1969–70 Chester F.C. season
# 1969–70 Chester F.C. season

The 1969–70 season was the 32nd season of competitive association football in the Football League played by Chester, an English club based in Chester, Cheshire.

Also, it was the twelfth season spent in the Fourth Division after its creation. 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 | Everton (C) | 42 | 29 | 8 | 5 | 72 | 34 | 2.118 | 66 | Qualification for the European Cup first round |
| 2 | Leeds United | 42 | 21 | 15 | 6 | 84 | 49 | 1.714 | 57 | Qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup first round |
| 3 | Chelsea | 42 | 21 | 13 | 8 | 70 | 50 | 1.400 | 55 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 4 | Derby County | 42 | 22 | 9 | 11 | 64 | 37 | 1.730 | 53 | Qualification for the Watney Cup |
| 5 | Liverpool | 42 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 65 | 42 | 1.548 | 51 | Qualification for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup first round |

* ↑ Chelsea qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup first round as the 1969–70 FA Cup winners.
* ↑ Derby County and Manchester United qualified for the Watney Cup as the two teams with the most goals that hadn't already qualified for a European competition.

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Huddersfield Town (C, P) | 42 | 24 | 12 | 6 | 68 | 37 | 1.838 | 60 | Promotion to the First Division |
| 2 | Blackpool (P) | 42 | 20 | 13 | 9 | 56 | 45 | 1.244 | 53 | Promotion to the First Division |
| 3 | Leicester City | 42 | 19 | 13 | 10 | 64 | 50 | 1.280 | 51 | |
| 4 | Middlesbrough | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 55 | 45 | 1.222 | 50 | |
| 5 | Swindon Town | 42 | 17 | 16 | 9 | 57 | 47 | 1.213 | 50 | |
| 6 | Sheffield United | 42 | 22 | 5 | 15 | 73 | 38 | 1.921 | 49 | Qualification for the Watney Cup |
| 7 | Cardiff City | 42 | 18 | 13 | 11 | 61 | 41 | 1.488 | 49 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 8 | Blackburn Rovers | 42 | 20 | 7 | 15 | 54 | 50 | 1.080 | 47 | |
| 9 | Queens Park Rangers | 42 | 17 | 11 | 14 | 66 | 57 | 1.158 | 45 | |
| 10 | Millwall | 42 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 56 | 56 | 1.000 | 44 | |
| 11 | Norwich City | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 49 | 46 | 1.065 | 43 | |
| 12 | Carlisle United | 42 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 58 | 56 | 1.036 | 41 | |
| 13 | Hull City | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 72 | 70 | 1.029 | 41 | Qualification for the Watney Cup |
| 14 | Bristol City | 42 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 54 | 50 | 1.080 | 39 | |
| 15 | Oxford United | 42 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 35 | 42 | 0.833 | 39 | |
| 16 | Bolton Wanderers | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 54 | 61 | 0.885 | 36 | |
| 17 | Portsmouth | 42 | 13 | 9 | 20 | 66 | 80 | 0.825 | 35 | |
| 18 | Birmingham City | 42 | 11 | 11 | 20 | 51 | 78 | 0.654 | 33 | |
| 19 | Watford | 42 | 9 | 13 | 20 | 44 | 57 | 0.772 | 31 | |
| 20 | Charlton Athletic | 42 | 7 | 17 | 18 | 35 | 76 | 0.461 | 31 | |
| 21 | Aston Villa (R) | 42 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 36 | 62 | 0.581 | 29 | Relegation to the Third Division |
| 22 | Preston North End (R) | 42 | 8 | 12 | 22 | 43 | 63 | 0.683 | 28 | Relegation to the Third Division |

* 1 2 Sheffield United and Hull City qualified for the Watney Cup as the two teams with the most goals that hadn't already qualified for promotion or a European competition.
* ↑ Cardiff City qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup as the 1969-70 Welsh Cup winners.

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 9 | Peterborough United | 46 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 77 | 69 | 1.116 | 48 | Qualified for 1970 Watney Cup |
| 10 | Colchester United | 46 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 64 | 63 | 1.016 | 48 | |
| 11 | Chester | 46 | 21 | 6 | 19 | 58 | 66 | 0.879 | 48 | |
| 12 | Scunthorpe United | 46 | 18 | 10 | 18 | 67 | 65 | 1.031 | 46 | |
| 13 | York City | 46 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 55 | 62 | 0.887 | 46 | |

* ↑ The two teams who scored the most goals in each division, and did not qualify for Europe and were not promoted, qualified for the Watney Cup.

