Review of 2009: Magpies aim high as new decade dawns (From Chorley Citizen)

Review of 2009: Magpies aim high as new decade dawns

4:18pm Tuesday 22nd December 2009

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This year has been an eventful one as Chorley FC enter the new decade with more than a glimmer of hope that they will climb back into the UniBond Premier Division after 11 seasons at First Division level.

After the departure of Tony Hesketh for his old club Lancaster City in early April, along with eight first-team squad players at the end of the season, Steve Waywell took over in May, the club’s eighth manager in just over seven years.

Waywell, who had two spells as a centre half with the Magpies in the 1980s, came back to Victory Park after gaining considerable success in non-league management.

He underlined his promotion ambitions for the club by bringing in players of quality and experience and steering the side to their highest December placing for several years.

Weather permitting, they will meet Mossley at Victory Park on New Year’s Day.

Winter took its toll of the first three January fixtures of 2009 before Chorley’s 2-1 defeat at Colwyn Bay was followed by a run of three wins out of four.

Inconsistency hampered the team¹s progress, but they put together an unbeaten home run from March until well into the next season.

Assistant-manager Phil Brown took over as caretaker after Hesketh¹s shock resignation on April 8 and ended the campaign with a four-game unbeaten run, culminating in a 0-0 draw with former leaders FC Halifax Town in front of a crowd of 561, the biggest Victory Park turnout of the season.

The Magpies finished 14th out of 21 in the First Division North, with 47 points.

They won 13, drew eight and lost 19, scoring 56 goals and conceding 66.

Brown followed Hesketh to Lancaster, along with eight players with a combined appearances total of 171.

The board wasted no time appointing Waywell to the hot seat, but the new boss suffered an early disappointment when it became clear that the club couldn’t afford a reserve side at this time, unlike the previous season when Phil Brown¹s job at Myerscough College enabled him to secure backing for the second team.

The new boss, faced with an enormous recruitment task of replacement task after having the heart of the squad ripped out, Waywell brought in a large number of players and many of them have since moved on.

He pulled off top signings in strikers Terry Fearns from AFC Telford United and Leigh Genesis¹s Chris Amadi and goalkeeper Zac Hibbert from Southport.

Fearns cracked in 14 goals by mid-November but lost his place in the side through a club suspension following arrest and court proceedings on drugs charges.

After a poor showing in the FA Cup and FA Trophy the previous season, in which the team failed to score, Chorley ended a dismal 11-year run of FA Trophy ties without a win by knocking out one of Waywell’s old clubs, Rossendale United, and gave former Football League outfit Boston United a fright before going out 3-2 away from home.

Former skipper Jamie Vermiglio, recovering from injury, made a brief return after three years but moved on to Northwich. “I was sorry to lose Jamie, but I can’t blame him for wanting to play at a higher level,” said Waywell.

“That’s where he had reached in his career before his injury problems. I wish Jamie all the best. He helped us out when he was available because he has a lot of time for our club. He comes to see us and he has recommended players to us.”

Chorley collected a reasonable amount of FA Cup cash for the first time in years with a four-match run that included the scalp of Ashton United, another of Waywell¹s previous clubs, who weeks before they went out 2-1 at Victory Park had been top of the UniBond Premier.

It took a 4-1 away defeat by the mighty Northwich Victoria to end the Magpies’ hopes of a longer run.

They went out of the three ‘domestic’ cup competitions at the first hurdle, but despite some blips, mainly in defence, maintained the progress outlined by the manager, who also paid tribute to the supporters.

“It has been heartening to see our loyal fans outnumber home supporters so many times and I’m always glad when we are able to reward them with a win.

“The lads really appreciate their vocal backing,” he said. “I hope the youngsters we have brought in maintain their enthusiasm for the game while they are with us.

“They are an asset to the dressing room and I believe that youth is the way forward.

“We need to keep progressing and aiming high and we need the squad to be strong, especially for the start of next season. We¹ve got to keep battling and concentrate on keeping things tight at the back.”

At the halfway stage in 2009-10 Chorley were 12th out of 22, with 27 points, having won seven, drawn six and lost six. They had scored 30 and conceded 41.

As the manager says, they must build on what has been achieved and go onward and upward.

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