| Club: | Chester |
| Season: | 1973–74 |
| Manager: | Ken Roberts |
| Stadium: | Sealand Road |
| League: | Football League Fourth Division |
| League Result: | 7th |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Third round |
| Cup2: | Football League Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | First round |
| Cup3: | Welsh Cup |
| Cup3 Result: | Quarterfinal |
| League Topscorer: | John James (21) |
| Season Topscorer: | John James (24) |
| Highest Attendance: | 6,075 vs Bury (24 February) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 1,550 vs Torquay United (8 December) |
| Average Attendance: | 2,538 19th in division[1] |
| Prevseason: | 1972–73 |
| Nextseason: | 1974–75 |
The 1973–74 season was the 36th season of competitive association football in the Football League played by Chester, an English club based in Chester, Cheshire.
Also, it was the 16th 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 August | Swansea City | A | L | 0–2 | 2,500 | ||
| 31 August | Hartlepool | H | W | 3–1 | James (2), Whitehead | 2,193 | |
| 8 September | Newport County | A | W | 2–0 | James, Whitehead | 3,660 | |
| 12 September | Workington | H | W | 1–0 | Draper | 3,071 | |
| 15 September | Exeter City | H | L | 0–1 | 2,884 | ||
| 17 September | Mansfield Town | A | L | 0–3 | 3,936 | ||
| 22 September | Darlington | A | W | 2–1 | James (2) | 1,818 | |
| 29 September | Lincoln City | H | L | 2–3 | Owen, Griffiths | 2,762 | |
| 3 October | Mansfield Town | H | D | 1–1 | James | 2,547 | |
| 6 October | Bury | A | L | 1–3 | Griffiths | 5,519 | |
| 13 October | Doncaster Rovers | H | W | 3–0 | Redfern, Draper, James | 2,006 | |
| 20 October | Gillingham | H | L | 2–4 | Redfern, Seddon | 2,055 | |
| 24 October | Workington | A | D | 1–1 | James | 862 | |
| 27 October | Bradford City | A | D | 1–1 | Draper | 3,361 | |
| 3 November | Rotherham United | H | W | 1–0 | Mason | 2,385 | |
| 10 November | Scunthorpe United | A | L | 1–2 | James | 2,164 | |
| 14 November | Colchester United | H | L | 0–4 | 1,973 | ||
| 17 November | Brentford | A | L | 0–3 | 5,167 | ||
| 8 December | Torquay United | H | D | 1–1 | James | 1,550 | |
| 22 December | Lincoln City | A | D | 2–2 | Owen, Loska | 3,142 | |
| 26 December | Crewe Alexandra | H | W | 1–0 | James | 3,339 | |
| 29 December | Newport County | H | W | 3–0 | Owen (2), James | 2,621 | |
| 1 January | Hartlepool | A | D | 0–0 | 3,050 | ||
| 12 January | Exeter City | A | L | 1–2 | Draper | 5,047 | |
| 19 January | Swansea City | H | W | 1–0 | James (pen.) | 2,407 | |
| 27 January | Barnsley | A | D | 1–1 | Murphy (o.g.) | 8,294 | |
| 2 February | Peterborough United | A | D | 0–0 | 7,683 | ||
| 10 February | Darlington | H | W | 1–0 | Owen | 3,172 | |
| 17 February | Doncaster Rovers | A | W | 2–1 | Seddon, Draper | 2,478 | |
| 24 February | Bury | H | D | 1–1 | James | 6,075 | |
| 3 March | Crewe Alexandra | A | L | 0–1 | 3,251 | ||
| 10 March | Bradford City | H | W | 1–0 | Seddon | 2,534 | |
| 17 March | Gillingham | A | L | 0–1 | 7,541 | ||
| 20 March | Peterborough United | H | W | 2–1 | Redfern, Seddon | 1,678 | |
| 23 March | Scunthorpe United | H | W | 2–0 | Owen, Mason | 2,038 | |
| 26 March | Northampton Town | A | D | 3–3 | Tucker (o.g.), Whitehead, Redfern | 5,969 | |
| 30 March | Rotherham United | A | L | 2–3 | Owen, James | 1,945 | |
| 3 April | Barnsley | H | W | 3–1 | James (2), Loska | 2,001 | |
| 5 April | Colchester United | A | D | 1–1 | Owen | 6,371 | |
| 13 April | Brentford | H | D | 0–0 | 2,643 | ||
| 15 April | Stockport County | A | W | 1–0 | Mason | 2,111 | |
| 16 April | Stockport County | H | W | 2–1 | James (2) | 2,438 | |
| 20 April | Torquay United | A | D | 2–2 | James (2, 1pen.) | 2,718 | |
| 22 April | Reading | A | L | 0–3 | 3,121 | ||
| 27 April | Reading | H | D | 0–0 | 2,076 | ||
| 1 May | Northampton Town | H | D | 0–0 | 1,800 |
See main article: 1973–74 FA Cup.
