It's been a busy day in a busy week.
By now you may already have gathered that caretaker manager Tom Shaw was on press duties following the sacking of Jon McCarthy.
Shaw confirmed he is not interested in taking over the job over on a permanent basis...
He also expressed his sadness about the man who has just departed the hotseat...
And he also explained how he's going to try and prevent an unwanted club record tomorrow...
But there's plenty else been going on besides. So let's get cracking.
Bookies' favourite applies for job
Marcus Bignot revealed on Thursday his interest in taking over from McCarthy in an interview with our Chester FC reporter Dave Powell .
That has helped the former Grimsby Town and Solihull Town boss be installed (at the time of writing) as the favourite with bookmakers BetVictor .
And now our man in the know has said this on Twitter...
Interesting.
As is the name Matt Higgins. The America-based coach is among the bookies' favourites after somebody, somewhere had a flutter on him. Here's what he's had to say on Twitter...
We'll see.
Trio up for awards
Two Blues players are in the running for prizes at the 10th annual Northwest Football Awards.
Ryan Astles has been nominated for the National League Player of the Year award alongside Moussa Diarra (Barrow AFC), George Pilkington (Macclesfield Town) and Andy Cook (Tranmere Rovers).
Matty Waters, meanwhile, will go up against the likes of Everton's Idrissa Gana Gueye, Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold and Manchester City's Phil Foden in the Rising Star of the Year category.
And there's also reason for a Chester FC Women's ace to celebrate after Jamie Lee McDowell was nominated for the Female Player of the Year award along with Gabby George (Everton), Caroline Weir (Liverpool) and Lucy Bronze (Manchester City).
Voting for all Player of the Year and Rising Star award categories is open until noon on Friday, October 13. Fans can cast their votes and view the full list of nominees at www.northwestfootballawards.com.
All awards will be announced and presented at the Northwest Football Awards at The Point, Emirates Old Trafford on Monday, November 13, hosted by the BBC’s Dan Walker.
Ebbsfleet view
Saturday's visit of Ebbsfleet United to the Swansway Chester Stadium will be the first time the two clubs have clashed at the ground since February 6, 2010.
That date will forever be etched in the memory of Blues supporters as it marked the last match in Chester City's history .
Just 388 City supporters were present to watch a 2-1 defeat that, along with the rest of the results from the ignominious 2009-10 season, were wiped from the record after the club was kicked out of the Conference before being wound-up in the High Court.
That offers a reminder, then, that while life may not be great for the Blues at present, the reformed club has come a long way since then.
That said it is Ebbsfleet who are the team on the up at the moment. After winning promotion last season, the National League South play-off winners are unbeaten in eight games, albeit it having drawn seven of them.
Fleet boss Daryl McMahon, who will be boosted by the return of Sam Magri after he played for Malta against England, said: "You can’t assess it. We're one win out of eight - seven draws - and we're six points off the top of the table.
"That shows you everyone's beating everyone - apart from us.
"It's not about being frustrated, we're in a new division and we've shown we can compete, but we probably could be slightly higher.
Wilde thing
It is exactly seven years to the day since Chester FC beat Trafford 6-0 in their first match since the club was reformed under the ownership of its supporters. What a night it was...
McBurnie blow
You've got to feel for former Chester FC loanee Oli McBurnie.
The rising Swansea City star thought he had made a deadline-day loan move to Championship outfit Barnsley.
But the English Football League has confirmed that the necessary paperwork had not been submitted on time.
The highly rated striker has now returned to his his Premier League parent club with Barnsley chief executive Gauthier Ganaye saying: "Oli showed a huge desire to come and play for Barnsley, which can only be admired and ultimately this decision will have the most impact on him."
A Swansea spokesperson added: "We are naturally disappointed for Oli having gone through the process but we are pleased to have a player of his quality available again for both the first team and in a competitive under-23 structure.’"
Well done, Ed
You may remember that former Blues director Ed Jones chose to tackle the 8 Peaks Challenge in the Lake District to honour fellow supporter Gary Allen who tragically lost his life before the club's home game with Tranmere Rovers last season.
Well, he has now completed the challenge, raising £657.50 for the British Heart Foundation .
Well done, Ed.
