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Chester FC Youth

Posted by Mike Day on

The board of City Fans United would like to place on record it’s congratulations to the Chester FC Youth Academy.

In what has been a fantastic season of achievements, we would like to pay tribute to everyone involved with the Academy, who have all played a magnificent part in delivering success.

This season has seen seven first team debuts for Academy Graduates. Both James Jones and Tom Crawford have earned international honours with England C, Nathan Brown’s solo effort against Bromley was voted the club’s goal of the season with Alex Downes, Matthew Thomson, Rhain Hellawell and Cain Noble all featuring in the first team. Cain Noble became the youngest player to represent the club since reformation and marked the occasion with a headed goal in front of the Harry McNally terrace.

To have five trophies to show for their hard work and dedication this season is a seriously impressive effort, especially when you consider that on a great number of occasions this season their opponents have been at an older age.

Whilst not wishing to single any one person out, we feel it would be remiss of us to not mention the achievements of Calum McIntyre, who as well as masterminding the Youth teams to their successes, also took on the additional responsibility of first team manager for the last three games of the season, culminating in a fully deserved 2-1 win at Barrow.

CFU Director with Youth portfolio Mike Day said: “I had the privilege of travelling with this seasons Youth team scholars last summer on the annual Scotland trip. The team spirit developed in just those few days both on and off the pitch made us realise that this season was going to be something special.

“It’s been an absolute pleasure to be even a small part of our Youth setup and see those early promising signs develop into much deserved success.

The whole Youth Academy at Chester FC is certainly something to take great pride in, and seeing so many of the youngsters breaking through into the first team shows just how much effort has been put in to making this a real success.

We would like to thank Calum, all of the coaches across the various age groups, and of course the parents who play a major part in the development of the players involved.

Finally, congratulations to all of the players involved in the Academy, all of whom deserve all the plaudits for their successes this season.

The board of City Fans United

 

Membership Notification – Investment Proposal

Posted by Mike Day on

Further to the statement of the 11th April 2018, the Board of City Fans United are now able to provide a further update to members.

Due diligence information has been shared between the two parties and within the last 24 hours a “Heads of Agreement” has been approved, with a view to completing all legal processes by the end of May 2018.

To avoid any further speculation, we are pleased to announce the identity of the proposed investor as Mr. Stuart Murphy.

Commenting on his association with Chester FC Stuart added

“I’m thrilled to be able to help Chester FC – I love the City and wanted to give something back.

I want to make it clear from the outset that this is not a money-making exercise.

“Both myself and the CFU Board have some really great ideas as to how we could spend the donated funds for the benefit of the club – focusing on improving the infrastructure and maximising revenue streams. Dare I say it, but there are some really exciting things in the pipeline and fans have every right to be excited with what the future may hold!”

We don’t have a city centre location, but we can use that to our benefit and create a vibrant hub to create a real buzz around the area. I’d like Chester FC to be an exciting place for new fans to visit and crucially – a better place for existing fans to enjoy.

As a supporter myself, I look at the things the club do well and also what the club could do better. Last season was a tough one to take as regards the first team – but we must never forget that Chester FC is more than just the first team. Look at the brilliant work of the Academy and the Community Trust and volunteers. It’s truly humbling to see how football can inspire people from all walks of life and we should never underplay the role a football club can play in the community.

It’s important that we keep that fire in our bellies and now focus on making Chester FC the best it can possibly be”.

Stuart Murphy – 10th May 2018

The Board of City Fans United will Keep the membership updated of further developments in this matter

 

Member notification

Posted by Neil Bellis on

The Board of City Fans United would advise the membership that we have very recently received an enquiry from a 3rd party individual regarding a potentially substantial investment in Chester Football Club.

The individual who has made the approach wishes to remain anonymous whilst initial investigatory discussions progress.

It should be noted that this enquiry is at a very early stage and we would stress that this would not in any way threaten or affect the principle of 100% Supporter Ownership or day to day control in respect of the club. This crucial principle was discussed and agreed as a pre-requisite for any further conversations.

The individual concerned is a wealthy entrepreneur with many connections to Chester and who is extremely passionate about the City.

This potential investment may represent a fantastic opportunity for Chester Football Club in the pursuit of success and prosperity.

We would advise our members that it is our intention to pursue this matter further once both parties have performed the necessary due diligence.
The Board commits to consult with and update our membership further should this enquiry progress.

Board update

Posted by Neil Bellis on

Following last night’s City Fans United board meeting we can confirm that David Harrington-Wright has stepped up from the Vice Chair role to become Chair of CFU.
Fellow board member Mark Jones has assumed the role of Vice Chair.
Both roles were ratified at the meeting.

