August player of the month: Sam Morsy

Despite there being one more game this month (Millwall away on Saturday) I have decided to decide my player of the month early, and this is because if I don't do it now, then by the time I get back from France, it will probably be too late to do it.



Spireites captain Sam Morsy has had a very, very good opening month to the season. He has put in solid performances in wins over Barnsley and Shrewsbury, and in the Sheff Utd game he looked like one of our few good performers. He also won sponsors Man of the match in the 0-0 draw against Rochdale at the weekend. Every game he has been a rock in the holding midfield position, proving his worth to the team by putting in a good shift every game, protecting the back four and also starting attacks with his brilliant passing. The Spireites captain is probably our most consistent player, and will be vital for us if we are to do well this season. Despite playing as a defensive midfielder, he has scored two goals in four league games so far this season, one coming against Barnsley on the opening day of the season, and the other coming against Shrewsbury last Tuesday.




However, Morsy's Chesterifeld future is under some pretty serious doubt. We have rejected two bids from MK Dons, while it is rumoured that Championship sides Cardiff, Leeds and Burnley are all interested in getting the 23 year olds signature. To make matters worse, he is still yet to sign a new contract for the club, but hopefully we can give him the right offer, and make him stay. There is only six days left in this transfer window, so hopefully no bids come in that force us to part with the player. But, while all this has been going on, he has still shown his love for the club in recent weeks. Not only by putting in 100% effort every game, but also by the way he celebrates. In the Barnsley game he ran all the way over to Saunders to celebrate, and then in the Shrewsbury game he showed a very passionate celebration, then went over and blew a kiss to the fans (above picture). So hopefully we can hold on to the young talented player.

Morsy match ratings in August 2015:

Barnsley at home (August 8th) 9/10
Carlsile away (August 11th) 6/10
Sheff Utd away (August 15th) 7/10
Shrewsbury away (August 18th) 8/10
Rochdale home (August 22nd) 7/10

Holiday coming up so this could be my last post for two weeks.

Hi guys, just letting you know that tomorrow morning I go to France, and won't be back until Monday September 7th. And I won't have any internet connection while in France so there will be no preview or review for the Millwall or Wigan matches.

Also, unless something happens later today, this will be my last post for almost two weeks. Sorry about this, and i hope you have a good last two weeks of your six week holidays!

Another great signing: Welcome Liam O'Niel!

We have made our fourth top class signing of the summer, this time in the form of West Brom young midfielder George O'Niel. He was signed this morning for an undisclosed fee, and his contract is an undisclosed length.



Fact file:

Age: 22
Nationality: English
Position: Midfielder/Defender
Clubs played for: West Brom, Scunthorpe, VPS

Liam O'Niel has been tracked by the club for around two and a half years, with the club hoping to bring him in on loan, but we have now gone one better by permanantly signing the player. Saunders said 'Liam is a young player who has played in West Brom's first team. He's exactly what we want - a midfield player who can also play at the back, if required.' The veratile 22 year old was also happy about the move. He said ' I want to get some experience and develop as a player and I think I’ll be able to do that here. I’m looking forward to it and I’m excited. The gaffer got in touch with West Brom and has shown good interest. He’s been on my case to get down here all the time and that’s what I like. He sees me as part of his plans and that’s what I want. I want to be getting regular football and that’s key for me now. I’m 22 now and this is perfect timing.'

O'Niel was born in Cambridge, and spent most of his youth career at local non league side Histon F.C, who are currently in the Southern Football League Premier Division. He then moved to the West Brom youth system, and signed his first professional contract in may 2012, at the age of 18. In the 2013/14 season, he made three appearances, against Swansea, Stoke and Norwich. In the summer of 2012, before he made an appearance for West Brom, O'Niel was sent out on loan to Finnish side VPS. He made 18 appearances for the club, scoring one goal in his time there. In late November last season he went on loan to League One side Scunthorpe United, then after making a positive impact at the club, his loan spell was extended until January 2015, then extended again until the end of last season. However, he was sent back to West Brom early, due to an injury.

Liam O'Niel offers new options for Saunders in the central midfield positions, and he can also play as a defender. This means that he will be a good CB back up, along with young defender Charlie Raglan. Saunders may also be planning to play him as a RB, after Drew Talbot's below par recent performances. Along with the signings of Lee Novak, Ebanks-Blake and Angel Martinez, Liam O'Niel has added that extra bit of quality to the squad, and also gives us better in depth strength. Last season while at Scunthorpe, O'Niel spent most of the time as a defensive midfielder, however he was also played in a more attacking role, as a No.10 a few times.

Chesterfield 0-0 Rochdale: Match Review

Yesterday saw the Spireites play out a fairly dull 0-0 draw with Rochdale. It was probably one of the most lack lustre performances we have seen from the team in these past two seasons. However,  positives to take from the game, are that we didn't lose, and we kept our first clean sheet of the season so far!

Spireites striker Lee Novak

 

 

The first half was a half of few chances, which is surprising considering the quality of the two sides' attacking play. The Spireites could of been 1-0 down in the first half if it weren't for a brilliant save from Tommy Lee with his feet, and then we probably should of gone 1-0 up at the end of the first half, when Lee Novak found Ebanks-Blake with a cross, and the striker headed the ball towards the goal from six yards, but Rochdale keeper, Josh Lillis, produced a brilliant save to keep it at 0-0. Should of scored though really. The second half was played in similar fashion to the first. Rochdale striker Calvin Andrew proved too much for the defence to handle, however no real opportunities were created, until late on, when Donal McDermott sent in a dangerous looking free kick, and Tommy Lee again came to our rescue with another great save. Substitute Gboly Ariyibi brought a bit of life back into the game towards the dying stages, on a few occasions getting to the by line and looking to put in  a cross, however when the crosses went in, there was no one on the end of them. In the last minute, Ariyibi did brilliantly well do get past two defenders, however when he went for the cut back, which several players were queuing up for, he only managed to find the side netting. If he had managed to get it into the box, we may of won the game.  

 

All in all not the best performance from the player, but nothing to worry about this early on. We were up against a team who are likely to finish towards the top end of the table this season, so we did well to get a draw and keep our fist clean sheet of the season. However, if it wasn't for the keepers, there would of been goals yesterday. Lillis' save to deny Blake in the first half was a Premier League quality save without doubt, and Tommy Lee also kept us in the game on more than one occasion. Plenty for Saunders to work with, and a new signing that is rumoured to take place on Monday or Tuesday, could well see the squad completed and possibly ready to battle for another play-off place.

 

My Man of the Match: Tommy Lee

 

 

Spireites keeper Tommy Lee







 

Tommy Lee is one of the most loved players at the club, and it is obvious why when you see performances like the one he made yesterday. He has been with us for years now, and his great reflexes and spectacular dives have made him a definite fan's favourite in the past few seasons. And yesterday, in a game where, let's be honest, there were few Chesterfield performances to shout about, Tommy Lee still proved his worth to our side. He made a great save with his feet in the first half, and made an acrobatic save to prevent Rochdale taking the lead late on from a free kick. He kept us in the game, and if it weren't for him, we could of conceded two or three goals, so for me he has to be our Man of the Match, despite Sam Morsy being voted as official Man of the Match by the sponsors. Their keeper, Josh Lillis, also put in a solid performance.

 

 

League Table after yesterday's results:

 

 

(+1) 1. Gillingham (7GD) (10pts)

(+1) 2. Walsall (4GD) (10pts)

 

(-2)  3. Coventry (6GD) (9pts)                                   Most places moved up: Wigan moved up 8

(+4) 4. Sheff Utd (2GD) (9pts)                                  places after beating Scunthorpe 3-0 on

(+1) 5. Burton (2GD) (9pts)                                       Tuesday, then losing 2-0 to Gillingham

(+3) 6. Swindon (4GD) (8pts)                                    yesterday.

