Legends of the Spire

Sam Hird sits easily in the top 50 of players who have made the most appearances for Chesterfield FC and from 2012-2018 he virtually saw it all! From a League 2 title win under Paul Cook and a near promotion to the Championship the season after, right through to relegation down to the National League only a handful of years later. Sam came to the club as captain but also in his time with the Spireites had to fight his way off the transfer list and work under a whole selection of different managers. Now working for the PFA, Sam joined me to talk about how his experiences at Chesterfield, Doncaster and Barrow have shaped his life and career.

Matthew Greenan, aka The Stone Ranger on YouTube, is a lifelong Chesterfield FC fan, stone carver, and Peak District park ranger. On Sunday 4 February, Matthew will be carving the Chesterfield FC badge into a piece of Derbyshire stone live on YouTube. The final work will be raffled off to raise money for the Ernie Moss Foundation, with tickets available via the Chesterfield FC website and social media channels. I caught up with him in the days before the event to find out more about his history of stone carving and why he chose to take up the challenege of carving Chesterfield FC into stone. You can see the stone carving live on his YouTube page below. youtube.com/@TheStoneRanger

Glyn Chamberlain is one of a small group of people who were born in Chesterfield, grew up supporting Chesterfield, and then went on to play for the club too. After starting his footballing career as a youth player at Burnley, he then went on to represent Chesterfield from 1976-1981 under the management of the legendary Arthur Cox. Since retiring from playing he has both coached and managed, but found his niche as a scout under managers like Neil Warnock, Sean Dyche, and now Paul Warne at Derby. In this episode we spoke about his time at Chesterfield as a footballer, his career experiences elsewhere and what it takes to become a good scout.

Issue 5 of Legends of the Spire fanzine is out now! This is the independent Chesterfield FC fanzine, formerly called Linda's Sandwich shop. The zine features 44 pages of content and this issue includes... Cupets, Michael South's photos of 2023, Spanish Spireites, Cycling to Bangkok, Observations of National League streaming, a transcript of the podcasts interview with Ollie Banks in 2022, and lots more. The zine is only £3 and includes free postage...and usually a few free postcards too. You can buy the fanzine on the link below! https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/legendsofthespire

Adie Shaw spent two seasons as a player at Chesterfield from, from 1988-1990, after starting out under Brian Clough at Nottingham Forest and then spending some time at Halifax. Injury forced retirement at a young age in 1990 but he stayed at Chesterfield to start on community projects for the club which included youth coaching and development of the first women's team in the town. Adie now works for the EFL and joined me to talk about Cloughie, Paul Hart's Chesterfield, retirement, his love of the sport and the benefits of a positive mindset. If you would like the latest issue of Legends of the Spire fanzine please visit etsy.com/uk/shop/legendsofthespire

Bob Bloomer started his Chesterfield FC career as a youngster, around the club during the title win the in 1984/85 season. Over the coming years he quickly became a feature in the Spireites midfield and was with the club until early 1990. He then went on to enjoy a long spell at Cheltenham, via a couple of years at Bristol Rovers, and since retirement has had a successful coaching career. Bob is now working for the EFL and joined me to talk about his memories from Chesterfield, including a stand out moment scoring against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

Chesterfield FC fan Daniel Cresswell is currently on an incredible adventure with his mate Alain, cycling from London to Bangkok. I caught up with Dan as he was taking some much needed downtime in Albania to recharge the muscles and the bank account! He told me about where the thirst for adventure came from, the highlights of the journey so far, and how he is keeping in touch with match results on the way. You can follow their adventure here youtube.com/@DanielCresswell And you can also follow him on X @djcresswe11 and Instagram @djcresswe11 They are also fundraising for The Spireites Trust, Islington Foodbank and CALM and you can donate on the following link https://givestar.io/gs/ER79M30

Despite growing up in the south, Steve Spooner actually made his name as a footballer at clubs like Derby County, Halifax and Chesterfield in the late 70's and early 80's. After moving to Chesterfield in 1983, the midfielder was a key member of John Duncan's title winning team in the 1984/85 season. He moved to Hereford in 1986 but came back to Chesterfield, again under the management of John Duncan, in 1993. After playing in non league up until he was 40, Steve then moved into coaching and has been at his current club, Birmingham City, for nearly two decades. In this podcast Steve talks to me about his upbringing in the sport, fond memories of his time at Chesterfield and his love of coaching.

A fans favourite during his time at the club, striker Tom Denton was at Chesterfield from 2018-2022. He played under Martin Allen, John Pemberton, John Sheridan, James Rowe and Paul Cook. Standing at 6"7, Tom was an imposing presence at the top end of the pitch during his time with the club, and scored important goals that stopped a drop into regional football and turned the club around in the process. He joined me to talk about starting out with Wakefield, a Wembley trip with North Ferriby United, and those four seasons with the Spireites.