Statement on behalf of the board of City Fans United

Posted by Neil Bellis on

The board of City Fans United are both surprised and disappointed at the recent resignations of Simon Olorenshaw and Mark Howell.
In Simon Olorenshaw’s statement, he referred to the fact that his views differ dramatically from the majority of the current board. We do not recognise this as an accurate reflection of recent events, and as such efforts were made to ascertain the substance of any perceived differences, unfortunately Simon Olorenshaw declined the offer.
Mark Howell decided to stand down due to a perceived lack of board support for Calvin Hughes following offensive Twitter postings over the weekend, for which we requested and have now received an apology; We have further requested a full retraction of the original comments made. The board are fully supportive of Calvin in his role as Director and lead of the Football Working Group who in recent weeks have been working hard to significantly reduce ongoing financial liabilities in the playing squad.
There have been a number of positives happening over recent months, including the fantastic fundraising, increase in City Fans United membership, development of a draft strategy and improving commercial relationships.
The City Fans United board are united and wholly focussed, and together with the working groups are committed to delivering the immediate and long term future of Chester Football Club under fan ownership. We ask that all fans continue with the great support that has been especially demonstrated over recent weeks. We are not out of the woods yet but together we can ensure the survival of our football club through these difficult times.
The City Fans United board of directors

Informal CFU meeting rescheduled

Posted by Neil Bellis on

City Fans United can confirm that the informal meeting, originally arranged for Thursday 29th March has been rescheduled for Wednesday 18th April, with a 7.30pm start.
The meeting – open to non-CFU members – will take place at St Theresa’s Social Club in Blacon, as part of continued theme of taking our meetings around the Chester and surrounding areas in a bid to help raise the profile of City Fans United further, and hopefully encourage more new members.
Further details regarding guest speakers will be confirmed in due course.
The address for St Theresa’s Social Club is 8 Blacon Avenue, Blacon, Chester CH1 5BU an there is parking at the venue.
We look forward to seeing you there.

First team manager statement

Posted by Neil Bellis on

Chester Football Club can confirm that First Team Manager Marcus Bignot will leave the club upon the expiry of his contract in May 2018.
The decision was made by the City Fans United Board of Directors at a meeting last Monday.

The board would like to place on record their thanks to Marcus for remaining professional throughout his tenure – especially of late – given the challenges currently being dealt with by the club.
This season has been an extremely tough one to endure for each and every Chester FC supporter. It has also been a challenging environment for Marcus to be involved with. The board wishes to emphasise that we understand the frustrations of all concerned.
We do thank the fans for their continued support and ask for their ongoing backing as Marcus manages the team for the remainder of this campaign. He has worked very hard in extremely difficult circumstances and it is vital that he retains our full support for the remainder of his tenure.

The board of directors
City Fans United

CFU informal meeting postponed

Posted by Neil Bellis on

The informal City Fans United members meeting originally set for Thursday 29th March has been postponed due to the proximity to the Easter weekend.
The meeting was initially a ‘formal’ meeting, however, the formal meeting took place in the Blues Bar on Thursday 1st March, with the meeting on the 29th then planned to be an ‘informal’ one.
Once a new date has been fixed, we will also advise of the venue and kick off time.
We hope you all enjoy your Easter holidays and of course hope to see you at the Swansway Chester Stadium, on Good Friday for our match with Torquay United, with three excellent (we’ve avoided using the pun!) offers for the match, listed below.
– FREE Entry for Under 16s – please download this simple to complete form to then take to the game to claim your FREE ticket
– Reduced Adult prices on the Harry McNally Terrace – it’s just £10 for this match on the terrace!
– FREE Easter Egg for Under 12s – please visit the CFU Gazebo that will be outside the ticket office to claim your FREE Easter Egg! Please note it’s a limited supply and will be on a first come, first served basis and will be restricted to one egg per child!
See you there on Friday!

Race night fundraiser this Saturday!

Posted by Neil Bellis on

This Saturday night sees the latest fundraiser for Chester FC take place as we go under starters orders at The Red Lion in Handbridge for Race Night!
It all gets underway at 7.30pm on Saturday with a fun filled night of 10 races to enjoy, and have a flutter on, and maybe win yourself some money in the process.
Race Nights always prove to be amongst the most enjoyable nights and it’s great to have the support of The Red Lion, who are hosting the event to support our fundraising efforts for the Blues, so we’d love as many of you to join us this Saturday night.
Sat Nav for The Red Lion is CH4 7HL.