It’s not often that a club in the sixth-tier of English football appears on the radar of a global superstar and national treasure.
But Chorley Town’s players got the seal of approval from Adele herself – in the form of a heart emoji on Twitter – after their belting rendition of her seminal hit “Someone Like You” following a 2-0 win over Derby County in the FA Cup went viral earlier this month.
The original song, which has amassed over 1.5 billion views on YouTube, has been the soundtrack to Chorley’s miraculous FA Cup journey which began against Gateshead five rounds ago and pits them against Premier League Wolves for a place in the last 16.
If they do achieve mission impossible, manager Jamie Vermiglio insists the scenes inside the Victoria Park changing rooms will be less raucous than before.
“The emotions got the better of us,” he told reporters via Zoom. “When you’ve got people in homes self-isolating and not able to see their families and they see a group of 20 players singing we absolutely understand that does not look good.
“On the other hand, we hope people see the positive side of it and take it as a feelgood story. Nevertheless, we’ve learnt from it and if we are fortunate enough to win we’ll be sure to celebrate the right way and try and set a really good example.
“If we win we will be singing but we just need to do it in a bit more of a socially distant manner and one that’s readily accepted in the eyes of the public and the laws and legislations that are there at the moment.”
The ease with which Chorley’s players’ rattled through the lyrics made plain that Adele has been an honourary member of the dressing room for some time. “It has been the club anthem ever since I’ve come [to Chorley in 2016],” reveals captain Scott Leather. “It’s just been passed down through the years. I think its a good tune. Everyone is just remembering us for the song rather than the football aren’t they?!”
But before Leather and his teammates warm up those vocal chords, there is the small matter of adding Wolves’ name to those of Wigan Athletic, Peterborough United and Derby County on Chorley’s list of football league conquests during this run.
A shock FA Cup win against Wolves wouldn’t be a first for Chorley. They famously beat them 3-0 in a first round replay in November 1986. The club has released a “Spirit of 86′ Replica” shirt, especially for the occasion.
“If the players can be motivated even more we’re going to try it by utilising the spirit of ’86 and what that team did,” Vermiglio said. “If the lads play to their capabilities and do the extraordinary and get a result, then it will be these players that are talked about for the next 40 years.”
Although Victory Park will sadly be without fans for yet another momentous match, virtual tickets are being sold online with Jamie Carragher among those to have bought one.
We need ???? SOMEONE LIKE YOUUUU! ???? to buy & help push VIRTUAL TICKETS ahead of our #FACup clash with @Wolves on Friday. ????
— Chorley FC (@chorleyfc) January 20, 2021
Grab yours herehttps://t.co/fgbz8YzlQ9
To show our appreciation, those who donate will receive:
???? Souvenir e-ticket!
???? Free raffle entry! pic.twitter.com/LzeOs0Asxu
The Magpies can also rely upon the support of pupils at Locking Stumps Community Primary School in Warrington where Vermiglio has been a headteacher since 2017.
“They’re inspired by it, they’re inspired by the lads, inspired by what we’re doing,” he says. “You don’t often see your headteacher on the television and the last three weeks I’ve been on the TV more than Ant and Dec so they’re absolutely made up.”
They will be even more made up if Chorley’s FA Cup dream continues. Beat Wolves and they will get to say “Hello” to Southampton or Arsenal in the fifth round.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3sKjGdP
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