'Building blocks are being put in place' - Chesterfield chairman opens up about challenges of first three months of owning club

Chesterfield chairman Mike Goodwin has said ‘building blocks’ are being put in place to give the Spireites a chance of future success.
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In a wide-ranging interview with the DT before boss John Pemberton departed, Goodwin spoke about the challenges the community trust has faced in their first three months in charge, finances, playing budget, investment, another soon-to-be announced scouting appointment, the FA Cup saga, the future and creating links with a Chinese Super League club.

Results on the pitch have left the Blues in the National League relegation zone and looking for their eighth permanent manager since Paul Cook left in 2015.

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Goodwin admitted it has been tough, but that they are working hard behind the scenes and that there are lots of good things happening.

Chesterfield F chairman Mike Goodwin.Chesterfield F chairman Mike Goodwin.
Chesterfield F chairman Mike Goodwin.

“I knew how difficult it was going to be,” he said. “We always said this was a two to three-year rebuilding programme. I believe off the field things are going well. The only thing that is not right at the moment is results on the field. I think we have done okay. We know what the issues are. We know it is difficult to run a football club. Nobody is pretending that we know everything so we are learning all the time.”

The biggest challenges the trust has faced so far have been surrounding Covid-19 and finances.

Without the coronavirus, the financial picture would be a lot clearer, but Goodwin is confident they will come out the other side.

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“Taking over a football club I think is particularly difficult at any time but to do it during a major world pandemic is challenging to say the least but I think we have coped pretty well,” he said. “If we did not have Covid, I would not be as worried about finances.

“I don’t believe it is all about throwing money at it. I am not belittling investment and if anybody came along and wanted to invest then we would certainly look at it. It is whatever is best for Chesterfield Football Club, that is the most important thing. At the moment there aren’t any other options other than the trust to run it. This year we want to stabilise financially and then come the end of the season we want to sit down and refresh everything in terms of players and then hopefully we can get some success next season.”

On the topic of finances, the Spireites are one of the clubs who have raised concerns over how government funding has been allocated to National League clubs to compensate for lack of matchday income with no fans allowed inside stadiums.

Chesterfield will receive £95,000 per month, for the next three months, but believe they should be receiving more.

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Goodwin explained: “We would normally have on average maybe three games at home in a month and that is £55,000 a game that we are losing. We are going to get £95,000 from the National League so that is disappointing. It means we have got to cut our cloth accordingly. “

Between 1,000 and 1,500 fans are paying to watch Chesterfield’s matches online so at £10 per person that is bringing in a decent amount of money with the club keeping 80 per cent.

It is hoped that the club will be able stream matches in the hospitality lounges once this lockdown period is over.

Funds for new players were made available to Pemberton and he was in the process of identifying targets before he left. To Pemberton’s credit, Goodwin says, he did not want to sign players for the sake of it. One of the problems Pemberton had was that the nine players still under contract in the summer took up two-thirds of the budget.

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There will be funds for signings when a new manager is appointed, the chaiman confirmed.

Goodwin told the DT. “Some people seem to think it is the lowest budget we have ever had for players. Our budget this year is almost £1m - that is a a competitive budget, probably not in the top three but it will be pushing that way. Yes, you can always be better placed financially but considering what other clubs are struggling with, I think we are as well off as most of them.”

One of the trust’s main aims is to install a recruitment structure and that process is underway with Paul Lemon coming in and Goodwin revealed that another scouting appointment will be made soon.

"We have someone in mind who has a tremendous amount of experience and who will be well received and as soon as we can make an announcement we will do,” he said.

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The FA Cup registration embarrassment rightly drew criticism from a lot of Town fans, but Goodwin said that ‘nobody was more devastated than we were’ and that it will not happen again.

He also revealed that have held initial talks with a Chinese Super League club about forging a relationship with them which could involve some of their youth players coming over. The Spireites were asked if they would be interested in holding discussions and they took part in a Zoom call. Talks are still at a very early stage.

Goodwin added: “I guess what I am saying is all the building blocks are being put in place. There are some great staff at this football club who are very enthusiastic and are coming up with some good ideas now we have empowered them to go away and create wealth for us and that is happening.”