Well, we weren’t expecting to see them for a couple more weeks, but here come the big-spenders! Having seen off $tockport last weekend, now it’s the turn of Cash-terfield this weekend.
Now whereas $tockport are backed by a local businessman, Wrexham have Deadpool and his mate behind them, it turns out that Chesterfield have got their cash from predicting the global pandemic – I kid you not.
The story goes that Chief Executive John Croot took out an insurance policy which covered the club for any loss of income due to COVID-19.
Apparently, the insurance company even took the club to the High Court with Mystic John winning the battle and landing “a significant sum” according to Financial Officer Andy Fantom – who sounds a bit like a superhero himself. Don’t believe us? Read the Derbyshire Times article here.
The upshot of it all was that, having furloughed players and then brought others in, Chesterfield have played the system well enough to strengthen the squad which made the National League play-offs last season.
Their biggest signing is striker Kabongo Tshimanga who joined for reported £150,000 fee after being free-scoring at this level for Boreham Wood.
The one-time Yeovil Town loanee, who played zero minutes under the management of Darren Way during a half-season spell on loan from Milton Keynes Dons in 2017, netted a hat-trick in a 4-2 midweek home win over Barnet.
Who says money can’t buy you love, eh?
FROM THE FIRST TEAM COACH
Chesterfield first-team coach Danny Webb is no stranger to the surroundings of Huish Park.
He spent a season-and-a-half at the club between January 2006 and May 2007 having joined his father, former Glovers’ boss and later owner, David.
Webb has had quite a list of clubs since then and had a spent a few months as manager at Leyton Orient a few years back, before joining James Rowe’s backroom team last April.
Speaking to the Derbyshire Times ahead of the weekend, he said: “It is two teams on a good run so for the neutral I think it is going to be a hell of a game but hopefully one that swings in our favour.
“They have had a good start, they have been strong, I watched them against Stockport and they looked powerful.
“I think they have got the lowest possession in the league which shows they win it back and they are dangerous on the counter.
“They are big and strong and dangerous from set-pieces. Darren Sarll will have them organised and up for it.
“We have got to go there and show the same sort of fight and hunger which has got us the points on the board so far and I am sure our footballing ability will shine through but we have to do those basics well to go somewhere like Yeovil and get a result.”
TEAM NEWS
Defender Laurence Maguire and midfielder Curtis Weston seem likely to be available for the weekend despite one missing the 4-2 midweek win over Barnet and the other limping off after 80 minutes.
Maguire – possibly best known for being the younger brother of England defender, Harry – sat out the match on Tuesday night with an ankle injury and Weston went off with “tightness”, according to Derbyshire Times.
Both were expected to be in training before the trip to South Somerset and therefore first-team coach Danny Webb expected them to be available.
He said: “Laurence Maguire is back in training , he was not quite right for the other night so we shall see how he is.
“Curtis Weston had a couple of days where he felt a bit ropey, nothing major, I think that maybe just caught up with him.
“The amount of ground he covers and what he brings to the team, whether it is his leadership skills, his pure athleticism or his footballing ability, sometimes it catches up with you in a game like the other night where we are going for it, we want the win and we have got the crowd behind us so that is all it was.
“Curtis is very well and he is available for selection.”
Midfielder Jack Clarke, who had an utterly forgettable loan spell at Yeovil at the start of last season, will be missing after picking up a hamstring injury in the recent 2-2 draw with Bromley, while defender Hayden Hollis is out for the season with a recurring Achilles injury.
Akwasi Asante, who scored against Yeovil in our 3-0 defeat there last season, is another long-term injury victim having injured his Anterior Cruciate Ligament at the end of last season.
He is expected to be out until January or, as the Spireites Write trio told us on our latest podcast maybe October – perhaps get Mystic John Croot on that one, lads!
A FOOT IN BOTH CAMPS
It is pretty unlikely that Chesterfield striker Kabongo Tshimanga looks back on his time as a Yeovil Town player with a great deal of fondness.
The striker, who has six in six coming in to the weekend, spent the second half of the 2016-17 season under Darren Way on loan from Milton Keynes Dons and played zero minutes.
He returned to stadium:mk and was promptly released by his parent club and, after a couple of spells at Boston United and Oxford City, he found his goal-scoring form at Boreham Wood before jumping on the gravy train in the Peak District.
The other player expected to be in the visitors’ starting XI who has been in both camps is goalkeeper Scott Loach, who played six times during a one-month loan spell at Huish Park in 2015.
In the Yeovil side of the pitch, Glovers’ keeper Grant Smith and striker Adi Yussuf both turned out for the visitors’ last season.
Smith played 18 times after joining Chesterfield in the second half of last season, whilst Yussuf, fresh from scoring his first goal for the club in the 3-0 win at $tockport last weekend, will be looking to put one over on his old side.
He scored twice in a 10-game spell on loan at Chesterfield whilst a Blackpool player last season.
There’s also likely to be some people with experience of both clubs in the dug-out with the visitors’ injured midfielder Jack Clarke having had a forgettable loan spell at Yeovil at the start of last season, whilst injured Glovers’ full-back Mark Little had a spell on loan at Chesterfield from Wolves in 2009-10.
Even Chesterfield first-team coach Danny Webb has Yeovil Town connections after following his dad, former Glovers’ manager and owner David, to the club. He played seven times in a couple of years at Huish Park, but failed to score.
As ever, there’s a fair list of players who have done time with both clubs, so we’ve stuck with the ones who will have some involvement this weekend, here’s a few others:
- Mike Hughes
- Daniel Johnson
- Marc Richards
- Nathan Smith
- Terrell Forbes
- Martin Gritton
- Adam Rooney
- Tom Whelan
There’s probably more, but that’s enough to be getting on with.
If you’re still interested in hearing more about Chesterfield, give our latest podcast a listen where we speak to Spireites Writes about how they discovered a licence to print money – listen here.