Football Season Guide

Chesterfield return to the Football League after being crowned National League Champions. The Spireites finished bottom of the Football League in 2018 and spent six years in the National League before last season’s triumph. The title was officially confirmed in March but they won it at a canter, 12 points ahead of runners-up Barnet. It was a huge achievement for manager Paul Cook too, who took over in February 2022 following a desperate nine-month spell in charge of Ipswich Town. Having taken this first significant step in rebuilding his reputation, he will now be looking to re-establish Chesterfield as a Football League club. With the exception of goalkeeper Harry Tryer, who has returned to parent club Everton following a successful season-long loan, Cook has kept his promotion-winning squad together. He will again rely on the strong spine of the team in defenders Ashley Palmer and Jamie Grimes, holding midfielder Tom Naylor, attacking midfielder Armando Dobra and former Northern Ireland international striker Will Grigg. There is plenty of additional EFL experience in players such as Michael Jacobs, Michael Jones and Ollie Banks whilst Darren Oldaker and Liam Mandeville also play important roles. Given the strength already in the squad, Cook really only needed to make a few shrewd additions, and has already started with the captures of centre-back Chey Dunkley and striker Paddy Madden. His priority now is a goalkeeper to replace Tryer with Ryan Boot their only senior stopper at the time of writing. If they can keep the momentum from their success of last season, there’s no reason why the Spireites can’t spring a few surprises.