Chester City

Chester 3-0 Stockport
Chester eased past Stockport to move into the Northern Area quarter-finals of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy. The home side went ahead before the break when Jamie Hand rifled in a low shot from the edge of the box. Liam Dickenson almost levelled for the visitors but keeper John Danby pulled off a fine save. Chester sealed the win late on as County poured forward with Gregg Blundell shooting home and Laurence Wilson firing in from close range. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chester: Danby, Artell, Bolland, Hessey, Marples, Bennett, Hand, Wilson, Sandwith, Steele (Walters 78), Blundell. Subs Not Used: Palethorpe, Westwood, Allen, Holroyd. Booked: Bolland, Artell. Goals: Hand 42, Blundell 83, Wilson 85. Stockport: Spencer, Williams, Clare, Dinning, Robinson, Poole, Tansey, Allen (Bramble 69), Rose, Dickinson (Ellis 80), Malcolm (Taylor 69). Subs Not Used: Deasy, Havern. Att: 1,229. Ref: N Swarbrick (Lancashire).

Striker Steele seals Chester move
Chester City boss Mark Wright has completed the loan signing of Leyton Orient striker Lee Steele. Steele, 32, has joined Wright's side until January with a view to a permanent move to the Deva Stadium. The deal was held up for a few days but was completed to allow Steele to make his debut in Chester's Johnstone's Paint Trophy win on Tuesday night. Liverpool-born Steele had requested a move from Orient back to the North-West for family reasons.

Chester City are handed FA charge
Chester City have been charged by the Football Association following their game at Barnet last month. City have been charged with a breach of FA rule E20(a) - failing to ensure that their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion. The game in question, which took place at Underhill on 28 October, finished 1-0 to the Bees, while Chester's Roberto Martinez was sent off late on. Chester have until Wednesday, 15 November to respond to the charge.

Clevedon v Chester
Clevedon duo Mike Trought and Scott Hendy are both suspended but Geraint Bater has shaken off an injury and will be available to play. Mitchell Page is expected to partner Jack Pitcher in attack. Chester defender Ashley Westwood starts a three-match ban following his red card at Darlington last weekend. Fellow centre-back Paul Linwood is struggling with a hamstring problem, while midfielder Glenn Cronin remains sidelined with a foot problem.

Shrewsbury v Chester
Shrewsbury hope defender Richard Hope will be in contention to play after missing the last seven games with a calf injury. Strike Andy Cookey has racked up five bookings and is set to be suspended. Chester are without key midfielder Roberto Martinez as the veteran Spaniard serves a one-game suspension. Loan winger Ryan Semple comes into the squad after finalising his move from Lincoln and defender Ashley Westwood serves the third of a three-game ban.

Peterborough v Chester
Peterborough striker Aaron McLean is suspended so Trevor Benjamin or Lloyd Opara will partner Danny Crow up front. Midfielder Jamie Day is still out after a freak training-ground accident but winger Adam Newton and defender Guy Branston return from suspensions. Chester boss Mark Wright has no fresh injury concerns. Defender Sean Hessey missed training at the end of the week with illness, making him a minor doubt, but he should still be available.

Chester chairman denies FA charge
Chester City chairman Stephen Vaughan has denied a charge of violent conduct and requested a personal hearing with the Football Association. The FA charge against Vaughan relates to a tunnel incident in match at Shrewsbury Town on 25 November. Both clubs have already been charged with failing to ensure their players behaved in an orderly fashion. A mass brawl erupted at the final whistle of their League Two match that Shrewsbury won 2-1 last month. The on-pitch melee was sparked when Shrewsbury defender Sagi Burton was sent off for allegedly striking a Chester player. The two clubs admitted charges of failing to ensure that their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion in relation to two separate incidents at the match and have requested personal hearings.

Chester 0-3 Macclesfield
Macclesfield climbed off the bottom of League Two with a great win at Chester to boost their chances of avoiding relegation under new boss Paul Ince. Matthew Tipton slid home their first after being set-up by John Miles. Laurence Wilson and Jamie Tolley were sent off after an earlier scuffle in which they were both booked. Chester had chances to get back into the game before Kevin McIntyre's free-kick and a low John Murphy drive left Macclesfield celebrating victory. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chester: Danby, Linwood, Westwood, Bolland, Stephen Vaughan, Martinez, Hessey (Semple 75), Hand, Wilson, Walters, Blundell (Steele 62). Subs Not Used: Artell, Sandwith, Marples. Sent Off: Wilson (38). Booked: Hessey, Stephen Vaughan, Wilson. Macclesfield: Lee, Regan, Morley, Swailes, McIntyre, Miles (Hadfield 46), Tolley, Navarro, Bullock (Reid 62), Murphy, Tipton (McNeil 75). Subs Not Used: Heath, Jennings. Sent Off: Tolley (45). Booked: Tolley, Regan. Goals: Tipton 10, McIntyre 70, Murphy 78. Att: 3,365 Ref: N Miller (Co Durham).

