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Another week, another three points for the Spireites. This ‘Great Escape’ lark is easy.
OK, that’s not actually true. Except for the bit about the three points of course.
Chesterfield FC battled hard against Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend, rode their luck, threw whole bodies in front of goal-bound shots and somehow managed to ‘do a David’ by downing the massed ranks of Goliaths in what was an unusually tall Owls squad
And boy were they a large, physical bunch. From Rob Jones to Chris O’Grady via Reda Johnson Saturday’s opposition certainly didn’t come up short when it came to height and weight. Fortunately for John Sheridan’s men, Wednesday did come up short when it came to goals.
As it’s already mid-week I won’t dwell on the details of Chesterfield’s 1-0 win but, suffice to say, goalkeeper Tommy Lee and centre half Neil Trotman were immense. But that’s what you need when defending against a team in the division’s top 3.
Every single player in a blue shirt is worthy of praise but Dean Morgan, who showed great composure to slot away the only goal of the game from the penalty spot, and both Liam LiamRidehalgh (on loan from Huddersfield) and Nicky Ajose (on loan from Peterborough) deserve great credit, the latter pair for carving out the goal scoring opportunity in the first place. In truth it was ‘Town’s’ only decent move of the game. But it was a telling one.
On reflection, it was a huge three points. But not for the reasons I was expecting.
Before the season started, the games against Sheffield’s Wednesday and United were touted as big games purely for geographical reasons. Local bragging rights would be at stake and despite the huge gulf in finances, squadquality and supporter catchment area, to be playing the Sheffield ‘giants’ (in Wednesday’s case, quite literally) made them standout fixtures.
As it has turned out, it really doesn’t matter who Chesterfield are playing at the moment. Every game is now a cup final. Three wins in five has, to paraphrase Steve Claridge on the Football League Show ‘given them a fighting chance’ of staying up but that run needs to continue whether the opposition is top or bottom of League One and regardless of whether they play their home games 15 or 150 miles away.
In short, having emerged victorious, I could have been ecstatic at a win over the‘massive’ club from up the road. However, with six of the bottom seven League sides winning, I was just ecstatic that Chesterfield had taken the three points, regardless of the opposition.
I don’t wish to belittle Sheffield Wednesday but their role in this saga is very much diminished thanks to the Spireites’ perilous position at the foot of the table. I didn’t think I would say that pre-season. But it’s true.
It’s true because staying in League 1 is of the utmost importance right now. The trip to Wembley in March for the Johnstone Paint’s Trophy final will be a nice day out. And beating local rivals feels great for a few hours. But the pain of relegation would knock both of those into a cocked hat.
A fellow ‘believer’ asked on Twitter whether I thought the pain of relegation would be a more heightened emotion than the elation of winning League 2 last season, or words to that effect. For me that is easy one to answer.
Relegation back to League 2, where less glamorous opposition like Macclesfield Town, Barnet and Accrington Stanley (to name but three) lie in wait, just doesn’t bare thinking about. I like playing Sheffield Wednesday, I like visiting The Galpharm, I even like going to Oldham (occasionally). But most of all I like Chesterfield FC to be doing OK. And scrabbling around in League 2 is not ‘doing OK.’
For some clubs, relegation is a nice holiday from the humdrum of season-in, season-out torture in your ‘usual’ division. For fans of big clubs that get relegated from the Premier League, for example, a year in the Championship means easier access to tickets, break-from-the-norm away games and a chance to potentially experience winning on a regular basis. As long as it only lasts one season, it can be quite fun I imagine.
For Chesterfield FC, a return to League 2 at the first attempt would be a painful experience. Not least because we’ve had a few years there, it isn’t much fun and none of the plusses that fans of the big clubs experience are applicable
I’m glad we beat Sheffield Wednesday. I was really encouraged by the spirit that the team showed and I basked in the atmosphere at the end of the game.
But what I really want is to be able to replicate that feeling on the last day of the season (or even before) by completing the ‘Great Escape’ and avoiding relegation so, quite simply, we can do it all over again – in League One.
By Will Strauss. As well as writing about his first love, Chesterfield FC, he is currently coming up with articles about dishwasher spares for the Leeds-based appliances company ASD.
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