| Club: | Chester |
| Season: | 1972–73 |
| Manager: | Ken Roberts |
| Stadium: | Sealand Road |
| League: | Football League Fourth Division |
| League Result: | 15th |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | First round |
| Cup2: | Football League Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Second round |
| Cup3: | Welsh Cup |
| Cup3 Result: | Semifinal |
| League Topscorer: | Derek Draper (13) |
| Season Topscorer: | Derek Draper (17) |
| Highest Attendance: | 4,564 vs Southport (26 September) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 1,264 vs Reading (7 March) |
| Average Attendance: | 2,796 19th in division[1] |
| Pattern La1: | _white_stripes |
| Pattern B1: | _bluestripes |
| Pattern Ra1: | _white_stripes |
| Pattern So1: | _redtop_2whitestripes |
| Leftarm1: | 0000ff |
| Body1: | ffffff |
| Rightarm1: | 0000ff |
| Shorts1: | ffffff |
| Socks1: | 0000ff |
| Prevseason: | 1971–72 |
| Nextseason: | 1973–74 |
The 1972–73 season was the 35th season of competitive association football in the Football League played by Chester, an English club based in Chester, Cheshire.
Also, it was the 15th 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 August | Bury | H | W | 2–0 | Draper, Purdie | 3,444 | |
| 19 August | Newport County | A | L | 2–3 | Draper, Relish | 3,342 | |
| 26 August | Peterborough United | H | W | 8–2 | Purdie, Wallace (2, 1pen.), Draper, Owen, Hollis (3) | 3,162 | |
| 30 August | Colchester United | H | W | 4–0 | Wallace (2pens.), Hollis, Owen | 4,304 | |
| 1 September | Northampton Town | A | L | 0–1 | 4,766 | ||
| 9 September | Aldershot | H | D | 0–0 | 3,846 | ||
| 16 September | Darlington | A | D | 1–1 | Owen | 1,401 | |
| 23 September | Crewe Alexandra | H | W | 2–1 | Wallace (pen.), Purdie | 3,834 | |
| 26 September | Southport | H | D | 0–0 | 4,564 | ||
| 30 September | Barnsley | A | D | 0–0 | 2,784 | ||
| 4 October | Bradford City | A | W | 1–0 | Hollis | 2,283 | |
| 7 October | Workington | A | L | 1–3 | Draper | 1,379 | |
| 11 October | Hartlepool | H | W | 2–0 | Wallace (pen.), Purdie | 3,254 | |
| 14 October | Lincoln City | H | W | 2–1 | Hollis, Draper | 3,616 | |
| 21 October | Mansfield Town | A | L | 1–4 | Griffiths | 5,787 | |
| 24 October | Doncaster Rovers | A | D | 0–0 | 2,240 | ||
| 28 October | Cambridge United | H | D | 1–1 | Turner | 3,412 | |
| 3 November | Southport | A | L | 2–3 | Draper, Purdie | 3,662 | |
| 11 November | Bradford City | H | D | 1–1 | Draper | 2,710 | |
| 25 November | Torquay United | A | W | 2–1 | Owen, Draper | 2,511 | |
| 1 December | Stockport County | H | W | 2–0 | Kennedy, Draper | 3,196 | |
| 9 December | Gillingham | A | L | 0–1 | 3,162 | ||
| 23 December | Exeter City | H | L | 0–1 | 2,560 | ||
| 26 December | Crewe Alexandra | A | D | 1–1 | Davies | 3,204 | |
| 30 December | Newport County | H | L | 0–2 | 2,844 | ||
| 6 January | Peterborough United | A | D | 2–2 | Davies, Kennedy | 3,821 | |
| 17 January | Hereford United | A | L | 1–3 | Clapham | 8,795 | |
| 27 January | Aldershot | A | D | 1–1 | Purdie | 3,581 | |
| 3 February | Hartlepool | A | D | 0–0 | 2,826 | ||
| 10 February | Darlington | H | W | 5–0 | Davies, Griffiths, James, Hollis, Purdie | 1,873 | |
| 17 February | Bury | A | D | 1–1 | James | 3,461 | |
| 20 February | Doncaster Rovers | H | L | 1–2 | Hollis | 2,561 | |
| 24 February | Hereford United | H | L | 0–1 | 4,264 | ||
| 3 March | Workington | H | L | 1–3 | Walker (o.g.) | 1,611 | |
| 7 March | Reading | H | W | 2–0 | Wallace (pen.), James | 1,264 | |
| 10 March | Lincoln City | A | L | 0–1 | 3,591 | ||
| 17 March | Mansfield Town | H | D | 2–2 | Draper (2) | 1,964 | |
| 24 March | Cambridge United | A | L | 0–1 | 3,935 | ||
| 28 March | Northampton Town | H | W | 3–0 | James, Draper (2) | 1,336 | |
| 31 March | Torquay United | H | L | 1–2 | Kennedy | 1,268 | |
| 6 April | Stockport County | A | L | 1–2 | Wallace (pen.) | 2,638 | |
| 14 April | Gillingham | H | W | 1–0 | Davies | 1,286 | |
| 20 April | Barnsley | H | D | 0–0 | 2,136 | ||
| 21 April | Reading | A | L | 1–2 | Wallace (pen.) | 4,478 | |
| 23 April | Exeter City | A | D | 0–0 | 3,863 | ||
| 27 April | Colchester United | A | W | 3–2 | James (2), Davies | 2,689 |
See main article: 1972–73 FA Cup.
