Legends of the Spire

After over three years I’ve decided that Legends of a Spire is coming to an end. It’s been a huge honour to talk to so many footballers, managers and fans over the last few years and hope you’ve enjoyed the podcasts.

I’ve also had loads of fun producing zines, scarves, prints and more with an amazing group of artists and designers. I may be back with something football related in a broader sense and under a new guise but for now I’m looking forward to a good rest and enjoying our return to the EFL.

I’m signing off with ‘The National League Years’ book (out next week) with Michael South photography. It’s been a big project and something we are really excited to be sharing with you all. We’ve got less that 50 of the first edition left and you can get yours here. https://thenationalleagueyears.bigcartel.com/

I’ll also be releasing a print about our Great Escape of 2003/4 with more news on that soon. Everything in the Etsy shop is now half price as a thank you and last chance to buy https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/LegendsOfTheSpire  

For now though a huge thanks for your support over the years, it’s meant so, so much to me and I’ve made friends for life along that way. The podcast only lasted as long as it did thanks to the support of everyone that came along for the journey. Come on you blues!

It was two years ago when I first interviewed Ollie Banks about his first spell at Chesterfield. Little did I know then that the Barrow player was soon to re-sign for Chesterfield and help the Spireites win promotion this season.

Ollie and I had a catch up recently about his last two seasons at Chesterfield and the highlighs of this amazing season. Ollie has also contributed to 'The National League Years', a new book by myself and Michael South featuring matchday photography and player quotes from the last six seasons.

If you are interested in ordering a copy of 'The National League Years' book then the first numbered edition is now availble for preorder at the following link and limited to 204 copies (our tally of league goals and points from the title winning season).

You can find it here https://thenationalleagueyears.bigcartel.com/...

A big thanks to Ollie for coming on and I hope you enjoy it.

In the spell between our title winning game against Boreham Wood and the end of the season I had a chat with Jamie Grimes about his career and memories of this amazing season at Chesterfield FC.

We were actually having a chat because Jamie has written the foreword for a new book that I have compiled with Michael South Photography called 'Chesterfield FC - The National League Years'. The conversation wasn't originally intended for release but was such an interesting chat that Jamie was happy for me to put it out there to you all. Thanks Jamie!

If you are interested in ordering a copy of 'The National League Years' book then the first numbered edition is now availble for preorder at the following link and limited to 204 copies (our tally of league goals and points from the title winning season).

You can find it here https://thenationalleagueyears.bigcartel.com/

I hope to be bringing you more podcasts over the next few weeks and months and thanks for all of the support this season!

Sam Hird sits easily in the top 50 of players who have made the most appearances for Chesterfield FC and from 2012-2018 he virtually saw it all!

From a League 2 title win under Paul Cook and a near promotion to the Championship the season after, right through to relegation down to the National League only a handful of years later. Sam came to the club as captain but also in his time with the Spireites had to fight his way off the transfer list and work under a whole selection of different managers.

Now working for the PFA, Sam joined me to talk about how his experiences at Chesterfield, Doncaster and Barrow have shaped his life and career.

Matthew Greenan, aka The Stone Ranger on YouTube, is a lifelong Chesterfield FC fan, stone carver, and Peak District park ranger.

On Sunday 4 February, Matthew will be carving the Chesterfield FC badge into a piece of Derbyshire stone live on YouTube. The final work will be raffled off to raise money for the Ernie Moss Foundation, with tickets available via the Chesterfield FC website and social media channels.

I caught up with him in the days before the event to find out more about his history of stone carving and why he chose to take up the challenege of carving Chesterfield FC into stone.

You can see the stone carving live on his YouTube page below. youtube.com/@TheStoneRanger

Glyn Chamberlain is one of a small group of people who were born in Chesterfield, grew up supporting Chesterfield, and then went on to play for the club too.

After starting his footballing career as a youth player at Burnley, he then went on to represent Chesterfield from 1976-1981 under the management of the legendary Arthur Cox.

Since retiring from playing he has both coached and managed, but found his niche as a scout under managers like Neil Warnock, Sean Dyche, and now Paul Warne at Derby.

In this episode we spoke about his time at Chesterfield as a footballer, his career experiences elsewhere and what it takes to become a good scout.

Issue 5 of Legends of the Spire fanzine is out now!

This is the independent Chesterfield FC fanzine, formerly called Linda's Sandwich shop. The zine features 44 pages of content and this issue includes...

Cupets, Michael South's photos of 2023, Spanish Spireites, Cycling to Bangkok, Observations of National League streaming, a transcript of the podcasts interview with Ollie Banks in 2022, and lots more.

The zine is only £3 and includes free postage...and usually a few free postcards too.

You can buy the fanzine on the link below! https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/legendsofthespire

Adie Shaw spent two seasons as a player at Chesterfield from, from 1988-1990, after starting out under Brian Clough at Nottingham Forest and then spending some time at Halifax.

Injury forced retirement at a young age in 1990 but he stayed at Chesterfield to start on community projects for the club which included youth coaching and development of the first women's team in the town.

Adie now works for the EFL and joined me to talk about Cloughie, Paul Hart's Chesterfield, retirement, his love of the sport and the benefits of a positive mindset.

If you would like the latest issue of Legends of the Spire fanzine please visit etsy.com/uk/shop/legendsofthespire

Bob Bloomer started his Chesterfield FC career as a youngster, around the club during the title win the in 1984/85 season. Over the coming years he quickly became a feature in the Spireites midfield and was with the club until early 1990.

He then went on to enjoy a long spell at Cheltenham, via a couple of years at Bristol Rovers, and since retirement has had a successful coaching career.

Bob is now working for the EFL and joined me to talk about his memories from Chesterfield, including a stand out moment scoring against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

Chesterfield FC fan Daniel Cresswell is currently on an incredible adventure with his mate Alain, cycling from London to Bangkok.

I caught up with Dan as he was taking some much needed downtime in Albania to recharge the muscles and the bank account!

He told me about where the thirst for adventure came from, the highlights of the journey so far, and how he is keeping in touch with match results on the way.

You can follow their adventure here youtube.com/@DanielCresswell

And you can also follow him on X @djcresswe11 and Instagram @djcresswe11

They are also fundraising for The Spireites Trust, Islington Foodbank and CALM and you can donate on the following link https://givestar.io/gs/ER79M30