LIFE’S never dull at the Deva – and the dust is only just beginning to settle on another season of twists and turns, comings and goings and an unwanted brush with relegation.

It has often made for uncomfortable viewing, but the bottom line is that the Blues are safe and, most importantly, in possession of arguably the most promising batch of young players the club has had at its disposal in many a year.

In this end-of-season round-up, The Chronicle’s DAVID TRIGGS takes a look back at some of the best players, goals and matches of the 2007-08 campaign…

Player of the season

1 PAUL LINWOOD

2 John Murphy

3 Kevin Roberts

A PREDICTABLE choice but who can argue with it?

A tower of strength at the heart of the Blues defence, Linwood missed only four games all season and famously played at Barnet with an injury so severe he was effectively operating on one good leg.

The big centre-back’s true worth was shown in the final months of the campaign, when he led a young team by example and took on the skipper’s armband after Paul Butler lost the captaincy.

Simon Davies wants Linwood as his captain next season – but first he must persuade his out-of-contract defensive linchpin his future lies at the Deva. If he is snapped up by a bigger club, he will take some replacing.

Coming in a well-deserved second is striker Murphy – a true pro who has been fully committed to the cause in a season when a handful of other senior players have let themselves down. Third is versatile 18-year-old Roberts, the club’s undoubted young player of the year.

Goal of the season

1 KEVIN SANDWITH v Hereford (5/4/08)

2 Kevin Ellison v Morecambe (26/12/07)

3 Kevin Roberts v Wrexham (25/11/07)

A GOAL as spectacular as it was crucial to City’s survival fight, Sandwith’s Edgar Street thunderbolt will live long in the memory.

Chester were trailing 2-0 to their promotion-chasing hosts when the midfielder picked up the ball 25 yards from goal and took one touch to steady himself before unleashing a shot of devastating power into the top corner of the net. Hereford’s former Chester keeper Wayne Brown had no chance.

Buoyed by Sandwith’s wonder goal, the Blues went in search of an equaliser and an injury-time penalty by Kevin Ellison saw them complete a remarkable comeback.

Ellison himself has weighted in with his fair share of screamers. None were better than the first of his two against Morecambe on Boxing Day – a free kick arrowed into the top corner from 30 yards. Kevin Roberts’ 25-yard volley against Wrexham at the Racecourse is sure to be a popular choice for obvious reasons.

Game of the season

1 WREXHAM 2 CHESTER 2 (25/11/07)

2 Chester 3 Shrewsbury 1 (7/10/07)

3 Hereford 2 Chester 2 (5/4/08)

DERBY games so often fail to live up to their billing, but this Racecourse thriller was a notable exception.

Admittedly, Chester were disappointed not to have taken all three points, but there wasn’t a single fan inside the stadium who went home feeling short-changed.

Kevin Roberts’ dipping volley put Bobby Williamson’s side ahead, but Michael Proctor equalised. Although City fought back with a goal by Paul Linwood, Proctor pounced in the second half to make it 2-2. Both sides squandered a succession of chances to claim a winner as play swung from one end to the other. It was gripping stuff.

Some of the best football played under Williamson’s reign saw Shrewsbury swept aside in early October and that match earns second place. City’s ‘Great Escape’ at Hereford claims third spot – if only for the drama of Ellison’s injury-time leveller.