Football Season Review

Chesterfield's season may have ended with a disappointing 4:0 play-off semi-final aggregate defeat to Preston, but the bitter end cannot change the perception that the Spireites have had a brilliant campaign. They entered the season not knowing what to expect, having only won promotion from League Two last summer, but Paul Cook's men have played some excellent football from day one and it soon became clear that they will be aiming for much bigger things than mere survival in the division. They were in and around the play-off places early in the season, but had a massive drop in form in late October and early November, with this run causing them to drop into the midtable places. Moreover, they sold star striker Eoin Doyle to Cardiff during the winter transfer window and failed to properly replace him, so it seemed that they would have to settle for quiet survival. On-loan striker Caolan Lavery has produced some moments of quality, but never came close to filling Doyle's boots, but Cook has eventually found a way to make his side return to winning ways, as he started fielding lineups that did not contain a typical number nine. Such team selections initially raised a lot of eyebrows, but Cook's critics soon went silent, as the Spireites went on to enjoy a brilliant run of form late in the season and go on to clinch a play-off place. Preston were too strong for them in the semi-finals of the play-off, but the defeat to the excellent Lillywhites cannot really be seen as a major failure, as the Spireites did extremely well to reach the play-offs in the first place. However, their season has ended on a sour note, as Cook has announced that he will be leaving the club to become the new manager of Portsmouth. Cook is widely seen as the main reason for the excellent season that the Spireites have had, and their immediate future heavily depends on who they will replace him with.

Player of the Season: Tendayi Darikwa