Media assistant Bron Jenkinson gives his take on the season and the return to the Football League…
Well, what a season.
Over the five years I’ve spent volunteering/working at the club, there is no doubt that no moment comes close to seeing Jamie Grimes and the lads lift that trophy. It’s been a hell of a wait hasn’t it, six, long, long years.
The National League has been a weirdly enjoyable but also painful journey. With so many moments of genuine pain mixed in with arguably the best season most of us will ever see watching the Spireites.
When we first dropped down into the National League, I was dreading the thought of heading to some of the stadiums, some of the long drives and naively watching the standard of football – but how wrong was I?
Look, don’t get me wrong, I’m so glad we’re back in the Football League where we belong but there’s been some good moments down here, hasn’t there?
The standard of the National League really took me (and probably most people) by surprise. There are some seriously good footballers down here and there are some seriously good clubs down here too. Thinking back to that first away game at Ebbsfleet, it feels a long time ago and that was the start of our journey back.
Some heart-breaking times but it all makes this promotion and our return to the EFL even sweeter.
All credit has to go to Paul Cook and his staff, the job they have done is nothing short of remarkable. From the moment the gaffer walked in the building, it felt like this club was back on an upwards trajectory.
His recruitment has been fantastic this season, to sign some of the names we have, shows the calibre of manager we have at the forefront of our football club. We are so lucky to have him and for me, he has to go down as the greatest manager in the history of Chesterfield Football Club.
With regard to the players, I’m lucky enough to spend lots of time around the lads over the season, watching them train and speaking to them on a day-to-day basis and I honestly mean it when I say the lads this season were on another level in terms of mentality, work ethic and determination.
I felt confident from the first day of pre-season that promotion was beckoning – the lads just wanted it – and you could just tell that there was nothing that was going to stop them getting that promotion after the heartbreak of Wembley. Their mentality this season has been fantastic to witness and I think a perfect mix of experience and hunger has provided us with a fantastic team to watch on the pitch week in, week out.
It’s easy to just say the lads are great lads, but they genuinely are all fantastic people as well as great footballers and for me that’s the best part. They interact with the community every day and will do everything to help out off the pitch, too.
When you work in the media team, there are usually one or two players you can really rely on to help you out and get stuff done, but this season there were so many of them and that’s a credit to the lads.
A special mention to the captain, who helped us throughout the season organising interviews, ensuring that people turned up where they were supposed to be and also for being our go-to man after a loss. Jamie never hid away; he faced the camera after defeats (even if there weren’t many of them) and stood and spoke to journalists when no one else wanted to. He’s a real leader on and off the pitch and as a media team his work for us didn’t go unnoticed.
It’s hard to pick a favourite moment from this season, there has been so many. I think my personal favourite moment would have to be the changing room celebrations after the Boreham Wood game. I’ve been a Chesterfield fan since I was around 12 – I’m now 24 – so being able to get inside the changing room and film the celebrations after a league title was seriously special.
The season has only just finished and let’s face it; we’re already getting excited about the prospect of going again next season, aren’t we? Football is a funny old game, all that work and it’s now over, we’ve had our fun and slowly now our heads are turning and we’re looking ahead to doing it all over again.
We are back where we belong and next season is our first season back in the EFL so let’s enjoy it. There are going to be some bad moments, alongside the good. But this fanbase has really come together over the years and now is the time to enjoy watching the Blues play in the Football League once again.
So don’t get too low and don’t get too high – just enjoy the ride!
It’s now that time where we can relax a bit, get a bit too excited over pre-season fixtures, debate over players we’ve never seen play before and all go a bit mad to find out who we play on Boxing Day.
Bring it on!
