Busy summer of transfers for relegated Spireites
How did they do last season?
Chesterfield endured a season to forget last term, with the club finishing bottom of League One and subsequently being relegated down to League Two. The Spireites managed just nine league wins and only Gillingham conceded more goals.
Who stood out?
With little to celebrate Chesterfield fans can at least take some solace in the fact that skipper Ian Evatt has signed a new deal after the veteran defender was named the club’s player of the year. The centre half is in his second spell with the club having returned in 2013 and impressed amidst adversity last season.
The manager
Best known for his playing days at Celtic and Wigan Athletic, Gary Caldwell has been in charge at Chesterfield since January this year following the exit of Danny Wilson. The former Scotland international retired as a player at Wigan in 2015 and was appointed the club’s manager just two months later. His tenure at the DW stadium came to an end in October last year, and is the man the Spireites have trusted to return the club to the third tier.
Summer moves
Having been relegated last season, it is of no surprise that Chesterfield have already been busy with a number of incoming and outgoing players. Ritchie Humphreys, Liam Graham, Curtis Morrison, Jake Beesley, Thorsten Stuckmann, Lloyd Allinson, Sadiq El Fitouri, Slyvan Ebanks-Blake, Dan Jones, Angel Martinez, Jay O’Shea and Charlie Raglan have all been released. Jon Nolan has left the club to join Shrewsbury Town for an undisclosed fee.
Defender Bradley Barry was the club’s first summer signing after being released by Swindon Town. The Spireites have also signed experienced pair Joe Anyon and Scott Wiseman, whose contracts with Scunthorpe United expire this summer. Gozie Ugwu is the club’s only other bit of transfer business to date, with the forward joining from non-league Woking, whilst 17-year old youth product Charlie Wakefield has been handed a professional contract.
Our meetings last season
Reds managed a 1-1 draw in the first ever encounter between both teams back in November 2014 in League One, with Gavin Tomlin equalising for Crawley at the Checkatrade stadium. Two months later the Spireites recorded a comfortable 3-0 win at home when Dean Saunders was in the early weeks of his time at the club.
The odds
At 16/1 with Sky Bet to claim the League Two title this season.
Pictured: Jimmy Smith was part of the Reds side that faced Chesterfield at the Proact stadium back in January 2015.
