Chester Football Club

Interesting times to say the least (if you can call them that) going on at Chester Football Club at the moment. The latest news is that the club have parted company with manager Marcus Bignot. This of course follows on swiftly from the club announcing they weren’t going to renew his contract at the end of the season. Soon after, this was followed by the club’s inevitable relegation to the National League North.

Chester Football Club

Troubled times indeed at Chester Football Club.

I must stress I am not a Chester FC supporter but many of my friends are. They had a good old moan to me last weekend after the club’s relegation. And of course, as a local website owner whose aim is to make this website as much as for the people of Chester as I can, I do get to research a fair bit of local news. This is local news.

So, bear in mind many of my comments or observations are from a neutral standpoint. They are from someone who has listened to some of the fans, read some of the published statements, watched some videos and wondered, “What on earth is going on?”

I think that last sentence is exactly what all true Chester Football Club fans want to know. And it is a question they have been asking for some time it would seem.

Back on to Marcus Bignot again for a moment though. So why did he deserve his fate?

Marcos Bignot

Was it because of his managerial or coaching ability? It would appear that is the case if you take on board recent comments made by midfielder, Gary Roberts.

Did he lack enthusiasm? Not from the interviews I have seen and from the comments of the Chester FC fans I spoke to.

Was he disloyal? It doesn’t appear so. He even agreed to stay on after the club announced they were effectively sacking him at the end of the season.

In any job or profession where an individual is reliant on the quality of his tools to some extent, did he misuse the tools at his disposal? Assuming the coaching staff and the players at his disposal are his tools, most definitely not. He had to offload many of them due to financial constraints. More on ‘financial constraints’ later.

To use a local analogy. It is as though back in September, Mr. Bignot was appointed in the role of carrying out repairs and maintenance on the suspension bridge in The Groves and to paint it. He had the ideal qualifications for the role. All the necessary tools were made available. The best quality paint possible was also on hand and the best possible staff to complete the task were all ready, raring to go.

Goalposts Changed

However, very soon after, the goalposts changed (see the subtle link back to footie there!! Good wasn’t it!!). Most of the tools were removed. The best of the staff were offloaded to be replaced by eager volunteers in some instances.

“But Mr. Bignot, you will still be expected to complete the assignment”

“How? You’ve only left me with one spanner for the repairs and maintenance, a toothbrush for the paint job and a few Boy Scout volunteers!!”

Maybe the analogy is not 100% accurate, but you may get the drift.

***NB*** By the way, I am not saying I think the suspension bridge needs any work to it. It looks fine to me. Just used as an illustration to highlight the size of the task Mr. Bignot faced.

Club Announce Marcus Bignot Departure

There are several reasons to write this post, but one of them appeared on the back page of today’s Chester Standard. Regarding Marcus Bignot’s immediate departure, the following snippet within a fuller quote appeared.

“The club have decided to end the manager’s contract to facilitate the search for a new manager”

I’m sure you all know, but just to confirm, “facilitate” means “to make easier or less difficult” amongst other things. After reading this I phoned one of my Chester Football Club pals. He prompted me to take a look at a Chester FC Group page on Facebook. In particular he guided me to an interview Marcus Bignot gave after the defeat to Tranmere last Saturday.

I watched the 8 minute interview earlier today. No danger of any possible misquotes, or things being misinterpreted by third parties down the line. He clearly said to the reporter that he was more than willing to still help the club even though he knew he was going.

You could sense his frustration. Even more so when he couldn’t seem to understand the very swift departure of club legend, Neil Young. Most recently, he was being helped on the football aspect of the club by Young. Credit to Young, as it would appear he was offering his services for free. So, why did Young go?

On the face of it, it looks like anyone within the club who could ‘facilitate the search for a new manager’ it was Bignot and Young. But they’ve been offloaded. Why? There’s a question for Chester FC fans to put to the board. There are many, many more. Will the board reply with the level of detail hoped for?

Footballing People At The Helm

Bignot also touched on the subject that the club need football people at the top tier of the club. Does the club have such people?

After watching this interview, I watched a few more of Marcus Bignot’s interviews. To me he came across very eloquently, dignified and enthusiastic. And a well spoken ambassador for the club to put in front of a microphone.

As has proven to be the case, Chester have been heading for relegation for some time. So, how do they get themselves back up the ladder as quickly as possible?

Who Next?

They definitely need a dedicated and enthusiastic manager.

Ideally this manager needs to have experience of the league they are going in to.

He would also need to be a good coach.

The club would need a manager who engaged well with the media.

This manager should be able to work under constraints.

Do you see if anyone ticks any or all of them boxes? Chester had two of them at the club but chose to get rid of them.

So, back to the questions. Why was Marcus Bignot sacked? Why did Neil Young leave?

