| Club: | Chester City |
| Season: | 1988–89 |
| Manager: | Harry McNally |
| Stadium: | Sealand Road |
| League: | Football League Third Division |
| League Result: | 8th |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Round 2 |
| Cup2: | Football League Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Round 2 |
| Cup3: | Associate Members' Cup |
| Cup3 Result: | Group |
| League Topscorer: | Carl Dale (22) |
| Season Topscorer: | Carl Dale (24) |
| Highest Attendance: | 8,236 vs Wolverhampton Wanderers (25 March) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 1,805 vs Mansfield Town (26 October) |
| Average Attendance: | 3,081 23rd in division[1] |
| Prevseason: | 1987–88 |
| Nextseason: | 1989–90 |
The 1988–89 season was the 51st season of competitive association football in the Football League played by Chester City, an English club based in Chester, Cheshire.
Also, it was the third season spent in the Third Division after the promotion from the Fourth Division in 1986. Alongside competing in the Football League the club also participated in the FA Cup, the Football League Cup and the Associate Members' Cup.
| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 August | Blackpool | H | D | 1–1 | Johnson | 3,496 | |
| 3 September | Port Vale | A | W | 2–1 | Woodthorpe, Johnson | 4,213 | |
| 10 September | Bristol City | H | W | 2–0 | Lightfoot, Dale | 2,823 | |
| 17 September | Sheffield United | A | L | 1–6 | Lightfoot | 8,675 | |
| 20 September | Preston North End | A | D | 3–3 | Dale (2), Johnson | 5,415 | |
| 24 September | Huddersfield Town | H | W | 3–0 | Newhouse, Johnson (pen), Tucker (o.g.) | 3,319 | |
| 1 October | Reading | A | L | 1–3 | Woodthorpe | 4,376 | |
| 5 October | Brentford | H | W | 3–2 | Jakub, Barrow, Dale | 2,004 | |
| 9 October | Notts County | A | D | 2–2 | Benjamin, Barrow | 5,772 | |
| 15 October | Cardiff City | H | D | 0–0 | 2,796 | ||
| 22 October | Bristol Rovers | A | L | 1–4 | Benjamin | 3,811 | |
| 26 October | Mansfield Town | H | D | 0–0 | 1,805 | ||
| 29 October | Aldershot | A | D | 1–1 | Hawtin | 1,862 | |
| 5 November | Swansea City | H | W | 3–1 | Dale (2), Abel | 2,263 | |
| 8 November | Bury | A | L | 1–2 | Newhouse | 2,497 | |
| 12 November | Chesterfield | H | W | 3–1 | Hewitt (o.g.), Dale (2) | 2,099 | |
| 26 November | Southend United | H | L | 2–4 | Johnson (2) | 2,050 | |
| 3 December | Gillingham | A | W | 2–0 | Dale, Johnson | 3,329 | |
| 17 December | Bolton Wanderers | A | W | 1–0 | Dale | 4,318 | |
| 26 December | Wigan Athletic | H | W | 1–0 | Lightfoot | 3,262 | |
| 31 December | Northampton Town | H | W | 2–1 | Dale, Abel | 2,733 | |
| 2 January | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | L | 1–3 | Johnson | 21,901 | |
| 7 January | Fulham | A | L | 1–4 | Lightfoot | 4,196 | |
| 14 January | Port Vale | H | L | 1–2 | Dale | 4,891 | |
| 21 January | Bristol City | A | W | 1–0 | Johnson | 9,586 | |
| 4 February | Reading | H | W | 3–0 | Dale (2), Hinnigan | 2,354 | |
| 11 February | Brentford | A | W | 1–0 | Dale | 5,748 | |
| 18 February | Notts County | H | W | 1–0 | Johnson | 3,157 | |
| 28 February | Mansfield Town | A | L | 0–2 | 2,796 | ||
| 4 March | Bristol Rovers | H | L | 0–2 | 3,082 | ||
| 11 March | Swansea City | A | D | 1–1 | Dale | 4,311 | |
| 15 March | Aldershot | H | D | 1–1 | Dale | 2,038 | |
| 18 March | Blackpool | A | D | 1–1 | O'Keefe | 2,795 | |
| 25 March | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | D | 1–1 | Abel | 8,236 | |
| 27 March | Wigan Athletic | A | L | 0–3 | 3,132 | ||
| 1 April | Bolton Wanderers | H | D | 0–0 | 3,225 | ||
| 5 April | Fulham | H | W | 7–0 | Hinnigan, Woodthorpe, O'Keefe (pen), Graham, Dale (3) | 2,121 | |
| 8 April | Northampton Town | A | W | 2–0 | Lightfoot, O'Keefe (pen) | 2,845 | |
| 15 April | Huddersfield Town | A | L | 1–3 | Painter | 6,109 | |
| 19 April | Sheffield United | H | L | 0–1 | 4,282 | ||
| 22 April | Preston North End | H | L | 0–1 | 4,617 | ||
| 29 April | Chesterfield | A | W | 2–1 | Dale, Lightfoot | 3,529 | |
| 1 May | Bury | H | W | 2–0 | Barrow, Lightfoot | 2,110 | |
| 5 May | Gillingham | H | W | 2–0 | Dale, O'Keefe (pen) | 2,106 | |
| 9 May | Cardiff City | A | L | 0–2 | 3,002 | ||
| 13 May | Southend United | A | L | 0–1 | 4,089 |
See main article: 1988–89 FA Cup.
