2013/14 squad and where they are now

Chesterfield FC’s 2013/14 league 2 winning squad and where they are now.

The 2013/14 campaign was Paul Cook’s first full season in charge. The club won the title on the final day against Fleetwood with goals from Gary Roberts and Sam Hird in a 2-1 victory. During this campaign the club reached the second round of the FA cup and the 1st round of the league cup. They also got to Wembley for the second time eventually coming runners up of the EFL trophy against Peterborough.

The statistics used in this article are taken across all competitions including the league, league cup, FA cup, and EFL trophy.

Tommy Lee- 55 appearances overall. Tommy would go on to make over 300 league appearances for the club between 2008 and 2017 until he was forced to retire due to on going injury issues. He is now head of Goalkeeping Coach at Sheffield Wednesday.


Tendayi Darikwa- 50 appearances along with 5 goals. Left the club in 2015 for Burnley and is now at Nottingham Forest. Darikwa has since gone to to represent his country, Zimbabwe.


Eoin Doyle- 51 appearances in which he scored 13 goals making him the clubs top goal scorer for that season across all competitions. He is currently on loan at Swindon from Bradford and in fantastic form; his best since leaving the Proact. Doyle left the club in 2015 for Cardiff.


Liam Cooper- 48 appearances and 3 goals during the season. Cooper left in 2014 for Leeds following the title win where he is still at to this day. He was included in the 2018/19 EFL team of the season and he has also gone on to make 2 appearances for Scotland.

Ian Evatt- The skipper in that famous title winning campaign Evatt made 43 appearances, scoring 2 goals. After 534 professional games Evatt ventured into management. First being caretaker manger of Chesterfield following Jack Lester’s departure during the league 2 relegation season however, Evatt wasn’t offered the job permanently and so joined Barrow. He recently put pen to paper on a new contract at Barrow following interest from Fylde.


Sam Hird- Evatt’s partner at the heart of the defence made 44 appearances, scoring 2 goals. Hird was with the Spireites from 2012 to 2018 making 237 appearances in the process. Hird was released after relegation to the National League and after a brief stint at Alfreton he has now rejoined with Evatt at Barrow.


Sam Morsy- 39 appearances and 2 goals in total in that season. Morsy left in 2016 after joining in 2013 for Wigan Athletic and met up with Ex manager Paul Cook. Paul Cook said back in 2013 following the signing of Morsy, “we moved Heaven and Earth to get him”. Morsy was awarded the clubs player of the year in 2013/14.

Jay O’Shea- 47 appearances and a crucial 9 goals during the season. O’Shea joined in 2013 from MK Dons after a loan spell in 2012. He left the club in 2017 on loan to Sheffield United during their league one title winning campaign and then Bury permanently at the end of the season. He is now in Australia playing for Brisbane Roar under the management of Robbie Fowler.


Gary Roberts- That seasons league 2 player of the year made 47 appearances scoring 12 goals after joining in 2013. He left in 2015 after making 74 appearances for Town and then joined Paul Cook at Portsmouth and Wigan where he is now at the age of 35.


Jimmy Ryan- The second man in the marvellous partnership of Morsy and Ryan, Ryan made 48 appearances and scored 4 goals following his arrival from Scunthorpe who Town would eventually edge for the Title. In 2015 Ryan left for Fleetwood and would also go on to represent Blackpool but now features for Rochdale.


Marc Richards- Richards scored 8 goals in 46 appearances for the Town that season subsequent to his arrival from Port Vale. He would quickly move on in 2014 to Northampton after rejecting a new contract offer and decided to join up with Chris Wilder instead. At 37 Richards recently signed a short term deal at Cambridge.


Ollie Banks- 33 appearances and 9 goals during that campaign. Concluding his transfer from FC United Of Manchester in 2013, Banks would spend 3 years at the Proact and left in 2016 on loan at Northampton and Oldham permanently. Banks now plays for Tranmere in league 1.


Ritchie Humphreys- Mr versatile played 49 games across the campaign and chipped in with 2 goals. He played in blue from 2013 to 2017. He played 4 games for Sheffield FC before hanging up his boots in 2017. He rejected a coaching job at Chesterfield and went on to be chairman of the professional footballers association.


Drew Talbot- 31 appearances for Talbot that season and was a useful asset across all competitions. He had a stint away from Town but would eventually return however, he was forced to retire because of continuous injuries. Drew is a modern day Town legend and won 2 league 2 titles at the club and a Wembley EFL trophy win.


Armand Gnanduillet- The man mountain made 39 appearances and contributed with 6 goals in only 10 starts in the league that season. Armand joined from French side Poissy in 2013, he had 3 loan spells away from the club before leaving permanently for Leyton Orient. He has since signed for Blackpool but did spend a couple of months at South African side Baroka before rejoining Blackpool.


Dan Gardner- Didn’t have a massive part to play that season but his 3 goals in 17 games definitely helped after joining in January. He had loan spells at Tranmere and Bury until John Sheridan brought him to Oldham in 2017.


Nathan Smith- He made 15 appearances that season and it would be his final season at the club before resigning with Yeovil. He spent last season at Dagenham and Redbridge but is currently without a club. Smith did receive player of the year in 2012/13 campaign consequent to his performances in defence.


Gary McSheffrey- McSheffrey joined on a 1 year deal from Coventry and went on to make 12 appearances and scored 2 goals in only 2 league starts. He left at the end of the season for Scunthorpe. He most recently played for Frickley Athletic and Grimsby in 2018. He is now part of the coaching staff at the Doncaster academy.


Daniel Kearns- Arrived on loan in January and made 10 appearances before returning to Peterborough. He has been at Linfield since 2018.

Sam Togwell- Only 10 appearances that season, mainly in the cup. He was at town for 2 years and left ensuing the title win in 2014. He left for Barnet but is now playing for Slough Town.


Jamie Devitt- 8 appearances in his only season at the Proact. He was signed from Hull but was booted out the door to Morecambe. He is currently contracted to Blackpool but is on loan at Bradford City.


Ryan Edwards- Edwards made 7 appearances during his 6 month loan from Blackburn. The central defender is now at Blackpool.

Mason Bennet- 6 appearances for Chesterfield on loan from Derby. He spent some of 2018 on loan at Notts County but is still with Derby.


Callum McFadzean- Made 5 appearances on loan from Sheffield United. He had a short spell at Alfreton but has recently signed for Plymouth following Bury’s extinction.


Matthew Brown- He scored 1 goal from 3 appearances after his arrival from Marine. He had two unsuccessful loan spells at Southport and Chester and now applies his trade at Halifax.


Chris Porter- Porter played 4 games on loan from Sheffield United in 2013. He has been at Crewe Alexandra since 2017.


6 players were part of the squad but didn’t make an appearance:

Jack Broadhead-Grantham Town
Jacob Hazel-Frickley Athletic
Aaron Chapman-Peterborough United
Cameron Mason-unknown
Ian Dunbavin-Liverpool academy coach
Jake Beesley-Solihull Moors on loan from Salford


A lot of memories associated with these players as we take a look at the good times which seem so far away. Majority of the players have succeeded since their departures and have stayed at football league level whilst some have joined Chesterfield at National League level. There’s no surprise that non of the players are still at the club despite it only being 5 years ago. So many greats fill this list but who would you most like to see return?