# 1975–76 Chester F.C. season

The 1975–76 season was the 38th season of competitive association football in the Football League played by Chester, an English club based in Chester, Cheshire.
Also, it was the first season spent in the Third Division after the promotion in the previous season. Alongside competing in the Football League the club also participated in the FA Cup, Football League Cup and the Welsh Cup.

## Football League

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Hereford United (C, P) | 46 | 26 | 11 | 9 | 86 | 55 | 1.564 | 63 | Promotion to the Second Division |
| 2 | Cardiff City (P) | 46 | 22 | 13 | 11 | 69 | 48 | 1.438 | 57 | Cup Winners' Cup preliminary round and promotion to the Second Division |
| 3 | Millwall (P) | 46 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 54 | 43 | 1.256 | 56 | Promotion to the Second Division |
| 4 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 46 | 22 | 9 | 15 | 78 | 53 | 1.472 | 53 | |
| 5 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 18 | 17 | 11 | 61 | 46 | 1.326 | 53 | |
| 6 | Wrexham | 46 | 20 | 12 | 14 | 66 | 55 | 1.200 | 52 | |
| 7 | Walsall | 46 | 18 | 14 | 14 | 74 | 61 | 1.213 | 50 | |
| 8 | Preston North End | 46 | 19 | 10 | 17 | 62 | 57 | 1.088 | 48 | |
| 9 | Shrewsbury Town | 46 | 19 | 10 | 17 | 61 | 59 | 1.034 | 48 | |
| 10 | Peterborough United | 46 | 15 | 18 | 13 | 63 | 63 | 1.000 | 48 | |
| 11 | Mansfield Town | 46 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 58 | 52 | 1.115 | 47 | |
| 12 | Port Vale | 46 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 55 | 54 | 1.019 | 46 | |
| 13 | Bury | 46 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 51 | 46 | 1.109 | 44 | |
| 14 | Chesterfield | 46 | 17 | 9 | 20 | 69 | 69 | 1.000 | 43 | |
| 15 | Gillingham | 46 | 12 | 19 | 15 | 58 | 68 | 0.853 | 43 | |
| 16 | Rotherham United | 46 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 54 | 65 | 0.831 | 42 | |
| 17 | Chester | 46 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 43 | 62 | 0.694 | 42 | |
| 18 | Grimsby Town | 46 | 15 | 10 | 21 | 62 | 74 | 0.838 | 40 | |
| 19 | Swindon Town | 46 | 16 | 8 | 22 | 62 | 75 | 0.827 | 40 | |
| 20 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 48 | 59 | 0.814 | 40 | |
| 21 | Aldershot (R) | 46 | 13 | 13 | 20 | 59 | 75 | 0.787 | 39 | Relegation to the Fourth Division |
| 22 | Colchester United (R) | 46 | 12 | 14 | 20 | 41 | 65 | 0.631 | 38 | Relegation to the Fourth Division |
| 23 | Southend United (R) | 46 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 65 | 75 | 0.867 | 37 | Relegation to the Fourth Division |
| 24 | Halifax Town (R) | 46 | 11 | 13 | 22 | 41 | 61 | 0.672 | 35 | Relegation to the Fourth Division |

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
| 46 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 43 | 62 | 0.694 | 42 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 34 | 19 | 33 | 2 | 5 | 16 | 9 | 43 | 9 |
Source: rsssf.com

### Results by matchday

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| Result | L | D | D | L | L | D | W | L | L | W | L | W | D | L | W | W | W | D | D | W | D | W | D | L | W | L | W | L | W | L | L | W | L | D | D | W | L | L | W | W | D | L | D | L | L | W |
| Position | 21 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 21 | 23 | 24 | 22 | 24 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 20 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 17 |

