Alan Oakes - A True Legend

At the start of the 1976-77 season, Chester Football Club made a major signing. A certain midfielder called Alan Oakes joined us at Sealand Road with 565 appearances under his belt. The £15,000 transfer was a coup for the then Chester manager Ken Roberts as Oakes was under no pressure to leave Maine Road and he was immediately given the captaincy at Sealand Road. Alan started his career for Manchester City in 1959, he won medals in all three domestic competitions as well and had been included in the 40 man England squad that took part in the 1970 Mexico World Cup.

Chester made a poor start to the season and by the end of August Ken Roberts had resigned and the Winsford born Alan Oakes was immediately appointed as his successor. Roberts remained at the club in an advisory capacity. Although he got off to a winning start at Crystal Palace, Alan soon recognised the need for new blood and embarked on a rebuilding process. Many new signings came in, the most notable being Ian Edwards which coincided with Chester's first ever appearance in the FA Cup 5th Round.

Luton Town were the 4th Round opponents in what was a nostalgic return for the Futcher twins. It took Chester a long time to find their composure but gradually they took control with Alan Oakes particularly in midfield. The tie remained goal less until injury time, when a Dearden cross found Edwards in acres of space allowing the big striker to pick his spot out of keeper Aleksic's reach. As Edwards celebrated the goal an eight foot section of perimeter wall at the Kop end collapsed and the crowd spilled onto the pitch overwhelmed with joy. In the 5th Round Chester visited 2th Division promotion challengers Wolverhampton Wanderers and were desperately unlucky not to make further progress as they easily matched their illustrious opponents. The only goal of the game came from Hibbitt, nine minutes from time, and was the first goal Chester had conceded in the competition.

Alan's taste for FA Cup glory was formidable. Two seasons later during the 1979/80 season, Chester again made huge progress on the long windy road to Wembley. In the first round Chester had little problem in disposing of non league Workington 5-1, but were given a much harder game against Barnsley in Round 2 where a late Paul Raynor penalty separated the teams. Round 3 provided a mouth watering tie at St James Park, home of Newcastle United. At the time Newcastle were riding high at the top of division two and unbeaten at home. The Chester defence however were in sterling form with Trevor Storton outstanding in stifling the threat of highly rated number nine Peter With.

Peter Henderson surprised the Geordies with a goal after only three minutes when the Newcastle defence failed to clear a Phillips cross. More than 400 Chester fans, stuck on a special football train near Castleford, missed the goal but they arrived in time to see Ian Rush slam home the second goal with 15 minutes to go, and add another zero to his saleable value. The 4th round draw proved a disappointment, but Chester were well in command in beating 3rd Division rivals Millwall 2-0, a week after the same team had beaten then 3-1 in London. Ipswich Town, 5th in Division one, provided a formidable obstacle in Round 5 but the suffolk sider were given a shock after only nine minutes when an apparently harmless header by Jones caught Cooper off his line to give Chester the lead. Gradually the Dutch pair of Thijssen and Muhren took control of midfield and two goals by Burley and Wark, just before half time, sent Iswich through.

Alan Oakes is unique in that he never managed Chester Football Club in the bottom division and indeed the 1977/78 season the nearest the club has ever been to the second division of the football league. As the title of his article suggests, Alan was a 'true legend' at both Manchester City and Chester.

1985 AND GOALS GALORE FOR SUPER STUEY

Stuart Rimmer's Chester career proved to be most eventful, with 135 Football League goals coming his way in two separate spells, and he proudly holds the position of record goalscorer for Chester City Football Club. It all began against Southend United on January 26th 1985, and his debut couldn't have been any more spectacular. A hat-trick was to be followed up with continuous strikes, until he sustained a career threatening injury fourteen years ago today.....

Rimmer arrived at Sealand Road initially on loan in January 1985. Sadly, inclement weather meant that Chester didn't play a match between New Year's Day and January 26th. The recent appointment of Mickey Speight as Caretaker Manager had helped instil confidence into a squad which was boosted by the arrivals of Ricky Greenhough, Paul O'Berg and Stuart Rimmer. Going into the game, we lay at the foot of the table (level on points with Wrexham), whilst Southend were in a mediocre mid-table spot. It was to be the Shrimpers who forged ahead in this clash early on, yet after that the afternoon proved to be one they wouldn't wish to recall. Stuart Rimmer was on target in the 26th, 41st and 82nd minutes as we recorded a 5-1 success, with the popular Andy Holden and Bobby Coy the other scorers. What a shame only 1410 saw this composed performance from Chester, with Rimmer netting a hat-trick on his debut for the Blues. These were his first Football League goals, with his only three appearances for Everton having seen him fail to find the net.

