GO FOR IT OR NOT ?

By Howard Borrell

Our recent patchy form, particularly the home defeat by Wrexham, caused not surprisingly, some grievances to be aired on the radio phone-ins, website message boards and in pub conversations. The arguments went like this - "The club doesn't have ambition" and even more frightening "We need somebody wealthy to come in quickly and help us".

Let me offer my perspective. I've got ambition. I want us to win promotion but I want even more there to be a football club here in Chesterfield forever. The Exeter City chairman summed up the situation well when interviewed prior to their Old Trafford fixture - "I'm Exeter till I die and this game has ensured that there'll be an Exeter City when I die". What a quote!

It's almost four years since our club was days away from going out of existence. Many fans have short memories. Our visitors today remain millions of pounds in debt but because of their fantastic fan base have a chance of pulling things around. The danger is that far too many Wednesdayites think that the rehabilitation shouldn't take as long as it is doing. Try running up personal credit card debts and clearing them in five minutes - it can't be done.

Fans and clubs continue to be taken in by smooth talkers although all credit to Wednesday for refusing to be hoodwinked by the charming and charm less Ken Bates. I can't deny it was clever business to walk away from Stamford Bridge with a £17m profit after selling a business that was £80m in debt but that doesn't make Ken a good businessman just a smart cookie who knows when to cash in his chips.

Leeds United probably had no option but to go for the old rogue after trying every conceivable other way of recovering from the £60m loan taken out in September 2001 to enable them to spend to safeguard their future.

Sheffield Wednesday did the same, albeit on a smaller scale. The Premiership breeds those sort of actions - failure is unthinkable so spending to avoid it becomes almost logical. Locally ask Derby County, Bradford City and Notts Forest whether it was the right tactic.

Most of our supporters, I hope, think as I do that success is a "nice to have". I still hurt when we lose and I hurt even more when we don't deserve to but the most important thing is to remember that whatever happens there must be a Chesterfield FC around for my children and their children.

There are very few benefactors around in football. Max Griggs decided "enough was enough" at Nene Park mid way through last season and Rushden and Diamonds were relegated. Jack Hayward spent £70m to see one season of top flight football and now the club has to stand on its own two feet. It's not easy!

Jack Walker, through a network of trusts, left his beloved Blackburn Rovers in a more stable situation which is just as well because without the safeguards they wouldn't be in the Premiership, Benefactors are a thing of the past, People looking for a way into asset stripping are much more the norm and whilst ever the club retains the freehold of Saltergate (admittedly mortgaged) we're in danger of attracting that kind of saviour.

At Saltergate we're determined to get through our troubles in a sensible, structured way. We'll build from a solid base and if we experience a few troughs along the way - well that's a shame. This is a long road we're on and we'll experience many more blips along the way but whatever today's result look to the future and the successful partnership at Chesterfield between supporters and businessmen that has steadied a ship that would have sunk.

Let's all get behind the team every game and cheer every pass - it will help much more than some of the recent reactions.