 

(+4) 7. Fleetwood (4GD) (7pts)

(-4)  8. Rochdale (3GD) (7pts)

(-4)  9. Chesterfield (1GD) (7pts)                              Most places moved down: Colchester have

(-3)  10. Barnsley (0GD) (7pts)                                 moved down five places after losing 4-0 to

(+2) 11. Port Vale (3GD) (6pts)                                Fleetwood yesterday.

(-2)  12. Oldham (1GD) (6pts)

(+8) 13. Wigan (-1GD) (4pts)

(-2)  14. Scunthorpe (-2) (4pts)

(=)   15. Millwall (-4GD) (4pts)

(+1) 16. Bury (-1GD) (3pts)

(-1)  17. Doncaster (-3GD) (3pts)

(-4)  18. Peterborough (-4GD) (3pts)

(=)   19. Shrewsbury (-2GD) (2pts)

(+3) 20. Crewe (-3GD) (2pts)

 

(-1)  21. Southend (-3GD) (2pts)

(+2) 22. Bradford (-4GD) (2pts)

(-5)  23. Colchester (-5GD) (2pts)

(-2)  24. Blackpool (-5GD) (1pts)

 

League One top scorers:

 

1. Adam Armstrong-Coventry (5 goals)
2. Bradley Dack-Gillingham (4 goals)
3. Marcus Maddison-Peterborough (3 goals)
4. Nathan Byrne-Swindon (3 goals)
5. Abdenasser El Khayati-Burton (3 goals)
6. Fabien Robert-Swindon (3 goals)
7. Che Adams-Sheff Utd (2 goals)
8. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake-Chesterfield (2 goals)
9. Leon Clarke-Bury (2 goals)
10. Paddy Madden-Scunthorpe (2 goals)

 

 





Rochdale Preview: Can the Spireites make it two in a row, and two home wins from two?

Tomorrow afternoon Rochdale will come down to the Proact to take on the mighty Spireites in each team's fourth game of the League One Season. Rochdale currently sit in fourth place, while we are in fifth.



The North West side started the season in good form, beating a strong Peterborough side 2-0 at home on the opening day, with goals from Callum Camps and Ruben Noble-Lazarus. They then went on to play Coventry, who have won three games out of three in the League so far, in the Capital One Cup, and after a late Coventry equaliser from Marcus Tudgay, they beat the midlands side 5-3 on penalties after a goalless thirty minutes of extra time. In their second League game, they played away at Blackpool, who are currently in a small crisis, and came away with  a comfortable 2-0 win after goals from Donal McDermott and Ian Henderson. In their latest League game, against Walsall on Tuesday, they lost 2-1 to the visitors, with Calvin Andrew scoring their only goal.

Saunders has a full squad to choose from for tomorrow afternoon's game, and after a dominating performance against Shrewsbury on Tuesday, he is more than likely to play the same squad. New signing Angel Martinez will probably feature again, after impressing in mid week. He was solid in the midfield, and also allowed Morsy to venture forward and go for goal more often. In an interview with Spireites Player, Morsy said 'I want to get in the box to try and score goals'. Rochdale Manager Keith Hill also has a strong squad to choose from, with key players Ian Henderson, Peter Vincenti and Callum Camps all available.

Biggest Threat: Ian Hernderson

 

Ian Henderson can play either up front or out on the wing, he can score and he can assist goals as  well. He scored 22 goals last season for Rochdale, came second in the League One goal scorer tally, and also won a place in the League One team of the season. So far this season he has started in all four of Rochdale's games, scoring one goal and also assisting two goals. He also scored three goals for the League One side in pre-season, one coming against Chester, and then two coming in a 2-1 win over Blackburn. The 30 year old forward has also played for Norwich, Rotherham and Colchester in his career. He made a few appearances at England U18, and England U20 level as well.
He is a tricky and skilful player who is sure to cause us problems. If he doesn't score, he will almost certainly create a fair few chances for his side.

Predicted Score: Chesterfield 2-2 Rochdale

Today's game will be another tough test for the team, in an extremely tough opening month. Tuesday's performance was our best this season, and we should of really had at least three or four goals, and we proved that we can defend properly! The team should be full of confidence, and new signing's Lee Novak and Angel Martinez have settled well in next to no time, and they have both added that little bit of quality to the squad. However, Rochdale know what they're doing, and after losing to Walsall this week, they will be fired up to get back into winning form while they are still in a promising League position. Expect a fast paced, quality and very open game tomorrow afternoon. Should be tight! 2-2 I think, Blake and Novak with the goals.

Shrewsbury 1-2 Chesterfield: Match Review

Earlier today the Spireites travelled down to Shrewsbury for our third League One game, against Shrewsbury Town. We came away with a solid 2-1 win after a great performance.

 

 

 





Second half goals from striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake (above), and midfielder Sam Morsy , before a consolation goal from Mat Sadler, sealed a second win in three League One games in front of 344 travelling supporters for town tonight.

 

Tommy Lee started in goal tonight, with the standard Talbot, Evatt, Hird and Jones defence, with Gardner and O'Shea in the wide midfield positions, newboy Angel Martinez partnering Morsy in the middle, and Novak and Ebanks-Blake up top. After a quiet opening to the game, we slowly started getting into the game around thirty minutes in, when Jay O'Shea had a chance in the box, which he sliced wide to the right. Novak and Gardner also both missed chances before half time. Less than five minutes into the second half, in the 49th minute, Jay O'Shea found Ebanks-Blake, in the box, who put away a left footed finish across the keeper into the bottom left corner. In the 60th minute, Dan Gardner, who regularly comes under criticism, was unlucky to not put the team two goals in front, when his shot from the centre of the box cannoned off the bar. However, that was quickly forgotten, when in the 64th minute new striker Lee Novak played the ball to Sam Morsy, who slotted the ball into the bottom right corner, for his second goal of the season so far. Not bad for a midfielder. After that, Shrewsbury striker Tyrone Barnett missed two chances, and other Shrewsbury players also had chances to score that went to waste. Sam Morsy and Jay O'Shea also missed chances, before Armand Gnanduillet somehow managed to hit the post from inside the six yard box in the 87th minute, three minutes after coming on for winger Dan Gardner. Then out of nothing, in the 88th minute Shrewsbury had a goal back. Mat Sadler picked the ball up thirty odd yards from goal and decided to have a pop...and what a pop it was, with the ball sailing into the net. That caused a cagy end to the game, but the defence was solid and held a tight line to keep the opposition out and seal a good away win.

 

Overall a brilliant performance from the players. On another night it could have been four or five. Gnanduillet and Gardner both hitting the woodwork, and the players destroying the Shrewsbury team on the break. Definately a good base to build on before playing Rochdale at the proact on Saturday afternoon. Debutant Angel Martinez seemed to fit in really well in midfield, and never looked to have any debut nerves, and Lee Novak also looks to feel at home now, as he was alone up front for over twenty minutes, after Saunders brought on Ariyibi to replace Ebanks-Blake. He provided the assist for Morsy's goal, and could have also had a goal himself, after being put through by Morsy, before being harshly judged offside by the linesman. The defence also seemed to work much better as a unit tonight, and maybe they've shaked those problems that were there on Saturday against Sheff Utd.

