Chester FC: Chester FC name Colwyn Bay boss Neil Young as their new manager

May 21 2010 By Paul Wheelock

neilyoung

A MAJOR piece of the new Chester FC jigsaw fell into place tonight when the club unveiled its first manager.

Neil Young, who has an impressive recent track record at non-league level, has been chosen as the man to lead the reformed Blues next season.

The highly-rated young boss has quit his job at Colwyn Bay to take over at the Deva Stadium, where he will be assisted by Chester-born former Tranmere Rovers player Gary Jones.

Chester FC’s chief executive Steve Ashton said: "We are absolutely delighted with the appointment. Neil and Gary have shown commitment to the journey that we’re embarking on and it is proof of the potential of our reborn club.

"We look forward to being joined by Neil and Gary, and we would like to thank Colwyn Bay for the way they have conducted themselves."

Young has been involved in management since the age of 24, after injury ended his playing career early.

He had spells with Queen’s Park, Poulton Victoria, Cammell Laird and Rhyl, where he was assistant to John Hulse.

Young transformed Colwyn Bay’s fortunes after joining them early in the 2008/09 season.

In his first season, he guided the North Wales club from the relegation zone to the play-offs in First Division North of the UniBond League.

The Seagulls missed out on promotion in Young’s first campaign, but won a place in the UniBond Premier Division this season, beating Lancaster City in the play-off final.

Jones, who also played for Nottingham Forest as well as Tranmere, has been serving as Young’s assistant at Colwyn Bay.

Blues boss Ashton, meanwhile, has also confirmed that a formal appeal of the decision to recommend that Chester be placed into step five of the National League System has been made to the FA.

The appeal was lodged on Wednesday. This followed an initial request for clarification on the criteria and subsequent reasons for the decision to place the Blues in the Vodkat League Premier Division.

Chester are awaiting a response from the FA and will not be able to comment further until they receive one.