Marked for Anthony Walker
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match7 Oct 2028
11 matches without a win for Chesterfield
The run now stands at 11, and the questions being asked around Chesterfield are no longer polite ones.
Market9 Oct 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Chesterfield, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match7 Oct 2028
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 10 matches without defeat is a foundation Chesterfield did not have in the autumn.
Player ratings9 Oct 2028
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad9 Oct 2028
Jacob Parsons and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad9 Oct 2028
Kendry Páez falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout9 Oct 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Melker Ellborg, and the manager let it.
Squad9 Oct 2028
18 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Market9 Oct 2028
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad11 Sep 2028
24 days out for Ellis Harrison after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Chesterfield will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The dugout11 Sep 2028
Ben Winterbottom: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Chesterfield have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Will Hughes was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad11 Sep 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Jacob Parsons commits to Chesterfield for another 5 years.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Words at Chesterfield training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tomáš Rigo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets11 Sep 2028
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The dugout11 Sep 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout11 Sep 2028
Dilan Markanday asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout11 Sep 2028
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout21 Aug 2028
Melker Ellborg: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Chesterfield have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad21 Aug 2028
A fracture rules Ellis Harrison out for 45 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Chesterfield will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market21 Aug 2028
The fee is $7.6M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Birmingham drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Market21 Aug 2028
Will Dickson hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chesterfield can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings21 Aug 2028
Jacob Parsons, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 7.64
A mark of 7.64 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Boardroom21 Aug 2028
Nathan Howard signs on for the long haul
Chesterfield moved before anybody else could: a new deal for Nathan Howard, agreed quietly and announced loudly. Boards extend managers for many reasons; the good one is the one this looks like.
Player ratings21 Aug 2028
Successful dribbles: 23. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Anthony Walker and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Boardroom21 Aug 2028
5 academy graduates step up at Chesterfield
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad14 Aug 2028
A fracture rules Ellis Harrison out for 53 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Chesterfield will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad14 Aug 2028
8 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Match12 Aug 2028
The unbeaten run reaches 10. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Player ratings14 Aug 2028
Up for the corner, and Daniel Gore delivers — 7.88
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Daniel Gore scored, was marked 7.88, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
The dugout14 Aug 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Chesterfield may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad14 Aug 2028
Anthony Walker and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Aug 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daniel Gore was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets14 Aug 2028
Chesterfield asked and Leeds United said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The terraces14 Aug 2028
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Daniel Gore has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Aug 2028
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 62 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market7 Aug 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Transfer targets7 Aug 2028
Chesterfield have gone to Brentford with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Transfer targets7 Aug 2028
No deal for Josh Dasilva at that price
Chesterfield offered $1.6M; Brentford said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad7 Aug 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chesterfield this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daniel Gore was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets7 Aug 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. West Bromwich Albion have kept their man, and Chesterfield go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout7 Aug 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Adam Lewis, and the manager let it.
Market7 Aug 2028
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad24 Jul 2028
A fracture rules Ellis Harrison out for 77 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Chesterfield will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Transfer targets24 Jul 2028
$8.7M on the table at Burnley. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Market24 Jul 2028
Harry McKirdy hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chesterfield can pretend not to have heard.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daniel Gore was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets24 Jul 2028
Chesterfield asked and Brentford said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Kai Brosnan was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout24 Jul 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Anthony Walker, and the manager let it.
