1971–72 Chester F.C. season
# 1971–72 Chester F.C. season

The 1971–72 season was the 34th season of competitive association football in the Football League played by Chester, an English club based in Chester, Cheshire.

Also, it was the 14th 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 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 5 | Arsenal | 42 | 22 | 8 | 12 | 58 | 40 | 1.450 | 52 | |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 19 | 13 | 10 | 63 | 42 | 1.500 | 51 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 7 | Chelsea | 42 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 58 | 49 | 1.184 | 48 | |
| 8 | Manchester United | 42 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 69 | 61 | 1.131 | 48 | |
| 9 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 65 | 57 | 1.140 | 47 | Qualification for the Watney Cup |

* ↑ Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the UEFA Cup as the 1971-72 UEFA Cup winners.
* ↑ Wolverhampton Wanderers and Sheffield 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 | Promotion or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 18 | Hartlepool | 46 | 17 | 6 | 23 | 58 | 69 | 0.841 | 40 | |
| 19 | Darlington | 46 | 14 | 11 | 21 | 64 | 82 | 0.780 | 39 | |
| 20 | Chester | 46 | 10 | 18 | 18 | 47 | 56 | 0.839 | 38 | |
| 21 | Northampton Town | 46 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 66 | 79 | 0.835 | 37 | Re-elected |
| 22 | Barrow | 46 | 13 | 11 | 22 | 40 | 71 | 0.563 | 37 | Failed re-election |

### 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 | 10 | 18 | 18 | 47 | 56 | 0.839 | 38 | 10 | 11 | 2 | 34 | 16 | 31 | 0 | 7 | 16 | 13 | 40 | 7 |

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 | D | L | W | D | D | D | D | D | W | L | D | L | L | W | D | W | L | D | L | L | W | L | L | L | D | L | D | L | L | W | L | D | L | D | W | W | L | D | W | W | L | D | D | D | D | L |
| Position | 10 | 21 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 18 |

### Matches

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 14 August | Cambridge United | H | D | 1–1 | Loyden | 4,539 |
| 21 August | Reading | A | L | 0–1 | | 4,013 |
| 28 August | Gillingham | H | W | 5–1 | Purdie (4), Loyden | 3,303 |
| 1 September | Aldershot | A | D | 0–0 | | 4,591 |
| 4 September | Workington | A | D | 0–0 | | 2,276 |
| 11 September | Barrow | H | D | 0–0 | | 3,965 |
| 18 September | Exeter City | A | D | 1–1 | Moore | 4,040 |
| 25 September | Brentford | H | D | 0–0 | | 4,088 |
| 29 September | Northampton Town | H | W | 3–2 | Purdie, Draper (2) | 3,454 |
| 1 October | Colchester United | A | L | 0–1 | | 6,048 |
| 9 October | Southend United | H | D | 1–1 | Draper | 4,092 |
| 16 October | Cambridge United | A | L | 0–2 | | 3,289 |
| 18 October | Southport | A | L | 3–4 | Loyden (2), Purdie | 3,659 |
| 23 October | Hartlepool | H | W | 4–0 | Morrissey, Loyden, Cheetham (pen.), Kennedy | 3,466 |
| 30 October | Darlington | A | D | 1–1 | Loyden | 2,012 |
| 6 November | Bury | H | W | 2–0 | Loyden, McHale | 3,873 |
| 13 November | Peterborough United | A | L | 0–2 | | 4,659 |
| 27 November | Doncaster Rovers | H | D | 1–1 | Loyden | 2,716 |
| 4 December | Crewe Alexandra | A | L | 1–3 | Loyden | 2,671 |
| 11 December | Scunthorpe United | A | L | 0–2 | | 3,776 |
| 18 December | Workington | H | W | 2–1 | Sinclair, Loyden | 2,690 |
| 25 December | Newport County | A | L | 0–1 | | 7,664 |
| 1 January | Exeter City | H | L | 1–2 | Sinclair | 3,610 |
| 8 January | Gillingham | A | L | 0–1 | | 5,614 |
| 15 January | Stockport County | H | D | 0–0 | | 2,554 |
| 22 January | Northampton Town | A | L | 2–4 | Edwards, Pountney | 3,161 |
| 29 January | Southport | H | D | 1–1 | Clapham | 2,585 |
| 5 February | Grimsby Town | A | L | 0–1 | | 9,431 |
| 12 February | Hartlepool | A | L | 1–2 | Edwards | 2,718 |
| 19 February | Darlington | H | W | 2–1 | Draper, Purdie | 2,053 |
| 26 February | Bury | A | L | 1–3 | Clapham | 3,212 |
| 4 March | Peterborough United | H | D | 1–1 | Clapham | 1,868 |
| 10 March | Southend United | A | L | 2–4 | Kennedy (2) | 8,197 |
| 13 March | Stockport County | A | D | 0–0 | | 2,102 |
| 18 March | Reading | H | W | 2–0 | Cheetham (pen.), Bingham | 2,165 |
| 21 March | Lincoln City | H | W | 2–1 | Kennedy | 2,372 |
| 25 March | Barrow | A | L | 0–2 | | 2,105 |
| 31 March | Brentford | A | D | 1–1 | Clapham | 18,520 |
| 1 April | Newport County | H | W | 3–0 | Sprague (o.g.), Kennedy, Edwards | 2,563 |
| 3 April | Colchester United | H | W | 2–1 | Moore (2) | 3,317 |
| 8 April | Grimsby Town | H | L | 1–2 | Loyden | 2,823 |
| 15 April | Doncaster Rovers | A | D | 0–0 | | 2,370 |
| 19 April | Scunthorpe United | H | D | 0–0 | | 2,347 |
| 22 April | Crewe Alexandra | H | D | 0–0 | | 2,608 |
| 26 April | Aldershot | H | D | 0–0 | | 1,979 |
| 29 April | Lincoln City | A | L | 0–4 | | 3,033 |

## FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| First round | 20 November | Mansfield Town (3) | H | D | 1–1 | McHale | 3,669 |
| First round replay | 22 November | Mansfield Town (3) | A | L | 3–4 | Draper, Kennedy, Loyden | 5,310 |

## League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| First round | 18 August | Tranmere Rovers (3) | A | D | 1–1 | Purdie | 4,434 |
| First round replay | 25 August | Tranmere Rovers (3) | H | L | 1–3 | Tarbuck (pen.) | 5,117 |

## Welsh Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Fifth round | 11 January | Holyhead Town (Welsh League North) | A | D | 0–0 | | |
| Fifth round replay | 19 January | Holyhead Town (Welsh League North) | H | W | 7–2 | Loyden (3, 1pen.), Draper, Bernard Purdie (2), Turner | 1,120 |
| Quarterfinal | 7 February | Rhyl (CCL) | H | L | 1–2 | Draper | 2,000 |

## 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 ||||||||||||
| | Gordon Livsey | 51 | – | 44 | – | 2 | – | 2 | – | 3 | – |
| | John Taylor | 2 | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Field players ||||||||||||
| | Joe Ashworth | 6 | – | 5 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – |
| | John Bingham | 7 | 1 | 7 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| | Graham Birks | 17+2 | – | 15+2 | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – |
| | Ray Carter | 21+5 | – | 18+5 | – | 1 | – | – | – | 2 | – |
| | Roy Cheetham | 38+1 | 2 | 33+1 | 2 | 1 | – | 2 | – | 2 | – |
| | Graham Clapham | 16 | 4 | 16 | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| | Derek Draper | 53 | 7 | 46 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | – | 3 | 2 |
| | Nigel Edwards | 40 | 3 | 35 | 3 | – | – | 2 | – | 3 | – |
| | Graham Futcher | 3+6 | – | 2+4 | – | – | – | 1 | – | 0+2 | – |
| | Neil Griffiths | 36+1 | 1 | 32+1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 | – |
| | Dave Kennedy | 46 | 6 | 39 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | – | 3 | – |
| | Eddie Loyden | 40 | 15 | 34 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 2 | – | 2 | 3 |
| | Kevin McHale | 33+3 | 2 | 29+3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | – |
| | Tony Moore | 10+4 | 3 | 9+4 | 3 | – | – | – | – | 1 | – |
| | Pat Morrissey | 11 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – |
| | Dave Pountney | 53 | 1 | 46 | 1 | 2 | – | 2 | – | 3 | – |
| | Bernard Purdie | 28+7 | 10 | 23+6 | 7 | 1 | – | 2 | 1 | 2+1 | 2 |
| | Roy Sinclair | 6 | 2 | 5 | 2 | – | – | – | – | 1 | – |
| | Bobby Smith | 2 | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| | Alan Tarbuck | 8 | 1 | 6 | – | – | – | 2 | 1 | – | – |
| | Brian Tinnion | 3 | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| | Graham Turner | 53 | 1 | 46 | – | 2 | – | 2 | – | 3 | 1 |
| | Own goals | – | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| | Total | 53 | 61 | 46 | 47 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