 

Man of the Match: Sam Morsy

 

 

Sam Morsy is slowly becoming every fan's favourite player. Him and O'Shea are the only two players that remain from the amazing midfield of the 2014/15 season, and he gives his all every single game. Not to mention he is absolute quality. The young midfielder had another great game tonight, scoring what turned out to be our winning goal, and also bossing the midfield. He prevented Shrewsbury from causing us any real problems, and he started off most of our attacks. He also nearly provided an assist for Lee Novak towards the end of the game, but the forward was judged to be offside. Morsy could well be our key player this season, even with players like Blake and O'Shea in the squad, he always looks head and shoulders above everyone else. If we're to do well this season, Morsy MUST stay with us. He could well be a CFC legend in the making.

 

League One Table after tonight's games:

 

(=) 1. Coventry (7GD) (9pts)

(+1) 2. Gillingham (5GD) (7pts)

 

(+2) 3. Walsall (3GD) (7pts)                                           Most places moved up:

(-2) 4. Rochdale (3GD) (6pts)                                         Fleetwood have moved up 8 places after their

(+3) 5. Chesterfield (1GD) (6pts)                                    4-3 win at Bury tonight.

(+3) 6. Burton (1GD) (6pts)

 

(+3) 7. Barnsley (0GD) (6pts)

(+4) 8. Sheff Utd (0GD) (6pts)

(-5) 9. Swindon (3GD) (5pts)                                          Most places moved down:

(-4) 10. Oldham (1GD) (5pts)                                         Swindon have moved down 5 places after     

(+8) 11. Fleetwood (0GD) (4pts)                                    their 2-2 draw with Port Vale

(-5) 12. Scunthorpe* (1 GD) (3pts)

(+3) 13. Port Vale (0GD) (3pts)

(-3) 14. Peterborough (-3GD) (3pts)

(-2) 15. Millwall (-4GD) (3pts)

(-1) 16. Doncaster* (0GD) (2pts)

(-3) 17. Bury (-1GD) (2pts)

(-1) 18. Colchester (-1GD) (2pts)

(-1) 19. Shrewsbury (-2GD) (1pt)

(+1) 20. Southend* (-2GD) (1pt)

 

(+2) 21. Wigan* (-2GD) (1pt)

(-2) 22. Blackpool (-3GD) (1pt)

(-1) 23. Crewe (-3GD) (1pt)

(=) 24. Bradford (-4GD) (1pt)

 

*Teams that have a game in hand over everyone else

 

League One top scorers:

 

1. Adam Armstrong-Coventry (5 goals)
2. Nathan Byrne-Swindon (3 goals)
3. Che Adams-Sheff Utd (2 goals)
4. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake-Chesterfield (2 goals)
5. Paddy Madden-Scunthorpe (2 goals)
6. Abdenasser El Khayati-Burton (2 goals)
7. Bradley Dack-Gillingham (2 goals)
8. Leon Clarke-Bury (2 goals)
9. Sam Mantom-Walsall (2 goals)
10. Sam Morsy-Chesterfield (2 goals)

 

 

 

 

 

Shrewsbury preview

Tonight we play west midlands team Shrewsbury Town at the New Meadow stadium. This is the Spireites' third league game this season, after beating Barnsley 3-1 on the opening day, then losing 2-0 at Bramall Lane to Sheff Utd on Saturday.

 

 

 



 

Shrewsbury came up from League Two last season along with Burton, Bury and Southend. They gained automatic promotion after finishing in 2nd place, and they also reached the fourth round of the League Cup. At the moment, they sit in 18th place in the League, ten places behind us, after losing 2-1 at home to Millwall on the opening day, then drawing 1-1 away at Bradford. They also made a good start to their 2015/16 League Cup campain, by beating Championship side Blackburn 2-1, at Blackburn, after goals from Tyrone Barnett and James Collins. They also had a good pre-season, drawing against Wolves and Cardiff, and beating Tranmere 4-1. For a newly promoted side, they have shown very few weaknesses so far this season. They only just lost to a strong Millwall side on the opening day, after taking a one goal lead. They also got a good draw away at promotion hopefuls Bradford, and obviously had a great win against Blackburn in the cup.

Saunders yet again has a fully fit squad to choose from for tonight's League One tie, including striker Byron Harrison who has recovered from his short term injury. New signing Angel Martinez is fit and eager, so he will definately be in tonight's 18 man squad. Saunders is unlikely to change the team too much from Saturday, after a good performance. However, he will probably (and hopefully) replace Ollie Banks with Martinez, who will be hoping to go straight into the starting lign up, after penning a two year contract with us on Sunday. Drew Talbot may also be unlikely to feature, after looking out of sorts on Saturday, so unless he is back to full fitness, we may see Charlie Raglan drafted into RB for tonight's game. Shrewsbury boss Nicky Mellon has no injury worries for tonight, apart from Nat Knight Percival, and James Wesolowski, who were already injured and will be featuring in a practice match this week. Shrewsbury have put out the same starting 11 for the last two games, and after success in both games (a win over Blackburn and a draw at Bradford), it is more than likely that they will keep the same team for tonight's game.

Biggest threat: Tyrone Barnett



The 29 year old, 6ft3 striker has experience playing for teams such as Ipswich, Peterborough, and Bristol City, and moved to Shrewsbury Town this February. Peterborough payed a big sum of £1,200,000 to buy the striker from Crawley in 2012, after he impressed on a loan spell for them. He only played 26 games for them, scoring 7 goals, and he was loaned out to Ipswich, Bristol City and Oxford in his time at the club, before joining then League Two side Shrewsbury Town. So far this season, he has two goals in three games, including the winner against Blackburn in the cup, and the equalising goal against Bradford. He also scored twice in Pre-Season, once against Wolves, and once against Tranmere. He is a big, strong, fast and clever striker who is very dangerous in the air. After we struggled to cope with Jabo Ibehre last week against Carlisle, and against Conor Samons at the weekend against Sheff Utd, who are both similar players to Barnett, it is clear to see where the weaknesses in our defence lie. Hopefully we can keep him under control, and the full backs will have to do their best to keep out any crosses coming in from the wide areas.

Score Prediction: Shrewsbury 2-2 Chesterfield

I think tonight's game will be interesting, and very close. I think we will score after the way we played against Sheff Utd, and after seeing that Saunders will be keen to sort out the lack of clinical finishing in our side. However, Shrewsbury have proven they are a tough team to beat. So far they have played two of the top teams in this League, and a Championship team, and they have won one, drawn one and lost one, conceding four goals in those games, but also scoring four. They have a strong back line, led by young, solid defender Connor Goldson, and they have a quality striker in Barnett, who has scored in both his last two games. New signing angel Martinez will hopefully improve our midfield unit, and should be able to provide a little more creativity, and give some good service to front men Novak, and Ebanks-Blake.

Sheff Utd beat the Spireites 2-0. Match Review

Yesterday the Blades beat us 2-0 at Brammall Lane in an evenly matched League One tie.



Well, well, well, my predictions have been a bit off so far this season haven't they? I predicted a 2-2 draw against Barnsley, we won 3-1, I predicted a 3-1 win against Carlisle, we lost 3-1, and i predicted a 2-1 win yesterday, and we lost 2-0.

The Blades started well, taking the lead three minutes in, after Conor Sammon's powerful shot was parried by Tommy Lee, straight into the path of Che Adams (top picture) who finished with a shot across goal into the bottom right corner. From then on we dominated, and we just seemed to win corner after corner after corner, without generating any real clear cut chances. The defense looked very shaky throughout the first half. Billy Sharp and Conor Sammon were constantly making runs in behind the defense and there seemed to be so much room. However, any chances that came for the Blades were poorly executed. Talbot's fitness and pace looked very suspect in the first half, with him being constantly out of position. Kovak looked good however, he was keen to get the ball and whenever he did get it, he did something good. We finished the half with more possession, more shots, more on target and a total of eight corners. But, we were behind in the only stat that matters. The Score.

