It is a measure of Chesterfield’s stunning start to the 2023-24 National League campaign that they have accumulated more points after their opening 15 matches than both of last season’s record-breaking top two Wrexham and Notts County.
Rather than suffer a hangover from an agonising penalty shootout defeat to The Magpies at Wembley in May, Paul Cook and his squad have evidently used it as fuel to attempt to go one step further this time around. The Spireites have racked up 38 points so far – four and five more than Notts County and Wrexham managed respectively at this stage in 2022-23.
With over two-thirds of the season still to play, Cook and his players are naturally urging calm, and while supporters are receptive to that message they are also savouring these times. Considering their club’s recent history has included back-to-back 24th place finishes in League One and League Two, a narrow escape from plummeting further into the National League North and a period of apathy and disaffection towards an unpopular former owner, you can hardly blame them.
Cook’s departure after a League One play-off semi-final loss to Preston North End in 2015 at the end of his first spell in charge, immediately set in motion the club’s rapid demise with League Two relegation following just three years later; his subsequent return in February 2022 has accelerated their revival.
“It got toxic for quite a long time, a lot of people just stopped going for a while,” Dave Garratt, Chesterfield fan and host of the Legends of the Spire podcast, tells i.
“It was crucially important, especially after the five or so years that we went through, that we had a manager who would just try and bring the fans and the players together.
“It seemed like the James Rowe era was when people started to believe again but the key thing really is Paul Cook coming back. If you speak to any fan they will say it’s like the last time that he was here. He seems to have a way that he works that brings everyone together and that’s definitely where we’re at now.”
Cook has not only helped unify the club with its supporters, but his managerial reputation has also assisted their recruitment. A mix of seasoned EFL stars and Premier League loanees joined the club in the summer, including Harry Tyrer, a goalkeeper from Everton who Garratt tips to become a “future England No 1”.
Northern Ireland striker Will Grigg was another high-profile arrival. The 32-year-old, renowned as much for the terrace anthem that made him a cult hero at Euro 2016 as his impressive strike rate on the pitch, enjoyed the best spell of his career working with Cook at Wigan Athletic and has already scored five goals for his new club.
“I worked really well under Paul Cook at Wigan and he’s one of my favourite managers,” Grigg tells i. “We understand each other. His style of football and the way that he wants me to play suits me massively. He puts a lot of emphasis on the three behind me to provide chances and keeps me in the box.
“We’ve started really well but it’s going to be really tough. The manager is massive on you being never too high when you win and never too low when you lose and it’s us in the changing room to gauge that and manage that throughout the season.”
“His movement in the box is a class above anything that we’ve had over the past few years,” says Garratt, who believes that adoration from the stands has given Grigg a new lease of life after he was relegated with MK Dons last season.
With late winners against Oxford City and Dagenham and Redbridge, fans have already had opportunities to belt out Grigg’s Freed From Desire-inspired chant, tweaking the lyrics to “Will Grigg’s on fire and he loves the crooked spire!” in homage to the famous 228-foot-high spire that twists unusually from the roof of the Grade 1 listed Anglican church in the town’s centre.
“I’m a big fan of it,” Grigg tells i, with a laugh. “If I carry on scoring goals and our fans are singing it that’s the most important thing.”
Recalling the summer in which he became a household name, Grigg adds: “The one that stood out for me was when we played Germany at the Euros.
“We were warming up and everyone was singing ‘Will Grigg’s On Fire’ and the lyrics were on every single screen. It was a bit strange. It wasn’t just the Northern Irish fans, it was the Germans fans and neutrals too!”
Grigg may be the most recognisable name in the squad, but there is a more famous face among the coaching staff. Former Newcastle and England midfielder Kieron Dyer is part of Cook’s coaching team, although the 44-year-old is currently recuperating at home after undergoing a successful liver transplant.
“I’ve only had five or six weeks with Kieron because obviously he was unwell and then had his transplant, but all of the boys here last season have only positive things to say about him,” Grigg says.
“All the boys have sent him little videos to wish him all the best and hopefully he can get back to us as soon as possible. He’s a great character to have around and despite what he’s been going through he’s still been in touch with the boys and keeping our spirits high.”
That camaraderie and team spirit has been key to the club’s successful start, with players sharing responsibility on the pitch.
The race for the club’s golden boot for instance, is shaping up to be a keenly contested one with Grigg one of five players, along with Liam Mandeville, Tom Naylor, Joe Quigley and Ryan Colclough, leading the charts.
“From the moment I got in the door I saw the quality of the players and the squad,” Grigg adds. “We’ve got 16, 17, 18 players that could start in any game. We’ve had seven games in 21 days and have made five or six changes and the team doesn’t get any weaker so that’s a massive strength of ours.”
Chesterfield’s surge to the National League summit has been impressive but attracted significantly less coverage than that dedicated to last season’s eventual champions Wrexham.
They are not backed by Hollywood stars, but are instead owned by the club’s Community Trust, which took over in August 2020 after unpopular former owner Dave Allen stepped aside.
“A lot of those people saved the club in 2000-01 when Darren Brown very nearly destroyed the football club so there was kind of a [ownership] model sitting in the background from 20 years earlier,” Garratt explains.
“The Trust took over the club with a bit of money they’d raised but also from grants from Derbyshire County Council, Chesterfield Borough Council and Sport England.”
Brothers Philip and Ashley Kirk, local businessmen who earned their fortunes in oil and recruitment respectively, are also becoming increasingly influential.
A £1.6m equity investment is expected to receive the backing of the Trust at a meeting on 20 October which will see them increase their stake in the club to around 40 per cent. The brothers already advanced 50 per cent of the funds to help finance new signings and pay off some of the loans required by the Trust to buy the club from Allen.
Further evidence of Chesterfield’s renewed ambition came at the start of this month when they unveiled a revamped training facility, while a planning application for a new bar situated inside a shipping container outside the SMH Group Stadium was submitted to the council in August.
Both on and off the pitch, Chesterfield appear to be heading in a positive direction. Although automatic promotion from League Two is very much top of their target list, they will switch their attentions to the FA Cup this weekend with a place in the first round proper up for grabs. A home tie against seventh-tier Kettering Town means they are favourites to progress.
It’s a competition that holds a special place for Grigg, who was famously the match-winner when League One Wigan knocked out Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in 2018. He ended up as the competition’s top goalscorer that season with seven goals, although jokes that he’s “still waiting for his trophy”.
If Chesterfield can maintain their momentum, he will not have to wait quite so long to get his hands on the National League trophy.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/G3QzR5b
Post a Comment