Chesterfield Season Preview: the rebuild

Last season was disastrous for Chesterfield, who finished bottom of League One, 13 points adrift of safety. Just what went wrong? Supporter Alex Ambler discusses the problems at the Proact…

Last year was a shambles right from the beginning. It all started in pre-season when our commercial manager thought it’d be a good idea to fake a raffle winner as the amount of tickets bought was not enough to cost the cover the trip with the squad to Hungary. This sparked a horrendous 10 months which resulted in a rock bottom finish, losing our best players, losing our chairman and a lot of fans along the way. The next incident came in November when at our AGM, chairman Dave Allen resigned to the shock of everybody there leaving the club in a very questionable financial situation. This led to January where we lost arguably our two best players Gboly Ariyibi and Jay O’Shea who joined Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United respectively and inevitably meant the end for boss Danny Wilson. Things looked on the up with the appointment of Gary Caldwell but poor transfers, tactics and team selections meant he turned out to be twice as worse leading us to a rock bottom finish. Not to mention the large amount of injuries to key players such as Ched Evans, Tommy Lee, Dan Jones and Paul McGinn.

Some feel Ian Evatt was your best player last season and are pleased he is staying on. Is there a need for a more mobile centre-back alongside him?

It was fair to say that there weren’t many stand out players in a positive manner last season. Captain and Player of the Year Ian Evatt was the rock at the back which meant our losses were at least not thrashings but he has one major downfall which is his pace. Therefore we do need a more mobile centre back but that’s easier said than done as they’re not easy to find. We have Sam Hird who isn’t that slow but isn’t going to beat many strikers in a race unfortunately. In terms of our shopping list a fast centre back wouldn’t be near the top in my opinion but would be a great addition if we were to sign one.

Bradley Barry and Scott Wiseman join from Swindon and Scunthorpe respectively. Were they signed with a 3-5-2 system in mind, or do you think they will compete for a right-back spot?

The signings of Bradley Barry and Scott Wiseman are clearly to fit Caldwell’s wingback system and to be honest, I am happy along with Binnom-Williams that we have signed these players as I believe last season this was the area that proved to be very scarce as injuries to McGinn and Jones proved. Another reason I’m happy with these signings is that last season we tried playing midfielders at wingback which clearly didn’t suit the players so now I believe the system could work as we have players who can comfortably play in those positions.

The other signing from Scunthorpe is Joe Anyon, who only shipped 11 goals in nine League One games last year. With your two most-used goalkeepers from last season no longer there, do you expect Anyon to start every week?

Joe Anyon is also another great acquisition as we have shown how vulnerable we are without our first team keeper as the last two times we were relegated, Tommy Lee happened to be injured so it will be good to have some competition and to know that if one was to get inured it’ll be good to have a good replacement. In terms of who will start more, I think initially it will be Anyon as Tommy still isn’t 100% fit but once Tommy is back it will be the case of how well Anyon is playing and if he deserves to keep the first team spot but either way I’m happy we have the choice.

Ritchie Humphreys is edging towards coaching at 38 while Laurence Maguire spent some of last season on loan in the National League North. Was it important to sign a left-back in Jordan Binnom-Williams?

I believe Jerome Binnom-Williams signing to be a very good one as before we had Dan Jones and Dion Donohue in that position. Obviously now Dan Jones has been released so there was a need for a replacement but also as Donohue is more of a central midfielder despite playing well at left back last season. Despite the necessities, JBW is also a very good player both attacking and defensively as he has shown so far in this pre-season and in general I am very happy that we have signed him.

Other non-league campaigners from last season are your new signings, Jordan Sinnott and Delial Brewster. Will it be a big jump for them?

It’s always hard to tell whether or not a non-league signing will do well with the step up but I always have an open mind as a lot of non-league signings have proven to be good players like Krystian Dennis, Charlie Raglan, Ollie Banks and Dan Gardner. And with Jordan Sinnott all I’ve heard from Halifax fans is that he can go all the way and by all accounts has had a great start to pre-season. With Delial Brewster, it’s never easy being released from a Premier League club and I don’t know what to think. Like a lot of players he’s had a decent start to pre-season but I’m just afraid he’ll turn out like Reece Mitchell who was quite poor last season after being released by Chelsea. But as I said, I will always keep an open mind. I’m never one to rule out a new signing straight away.

Playmaker Jon Nolan joins Shrewsbury. Where will the creativity come from this season?

Of course I would have loved it of we kept hold of Nolan but it was clear he didn’t want to stay. He played a massive role in the centre of the park as he was solid and creative and he has left a big gap to fill. But with Donohue being able to get a chance in midfield and Jordan Sinnott coming in I believe in them two we have the right mix to be creative and stable. We also have other options in Connor Dimaio and youngster Joe Rowley who have both shown that they are capable of stepping up when needed.

Gozie Ugwu netted 17 in the division below while Chris O’Grady was a respected Championship target man. You should have plenty of power up top this year…

Once again I am very happy with our business so far, and the signings of Gozie Ugwu and Chris O’Grady only add to our current firepower up top. Personally it’ll be interesting to see who starts next season with there being currently at least five capable strikers in the form of O’Grady, Ugwu, Dennis, Brewster and German. Personally I’d like to see Dennis and Ugwu start as they seem to be the right mix with Gozie being the brute and Kristian being the workhorse. But O’Grady has a proven track record in the higher leagues as too does German in the reserves so it’s a great situation to be in.

What are your thoughts ahead of the League Two season as a whole? Any potential dark horses for you?

In terms of League 2 as a whole it’ll be a very interesting season as in my opinion there’s no clear promotion favourite and the addition of Forest Green will make for a very interesting away day. As for us I like the idea of playing our main rivals, Mansfield, again and also other relatively local games such as Notts County, Lincoln, Grimsby and Port Vale. If I had to make a prediction right now I’d go with Luton to win the league, Chesterfield to finish 5th and Forest Green to go down with Newport.

The Football Lab’s Verdict

With Evatt staying on and a proven target man in O’Grady joining, Chesterfield should be strong in both boxes. Their midfield is less convincing though and with off-field problems lingering, promotion may have to wait another year. 9th