After a brilliant half time snack, a lovely chicken curry pie in the canteen, which was blue with smoke from a smoke bomb and filled with deafening noise from our fans in the canteen, we conceded less than five minutes after the kick off for the third time in the last two games. Conor Sammon found space again, and after a bit of skill on the ball, he played through Che Adams, who finished with a shot into the bottom corner, putting United 2-0 up with his second of the day. After that we really should of found the net at least once in the second half. Kovak had a brilliant opportunity after getting in behind the defense, he was six yards out and just as he was about to pull the trigger, a last gasp tackle from the defender ruined the chance. Dan Jones very nearly scored with a brilliant curling free kick. We hit the bar, and had chances cleared off the line. Very frustrating.

All in all, there are plenty of positives to be taken from the match. We were up against a side who are favorites to win the title, but we still dominated large periods of the game. Kovak, the new signing looked good aswell and would of had a debut goal to his name if it weren't for a very, very good tackle from the Sheff Utd defender. We're only two league games in and we look to be getting used to the new players, and Saunders' new style of play, which is very different to Cook's style of play. We just need to sort out our defending, and start playing right from the start, not ten minutes after kick off!

My Man of the Match: Dan Jones



Dan Jones is slowly becoming our most consistent player. Last season the left back struggled to maintain a regular first team place, as Sam Clucas spent most of the season playing left back, and then when Clucas moved up front, Drew Talbot came back from a loan move to fill in at left back. However, last season he played the last few games, and both play off games as our number one left back. Since then he has had few poor performances. When your'e looking for a player who had a good game, Dan Jones is always one, even when the rest of the team played poorly. This was the case yesterday as well. As always, he offered a great attacking threat down the left flank, and was solid at the back. On the rare occasion he was caught out of position, he would work hard to recover, and nine times out of ten he would make it back in time and put in a good tackle. In a game where our defending was a bit all over the place, he offered a bit of solidity, and also cleared a shot off the line in the second half.

League One Table as of today:

(+3) 1. Coventry (6GD) (6pts)                         + ( moved up) - ( moved down) = (the same)
(+3)  2. Rochdale (6GD) (6 pts)

(-2)   3. Gillingham (4GD) (4pts)                     Most places moved up:
(-2)   4. Siwndon (3GD) (4pts)                      
(+10)  5. Walsall (2GD) (4pts)                         Sheff Utd have moved up a total of 12 places this
(+7)  6. Oldham (2GD) (4pts)                           weekend after their 2-0 win yesterday.

(+11)  7. Scunthorpe (1GD) (3pts)
(-5)  8. Chesterfield (0GD) (3 pts)
(-3)   9. Burton (0GD) (3 pts)                           Most places moved down:
(+10)  10. Barnsley (-1 GD) (3pts)
(+10)  11. Peterborough (-1 GD) (3pts)           Blackpool have dropped a total of 12 places this
(+12)  12. Sheff Utd (-2 GD) (3pts)                 weekend after losing 2-0 at home to Rochdale
(-6)   13. Millwall (-3 GD) (3pts)
(-4)   14. Bury (0 GD) (2pts)
(-4)   15. Doncaster (0 GD) (2pts)
(+1)  16. Port Vale (0 GD) (2 pts)
(-8)   17. Colchester (-1 GD) (1pt)
(+1)  18. Shrewsbury (-1 GD) (1pt)
(-7)   19. Fleetwood (-1 GD) (1pt)
(-12)   20. Blackpool (-2 GD) (1pt)

(-7)   21. Southend (-2 GD) (1 pt)
(-6)   22. Crewe (-2 GD) (1pt)
(-1)   23. Wigan (-2 GD) (1pt)
(-1)   24. Bradford (-3 GD) (1pt)

League One top scorers:

1. Adam Armstrong-Coventry (4 goals)
2. Nathan Byrne-Swindon (3 goals)
3. Che Adams-Sheff Utd (2 goals)
4. Bradley Dack-Gillingham (2 goals)
5. Paddy Madden-Scunthorpe (2 goals)
6. Marcus Maddison-Peterborough (2 goals)
7. Mark Cullen-Blackpool (2 goals)
8. Stuart Beavon-Burton (1 goal)
9. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake-Chesterfield (1 goal)
10. Billy Clarke-Bradford (1 goal)

League One most assists:

1. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake-Chesterfield (2 assists)
2. Andy Taylor-Walsall (2 assists)
3. Gavin Massey-Colchester (2 assists)
4. James Maddison-Coventry (2 assists)
5. Marcus Tudgay-Coventry (1 assist)
6. Tony McMahon-Bradford (1 assist)
7. Nathan Tyson-Doncaster (1 assist)
8. Tyrone Banett-Shrewsbury (1 assist)
9. Michael Bostwick-Peterborough (1 assist)
10. Jake Cassidy-Oldham (1 assist)

Welcome Angel Martinez!

Chesterfield have signed a midfielder today, a position in which we really did need an improvement! He comes in the form of 29 year old Spanish Midfielder Angel Martinez, who has experience playing in the Championship, and in the Spanish top flight. He was also capped by Spain at U-21 level.



He is a player that Saunders has been watching for a while, and he flew in from Spain yesterday to watch the Spireites in action at Brammall Lane. With  Sam Clucas, Jimmy Ryan and Gary Roberts all leaving this summer, the midfield has been an area which really needs work, with Saunders having to rely on players such as Ollie Banks and Dan Gardner, who are just not good enough for this level.

He started off his career at Spanish club Espanyol's reserve team, Espanyol B. In his time there between 2005-2007, he played 27 games and scored a total of 5 goals from midfield. In the 2006-2007 season, he started playing for the first team, and featured in seven la liga games. He also made two appearances in Espanyol's UEFA Cup run, in which they finished runner up. In his next season, Martinez made 28 league appearances for the Spanish club, scoring in big wins over Sevilla and CA Osasuna. After that his career went downhill for Espanyol, and in 2009-2010 (his last season for the club) he was loaned out to Rayo Vallecano for the season. In 2010 he signed for Girona FC, and spent the whole season there featuring 36 times, helping the team to 11th place. In 2011, Martinez joined then Championship side Blackpool, where he stayed for three seasons. In his three seasons at the club, he made 65 appearances, 26 of which came in the 2013-14 season. In that season he helped Blackpool to avoid relegation, and was also voted as the club's Community Player of the Year. Last season he played for then Championship side Millwall.

With Martinez's signing, Saunders has a much stronger squad than he did at the start of the season. Lee Novak's signing, which took place on Friday, also gives Saunders more options when picking his side. Martinez has signed a two year deal with us, and let's hope he can sort out our shortcomings in midfield.

If it were up to me, this would be the squad we start with from now on:

GK: Tommy Lee
LB: Dan Jones
CB: Ian Evatt
CB: Sam Hird
RB: Drew Talbot
LM: Gboly Ariyibi
CM: Angel Martinez
CM: Sam Morsy
RM: Jay O'Shea
ST: Sylvan Ebanks-Blake
ST: Lee Novak

Subs: Cairns, Raglan, Onovwigun, Banks, Gardner, Gnanduillet, Orell

If Saunders goes with this squad, it will give him a solid defense, two brilliant central midfield players, two very direct and skillful wingers in O'Shea and Ariyibi, and two experienced strikers that are sure to score goals in Novak and Blake. Also, with players like Raglan, Banks and Gardner to fall back on, we really do finally have some in depth strength in the squad.

