| Club: | Chester |
| Season: | 1971–72 |
| Manager: | Ken Roberts |
| Stadium: | Sealand Road |
| League: | Football League Fourth Division |
| League Result: | 20th |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | First round |
| Cup2: | Football League Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | First round |
| Cup3: | Welsh Cup |
| Cup3 Result: | Quarterfinal |
| League Topscorer: | Eddie Loyden (11) |
| Season Topscorer: | Eddie Loyden (15) |
| Highest Attendance: | 4,539 vs York City (14 August) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 1,868 vs Peterborough United (4 March) |
| Average Attendance: | 3,001 19th in division[1] |
| Prevseason: | 1970–71 |
| Nextseason: | 1972–73 |
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.
| 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 |
See main article: 1971–72 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 | A | L | 3–4 | Draper, Kennedy, Loyden | 5,310 |
See main article: 1971–72 Football 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 | H | L | 1–3 | Tarbuck (pen.) | 5,117 |
See main article: 1971–72 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 | 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 |
| Player | Total | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Welsh Cup | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||
Book: Sumner. Chas. 125 Years on the Borderline: The Complete History of Chester City F.C. 1885-2010. 1 November 2011. Yore Publications. 978-0956984821.