Notts County v Chester
Notts County boss Steve Thompson looks set to stick with the same XI which earned a point against Swindon. Mike Edwards will be pushing for a start after shaking off a cold but Daryl McMahon (chest infection) is out. Chester boss Mark Wright will be without the services of suspended Paul Linwood for the trip to Notts County. Midfield pair Glenn Cronin and Rob Marsh-Evans again miss out with foot injuries, but Laurence Wilson will return from a one-match ban.

Rochdale sign Chester's Vaughan
Chester City defender Stephen Vaughan has joined Rochdale on loan. The 21-year-old, who has made more than 50 appearances for Chester since signing from Liverpool, has joined Dale on an initial one-month deal. Rochdale want to extend the loan stay of Sunderland winger William Mocquet and secure permanent deals for striker Glenn Murray and defender Rory McArdle. Carlisle's Murray and McArdle, on loan from Sheffield Wednesday, are expected to sign contracts until June 2009.

Vaughan quits as Widnes chairman
Stephen Vaughan has quit as chairman of Widnes Vikings and stepped down from the club's board of directors on the eve of their opening league game. Vaughan, who is also chairman of Chester City FC, will maintain his majority shareholding. But he says he is prepared to sell to anyone who has the best interests of the club at heart. "I will give the existing board members the first opportunity to purchase my shares," he said. "I have ploughed in excess of £840,000 into the company, which is more than any director has ever done. "There are many reasons that have brought me to this decision. For example, certain directors requested fortnightly board meetings and then didn't even bother to turn up. That sort of apathy is extremely annoying." The four remaining directors are due to meet later on Thursday, ahead of their Co-operative National League opener against Leigh at the Halton Stadium, to plan their next move.

Chester keen for duo to pen deals
Chester City are hoping to agree new deals with goalkeeper John Danby and defender David Artell. Danby, 23, still has 12 months to run on his deal but City are keen to secure the services of the ex-Kidderminster keeper on a longer-term basis. Further talks are also planned with central defender Artell, 26, whose current deal expires this summer. City have also offered professional deals to youngsters Shaun Kelly, Kevin Roberts, Neil Carroll and Sean Newton.

Wright parts company with Chester
Chester boss Mark Wright and assistant Graham Barrow have left the club. Wright parted company with Chester in August 2004 but returned for a second spell as manager in February 2006 and led them to League Two safety. Barrow was appointed as Wright's number two in May 2006, Barrow had previously been in charge at the Deva Stadium on two previous occasions. Youth team manager Simon Davies has been appointed caretaker manager for the final game of the season. Wright had agreed a new two-year deal to remain in charge at the Deva Stadium back in 2006 but has now left the club.

Partidge considers Chester move
Chester City hope to clinch the signing of former Sheffield Wednesday and Rotherham midfielder Richie Partridge. Partridge, 26, is a free agent after being released by Rotherham and has had held talks with Chester over a possible move to the Deva Stadium. Chairman Stephen Vaughan told the Daily Post: "We have put together what we consider to be an attractive financial package to Ritchie. "Hopefully we will see a positive conclusion to our talks this week."

Chester told to reduce wage bill
Chester have been told to put some of their players on the transfer list after they breached their approved salary cap for the coming season. The Football League says Chester will not be able to bring in any new players until their wage bill is reduced. Chairman Stephen Vaughan said they had already listed Lee Steele and Sean Hessey to help reduce the wage bill. "We've already placed Lee and Sean on the transfer list," chairman Stephen Vaughan told the club website. "However, at this present time we haven't had any firm offers for them. "We now also have a situation with Glenn Cronin, who missed virtually all of last season with a broken metatarsal and now unfortunately has suffered a similar injury which is expected to sideline him for the majority of this campaign. "It could well be that we have to discuss this situation with the player, medical advisors and the PFA."

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