Sheff Utd Preview: It's the big one!

Tomorrow is the fixture that most fans will probably look forward to more than any other game. We play Sheff Utd. who are by far our biggest rivals in this league, away. It's always a top day out, and we are expected to take north of 2,500 fans, and it would be more if it weren't for the fact that a lot of fans are on holiday. So no doubt it will be a great game, great atmosphere and definitely something to look forward to!



Last season we took four points off the blades. When we played them at home last October, we won 3-2 in a game that was eventful to say the least. Gary Roberts, Eoin doyle and Jimmy Ryan scored the goals for us before Marc McNulty and Niell Collins scored late (but pointless) goals for United. Blades striker Michael Higdon was sent off for a late tackle on Dan Jones, and Tommy Lee was also sent off as he was seen to take down a Sheff Utd player on the edge of the box, after a short back pass from Ian Evatt. However, Tommy Lee's red card was later taken back after it was reviewed, and it was seen that he actually made no contact with the player. The Brammall Lane fixture took place on May 3rd, the last day of the general season. In a fast paced, competitive match, we were unlucky to only go away with a 1-1 draw. Marc McNulty again scored against us, to put them 1-0 up, then after a sweet cross from Dan Jones, Ian Evatt headed home to give us the equaliser. So four points achieved from a possible six, after we outplayed them in both games and definitely played the better football. Let's hope for the same tomorrow...

While United are heavy favourites to win the title (yet again), and we are expected to be mid table at best, you wouldn't of though so after the first League game of the new season. The Dee Dahs had an awful start to the season, losing 4-0 away at Gillingham. This was down to some absolutely dier defending, as three of Gillingham's four goals came from simple crosses into the box, that led to lots of confusion among the Sheff Utd defenders. However, we had an excellent start to the season. We completely outplayed Barnsley, another side expected to get promotion, and came away with a thoroughly deserved 3-1 win, with goals from Sam Morsy, Jay O'Shea and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake.

Saunders has a fully fit squad tomorrow, and another option in the form of Lee Novak, signed this morning on a season long loan from Championship side Birmingham. Drew Talbot and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake will both be 100% tomorrow, after being rested on Tuesday night in our 3-1 loss to Carlisle United. Ollie Banks has featured in both games so far this season, but without wanting to sound harsh, Saunders HAS to leave him out in tomorrow's game. Instead of playing our usual 4-2-3-1 formation with Morsy and Banks in front of the defenders, and Blake up top by himself, Saunders should switch to a 4-4-2 formation with Blake and Kovak up front. This will leave midfield options pretty open as well. Saunders could either play Morsy and O'Shea in the middle, with Ariyibi and Gardner out wide, or he could play O'Shea and Ariyibi out wide with either Onovwigun or maybe O'Donoughue partnering Sam Morsy in the middle of the park. Nigel Adkins also has a fully fit Sheff Utd squad to choose from. Jamal Campbell Ryce, Jose Baxter, Terry Kennedy and Craig Alcock have all returned to training, and Adkins made seven changes from the squad he played against Gillingham, in their midweek clash with Morecombe in the League Cup, so he has a very big squad to choose from.

Biggest Threat: Stefan Scougall



To be honest, last season Stefan Scougall was a pain in the arse both times we played the Blades. He can play in the middle or out wide, and he is a very tricky, skillful player. He is fast and doesn't mind running at defenders. While United have their big names in Billy Sharp, Campbell-Ryce, Jose Baxter and Jamie Murphy, Scougall is somewhat under the spotlight, and very underrated. He is everywhere on the pitch, and when all else fails, Scougall's pace really comes in handy. After moving to Sheff Utd for £500,000 from Livingdton in January 2014,  last season Scougall made 35 appearances, and has featured in both games so far this season for United. He came on as a sub against Gillingham, and played the full 90 minutes against Morecombe, so he is more than likely to feature tomorrow afternoon.

Predicted Score: Sheff Utd 1-2 Chesterfield



I have decided not to base my prediction on Tuesday night but on last Saturday instead. Tuesday was a cup game, away, we had a reserve striker on, a CB playing in RB, and we were down to ten men for the last half an hour, so were were kind of up against it. I think if we exploit United's poor defending, and give Kovak and Blake plenty of service, then we should be able to find the net two times at least. However, after last Saturday, the Blades will be out to prove a point, and are a tough side to beat anyway. Against our error prone defense, they are more than likely to score with the quality they have going forward. But I think we can handle them, and if we can outplay them like we did twice last season, then i think it should be another three points on the board, and a brilliant start to the season under our belts. A debut goal for Kovak would be nice too.

Finally a New Signing! Lee Novak fact file.

It's been a long summer for Town fans, in terms of transfers. We've been promised new players numerous times and been left frustrated every time. However, we have finally signed a player! However, he is only on a season long loan, but he is still a quality player for this level and could prove to be a great signing.



Fact File:

Age: 26
Nationality: English
Height: 6ft
Position: Striker

Lee Novak has signed for the Spireites on a season long loan. And while it is annoying that he isn't here full time, i am still very pleased with and very excited about this transfer. The only catch is that Birmingham have the option to recall him in January. Does this remind anyone else of the Caolan Lavery situation? However, he is a very good player with plenty of Championship experience, where he has scored a reasonable amount of goals, so partnered up with SEB he could be very, very good for the Blues this season.

Novak started off his career at Scottish Club Gretna, where he spent most of his youth career. In 2007, at the age of 18, he moved to Northern Premier League side Newcastle Blue Star F.C. In his time at the Newcastle club, he played 47 games, in which he scored an impressive 29 goals in the one season he was there. In 2008, he was then signed by Gateshead, another non-league side. He impressed there as well, scoring four goals on his debut, which included a three minute hat-trick, which was a record-breaker at the time. Novak scored 17 goals in 21 games for Gateshead before he was signed by Huddersfield Town. He then went back to Gateshead on loan until the end of the season, scoring another 11 goals in 17 appearances, So he finsished the league top scorer, with 26 goals, and won the club's player of the year, In all competition he scored 28 goals in 38 games. Not bad for a 19 year old. In his first season at Huddersfield, he played 45 games and cored 12 goals for the League one side. However, he had a poor 2010/11 season, only scoring 5 goals in 39 League One appearances. However, the next season he scored an impressive 17 goals in 49 League One games. In his last season for the Yorkshire side, he struggle with Championship life, only scoring a disappointing 6 goals in 39 appearances, before he left the club for Birmingham, as he was out of contract with Huddersfield. He Scored his first goal for the West Midlands side, in a 3-3 draw with Yeovil. He then went on to play another 37 games for the Championship side, scoring another 9 goals, including 2 goals against Blackburn, and goals against Swansea and Derby. Last season he had a poor year for Birmingham, playing 25 games and only scoring 2 goals. One in the FA Cup against non-league side Blyth Spartans, and one in the league against Brighton.

So hopefully Novak can find his goal scoring abilities that he had in his Gateshead and Huddersfield times. If he can, i think he will make a deadly strike partnership with SEB up front.

And, in case you didn't know, he scored a pretty impressive goal against Blackburn Rovers for Birmingham in the 2013/14 season:

https://youtu.be/c8CZ-_z_GL0

Carlisle United Review

Last night the Spireites were beaten 3-1 by League Two side Carlisle United in the first round of this season's League cup.



Saunders decided to leave out right back Drew Talbot, and striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, presumably to rest them for Saturday's League one clash against local rivals Sheff Utd. However, apart from that he kept the players and the formation the same as Saturday's game against Barnsley. Raglan was brought into right back to replace Talbot, and Gnanduillet was put upfront to replace Ebanks-Blake. So all in all, it wasn't our strongest squad and we payed the price for it.