Something a little different for this weeks interview as I got in the car and drove to Nottingham to meet former Spireite defender, Bryn Gunn. Due to us being in a pub beer garden this weeks episode is a little different and features some of what Bryn and I spoke about during my trip to Nottinghamshire. The European Cup winner with Nottingham Forest spoke to me about his time under Brian Clough, signing for Paul Hart's Chesterfield, playoff defeats and how to take the perfect penalty.

Writer Stepehen Poxon joins Dave Garratt this week to talk his new book, ERNIE! Ernie! is a heartfelt tribute to lower-league football hero Ernie Moss, a local boy made good who became a Chesterfield goalscoring legend. Ernie earned his place in footballing folklore for his phenomenal longevity and as Chesterfield's record goalscorer. It's a story of skill and success, heartbreak and honesty, football and family. The book brings together memories from former teammates and fans to tell the story of a true legend and Stephen joins me to talk about the process of putting it together, his memories of putting it together and what he learnt about the Spireite number 8. You can find out more about ERNIE! by visiting https://www.pitchpublishing.co.uk/shop/ernie

Rob Edwards had three seasons at Chesterfield FC from 2000-2003. During that time he was part of the promotion winning squad under the management of Nicky Law and played alongside previous podcast guests like David Reeves, Sean Parrish and Ryan Williams. He also had two long spells at Huddersfield Town either side of his stint with the Spireites and scored a legendary goal in the playoffs in 2004. Rob joined me to talk about his whole career from being up front, to in defence, and everything in-between.

Josh Law has an interesting past with Chesterfield FC. His Dad Nicky was a player in the 90s and manager in the 00s so he has fond memories of having a kick about around Saltergate with his cousin, a certain Ollie Banks. He was then a youth player, and then pro, at Chesterfield in the 00s himself, so it was great to share some Spireites memories from his time from time associated with the club. Now a coach at Harrogate time we also chatted about his time at clubs like Motherwell, Oldham and York and his move into coaching for the future. Thanks for supporting the podcast. Please do grab the latest Linda's Sandwich Shop zine at etsy.com/uk/shop/legendsofthespire or by popping into Tallbird Records in Chesterfield town centre.

Steve Fletcher is a huge legend at Bournemouth but in just one season at Chesterfield he became a firm fan favourite there too. Back in the 2007/08 season he moved up north to join Lee Richardson's Spireites as they tried to build for promotion. He formed a great partnership with Jack Lester that season and although the club missed out on promotion he is well remembered in the town. Steve joined me to talk about that strike partnership, trips to the Old Firm derby with Jamie Winter and Peter Leven, and returning to Chesterfield for the last game at Saltergate after re-joining Bournemouth.

Still only 22yrs old, Levi Amantchi first joined Chesterfield back when the club was in League One. He was a youth player during the slide down from League One into the National League but got his chance under the management of Martin Allen as the Spireites started life in the National League. A pacey and strong striker, Levi is currently at National League North club Brackley Town and he joined me to talk about life at Chesterfield, working with Martin Allen and being a footballer during Covid.

Ashley Foyle has enjoyed two spells at Chesterfield FC. Firstly as a product of the youth team and first team squad in the mid 00's, and then as a returning coach for the youth team a decade ago. From printing his own number on his first team shirt to coaching a young Laurence Maguire during his return to the Spireites as a coach, I delved into his career so far and current role at Lincoln City.

Emma Young has been a Chesterfield fan since being lifted into the air by David Reeves during the pitch invasion after the dramatic last day relegation escape vs Luton in 2004. She since went on to become the Head Physio at the Spireites before moving onto Coventry City at the start of the season. Emma joined me to talk about working for the team she supports, managing players physical and mental health and what's in a physio's kit bag!

As Chesterfield fans we've all been extremely excited to see the new Matchwinner retro range go on sale this week. To celebrate the new partnership between the iconic brand and the team I support I popped along to their HQ in Dewsbury to have a look around and chat with their Head of Design, Alistair Wood. You can find the new Matchwinner retro range by visiting https://matchwinner.co.uk/product-category/licensed-products/chesterfield-fc/

With bags of pace and a willingness to take on any opponent Ryan Williams was a popular figure at Chesterfield FC. After growing up in the town he finally got the chance to play for the Spireites in 1999 in a difficult season where the team ultimately got relegated. But they bounced back the season after with a promotion under Nicky Law, in a season full of turmoil behind the scenes. Ryan joined me to talk about rooming with Michael Owen, celebrating in front of the away fans and the joys of an old fashioned winger.

I welcome Kieran Maguire from the excellent The Price of Football podcast on to the show this week to have a look at Chesterfield FC's recently published accounts for the year ending 30 June 2022. Kieran cast an objective eye over some of the figures in the accounts whilst also picking up on some of the key trends in football finance today. You can see the accounts on Companies House by visiting Companies House, searching for CFC 2002 Ltd and visiting the Filing History section. A big thanks to Kieran for spending some time on the podcast. You can find The Price of Football podcast on all of your usual podcast platforms.