Regarding Marcus Bignot, was it because of his outspoken views after the Tranmere game? Wasn’t he falling into line with the ethos of a fan owned club by being transparent though? Maybe this is homing in on the real reason.

Financial Constraints

In a previous post the issue of the club’s financial constraints was mentioned. If you haven’t read it yet, click this link HERE. Massive credit to the club’s fans who raised in excess of £100k in a matter of a few weeks.

Dispensing with the services of Marcus Bignot’s services now, it may well be this has cost the club money. I would imagine so, as he was contracted until May. Was his contract up to the end of May?

Did the club have to pay up his contract? To many clubs paying up a contract for possibly 6 weeks or so may not seem a lot. But to a club operating under “financial constraints” every penny is precious.

Does removing Mr. Bignot from his post now, fit into ‘facilitating the search for a new manager’ and ‘financial sense’ considering he was offering his help until the end of May anyway and the club has no money?

Who of those still remaining at the club has a proven football background?

How many playing staff will be at the club come pre-season when training starts? Sorry, or should I say ‘ongoing financial liabilities’ instead of playing staff. The board made this reference after the resignation of previous chairman Simon Olorenshaw and Mark Howell recently – see comments in this link HERE

The Need For Transparency

As the club is fan owned shouldn’t this mean there is a greater need for transparency? I’m not sure when the next fans meeting is but I would imagine there will be plenty to discuss. Speaking with some of the fans, they want to hear “warts and all”. Not soundbites and cliches.

If I was a fan I would invite Mr Olorenshaw and Marcus Bignot to the next meeting. I would also invite Jon McCarthy. And a senior member of the playing staff (I mean ongoing financial liability – if there’s any of them left!!). Maybe they won’t want to attend. Maybe they would but will not be able to comment (if confidentiality agreements have been signed for instance).

To use an old cliche myself, “if it isn’t broken, no need to fix it”. The complete opposite seems to be the issue at Chester Football Club. It is very much broken, so it needs fixing. And quickly. The thing is though, are the current board members the ones to fix it? How many of the current board are still in place now as at the start of the season?

Exactly what is broken though? Is it the fan owned structure that needs fixing? Is it the key personnel at the helm at the club that need fixing? Or, is it a combination of both?

***Hot off the Press***

Possible Investment In The Club

Since I started to write this post, someone has just phoned me to mention that a potential investor has shown an interest in Chester Football Club. Great news? Or not? If so, will the club be totally transparent as to what the proposal is? Also, has the potential investor a football background? As my pal put it, “we don’t want another Smith or Vaughan”

Who will carry out the due diligence exercise?

If a deal doesn’t go through will the board disclose full details as to why it didn’t? And so on.

Fans Meeting

As I say, I don’t know when the next fans meeting is. It certainly promises to be a bit lively doesn’t it!! It has not been the intention of this post to bash the board of Chester Football Club. Much of what has been written has been relayed to me and as a result of my own research into what is out there in the public domain.

It may well be that the board have not been the problem. This is the opportunity for the powers that be to clarify this. They may well inform those interested that the fall guys are really the ones that have been put to the sword. As a for instance, one of the things I couldn’t get my head around was the urgent offloading of senior, high earning players. This seems to suggest that the players should have been fairly decent.

You know, in a sort of a way of – good wages=good players=good team. Does this mean the players bought in this season’s record playing budget weren’t any good? I know football doesn’t always work this way but generally, good players on good wages does not equate to a bottom of the table team. The Premier League table will tell you that.

This lends itself in a way to the earlier post I mentioned above. Where has the money actually gone? Is there a common denominator in the club’s woes?

One of my pals commented. “In the ideal world we could do with a board that consisted of something like Rush and/or Owen, Colin Murray, a local, successful businessman…..oh, and an ex-player. And Marcus Bignot as manager” I get the sentiment – not sure how Colin Murray fits in though.

Fingers Crossed

It is hoped that the powers that be at Chester Football Club are able and committed enough to turn this around. If they don’t then it is feared there will be no coming back from any further setbacks.

To end on a positive note though. Well done to Chester U19’s in making it to the final of the National Alliance Cup. Are they as good as the Youth team of 1974/75 though? Ah….when I was a lad!!!

Congratulations Chester U19’s. Maybe the future is rosy after all? It won’t be though if the current mess isn’t sorted out….and soon!! Go to it the board and fans. Best of luck.

For More Posts On Chester Football Club – See Links Below

Chester Football Club – Information on the history of Chester FC – Click HERE.

Grenville Millington – Chester legend, Grenville Millington raises money for Chester Football Club – Read more HERE.

Chester FC – Post about the financial plight of Chester Football Club – see more HERE.

Gary Talbot – A tribute to Chester Football Club goal scoring legend, Gary Talbot – read more HERE.

For More Information On Chester and Chester Lifestyle

If you are looking for more information on the beautiful city of Chester and Chester Lifestyle – click HERE.