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round | 18 November | Bolton Wanderers (3) | A | D | 1–1 | Hollis | 9,620 |
| First round replay | 22 November | H | L | 0–1 | 7,611 |
See main article: 1972–73 Football League Cup.
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round | 16 August | Shrewsbury Town (3) | H | W | 4–3 | Hollis, Wallace, Draper (2) | 3,521 |
| Second round | 5 September | Southampton (1) | A | D | 0–0 | 10,236 | |
| Second round replay | 13 September | H | D | 2–2 | Hollis, Draper | 8,308 | |
| Second round second replay | 20 September | N | L | 0–2 | 2,417 |
See main article: 1972–73 Welsh Cup.
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fourth round | 13 January | Wrexham (3) | A | W | 1–0 | Wallace (pen.) | 3,588 | |
| Quarterfinal | 15 February | Welshpool (Mid Wales League) | A | D | 1–1 | Davies | ||
| Quarterfinal replay | 28 February | H | W | 1–0 | Draper | 1,755 | ||
| Semifinal | 21 March | Cardiff City (2) | H | L | 0–1 | 2,158 |
| Player | Total | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Welsh Cup | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | ||||||||||||
| Jim Eadie | 8 | – | 6 | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | ||
| John Taylor | 48 | – | 40 | – | 2 | – | 2 | – | 4 | – | ||
| Field players | ||||||||||||
| Ray Carter | 17 | – | 14 | – | – | – | 1 | – | 2 | – | ||
| Graham Clapham | 23+5 | 1 | 21+4 | 1 | – | – | 1+1 | – | 1 | – | ||
| Geoff Davies | 21+11 | 6 | 16+11 | 5 | 1 | – | 1 | – | 3 | 1 | ||
| Derek Draper | 47 | 17 | 38 | 13 | 2 | – | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | ||
| Nigel Edwards | 50 | – | 42 | – | 2 | – | 3 | – | 3 | – | ||
| Graham Futcher | 3+1 | – | 3+1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Paul Futcher | 2 | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Neil Griffiths | 48 | 2 | 40 | 2 | 2 | – | 2 | – | 4 | – | ||
| Mick Hollis | 43+3 | 11 | 34+3 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | – | ||
| John James | 16 | 6 | 15 | 6 | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | ||
| Dave Kennedy | 41+3 | 3 | 32+3 | 3 | 2 | – | 3 | – | 4 | – | ||
| Reg Matthewson | 22 | – | 19 | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | – | ||
| Terry Owen | 43 | 4 | 35 | 4 | 2 | – | 3 | – | 3 | – | ||
| Gary Potter | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | ||
| Dave Pountney | 53 | – | 44 | – | 2 | – | 4 | – | 3 | – | ||
| Bernard Purdie | 37+4 | 7 | 31+3 | 7 | 1+1 | – | 4 | – | 1 | – | ||
| John Relish | 12 | 1 | 8 | 1 | – | – | 3 | – | 1 | – | ||
| Graham Turner | 31 | 1 | 25 | 1 | 2 | – | 4 | – | – | – | ||
| Bob Wallace | 50 | 11 | 41 | 9 | 2 | – | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | ||
| Own goals | – | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Total | 56 | 71 | 46 | 61 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 3 | ||
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.