Wrexham, kick-off
12:00hrs. Sandwith has yet to feature in the opening
three matches after suffering a hamstring injury prior
to the opening fixture with Accrington Stanley.
City’s opponents currently lie 10th with one win
and two draws from their opening fixtures and visited
Deva Stadium only four months ago with the Blues running
out 2-1 winners on that occasion thanks to goals from
Ben Davies and Derek Asamoah. Wrexham welcome back defenders
Shaun Pejic and Lee Roche both of whom missed the start
of the season while Midfielder Darren Ferguson is likely
to be fit following an injury last week.
Tickets for the match are still available and will be
on sale from 10:00-12:00 on Saturday morning.On
Sunday Cheshire Police will be working with forces from
the North Wales Police, British Transport Police and
Merseyside Mounted Officers to ensure a trouble-free
occasion.
Action from the derby game
played at Sealand Road in October 1953. Chester won
the game 2-1 with goals from Johnny Thomas and Don Travis.
There were 14,627 fans at the game with many sitting
on the wall at the Sealand Road End.
EXILES MEMBERSHIP 2006/07
Membership fees for this season
are as follows.
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£12.00 |
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£9.00 |
NEW
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£20.00 |
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Europe) |
£15.00 |
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16 August 2006
RESERVES BEATEN
The reserves, under new manager Simon Davies, kicked-off
their Pontins Holiday League Division One West season
this afternoon with a 4-0 defeat at Accrington Stanley.
In goal for Chester was Phil Palethorpe a trialist from
Tranmere Rovers.
Chester City: Palethorpe (trialist GK), Marples,
Potter (Newton 68) Cadwallader, Allen, Kelly, Wade,
Rutherford, Holroyd, Barnes, McSporran. Subs not used:
Vernon, Rule, McManos.
TRIO RETURN TO TRAINING
Both Phil Bolland and Kevin Sandwith have returned to
training. Bolland dislocated a shoulder in pre-season
and Sandwith picked up a hamstring injury on the eve
of the new campaign. There is more good news for City
fans as Drewe Broughton has also resumed training following
a head injury sustained at Hereford and looks likely
to be fit for Sunday’s clash with Wrexham.
15 August 2006
UNBEATEN RUN ENDS
Two
defensive lapses cost City dear as they suffered their
first defeat of the season at newly-promoted Hereford
United on Saturday. The Blues failed to creat any great
chances of note in a fairly forgettable encounter but
were undone at the back by the pace of Stuart Whittaker
who scored the first goal and laid on the second as
the midfield and defence went awol with 20 minutes remaining.
City manager Mark Wright was critical of his sides defending:
“I don’t think we turned up all afternoon.
Both goals should not have happened in a million years.
They should have been stamped out. It was bad defending.
Hereford played football as we know they could and they
deserved to win. However, I don’t think they troubled
us in the first half and it did look as though it was
going to end up as a goalless draw.”
The Blues are not in action again until Sunday when
neighbours Wrexham visit Deva Stadium for an all-ticket
12:00 match. Tickets are on sale at the ground this
week from 10:00-16:00 Monday-Friday. In the event that
any tickets remain unsold they will go on sale from
10:00-12:00 on Saturday morning.
VICTORY FOR YOUTH TEAM
The youth team kicked off their new season with a 4-1
victory at Accrington Stanley thanks to goals from Paul
McManus, Jack Rowlands, Sean Newton and Jordan Barnes.
• Match
report | Fixtures
| Table
| Stats
11 August 2006
SAME AGAIN CITY?
City could be unchanged for the third match of the season
as they prepare to play Hereford United at Edgar Street
tomorrow (15:00hrs) looking to continue their winning
start. Kevin Sandwith who injured a hamstring on the
eve of the season may not recover in time for the game
against last season’s Conference runner’s-up.
Missing from the Bulls line-up is ex-City goalkeeper
Wayne Brown who was injured in the opening day 2-0 victory
at Stockport County. This is the first visit back to
Hereford since the Blues ended their championship season
with a 2-1 defeat in May 2002.
• The
last time we met
9 August 2006
WINNING START CONTINUES
Manager Mark Wright named an unchanged starting line-up
last night as City continued their fine start to the
season with a 3-1 win over Bury. An own goal from Colin
Woodthorpe ten minutes from the break gave City the
lead at rain swept Gigg Lane after Roberto Martinez
had headed goalwards from a corner. The home side equalised
on the stroke of half-time after City lost possession
in midfield. Jon Walters restored the lead five minutes
after the break and wrapped the points up in the last
minute with his second goal of the night.
Assistant manager Graham Barrow back on the ground where
he managed this time last year said: “I thought
we were full value for the win, particularly in the
second half.”
The win moved Chester into second place in League Two
behind Darlington on goal difference.
YOUTH START AT STANLEY
The Youth Team begin their 2006/07 campaign in the Puma
Youth Alliance with a visit to Accrington Stanley on
Saturday morning, kick-off 11:00hrs.
