Chorley FC - A Little Bird Told Me

I've started a couple of stories in the past which I haven't even got into never mind finished. Simply because I didn't enjoy them, I didn't find them original which is exactly what I wanted one of my stories to be. I wanted to create a story where people would read it and try and imitate my style because they enjoyed it so much. As you might have guessed from the title of the story, I will be providing updates of my career with one of my local teams, Chorley FC through social media.

Many teams now use social media to update their fans on a Saturday afternoon, tweeting minute by minute updates so their fans are forever in the know of what is happening on the pitch, regardless of where they are in the world. I will be acting as the social media correspondent for the club, updating the twitter page and the club website on a regular basis to provide match reports and club news.

I really hope people enjoy my story, and my style. I hope people take this style and use it for their stories in the future. I hope to see many more twitter style stories on this website.

A lot of people usually have targets with their club that they start with, such as winning the champions league, but my honest target is to take Chorley as far as I possibly can and have a lot of fun on the way. As well as providing a great story for everybody to read.

Looking forward to it

Good luck with this - I like seeing lower league management!!

On the final day of the 2013/14 season, Chorley travelled to Buxton knowing that they would have to win or better FC United's result to stop them from pipping the Magpies to the Evo-Stik League Premier Division title. Two goals from Josh Hines won the game for Chorley, therefore securing promotion and the league title, ending Chorley's 24 year wait for a return to the conference.






So why Chorley?

I chose to do this story with Chorley because it has many ties with my club Blackburn Rovers. Chorley town itself is on the borders of Blackburn, therefore it is very local to myself. Also the manager of Chorley FC, is Garry Flitcroft,a central midfielder who spent many years at Blackburn Rovers, winning promotion with them in 2001 and then winning the league cup with them the following year, their first year back in the premiership. Another link is Chorley's Player/Coach, Matt Jansen. No words could ever describe how much of a role model this guy was to me and every other young boy who followed Blackburn Rovers. He scored the winning goal away at Preston to win promotion for the Blues and also scored in the league cup final in Cardiff. That summer, Jansen was called up to the England squad for the pre world cup friendlies but was hit with a virus and had to withdraw from the squad. No call up for the world cup meant plenty of free time for the striker. He went on holiday to Rome with his girlfriend that Summer and was riding a motorcycle when he had an accident. He wasn't wearing a helmet at the time and he spent a lot of time in the hospital before recovering. When he did finally make his comeback for Rovers, everyone was happy to have him back, but deep down everybody knew that he would never regain his form and his confidence that earned him an England call up. Blackburn Rovers fans were left with a bunch of what if's?


Picture: Jansen and Flitcroft both jumping for the header. Jansen getting the crucial touch to send Rovers back into the big time!

Article written by: Robert Heyn
Date:09/07/2014
Title: Pre Season with Garry Flitcroft

I met up with Garry Flitcroft this morning as he starts his preparations for the upcoming season in the Vanarama Conference North.

RH: Morning Garry, have you had a nice break?
GF: I certainly did, I'm glad to be back though.

RH: A great season last year, promotion and of course champions of a very tough league, this year will obviously be even more difficult than last. What are your ambitions for the upcoming season?
GF: Obviously it will be very tough this season and I think the main goal will of course be to avoid relegation. I'm not going to be naive enough to suggest we could achieve another promotion.



RH: Do you feel that your ambitions for the club are matched by that of the chairman?
GF: I do. The discussions between us are often creative and there are a lot of good ideas presented from both sides. The chairman does a great job not only of keeping the club financially stable but also of constantly trying to improve our facilities.

RH: Will you be concentrating primarily on getting good results in the league?
GF: I don't think it is right at a club like Chorley to prioritise one competition over another. Obviously fans, players and staff alike want us to stay in this league, but the finances that come from a good cup run are worth much more to a club of our size.

RH: Do you have any transfer targets you can tell us about to get the fans excited?
GF: *Chuckles* You know as well as the fans do that we have to work with the limited resources that we have. If we could get a few loan signings in before the start of the season then I'd be more than happy.

RH: Thanks for your time Garry, and all the best for the upcoming season!
GF: Always a pleasure!

A very nice start, good luck!

Article written by: Robert Heyn
Date: 10/07/2014
Title: Pre Season Competition

It has been announced today by the Chorley FC chairman, that Victory Park will play host to a pre season competition featuring the Magpies and three other north west teams. Longridge, St Helens and Pilkington were all invited to take part in this friendly tournament. The chairman was quoted as saying, "This tournament provides great revenue for the club and also provides the manager with more match practice to try out new tactics and different players."

The games will take place across two days, the 22nd and the 23rd of July, the first game will be the magpies taking on Longridge in the first of the semi finals.

First Match Report

My first match report in this style. Please can I have some feedback on how it's going and if anybody is enjoying it?