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round | 24 November | Telford United (SFL) | H | W | 1–0 | Grummett | 2,729 | |
| Second round | 15 December | Huddersfield Town (3) | H | W | 3–2 | Owen, James, Draper | 3,298 | |
| Third round | 5 January | Aston Villa (2) | A | L | 1–3 | James | 16,545 |
See main article: 1973–74 Football League Cup.
See main article: 1973–74 Welsh Cup.
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fourth round | 23 January | Welshpool (Mid Wales League) | H | W | 2–1 | Redfern, James | 679 | |
| Quarterfinal | 6 February | Wrexham (3) | A | L | 0–1 | 6,904 |
| Player | Total | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Welsh Cup | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | ||||||||||||
| Grenville Millington | 28 | – | 23 | – | 3 | – | – | – | 2 | – | ||
| John Taylor | 24 | – | 23 | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | ||
| Field players | ||||||||||||
| Ray Carter | 26+1 | – | 24+1 | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Geoff Davies | 2+3 | – | 2+3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Derek Draper | 47 | 6 | 43 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | ||
| Chris Dunleavy | 41 | – | 36 | – | 3 | – | – | – | 2 | – | ||
| Nigel Edwards | 36+2 | – | 31+2 | – | 3 | – | 1 | – | 1 | – | ||
| Paul Futcher | 20+1 | – | 18 | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1+1 | – | ||
| Ron Futcher | 6 | – | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | ||
| Neil Griffiths | 17 | 2 | 16 | 2 | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | ||
| Jim Grummett | 17+1 | 1 | 15+1 | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | ||
| Stan Horne | 19+1 | – | 17+1 | – | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | – | ||
| John James | 46 | 24 | 41 | 21 | 3 | 2 | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | ||
| Dave Kennedy | 2 | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | ||
| Tony Loska | 19+6 | 2 | 17+6 | 2 | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | ||
| Stuart Mason | 46+1 | 3 | 40+1 | 3 | 3 | – | 1 | – | 2 | – | ||
| Reg Matthewson | 19+1 | – | 16+1 | – | 2 | – | – | – | 1 | – | ||
| Terry Owen | 29+2 | 9 | 27+2 | 8 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | – | ||
| Gary Potter | 10 | – | 10 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Jimmy Redfern | 45 | 5 | 39 | 4 | 3 | – | 1 | – | 2 | 1 | ||
| John Relish | 4+1 | – | 2+1 | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | ||
| Ian Seddon | 28+6 | 4 | 26+5 | 4 | 0+1 | – | – | – | 2 | – | ||
| Norman Whitehead | 41+5 | 3 | 35+5 | 3 | 3 | – | 1 | – | 2 | – | ||
| Own goals | – | 2 | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Total | 52 | 61 | 46 | 54 | 3 | 5 | 1 | – | 2 | 2 | ||
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.