The first half was pretty open, with both teams creating a few chances. We didn't really put too many chances on goal to test the Carlisle keeper, but Carlisle's finishing looked much more dangerous, and if it weren't for Tommy Lee, we could of been down at half time. The game continued in that fashion, until Carlisle brought on striker Ibehre, who changed the game for them really. The first goal came in the 75th minute, when Kevin Osei swung a ball into Ibehre, and he used his strength to shrug off the defender and head the ball into the bottom left corner. Nine minutes later, and substitute Mani Dieseruvwe equalized for the Spireites with a powerful shot into the bottom left corner after some good work on the ball from Jake Orell. Straight after the extra time kick off, a momentary lack of intelligence from Dieseruvwe caused him to be sent off and the Spireites to be sent down to ten men, as in the first minute of extra time he was accused of elbowing a Carlisle player. After that we were always up against it, and in the 108th minute Ibehre scored again to put the game out of doubt.  Some good skill from Kevin Osei rubbed salt into the Spireite wounds as Carlisle scored a third in the 120th minute.

So all in all a disappointing night. We had chances throughout the game that we should of taken, and a bit of stupidity from Mani probably cost us the game. Ibehre was the difference for them as he proved to be just too strong for our defense. Not much in the way of good performances really, apart from Tommy Lee who saved us a few times. Oh well, at least we can concentrate on the league from now on!

Here are the highlights of the game:

http://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/teams/chesterfield/9946441/carlisle-3-1-chesterfield-aet

Carlisle Preview! (Sorry it's so late)

In around an hour and fifteen minutes, Chesterfield will play Cumbria side Carlisle United in the first round of this year's League Cup, or Capital One Cup. If you're wondering why iv'e left the preview to this late, it's because when i was set to write it this morning, my internet decided to start acting up. Again. So yeah, blame my Wi-Fi not me.



Carlisle are in League Two, and played our bitter rivals Mansfield this weekend, and only managed to get a 1-1 draw, so hopefully this means we can have an easy win! In all seriousness though, Carlisle won't be a pushover tonight. In pre-season they managed an impressive 4-3 win over Preston North end, and they also managed to beat Oldham Athletic 3-1 later that week. During pre-season they were one of the busiest teams in the transfer market. They brought in twelve new players, including midfielder Jason Kennedy, from League One side Bradford. They also had thirteen departures from the club. The most notable being Kyle Dempsey, who was bought by Championship side Huddersfield for £300,000.

Saunders has a full squad to pick from tonight, however he may give right back Drew Talbot a rest, as he is still returning to full fitness, so Saunders may want to keep him for the tough test against Sheffield United this Saturday. Gnanduillet may be given a game tonight after his brilliant pre-season, but he may struggle to push Ebanks-Blake out of the team, as he had a brilliant match against Barnsley at the weekend, scoring one and assisting two. Dan Jones, Jay O'Shea, Sam Morsy and Gboly Ariyibi are all available tonight and very likely to start after great performances on Saturday. Saunders could possibly give young midfielder Onovwigun a go tonight, as we aren't up against the strongest of oppositions, and Ollie Banks played rather poor on Saturday against Barnsley.

Carlisle manager, Keith Curle, also has a fully fit squad ahead of the game tonight. Jabo Ibehre is likely to start after scoring against Mansfield at the weekend, and he will probably be partnered by Ghanaian striker Derek Asamoah. The two have over 25 years of combined experience, and use a mix of strength and pace to ply open lower league defenses.

Biggest Threat: Jabo Ibehre



The Nigerian striker is a giant of a man, standing at 6'4 tall. He has experience playing for teams such as Walsall, Leyton Orient and MK Dons. Last season he was classed as a Colchester player, however he spent the majority of the season out on loan at Oldham and Barnsley. He knows how to move the ball around, has a good shot on him, has great strength and due to his height he is very dangerous in the air. With players such as Gary Dicker, Antony Sweeney and Danny Kearns in midfield, and former Shrewsbury forward Derek Asamoah partnering him up top, he is sure to get some decent service.

Predicted result: Carlisle 1-3 Spireites

After a fantastic start to the season on Saturday, I think we will be full of confidence going into the match and should be looking to score plenty of goals. If the midfield plays as well as they did at the weekend, and Ebanks Blake can put in a good shift, we should have no problem winning against a League Two side. However, I do think Carlisle will score at least one, with the quality they have going forward.

Barnsley Review: What a start!

Chesterfield set off the new season with a brilliant 3-1 win over local rivals Barnsley, who are also fancied for promotion to the Championship this season.

There were over 8,000 fans at the ground yesterday (around 1,900 of which were Barnsley fans) to see one of the best performances the Spireites have put together in 2015. The game started off badly for us, as Barnsley forward Conor Wilkinson made a mockery of our defense and put the ball into the top corner in the fourth minute. For the rest of the first half we were as good as if not better than Barnsley. We looked strong going forward and there was some great work from Gboly Ariyibi going down the left wing. However, surprise surprise, there was a lack of cutting edge when the ball was put into the box. Saunders must of given one hell of a half time team talk, as in the second half the spireites came out all guns blazing, despite there being no changes to the formation or players on the pitch. After a great run down the left from Dan Jones, Ebanks-Blake found Jay O'Shea on the edge of the box who fired a powerful shot into the top corner in front of an already rocking Proact Kop. We were on the front foot for the next twenty minutes, and the pressure payed off in the 72nd minute when new signing Sylan Ebanks-Blake finished from a tight angle in the six yard box to send the home fans into raptures. When the fans had barely finished celebrating the second goal, in the 73rd minute Blake layed the ball of to Sam Morsy, who floated a shot into the top corner from the edge of the 18-yard box to seal a fantastic opening day win for town.

My man of the match: Sylvan Ebanks-Blake

Despite Jay O'Shea being voted official man of the match by the sponsors, i think the new Spireites no.9 deserved it more. He scored one and assisted two and was fantastic for most of the game. He was brilliant at holding the ball up, and despite taking some time to get going, whenever the ball came to him he looked dangerous. His goal looked scruffy, but it showed classic striker's instinct as he new exactly where the ball, the defender and the goal were despite having his back to goal. His assist for O'Shea was quality, and his lay off for Morsy looked similar to the assist he made in the Hartlepool friendly. He looks to be getting back into form and hopefully can score twenty plus goals this season.

League Table as it stands:

After shock defeats to Barnsley, Wigan and Peterborough, and Sheff Utd and Bradford also suffering heavy defeats at the hands of Gillingham and Swindon, the table looks somewhat backwards:

1. Gillingham (4 GD) (3 pts)
2. Swindon (3 GD) (3 pts)

     3. Chesterfield (2 GD) (3 pts)

     4. Coventry (2 GD) (3 pts)

     5. Rochdale (2 GD) (3pts)

     6. Burton (1 GD) (3pts)

     7. Millwall (1 GD) (3 pts)

     8. Blackpool (0GD) (1pt)

     9. Colchester (0GD) (1pt)

    10. Bury (0GD) (1pt)

    11. Doncaster (0GD) (1pt)

    12. Fleetwood (0GD) (1pt)

    13. Oldham (0GD) (1pt)

    14. Southend (0Gd) (1pt)

    15. Walsall (0GD) (1pt)

    16. Crewe (0GD) (1pt)

    17. Port Vale (0GD) (1pt)

    18. Scunthorpe (-1 GD) (0pts)

    19. Shrewsbury (-1 GD) (0pts)

    20. Barnsley (-2 GD) (0pts)

   

    21. Peterborough (-2 GD) (0pts)

    22. Wigan (-2 GD) (0 pts)

    23. Bradford (-3 GD) (0pts)

    24. Sheff Utd (-4 GD) (0 pts) (Hahahaha)

     

Barnsley Preview! Could a change of formation be our key to success?