Chester were to also score five times a month later against promotion chasing Darlington, with Rimmer converting in the 38th minute after good work by Paul O'Berg. The 5-2 success saw Chester continue to move up the table as they vowed to avoid having to apply for re-election for a second successive season. The weeks and Rimmer goals passed before a crucial away game at Rochdale on April 27th. Rimmer scored from the penalty spot as we recorded a 2-1 win in a six-pointer, although there was still much work to do if we were to finish 20th or higher. Trailing 1-0 at half-time against Hereford at Sealand Road on May 1st, our hopes of achieving our goal seemed to be disappearing fast. However, 'Super Stuey' levelled from the spot early in the second-half, before he hit the winner on the hour. A magnificent late overhead kick secured the points against Stockport to leave County in the bottom four and Chester 17th. Two goals from the last two matches of the season meant that Rimmer finished with 14 goals from 24 league games. Despite only having been at Chester since January, Stuart still managed to end up as our leading scorer as we avoided having to go 'cap in hand' to the League officials.

Controversy

Unfortunately, the successful ending to the 1984/85 season (City ending in 16th spot) failed to keep Mickey Speight in charge of the club, as his outspoken comments about Chairman Eric Barnes et al. led to Harry McNally being brought in to take control. The uproar generated amongst supporters at the decision was eventually calmed as McNally settled down to the job in hand. Players of the calibre of Milton Graham and John Kelly arrived at the Stadium, whilst Peter Houghton was brought in as a strike partner for Stuey, who had now become a permanent signing for City. Gary Bennett also arrived at Sealand Road soon into the campaign, and he struck up a sound understanding with Rimmer. Strangely, the pair would still be appearing for Chester in season 1997/98, although both did enjoy time away from the club in between.

The season opener against Halifax in August 1985 saw Rimmer on the mark, and by the end of September he'd netted seven league goals from eight games. In addition, a hat-trick had been struck against Tranmere in the Milk Cup first-round, along with two penalties against Coventry in the second-round. October saw Stuey strike six times, including four on his 21st birthday away at Preston. Three more goals arrived in November before Orient travelled to Sealand Road on November 23rd to take on a City side riding high at the top of the 4th Division. After 35 minutes, a superb solo goal from John Kelly put Chester a goal ahead, and further pressure threatened to increase our lead. On 61 minutes we duly did so, but it was a double-edged sword. Rimmer latched onto a splendid through ball from Graham Abel, and shot home past Wells. Unfortunately, Rimmer was felled in the process of scoring and suffered severe knee ligament damage. Stuey was carried off in severe pain whilst City were increasing their lead, through another supreme display of finishing from John Kelly. That night, Rimmer was operated on in the Nuffield Hospital and the signs were bad. Stuey would miss the remainder of the campaign, and indeed wouldn't return to action until the following October. It was a cruel blow to City and Rimmer, who'd netted 16 goals from just 18 league games and looked certain to finish as Division Four top scorer.

Thankfully, City still clinched promotion, with Ian Richardson taking over from 'The Master' in attack. Chester's promotion party came against Southend on April 26th 1986 (a place in the top four had been mathematically guaranteed in midweek), with over 4000 seeing Gary Bennett and Steve Johnson clinch a 2-0 win just days after the late Bobby Moore had parted company with the Shrimpers, where he had been manager. The Champagne corks were popping at the finish, with Sealand Road once more the venue for 'party time'. Recent years had seen Carlisle, Hull, Scunthorpe and Bristol City all assure themselves of promotion after games at Sealand Road, yet for once it was Chester who were celebrating elevation. Who can deny that our triumph owed a great deal to Stuart Rimmer? His early season goals proved vital in our clinching of the runners-up spot. He would return of course to haunt Division 3 defences, but that's another story......

A Tribute to Harry McNally

Harry McNally's credentials for management of a Football league club are unique. From masonry to management is a step no other team boss has taken and for that matter, what other manager currently in charge of a league club has never kicked a ball in full time professional football?

In 1992, Harry was the longest serving boss in Division 2 and only Brian Clough, Joe Royle and Dario Gradi have sat in a Premier League hot seat longer. That in itself is a tribute to his managerial skills, but when it is considered that Harry has kept the club from being relegated in two seasons in exile at Macclesfield, his achievements become the more remarkable.