### Matches

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance |
| 16 August | Crystal Palace | A | L | 0–2 | | 13,009 |
| 23 August | Southend United | H | D | 1–1 | Daniels | 4,781 |
| 30 August | Mansfield Town | A | D | 1–1 | Redfern | 6,164 |
| 6 September | Grimsby Town | H | L | 1–2 | Owen | 4,092 |
| 13 September | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | L | 0–6 | | 7,924 |
| 20 September | Peterborough United | H | D | 1–1 | Crossley | 4,063 |
| 24 September | Colchester United | H | W | 1–0 | Owen | 3,954 |
| 27 September | Halifax Town | A | L | 2–5 | Owen, Whitehead | 2,240 |
| 4 October | Hereford United | H | L | 0–1 | | 4,144 |
| 11 October | Aldershot | H | W | 1–0 | Storton | 3,375 |
| 18 October | Walsall | A | L | 0–1 | | 4,146 |
| 21 October | Sheffield Wednesday | H | W | 1–0 | Owen | 6,248 |
| 25 October | Cardiff City | H | D | 1–1 | Pugh | 5,348 |
| 1 November | Shrewsbury Town | A | L | 0–2 | | 4,567 |
| 4 November | Rotherham United | A | W | 1–0 | Lennard | 4,282 |
| 8 November | Millwall | H | W | 3–1 | Redfern, Lennard, Owen | 4,811 |
| 15 November | Port Vale | A | W | 1–0 | Lennard | 3,908 |
| 29 November | Chesterfield | A | D | 1–1 | Storton | 4,338 |
| 6 December | Gillingham | H | D | 2–2 | Owen, Edwards | 4,451 |
| 20 December | Swindon Town | H | W | 2–1 | Delgado, Storton | 3,674 |
| 26 December | Wrexham | A | D | 1–1 | Lennard | 10,486 |
| 27 December | Preston North End | H | W | 3–0 | Pugh, John McMahon (o.g.), Owen | 8,137 |
| 10 January | Mansfield Town | H | D | 1–1 | Delgado | 4,623 |
| 17 January | Peterborough United | A | L | 0–3 | | 8,674 |
| 24 January | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | W | 3–0 | Pugh, Redfern, Owen | 5,099 |
| 31 January | Sheffield Wednesday | A | L | 0–2 | | 7,558 |
| 7 February | Rotherham United | H | W | 3–1 | Redfern (pen), Lennard, Loska | 4,573 |
| 14 February | Millwall | A | L | 0–1 | | 4,965 |
| 21 February | Port Vale | H | W | 1–0 | Redfern (pen) | 5,707 |
| 24 February | Colchester United | A | L | 0–1 | | 3,534 |
| 28 February | Cardiff City | A | L | 0–2 | | 10,000 |
| 6 March | Shrewsbury Town | H | W | 1–0 | Owen | 5,916 |
| 10 March | Hereford United | A | L | 0–5 | | 7,103 |
| 13 March | Aldershot | A | D | 1–1 | Edwards | 3,831 |
| 16 March | Walsall | H | D | 1–1 | Edwards | 4,059 |
| 20 March | Chesterfield | H | W | 2–1 | Redfern (pen), Owen | 4,018 |
| 27 March | Gillingham | A | L | 0–2 | | 4,983 |
| 30 March | Swindon Town | A | L | 1–2 | Owen | 5,117 |
| 7 April | Halifax Town | H | W | 2–1 | Storton, Redfern | 3,369 |
| 10 April | Grimsby Town | A | L | 0–2 | | 4,644 |
| 16 April | Bury | H | D | 0–0 | | 5,045 |
| 17 April | Wrexham | H | L | 1–3 | Draper | 6,553 |
| 19 April | Preston North End | A | D | 0–0 | | 6,719 |
| 23 April | Southend United | A | L | 0–2 | | 3,553 |
| 27 April | Bury | A | L | 0–1 | | 3,748 |
| 4 May | Crystal Palace | H | W | 2–1 | Crossley (2) | 6,702 |

## FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance |
| First round | 22 November | Darlington (4) | A | D | 0–0 | | 2,620 |
| First round replay | 26 November | Darlington (4) | H | W | 2–0 | Moore, Redfern | 5,238 |
| Second round | 13 December | Shrewsbury Town (3) | A | L | 1–3 | Edwards | 6,061 |

## League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance |
| First round first leg | 20 August | Wrexham (3) | A | L | 0–3 | | 8,267 |
| First round second leg | 27 August | Wrexham (3) | H | D | 0–0 | | 6,346 |

## Welsh Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance |
| Fourth round | 3 January | Kidderminster Harriers (CCL) | H | W | 8–1 | Edwards, Loska, Daniels, Owen, Mason, Lennard (2), Crossley | 1,332 |
| Fifth round | 16 February | Wrexham (3) | A | D | 0–0 | | 3,787 |
| Fifth round replay | 26 February | Wrexham (3) | H | W | 2–1 | Delgado, Owen | 4,734 |
| Semifinal | 23 March | Cardiff City (3) | H | D | 0–0 | | 3,743 |
| Semifinal replay | 1 April | Cardiff City (3) | A | L | 0–1 | | 4,207 |

## Season statistics

| Nat | Player | Total | Total | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Welsh Cup | Welsh Cup |
| Nat | Player | A | G | A | G | A | G | A | G | A | G |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| | Mike Craven | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| | Grenville Millington | 50 | – | 40 | – | 3 | – | 2 | – | 5 | – |
| | Barry Watling | 5 | – | 5 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – |
| Field players ||||||||||||
| | Paul Crossley | 26+8 | 4 | 22+6 | 3 | 0+2 | – | – | – | 4 | 1 |
| | Barney Daniels | 11+2 | 2 | 8+1 | 1 | – | – | 1+1 | – | 2 | 1 |
| | Bill Dearden | 2 | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| | Bob Delgado | 35+2 | 3 | 28+2 | 2 | 3 | – | – | – | 4 | 1 |
| | Derek Draper | 44 | 1 | 37 | 1 | 2 | – | 2 | – | 3 | – |
| | Chris Dunleavy | 29+2 | – | 23+2 | – | – | – | 2 | – | 4 | – |
| | Nigel Edwards | 45+1 | 5 | 36+1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | – | 4 | 1 |
| | John James | 2 | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – |
| | Dave Lennard | 48+2 | 7 | 39+2 | 5 | 3 | – | 2 | – | 4 | 2 |
| | Tony Loska | 45 | 2 | 37 | 1 | 3 | – | 1 | – | 4 | 1 |
| | Stuart Mason | 34+2 | 1 | 29+1 | – | 2 | – | 1 | – | 2+1 | 1 |
| | Reg Matthewson | 8 | – | 7 | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – |
| | Gary Moore | 20+4 | 1 | 17+3 | – | 2 | 1 | – | – | 1+1 | – |
| | Mark Nickeas | 4 | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – |
| | Terry Owen | 48+1 | 13 | 40 | 11 | 3 | – | 0+1 | – | 5 | 2 |
| | Graham Pugh | 51+2 | 3 | 42+2 | 3 | 3 | – | 2 | – | 4 | – |
| | Paul Raynor | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – |
| | Jimmy Redfern | 42 | 8 | 37 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | – |
| | Ian Seddon | 7+3 | – | 5+3 | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | – |
| | Trevor Storton | 47 | 4 | 40 | 4 | 3 | – | 1 | – | 3 | – |
| | Norman Whitehead | 11+3 | 1 | 7+3 | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | 3 | – |
| | Own goals | – | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| | Total | 56 | 56 | 46 | 43 | 3 | 3 | 2 | – | 5 | 10 |