Tomorrow the new season finally gets back under way for the Spireites after three months with no competitive football. And what a way to kick it off, with a match against local rivals, Barnsley! Or, as they are more affectionately known by our fans, The Dingles.



Our usual form against our South Yorkshire rivals is pretty good. Last season we beat them 2-1 at home, and drew 1-1 at their place, after a below par performance from our players. However, this season Barnsley are largely considered to be promotion favourites, and after the sales of four of our top players, we could struggle to match the former championship side.

Saunders has a fully fit squad to choose from, and it is more than likely that new signing Sylvans Ebanks-Blake will face Barnsley for the first time in his career. Barnsley will be without new signing Ryan Williams due to a groin injury, and midfielder Conor Hourihane looks doubtful due to damaged knee ligaments.

There has been much debate from the fans over which set of players will perform the best together this season. Should we stick with the same formation as last season? Should we put two up top? Who should play in midfield alongside Morsy and O'Shea? However, i believe a change of formation may work best for the Spireites. Last season we mainly played a 4-2-3-1 formation, with two holding midfielders, then three attacking midfielders sat in behind the main striker. However, this season due to a lack of League One quality midfielders, i think we should revert to a 4-1-2-1-2 formation, with two wide midfielders, a holding midfielder and an attacking midfielder, with two strikers up front. In my opinion, this is the team we should line up with tomorrow afternoon:


                                                                         GK:
                                                                   Tommy Lee

     

              RB:                                        CB:                               CB:                              LB:
           Talbot                                     Hird                              Raglan                         Jones



                                                                            CDM:
                                                                           Morsy


           RM:                                                                                                                   LM:
         Gardner                                                                                                             Ariyibi


       
                                                                            CAM:
                                                                            O'Shea





                                                         ST:                                     ST:
                                                Ebanks-Blake                      Gnanduillet


Even though Gnanduillet isn't the most reliable or proven goalscorer at this level, he is still big and powerful and a handful for most defenses. These qualities are likely to benefit a striker like Ebanks-Blake, who can make runs off the ball and finish any chances made by Gnanduillet. It worked well last season with Doyle. Cook put Gnanduillet and Doyle up front, and whenever a long ball was played, Gnanduillet headed it on, and Doyle used his pace to latch onto Gnanduillet's headers, and Ebanks-Blake could do the same. You never know, he might even continue his great pre-season form into the new season and bag a few goals!

Barnsley's biggest threat: Sam Winnall



With Barnsley's probable best player, Conor Hourihane looking doubtful due to injury, the little 24 year old striker could be the man that Barnsley look to for goals. Last season he scored 9 goals in League One for Barnsley in 24 appearances. Also, the season before he scored an impressive 23 goals in 43 League Two appearances for Scunthorpe United, and he was also nominated for League Two player of the year that season. He is good with his feat, and if he doesn't score, he can always find a man with a pass. His main position is a striker, however he can also play as an attacking midfielder. He also scored the equalizer for Barnsley after Jay O'Shea's opener when we played them in the away fixture last season.

Score prediction: 2-2

I think tomorrow the team will have to go full pelt. They need to boost the confidence of the supporters, and will be desperate to get the season off to a good start. We have enough quality in the side to score goals, so i think we will be able to score one or two with an attacking mindset, however Barnsley are a quality side with a very good midfield, plus our defense is known to be very shaky at times, so i think they will also get a couple of goals. Ebanks-Blake and Jay O'Shea the scorers for us i predict. COYB!

Spireites 2015/16 season preview!

So with the new season fast approaching, only three days away now, i have decided to do a preview of our season. I will make predictions and comment on the manager and the players. Hope you enjoy!



Predicted finish: 15th

After the unexpected heights of last season, i expect this season to be a much more normal season for the Spireites. I hear people every day saying we'll get relegated, we'll be a laughing stock, or we'll 'Do an Orient'. However, i choose to remain optimistic. We still have a great base of players, and despite the significant lack of backing from the board, we have a very positive and competitive manager in Dean Saunders. With the players we have currently, reaching play-offs again is probably out of the question, but i don't think we look like a relegation side. It could take us a while to get going, having lost so many of our top players which could cause lower confidence among the team, and also having an extremely tough opening month, playing Barnsley at home (8th), Sheff utd away (14th), Shrewsbury away (18th), Rochdale at home (22nd), and Millwall away (29th) could cause a slow start for the boys in blue. However, after settling in to the new season, and getting to know each other better, the team should soon start to play like a mid-table League One side, and any fears of relegation among the fans should start to lessen around January/February.

The Boss: Dean Saunders



Dean Saunders reached great heights as a player, with the Welshman playing as a striker for teams such as Liverpool, Galatasaray and Benfica. However, his managerial career hasn't been such a success. Saunders' first team was Wrexham, who he became manager of in 2008, while still being the Assistant Manager for the Wales national team. He led them to 10th place in the 08-09 season, 11th place in 10-11, and Saunders then left Wrexham for Doncaster Rovers ten games into the 11-12 season. Saunders was loathed by the fans in his first season at Doncaster, as they were relegated in April 2012. After being relegated to League One, Saunders led Doncaster to a promotion challenge which put the club in joint first place by early January, but then on 6th January Wolves were given permission to have talks with Saunders, and then he was confirmed as new Wolves manager on 7th January 2013. It took Wolves ten games to get a win under Saunders, and then they were relegated to the third division, on the last day of the season, for the first time since 1984-1985. Saunders was then named manager of Crawley Town in December 2014, and they then became the third side to be relegated by Saunders, when it was confirmed on the last day of the season that they were going down to League Two.

So not the best record for our new manager. However, he is an ambitious manager who likes to play attacking football. With the great football we saw under Cook last season, there also came frustration at times when the team insisted on playing 'Tippy tappy' on the edge of the box instead of putting a ball in or taking a shot on goal. However, Saunders is known for being a more pragmatic manager with a more direct approach, so he won't insist on playing attractive football, and will just want to win! I have belief in Saunders. I think he can help us have a solid season in League One and restore some faith among some of the fans.

The Squad:

After the high-profile departures of Tendayi Darikwa, Sam Clucas, Jimmy Ryan and Gary Roberts, it seems the main part of our brilliant team from last season is missing. However, there is still plenty of quality in the squad, including Dan Jones, Tommy Lee, Ian Evatt, Sam Hird, Drew Talbot (When fit!), Jay O'shea, Sam Morsy and new boy Sylvan Ebanks-Blake. Our defense looks solid, as apart from Tendayi Darikwa, we still have all the defenders that were in our Play-Off side last season. We also have young defender Charlie Raglan, who is a very solid back up, should Evatt or Hird be absent. The midfield, however is a worry. Apart from Morsy we have no real quality holding midfielders, and apart form O'Shea and Dan Gardner, there are no attacking midfielders who are likely to play the football we saw last season. However, new signing Dion O'Donoghue could fill the gap in defensive midfield, and Gboly Ariyibi and Ollie Banks are both young and eager to impress, so could help out in attacking midfield. In attack, we could do with one more striker. Ebanks-Blake is a good signing for this level, and Dean Saunders seems to know how to get the best out of Armand Gnanduillet, while Jake Orell is on hand as a good back up. However, we need a strike partner for Blake who is a proven goalscorer at this level, just to be sure that we have enough quality up front to bang in the goals.

