Martin Allen is starting to turn it around at Chesterfield FC

At last at long last we've finally won a game and in the FA Cup as well, I can actually feel good about the club for once in a long time.
Chesterfield manager Martin Allen: Picture by Steve Flynn/AHPIX.com, Football: The Emirates FA Cup - Qualifing Fourth Round match AFC Fylde -V- Chesterfield at Mill Farm, Wesham, Lancashire, England on copyright picture Howard Roe 07973 739229Chesterfield manager Martin Allen: Picture by Steve Flynn/AHPIX.com, Football: The Emirates FA Cup - Qualifing Fourth Round match AFC Fylde -V- Chesterfield at Mill Farm, Wesham, Lancashire, England on copyright picture Howard Roe 07973 739229
Chesterfield manager Martin Allen: Picture by Steve Flynn/AHPIX.com, Football: The Emirates FA Cup - Qualifing Fourth Round match AFC Fylde -V- Chesterfield at Mill Farm, Wesham, Lancashire, England on copyright picture Howard Roe 07973 739229

Slowly but surely Martin Allen is turning things around and he’s been big enough to actually go on the supporters’ bus before the game and tell them the tactics we were going to play an do an impromptu question and answer session with the fans.

I think it took some guts, no pun intended, for him to admit he’s made some bad signings and got things wrong at the start of the season.

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Fans have been scratching their heads at the sight of Tom Denton, described by some as a non- league Jan Koller.

Martin Allen reacts to winHere’s how Chesterfield got the winFA Cup match galleryThe general feeling is that by playing him we’ve reverted to crude long ball anti-football, not so yesterday we saw a different side of the big man. He’s played against the Coasters ten times now in his career scoring seven goals against them in the process.

Denton played in the middle with Doncaster loanee Alex Kiwomya and Lee Shaw either side of him and it proved to be a fluid front three causing problems for Fylde when the ball was crucially played into Tom Denton’s feet.

It may come as a shock to many Spireites but the former Alfreton player is actually quite good on the ground bringing colleagues into play with several deft touches

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Credit must go to the referee Mr Smith who actually saw an incident of blatant wrestling in the penalty box against Denton and awarded The Blues a penalty, which the big man stuck away with no problem, although one wag next to me said “Is he going to head it?” as our giant striker ran up to place the ball in the net.

In the home game against Fylde we could have had two penalties for blatant infringements against our former plasterer turned striker, but on that day the referee chose to ignore them.

A word of note about the excellent facilities at Fylde which is effectively a new build project, the ground is a little similar in design to Fleetwood, business wise there are similarities, with money being pumped in from an energy company.

Although it’s difficult to see how far they can go support wise, attendances of 1,000 are ok in the non league but they are halfway between Blackpool and Preston just off the motorway it’s hard to see where any extra supporters can come from, perhaps their hope is to be similar to Forest Green Rovers and make it into League Two and stay there? Anyway it’s Wrexham next, we can pretend that one is a league fixture.