Chesterfield FC owners can be satisfied with a 'job well done' after first 12 months in charge

People did, and 12 months on, I think the majority of fans will be more than satisfied with the job they have done so far.

They have instilled pride, belief, hope and love back into a club which had fallen off a cliff.

They have ensured the club is financially stable, reconnected with supporters and brought success on the field.

They are a forward-thinking board, willing to think outside the box, proven by their appointment of one of the most talented managers outside the Football League, somebody most Town fans had never heard of.

But, as chief executive John Croot always says, the fanbase might not have known who James Rowe was, but the board did because they had done their research.

The community trust promised to be open, honest and transparent and I think they have been true to their word.

Of course they can’t tell us EVERYTHING what is going on behind the scenes, but in the main supporters are kept in the loop about what is happening at their club.

They have had a lot to deal with, not least a global pandemic! It really could not have been a worse time to take over a football club.

There have been a few other bumps along the way, but all in all, I think the trust has delivered on and off the pitch.

New owners often overpromise and under-deliver, but not this time.

Speaking to the DT last August, chairman Mike Goodwin said the aim over the next 12 months was to be ‘sustainable’, to have ‘made a good fist of it’ and to have finished in the top half of the National League. Big tick.

He added: “We want it to feel like a family, community-owned club where everybody's happy to come down. We want to put some goodwill and some good feeling back into Chesterfield Football Club.”

Tick, tick, tick!

‘Judge us in 12 months’ they said (if you know, you know)...