One thing different about the squad this year could be the amount of youngsters featuring in matches, as Saunders seems much more keen to give young players a go, than Paul Cook did. Onovwigun, Mani Dieseruvwe, Gnanduillet, O'Donoghue, Raglan, Orell and Ariyibi have all featured heavily in pre season, and could look to progress this season, and fight for a first team spot.

Key Player this season: Jay O'Shea



With players like Clucas, Doyle and Roberts attracting all the attention last season, former Birmingham man Jay O'Shea was a bit of an unsung hero for the Spireites. Last season he made 47 appearances and was a massive part of Paul Cook's team towards the end of the season. He also scored nine goals last season, which is quite impressive as he played in midfield almost all of the time. He also has a habit of scoring goals when it really matters. I doubt i need to remind you that he scored both goals against Burton in 2013/14, which ultimately turned out to be the game that sealed our promotion to League One. Also, he scored two fantastic goals against Yeovil last season, which brought us back from 2-1 down to a 3-2 win, and this game was at a vital part of the season and probably went a long way to sealing our Play Off spot.

This season O'Shea will be our main attacking threat in midfield, with the likes of Roberts and Clucas gone. This means most movements will come through him and he will be the main supplier to the forward players, a job which he will surely do very well. He will also be looking to chip in with goals like he did last season.

Surprise player of the season: Gboly Ariyibi



Young winger Gboly Ariyibi found chances hard to come by last season. He didn't make his first proper appearance until we played Scunthope United away on February 17th last season. The main reason he played in this game was because poor recent form, and a loss to relegation battling side Leyton Orient caused Paul Cook to change the team around. To do this he gave Ariyibi a go in a League One game against Scunthorpe, and he impressed fans with his skill, pace and directness. After that he made a total of 14 appearances for the Spireites, some starting and some off the bench. He only managed to score one goal in those games but he still put in some very impressive performances, and his willingness to take on defenders was exciting to watch. After the departure of winger Roberts, the left midfield spot is absent, and that is also Ariyibi's favored position. This could cause Saunders to consider making the 20 year old former Southampton man a first team player. If given the chance, i think Ariyibi will prove his skill and make a name for himself, not only among Chesterfield fans, but among fans of different teams in the league.



So there you have it. My opinions on our up and coming League One season. I hope you enjoyed reading this, and please leave a comment if you have any opinions on this.

Season Countdown: Only four days...

Player to look out for this season: Daniel Bentley (Southend)



Fact File:

Team: Southend United 

Age: 22

Nation: England

Position: Keeper

Teams Played For: Southend United, Braintree Town

Daniel Bentley is one of the best young English Keepers around at the moment. Despite never making an appearance for any of the England youth teams, behind young Stoke City keeper Jack Butland and Wigan keeper Lee Nicholls, he is probably the most promising young England keeper around. He played a massive part in Southend's promotion from League 2 last year, which was mainly down to his heroics in the penalty shootout of the play-off final against Wycombe, back in May. Bentley saved penalties from Matt Bloomfield and Sam Wood, one of which won the game and promotion for Southend, as it was a sudden death penalty. Bentley's great season was represented by the awards he received. He won Southend's supporter's player, player's player and community player of the year awards. He also won the Football League Young Player of the Month award in April and made the PFA League Two team of the year, alongside Southend teammate Ben Coker. 

In this summer transfer window, Bentley has been the subject of some heavy interest from teams all around the country, especially in the Championship. Southend received a £1,000,000 bid from Hull City, which was turned down by the club, then also received a bid from QPR, which was also turned down, however Bentley is still believed to be on QPR's radar, and they could be lining up another bid. He is also known to have been a potential summer transfer target for Premier League side West Ham United. He has also attracted keen interest from newly promoted Bristol City, and another Championship side, Leeds United.

So Bentley could be key to Southend's success this season. In my opinion they will need Bentley to achieve the mid-table finish that they are capable of, especially after signing Leyton Orient striker Dave Mooney, Ipswich Town midfielder Anthony Wordsworth and Ipswich Town striker Noel Hunt (Rumoured transfer target for the Spireites). Last season Bentley made a total of 42 League performances for Southend, out of a possible 46, and it is almost certain that he will be such a regular starter, and vital part of the team this season as well.

Countdown to the new season: Barnsley only 5 days away!

Player to look out for: Kwame Thomas (On loan at Blackpool from Derby)



Fact File:

Team: Derby County (On loan at Blackpool) 

Age: 19

Nation: England

Position: Striker

Teams Played For: Derby County, Notts County, Blackpool 

Kwame Thomas is a young talented striker who has played for England at Under 16, Under 17 and Under 20 levels. He signed his first pro contract in the summer of 2014 for Derby County, after spending two years there as a scholar. He has joined League One side Blackpool on a short loan deal until January 2016. He is eager to impress. He was quoted saying 'My aim is just to work hard and try to get wins for the team. Hopefully, personally, I'll get some goals and recognition, and be the best i can be.'

Thomas played a full match for the England U-20s side, when they beat Ivory Coast 2-1 in the Toulon Tournament in France. He was drafted into the squad as a late replacement for former Derby loan player Jordan Ibe. Kwame scored his only goal for the U-20s national side in a 2-1 win over USA U-20s. Here is the link to the highlights of that game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YN5-wTMpvg4

Countdown to the new season: Only 6 days to go!

Player to look out for: Che Adams (Sheffield United)

Fact File:

Team: Sheff Utd 

Age: 19

Nation: England

Position: Striker

Teams Played For: Ilkeston, Sheffield United

Current Market Value: £35,000

Che Adams is a young exciting striker who unfortunately is currently playing for the Dee Dahs. He joined United from Ilkeston in 2014, for an undisclosed fee, said to be six figures. While at the non-league side he scored nine goals in sixteen games. An impressive goals return for a 17 year old, even if it was at non-league. Adams was sought after by teams from league two to the premier league, including Newcastle, Sunderland and Burnley. Che was well known in his time at Ilkeston, but he really made his name in the league cup semi-final against Tottenham on 28 January 2015, which was only his third ever senior professional performance. 74 minutes in Nigel Clough brought on Adams for Jamal Campbell Ryce. In the space of five minutes he scored twice, his first ever professional goals, leveling the aggregate score back at 2-2. His goals would have taken the game to extra time if Cristian Eriksen hadn't scored in the 88th minute making it 3-2 on aggregate. 

Adams has enjoyed a decent pre-season for the blades, racking up a tally of four goals. Two of these goals came against Macclesfield Town, one was a late winner away against Exeter City, and the other came against former team Ilkeston, the only goal in a 1-0 win for United. 

Currently Adams is attracting interest from many teams around the country, mainly from Championship side Cardiff. Adams is likely to line up alongside United striker partner Billy Sharp, who recently signed from Yorkshire rivals Leeds, for a sum of £500,000

Adams is skillful, strong and a lethal finisher when given the chance, and with the potential he has, he is sure to cause problems for many defenses in the future. He is clearly a part of Sheffield United's plans for this season, as manager Nigel Adkins issued a 'Hands off warning' to teams monitoring Adams in the transfer market, on Thursday night. Adkins said to The Star newspaper 'Che is still a young lad and we are really looking forward to the future he's got here with Sheffield United'. He also said 'He's had an excellent pre-season with us and we've got to keep on top of him because he's still got lots to learn. He can finish and he has got the strength to manipulate situations. Now what we've got to do is work with Che to make him a better player, which we will. Like I say, Che has got a big future here with us.'

So you heard it here first! Next year he could be one of United's main men. Keep an eye out for him, and also on my blog as tomorrow i will give you another hot prospect to look out for in League One this season.