### 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 | 21 | 6 | 19 | 58 | 66 | 0.879 | 48 | 14 | 3 | 6 | 39 | 23 | 31 | 7 | 3 | 13 | 19 | 43 | 17 |

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 | W | D | L | L | W | L | L | L | L | W | W | W | L | W | L | W | W | W | L | W | W | L | D | W | L | L | W | L | W | D | D | W | W | W | W | D | L | L | L | L | W | L | L | W | D | W |
| Position | 6 | 9 | 15 | 15 | 11 | 14 | 19 | 20 | 23 | 20 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 |

### Matches

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 9 August | Scunthorpe United | A | W | 3–2 | Ashworth, Chapman (2) | 3,480 |
| 16 August | Swansea City | H | D | 2–2 | Sutton, Chapman | 5,988 |
| 23 August | Wrexham | A | L | 0–2 | | 11,959 |
| 27 August | Brentford | H | L | 1–2 | Bradbury | 4,426 |
| 30 August | Workington | H | W | 3–0 | Draper, Sutton, Harley | 3,684 |
| 6 September | Port Vale | A | L | 0–3 | | 6,874 |
| 13 September | Notts County | H | L | 0–1 | | 3,645 |
| 16 September | Grimsby Town | A | L | 1–4 | Draper | 4,186 |
| 20 September | Lincoln City | A | L | 0–2 | | 4,482 |
| 27 September | Crewe Alexandra | H | W | 2–1 | Cheetham, Draper | 3,722 |
| 1 October | Bradford Park Avenue | H | W | 1–0 | Draper | 3,203 |
| 4 October | Darlington | A | W | 2–1 | Draper, Dearden | 3,348 |
| 7 October | Swansea City | A | L | 1–2 | Dearden | 6,884 |
| 11 October | Hartlepool | H | W | 2–1 | Ashworth, Goad (o.g.) | 4,175 |
| 18 October | Chesterfield | H | L | 1–2 | Draper | 4,436 |
| 25 October | Colchester United | A | W | 1–0 | Bradbury | 3,754 |
| 1 November | Exeter City | H | W | 2–0 | Tarbuck (2) | 4,487 |
| 8 November | Northampton Town | A | W | 1–0 | Tarbuck | 5,659 |
| 22 November | Aldershot | A | L | 1–3 | Provan | 5,385 |
| 26 November | Southend United | H | W | 2–0 | Provan, Dearden | 4,501 |
| 29 November | York City | H | W | 3–0 | Tarbuck, Draper (2) | 4,201 |
| 13 December | Notts County | A | L | 0–3 | | 4,231 |
| 20 December | Port Vale | H | D | 1–1 | Provan | 5,235 |
| 26 December | Wrexham | H | W | 2–0 | Dearden (2) | 15,024 |
| 10 January | Lincoln City | H | L | 1–2 | Provan | 5,768 |
| 17 January | Crewe Alexandra | A | L | 0–3 | | 4,704 |
| 19 January | Bradford Park Avenue | A | W | 2–1 | Spence, Dearden | 5,997 |
| 31 January | Darlington | H | L | 1–3 | Spence | 4,290 |
| 7 February | Hartlepool | A | W | 2–1 | Provan, Gill (o.g.) | 2,233 |
| 14 February | Scunthorpe United | H | D | 1–1 | Dearden | 3,968 |
| 18 February | Workington | A | D | 1–1 | Webber | 1,474 |
| 21 February | Northampton Town | H | W | 2–1 | Draper, Clarke (o.g.) | 3,782 |
| 25 February | Newport County | H | W | 2–0 | Turner, Webber | 3,664 |
| 28 February | Chesterfield | A | W | 1–0 | Dearden | 13,154 |
| 11 March | Oldham Athletic | H | W | 2–1 | Dearden, Draper | 4,522 |
| 13 March | York City | A | D | 0–0 | | 3,310 |
| 16 March | Newport County | A | L | 1–3 | Webber | 3,664 |
| 21 March | Peterborough United | H | L | 2–3 | Cheetham (pen.), Dearden | 4,024 |
| 28 March | Oldham Athletic | A | L | 0–5 | | 4,611 |
| 30 March | Exeter City | A | L | 0–1 | | 5,717 |
| 1 April | Colchester United | H | W | 1–0 | Tarbuck | 2,580 |
| 4 April | Brentford | A | L | 0–2 | | 4,748 |
| 6 April | Southend United | A | L | 2–4 | Tarbuck, Dearden | 5,512 |
| 15 April | Grimsby Town | H | W | 3–1 | Provan, Webber, Ashworth | 2,186 |
| 18 April | Peterborough United | A | D | 0–0 | | 4,763 |
| 30 April | Aldershot | H | W | 2–1 | Draper (2) | 1,691 |

## FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| First round | 15 November | Halifax Town (3) | A | D | 3–3 | Tarbuck (2), Dearden | 5,032 |
| First round replay | 19 November | Halifax Town (3) | H | W | 1–0 | Provan | 8,352 |
| Second round | 6 December | Doncaster Rovers (3) | H | D | 1–1 | Tarbuck | 7,705 |
| Second round replay | 9 December | Doncaster Rovers (3) | A | W | 2–0 | Webber, Dearden | 10,822 |
| Third round | 3 January | Bristol City (2) | H | W | 2–1 | Webber, Dearden | 10,030 |
| Fourth round | 24 January | Swindon Town (2) | A | L | 2–4 | Cheetham (pen), Lang | 7,705 |

## League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| First round | 14 August | Aston Villa (3) | H | L | 1–2 | Dearden | 10,510 |

## Welsh Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Fifth round | 14 January | Llandudno Borough | H | W | 6–0 | Edwards, Spence, Webber, Provan (3) | 2,464 |
| Quarterfinal | 11 February | Llanelli (Welsh League South) | A | W | 3–1 | Turner, Dearden, Webber | 1,925 |
| Semifinal | 18 March | Hereford United (SFL) | A | D | 3–3 | Dearden (2), Tarbuck | 5,125 |
| Semifinal replay | 25 March | Hereford United (SFL) | H | W | 3–0 | Dearden, Draper (2) | 3,916 |
| Final first leg | 8 May | Cardiff City (2) | H | L | 0–1 | | 3,087 |
| Final second leg | 15 May | Cardiff City (2) | A | L | 0–4 | | 5,567 |

## 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 ||||||||||||
| | Terry Carling | 59 | – | 46 | – | 6 | – | 1 | – | 6 | – |
| Field players ||||||||||||
| | Barry Ashworth | 39+2 | 3 | 34+2 | 3 | – | – | 1 | – | 4 | – |
| | Graham Birks | 16 | – | 11 | – | 5 | – | – | – | – | – |
| | Terry Bradbury | 58 | 2 | 45 | 2 | 6 | – | 1 | – | 6 | – |
| | Eric Brodie | 12 | – | 11 | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – |
| | Alan Caughter | 1+1 | – | 1+1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| | Roy Chapman | 10 | 3 | 9 | 3 | – | – | 1 | – | – | – |
| | Roy Cheetham | 55 | 3 | 43 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | – | 5 | – |
| | Bill Dearden | 50 | 19 | 40 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| | Derek Draper | 55+1 | 14 | 43+1 | 12 | 6 | – | – | – | 6 | 2 |
| | Nigel Edwards | 19+6 | 1 | 13+4 | – | 1+2 | – | – | – | 5 | 1 |
| | Albert Harley | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| | Gavin Lang | 1 | 1 | – | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| | Sammy McMillan | 21+2 | – | 16+2 | – | – | – | – | – | 5 | – |
| | Andy Provan | 56 | 10 | 45 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | – | 4 | 3 |
| | Cliff Sear | 12+1 | – | 10+1 | – | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | – |
| | Alan Spence | 9+4 | 3 | 5+4 | 2 | 2 | – | – | – | 2 | 1 |
| | Steve Stacey | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| | Mike Sutton | 58 | 2 | 46 | 2 | 6 | – | 1 | – | 5 | – |
| | Alan Tarbuck | 25 | 10 | 17 | 6 | 4 | 3 | – | – | 4 | 1 |
| | Graham Turner | 48+3 | 2 | 36+3 | 1 | 5 | – | 1 | – | 6 | 1 |
| | Keith Webber | 41+5 | 8 | 31+4 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 0+1 | – | 4 | 2 |
| | Own goals | – | 3 | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| | Total | 59 | 85 | 46 | 58 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 15 |