Borin in Wigan, but raised in Yorkshire, Harry returned to his roots as a teenager and kicked his first football in earnest as a part timer with Harry Catterick's Rochdale in the old Third Division (North). " I realised that I was not going to be good enough to make my living as a full time player, so I decided to play part time while I built up my building and masonry business," he explained.

Harry went on to play with Chorley as a player coach in the Seventies and with Skelmersdale United, where he was the manager for four years before moving on to Southport as assistant manager. It was at Haig Avenue that his partnership with Graham Barrow was forged and when Southport folded in 1978 the pair moved to Altrincham, Harry as coach and Graham as a player. Wigan manager Larry Lloyd invited Harry to join him as assistant at Springfield Park and when Lloyd eventually left, Harry succeeded temporary manager Bobby Charlton, in charge of his first Football League club.

Harry was only out of work for a few months after parting company from Wigan before he was brought to Chester and his success was almost immediate. In his first full season in charge at Sealand Road, Chester were promoted from Division Four as runners-up to Swindon Town in 1985-86 and have since held their own in Division Three, albeit by the skin of their teeth during the two years at Moss Rose. Harry's devotion to the Chester cause is unquestionable and he freely admitted, "I have no ambitions in football beyond wanting to put the club on a sound footing."

Harry's reign as manager at Chester City Football Club ended during the 1992/93 season following a sting of poor results. The club struggled to survive in the second division and ended the season relegated to the third division of the football league.

Ian Rush - The Making of a Legend at Chester Football Club

Flint born youngster Ian Rush began his distinguished career at Sealand Road. After impressing in the youth ranks, he went on to play 34 League games and score 14 goals during the 1979-80 campaign.

Rushie made his debut in April 1979 in a 2-2 draw with Sheffield Wednesday in midfield, but established himself as a potent centre forward the following season. His first league goal came when Chester drew 2-2 at Gillingham on September 15, 1979.

Rush's reputation was enhanced by scoring for Chester in a famous 2-0 FA Cup third round win at Newcastle United in January 1980, with Chester equalling their best run by reaching the last 16 where they narrowly lost to Ipswich Town two rounds later. Unfortunately the lateness of British Rail meant most Chester's fans missed Rushie's dazzling display of dexterity at Newcastle, they arrived at St James' Park just in time for the second half.

Rushie's last game for Chester was a 2-1 win over Southend United at Sealand Road on April 26, 1980, when unusually he failed to score.

Despite interest from Manchester City, and in spite of Rush being a boyhood Everton fanatic, Liverpool won the race to sign the 18-year old in April 1980. Manager Bob Paisley paid a record fee for a teenager of £300,000. It remains Chester's record sale.

Rush was managed throughout his time at Chester by Alan Oakes, although much of the credit for his development is given to youth manager Cliff Sear. Nearly 20 years later, Rush and Sear worked together on the coaching staff at Wrexham.

Later Rushie made his managerial debut back with Chester City at the Deva Stadium. Sadly a disappointing campaign meant Rushie was soon to be given his marching orders.

Give it to Ron Campaign raises £10k in a month

The Give it to Ron' campaign has taken less than a month to hit its initial £10,000 target to pay for Chester City legend Ron Davies to have a hip replacement operation.

Wear and tear from his playing days has caught up with the former Seals striker, who was known for his trademark leap and awesome heading ability.

That strain has left him in great pain and facing the prospect of needing a wheelchair if he did not have the operation he needs near his home in New Mexico, USA.

The bulk of funds and activity has been generated by Southampton fans and the club, which passed on £1,754 from programme sales against Davies' former club Cardiff last month.

However, Davies' other clubs, Norwich City and Chester City, and their fans have been active in helping to raise awareness of his plight and to raise funds. Articles appeared in the Chester press and City's matchday programme recently.

Campaign chairman Duncan Holley said: "Ron has been knocked out by the whole thing.

"Having been forced to retire from work and suffering from arthritis in his hip, there is no doubt that he was at a low ebb when we first contacted him back in June. Since the start of the campaign he has been reconnected to old friends and colleagues and has met and talked
with many new acquaintances.

"All have made him feel that there is life in the old dog yet."

Speaking from his home in Albuquerque, Davies said: "I just can't believe there are so many nice people in the world. I've had some great calls from old friends who I'd lost contact with and I've spoken to some wonderful people who are planning to do some great things for me. I just can't believe it."