The dugout24 Jul 2028
Dilan Markanday asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market24 Jul 2028
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Siyabonga Buda has his answer from Chesterfield; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 Jul 2028
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 84 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market17 Jul 2028
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Colchester United waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Chesterfield is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market17 Jul 2028
Caleb Ansen hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chesterfield can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets17 Jul 2028
Chesterfield have gone to Brentford with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Transfer targets17 Jul 2028
Chesterfield asked and Burnley said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Transfer targets17 Jul 2028
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Liverpool keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Transfer targets17 Jul 2028
No deal for Saša Lukić at that price
Chesterfield offered $290.0K; Ipswich Town said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daniel Gore was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Kai Brosnan in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chesterfield this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Jul 2028
102 days out for Ellis Harrison after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Chesterfield will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market3 Jul 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Chesterfield is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Transfer targets3 Jul 2028
Crystal Palace wanted more than $3.1M and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Market3 Jul 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chesterfield can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets3 Jul 2028
$1.6M on the table at Brentford. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Transfer targets3 Jul 2028
Everything agreed with Norwich City, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Transfer targets3 Jul 2028
The offer went to Ipswich Town this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Anthony Walker was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Words at Chesterfield training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Gore is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Jun 2028
109 days out for Ellis Harrison after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Chesterfield will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Transfer targets26 Jun 2028
No deal for Adam Aznou at that price
Chesterfield offered $5.7M; Everton said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Transfer targets26 Jun 2028
$3.1M on the table at Crystal Palace. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Transfer targets26 Jun 2028
Chesterfield asked and Burnley said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market26 Jun 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market26 Jun 2028
Only the photograph left for Caleb Ansen
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Caleb Ansen will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Chesterfield the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Transfer targets26 Jun 2028
The deal with Manchester United is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Anthony Walker and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Words at Chesterfield training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tom Pearce is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Jun 2028
Ellis Harrison breaks a bone — 118 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 118 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market19 Jun 2028
The bid was some way short and Chesterfield did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Transfer targets19 Jun 2028
$5.7M on the table at Everton. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Transfer targets19 Jun 2028
$5.5M was the most the club would pay and West Ham United were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Market19 Jun 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chesterfield can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets19 Jun 2028
$1.6M on the table at Brentford. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Anthony Walker and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Tom Pearce falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Transfer targets19 Jun 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Brentford have kept their man, and Chesterfield go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market15 May 2028
Only the photograph left for Beryly Lubala
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Beryly Lubala will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Chesterfield the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market15 May 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad15 May 2028
He is 20, he is averaging 7.17, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Boardroom15 May 2028
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Squad15 May 2028
Jacob Parsons and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad15 May 2028
Words at Chesterfield training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alex Tóth is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout15 May 2028
The manager makes an example of Anthony Walker
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout15 May 2028
A promise honoured for Ryan Stirk
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Chesterfield told Ryan Stirk something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Market15 May 2028
The name of Zach Hemming keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Chesterfield say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 Apr 2028
A fracture rules Jesús Soraire out for 34 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Chesterfield will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match8 Apr 2028
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Jacob Parsons and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Alex Tóth falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings10 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 18. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kai Brosnan, and the manager let it.
Market10 Apr 2028
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Chesterfield, another week without a signature from Beryly Lubala.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Chesterfield are still strangers to each other
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Nathan Howard was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Chesterfield dressing room was either.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 Apr 2028
41 days out for Jesús Soraire after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Chesterfield will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market3 Apr 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alex Tóth was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Kai Brosnan was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The terraces3 Apr 2028
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Trey Nyoni is the division's best young player this month
At 20 he has spent a month being better than everybody his age in the league, which is a different and harder thing than one good afternoon. Chesterfield will try very hard not to make too much of it.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
Marked 7.84. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
Match1 Apr 2028
A 1‑1 draw with Crawley Town leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout3 Apr 2028
Benji Wetshi gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad20 Mar 2028
56 days out for Jesús Soraire after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Chesterfield will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Trey Nyoni, 20, steals the show — 8.10
Marked 8.10 at 20, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Trey Nyoni is the real thing at 20
A season average of 7.14 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Chesterfield know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Squad20 Mar 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chesterfield this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Alex Tóth falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Match18 Mar 2028
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout20 Mar 2028
Half-satisfied: Nathan Howard on the draw
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The dugout20 Mar 2028
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad13 Mar 2028
Jesús Soraire breaks a bone — 63 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 63 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
No sign of nerves from Trey Nyoni at 20 — 7.77
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Trey Nyoni did not need any: 7.77, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Jacob Parsons and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Words at Chesterfield training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alex Tóth is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Everybody at Chesterfield saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 36 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ryan Stirk, and the manager let it.
Market13 Mar 2028
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Market13 Mar 2028
He is 18, and nobody at Chesterfield signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Match11 Mar 2028
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.