For any newly promoted side, their ultimate goal is to consolidate their
status in their respective division. This was no different for Chesterfield who
has surprised everyone by securing promotion through the Division Four
play-offs against a much more fancied Rotherham United.
Tipped by some pundits to be facing the drop, the Yorkshire club has
sprung another surprise by attaining the magical forty points mark in record
time (within 24 games). Although forty points doesn’t guarantee safety from
relegation, it does serve as an indicator on how well the side is doing.
Manager Glory Days has done wonders with a side on a very limited
budget, reinventing Chesterfield through transfers and player development. Their
financial constraints meant that
Chesterfield had to sell before they could buy, offloading two of their most
pivotal players in their promotion, Hugo Rodallega and Dmitri Torbinsky. However
Glory Days has done well to consolidate by replacing them with Serbian
playmaker Miraleum Sulejmani purchased from fellow Division Three rivals
Plymouth Argyle and promoting Alberto Paloschi into the starting XI.
Subsequent signings of Mikel San Jose and Jack Cork suggest that Glory
Days has designs on staying in Division Three beyond this season.
The ongoing development of Mehmet Ekici continues to impress in only his
second season with the Spireites, he has emerged as a quintessential cog in the
Chesterfield machine providing seven assists and 9 goals, none of which were more
important than his solidarity goal being the ultimate difference between the
two promoted sides, despite Denys Garmash’s 79th minute red card.
Swindon Town and Chesterfield serve as an interesting comparison of
differing playing philosophies, Swindon Town earned their Division Four title
by playing scintillating attacking football often at times looking like a big fish in a little pond however when they
came up to Division three, their defensive deficiencies were exposed and their over reliance on big front man Artjoms Rudnevs who was the Division’s golden
boot winner with 25 goals proved to be their downfall as the Robins sitting in
the relegation zone.
In contrast, Chesterfield concentrate on possession, movement and
defensive solidarity. Manager Glory Days system isn’t dependent on a single
goal scorer and it’s quite normal for the midfield cohort to chip in with goals on a regular basis. Simply
a ‘cog in a machine’ as it were and ingrained with the philosophy of “next man
up” , their team isn’t dependent on any outstanding individual but a strong
squad of players.
With 40 points attained, the next goal should be to guarantee their
Division Three status.
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