Life was never dull during Stephen Vaughan's controversial reign as Chester City chairman. In fact, even the pre-season campaigns had more than their fair share of dramas.
One such campaign was in 2005-06, Keith Curle's first – and, as it turned out, only – summer in the Blues hotseat.
Vaughan backed Curle to the hilt in the transfer market, with Doncaster Rovers hotshot Gregg Blundell and Dave Artell, a no nonsense centre-half from the manager's old club Mansfield Town, among a host of new faces brought in.
But while Chester were splashing the cash on new signings, their home ground was in desperate need of some TLC. The state of the Saunders Honda Stadium was so bad in the summer of 2005, the council took drastic measures and placed a 'prohibition notice' on it, meaning no supporters would be allowed in until vital remedial work was carried out.
The forgotten game
It proved to be a costly decision, as the Blues' opening pre-season fixture at home to Championship side Stoke City had to be played behind closed doors, denying the club an estimated £12,000 in gate receipts.
The game was switched from its evening slot and kicked off instead on a sweltering Tuesday afternoon in early July, with the sides playing out a 1-1 draw in front of a handful of club officials and members of the Press. No fan of either club saw a ball being kicked that day.
The heat meant it was a low-key contest, with numerous drinks breaks. Mamady Sidibe headed Stoke into a 1-0 lead with 20 minutes to go before trialist Avun Jephcott earned a draw for Chester soon after.
"We've nullified and frustrated a Championship side," Curle told The Chronicle, "so I'm happy with that."
'Never again'
Vaughan later revealed he would fork out £60,000 from his own pocket to pay for repair work at the stadium, which included improvements to the CCTV, turnstiles and emergency lights.
The news dominated the back page of that week's Chronicle, and a week later we were reporting on the arrival of Blundell in a £100,000 deal, another big outlay for the chairman.
By the end of the month, all the repair work was complete and the council lifted the notice, meaning fans were able to attend the first home game of the League Two season against Lincoln City, a thrilling 2-2 draw sealed by Michael Branch's 90th-minute penalty.
Vaughan vowed there would be no repeat of the stadium crisis, saying: "There's been a lot of breakdowns in communication but it's no-one's fault in particular."
He was good to his word, but the season would turn out to be yet another crisis-hit campaign. By the end of it, Curle was out of a job and a certain Mark Wright was back in charge of the Blues.
