With more than 1,300 members already signed up, City Fans United are the clear front-runners in the race to re-establish a senior football team in Chester. But not all Blues supporters have bought in to the CFU dream of a phoenix club run by the fans for the fans. Some remain sceptical, unsure whether CFU have what is takes to run a new team successfully. On behalf of Blues supporters everywhere, The Chronicle put 20 key questions to the CFU board about their plans
1. Does Chester FC really have enough funds to ensure it can provide all that is needed to kick-off next season with confidence?
Yes, our membership has really started to come to the table in terms of loan notes and donations, and our Seals Lottery has its first draw at the end of April. We are better placed financially at this stage than we would have ever hoped. But we are continuing our push to maximise not just one-off donations – which are very welcome – but also regular contributions that enable us to plan ahead with confidence.
2. What plans are in place to inject further funding?
There are many revenue streams available to the new club, many of which we are exploring. These include advertising and sponsorship. We have fundraising events planned and as stated, our membership continue to support us with monthly contributions in loan notes, lottery, etc.
3. Does the ethos of CFU prevent local businesses injecting cash into Chester FC in return for a say in how the club will be run?
The club will remain within total ownership of the supporters. Those supporters include people with great things to offer including successful local business people. We are already working with them. We would be foolish not to utilise the expertise and contacts that established local business people can bring.
We are in a good position, with a lot of good people offering help, both financial and professional. We know we have to do a lot to restore confidence in Chester Football Club – all successful business is based on reputation and trust.
4. How are your talks with the council progressing and how confident are you of securing the lease on the Deva Stadium? What are the alternatives to the CFU bid?
We are cautiously optimistic that the council would view ourselves as their perfect partners in a community football club, have had several meetings with them, and have issued our draft business plan to them.
We are not aware of any other bids, but feel that even if one did come forward, our plans would stand up to the best of challenges.
5. Does Chester FC have sponsors in mind for next season?
Very much so, yes. But there will be many opportunities for sponsorship that will not just inject funds into the football club, but will give a genuine return for the sponsors.
6. How quickly does the new club hope to achieve real success on the pitch and climb the non-league ladder?
We would hope to gain promotion as soon as possible, but not at the cost of risking the future of the club. Our player budgets will be dictated solely by what income can be generated. We would expect to be very competitive at whatever level we are placed.
7. Assuming the new club is allowed to enter the non-league pyramid at a reasonably high level, what kind of crowds do you hope to attract and how many fans will actually be needed through the gates to break even and progress?
Our business plan is based on an average home attendance of 1,100. We feel that this is achievable, but we would reiterate that there is no break-even figure, we can only spend what we earn.
Gates of 1,100 would offer us, along with the other revenue streams discussed above, a solid base for our aims.
8. What do you say to fans of the old club who have been fairly dismissive of CFU and are yet to commit themselves to supporting the new club?
The time has come to draw a line under the past and look to the future. We understand that joining a supporters club is not for everyone, but we really hope that they will come down and watch the match. From there we have to hope that the experience we give them will tempt them back again.
It is not about CFU, it is about Chester Football Club. Together we can build something we can all be proud of, that our children can inherit.
9. Running a football club is a huge challenge. Do you have anyone on board who has experience in this field?
We have a great mix of experience in CFU. We have people with direct experience in sport, in the community and people who run successful businesses that are as big if not bigger than the football club.
We have also been extremely lucky in getting help from people who are involved, or have been involved, in all aspects of football management. From team managers and coaches, chief executives and chairmen, club secretaries, etc, to safety officers, police liaison officers and doctors, etc, many of whom have been involved with previous regimes at the club, and at other clubs.
We have also had a great deal of help and support from other clubs who have been guiding us, and of course the ongoing support and direction received from Supporters Direct has been invaluable.
10. Do you regard Chester FC as a spiritual continuation of the old club in terms of heritage, honours and history?
Very much so, yes. Since the club moved to the Deva in 1992, there have been numerous administrations and now liquidation, so the company has changed on several occasions. The only thing that has stayed constant has been the supporters.
The history of this club is not held at Companies House, it is held in us, in our memories, and in those ancestors, friends and family with whom we used to go to games. Many of those people are no longer with us, yet they are as much a part of what we are doing as anyone else. You cannot destroy what does not belong to you. Our history never belonged to any chairman, it is in all of us.
11. Assuming Chester FC are able to use the Deva Stadium, what plans does the club have to utilise the facilities there for the whole community and not just football?
Many – and the potential is enormous. The Seals Foundation will be the community section of the club and it will work with schools, health trusts, the police and fire, our local authorities, etc, to develop educational programmes for our communities.
We aim to work with other sporting entities within the community to offer a programme of inclusive activities for all. These could be on active lifestyle through sport, on road safety, anti-bullying... the list is endless. By engaging our young people, and by developing partnerships with our local schools, youth clubs, hospitals, colleges, etc, we can truly place this club right back at the hub of its community. Where it was created, and where it belongs.
12. What plans are in place to develop junior/youth teams and will this programme extend into the local community and/or schools?
We will be looking to work with the mini soccer, junior and youth sections of the various clubs within our catchment area, developing our relationships with them, and being inclusive with them.
We would look to work with them with our playing and coaching staff to encourage and train the children of our communities, and to spread the word about what we do and what we believe in as a community club.
This would also apply to schools, youth clubs, after schools clubs, etc, where we would tie in our sports lessons with the education programmes delivered by the Seals Foundation.
It is a fact that children learn through sport, we aim to encourage that.
13. Does the club plan to introduce a reserve team?
This would be a matter for discussion with our manager, but at present we do not envisage fielding a reserve team in a senior competition, although there are plans for a youth team (under 18s) to be established sooner rather than later.
14. Will the club be actively seeking to recruit local players by, for instance, holding open trials?
The playing squad and how it is run will be solely down to the team manager at the club, but open trials have been suggested as a positive way forward by some of the football experts who have been advising us. We would hope as supporters that there would be a preference for local players to play for the club should they be of the required standard. A good start to this would be the youth team mentioned above.
15. Is Chester FC considering names with the appointment of the club’s first manager in mind?
The job of football manager would be advertised in due course, following our acceptance by the council and the FA. This will be done widely and will be a transparent and professionally conducted process. It is the most important decision we will have to make. But we have other bridges to cross first!
16. Has Chester FC decided on a strip for next season and will fans have a say in what the colours will be?
The colours will be blue and white stripes. We would hope to offer our supporters the chance to choose a design, but it depends on time constraints.
17. Again, assuming Chester FC will be able to call the Deva Stadium home, are there plans to name/re-name any of the stands or terraces in the ground?
There are plans to rename all but the sacred Harry McNally Terrace.
18. Would the club ever consider accepting the cash injection offered by a sponsor in return for naming rights at the stadium?
Absolutely, yes. This is a very lucrative revenue stream.
19. What would the officials and fans of Chester FC consider to be a successful first season?
The obvious answer is promotion, but we, and many of the people we have spoken to, would see it as a success if we could just have a season that does not lurch from crisis to crisis and there is stability on and off the pitch. But as football fans, promotion would be great thanks!
20. Where do you see the club being in five years time?
We hope to be challenging for a place in the Football League with a club that our supporters, our communities, our partners and our sponsors can be proud to say belongs to them.