8 August 2006
ON THE ROAD WITH CITY
Chester take to the road tonight when they make the
short journey to Gigg Lane to play Bury in their second
League Two fixture of the season. Manager Mark Wright
will have Ricky Ravenhill available for selection after
the midfielder served a one match ban at the weekend
and defender Kevin Sandwith should also be available
following a hamstring injury. The Shakers kicked-off
their campaign with a 2-1 defeat at Milton Keynes Dons
at the weekend and are expected to have striker Matthew
Tipton available after injury forced him to miss Saturday’s
defeat.
7 August 2006
GOOD START FOR CITY
Manager
Mark Wright was satisfied after seeing his new-look
City side defeat Accrington Stanley 2-0. City gave debuts
to no fewer than nine players at Deva Stadium on Saturday
and one of those, Drewe Broughton, opened the scoring
on 15 minutes with an unmarked header following an inswinging
laurence Wilson corner. The Blues dominated the opening
period and should have gone in at the break leading
by a bigger margin. The result was put beyond doubt
four minutes from time as Gregg Blundell converted a
penalty after he’d been brought down in the box.
Wright said: “I think Accrington will realise
that they have been in a tough match and that there
are no easy games in this league. It is completely different
from the Conference because it is a real physical league.
From our point of view
it was a good start. For the first half hour we did
well and maybe should have been more than one up. I
think we have got a strong team and there is at least
30% more to come from us. It was also good to keep a
clean sheet and we looked strong defensively.”
City are next in action tomorrow night when they travel
the short distance to face Bury at Gigg Lane (19:45hrs).
Picture © Evening
Leader
4 August 2006
HERE WE GO AGAIN
It’s
been all change at Deva Stadium this summer and tomorrow
the new-look Chester City welcome Accrington Stanley
back to the Football League following a 44 year absence.
Stanley, crowned Nationwide Conference champions in
May have played at Deva Stadium before as the two sides
met in the 2003/04 Conference season with the game at
Chester in November 2003 ending 3-3 before the Blues
won the return match 2-0 on their way to the Championship.
Manager Mark Wright can’t
wait for the action to start. He told the local press:
“If you don’t get excited and experience
that special feeling, when a new season gets under
way, you really shouldn’t be involved. Everybody
involved feels the anticipation and should be raring
to go and that's exactly how I feel as this campaign
gets even closer. Besides being the opening game,
the match has an extra dimension as it’s Accrington’s
first game back in the Football League. There is tremendous
media interest and from our perspective we have virtually
a new squad, which creates more interest and anticipation.
There is bound to be a large crowd, and the atmosphere
should be fantastic.”
There should be a big crowd at
Deva Stadium for tomorrow’s historic match that
will kick-off at 15:00hrs. City will be without two
players as new signing Ricky Ravenhill (1 match) and
defender Sean Hessey (5 match) miss out through suspension.
Also missing will be Phil Bolland who has a shoulder
injury and Glenn Cronin and Rob Marsh-Evans who both
have broken foot bones.
•
The
last time we met in the Football League
•
Chester
v Accrington Top 10 matches
LEAGUE WARN CITY
The Blues have been informed
by the Football League that that their current wage
bill exceeds the salary cap. As a result it may be that
some players have to be loaned out or even transferred
to reduce the current wage bill. Meanwhile City are
still on the look out for a second goalkeeper with Caernarfon
player Paul Pritchard a possible target. Chairman Steve
Vaughan is wary of the current wage situation though:
“We have to be careful because we have exceeded
our permitted salary capping limit, but I understand
that emergency goalkeeping cover can be excluded from
the current legislation.”
1 August 2006
ROAR ON THE BLUES
The
search is on for the loudest and most passionate supporters
in The Football League, with the launch of the ‘Real
Football Roar’ award.
With The Football League being the
sole focus of attention for the first fortnight of
the new season, the award has been developed to encourage
fans to play an active, and vocal, role in welcoming
back the return of Real Football.
‘The Real Football Roar’
award will see The Football League measure the decibel
levels at every Coca-Cola Football League match played
during the opening two weekends of the season –
with the club whose supporters generate the most noise,
as the teams emerge from the tunnel, winning the honour
of being named the loudest fans in The Coca-Cola Football
League.
In launching the ‘Real Football
Roar’ award Football League Chairman Lord Mawhinney
said: “The start of the new season is an exciting
time for all supporters and the atmosphere they generate
is vital to the spectacle of League football.
“The ‘Real Football
Roar’ award is something that all fans will
want to win for their club and I encourage everyone
to make themselves heard as the big kick-off approaches.”
The findings of The Football League
Supporters’ Survey 2006 – which featured
the views of more than 43,000 fans – show that,
on matchdays, ‘It is good match atmosphere that
the supporter is looking for above anything else’.
Coca-Cola Football League Ambassador,
Chris Kamara, has also welcomed the new award: “I
think this is a great idea” he said “and
I would encourage all supporters to get along to their
local club’s ‘Real Football Roar’
match and sing their hearts out for the lads.”
The measurements at each ground
will be taken from the centre-circle as the teams emerge
by a representative of PA Sport. They will be using
sound meters provided by Cirrus Research – a leading
developer and producer of noise measurement instrumentation.
YOUTH FRIENDLY
The youth team traveled to play
a friendly match against Scunthorpe United U18 at Bottesford
Town this afternoon and came away with a 3-1 victory
thanks to goals from Paul McManus, Jordan Barnes and
James Owen.
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