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round | 19 November | Burnley (4) | A | W | 2–0 | Dale, Benjamin | 8,475 | |
| Second round | 10 December | Huddersfield Town (3) | A | L | 0–1 | 6,295 |
See main article: 1988–89 Football League Cup.
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round first leg | 30 August | Bolton Wanderers (3) | A | L | 0–1 | 3,535 | |
| First round second leg | 7 September | H | W | 3–1 | Lightfoot, Winstanley (o.g.), Barrow | 3,784 | |
| Second round first leg | 28 September | Nottingham Forest (1) | A | L | 0–6 | 11,958 | |
| Second round second leg | 12 October | H | L | 0–4 | 4,747 |
See main article: 1988–89 Associate Members' Cup.
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group stage | 13 December | Sheffield United (3) | A | D | 2–2 | Benjamin, Dale | 2,981 |
| 21 December | Wrexham (4) | H | L | 1–2 | Hinnigan | 3,887 |
| Player | Total | League | FA Cup | League Cup | AM Cup | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | ||||||||||||
| Billy Stewart | 54 | – | 46 | – | 2 | – | 4 | – | 2 | – | ||
| Field players | ||||||||||||
| Graham Abel | 48 | 3 | 40 | 3 | 1 | – | 4 | – | 2 | – | ||
| Graham Barrow | 42 | 4 | 35 | 3 | 2 | – | 3 | 1 | 2 | – | ||
| Ian Benjamin | 24+4 | 4 | 18+4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | – | 2 | 1 | ||
| Gary Bennett | 3+8 | – | 2+5 | – | – | – | 1+3 | – | – | – | ||
| Barry Butler | 39+1 | – | 34+1 | – | 2 | – | 1 | – | 2 | – | ||
| Carl Dale | 43+4 | 24 | 38+3 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 1+1 | – | 2 | 1 | ||
| David Glenn | 24+1 | – | 17+1 | – | 1 | – | 4 | – | 2 | – | ||
| Milton Graham | 20+4 | 1 | 20+4 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Craig Hawtin | 3+1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0+1 | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Joe Hinnigan | 45+1 | 3 | 38+1 | 2 | 2 | – | 3 | – | 2 | 1 | ||
| Joe Jakub | 50 | 1 | 42 | 1 | 2 | – | 4 | – | 2 | – | ||
| Steve Johnson | 43+3 | 10 | 35+3 | 10 | 2 | – | 4 | – | 2 | – | ||
| Tony Kelly | 7 | – | 5 | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | ||
| Martin Lane | 23 | – | 23 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Chris Lightfoot | 36+6 | 8 | 31+5 | 7 | 1 | – | 4 | 1 | 0+1 | – | ||
| Sean Lundon | 5+2 | – | 5+1 | – | – | – | 0+1 | – | – | – | ||
| Aidan Newhouse | 15+15 | 2 | 14+11 | 2 | – | – | 1+3 | – | 0+1 | – | ||
 | Eamonn O'Keefe | 11+3 | 4 | 11+3 | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Robbie Painter | 5+4 | 1 | 5+3 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 0+1 | – | ||
| Colin Woodthorpe | 52 | 3 | 44 | 3 | 2 | – | 4 | – | 2 | – | ||
| Darren Wynne | 0+6 | – | 0+6 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| Own goals | – | 3 | – | 2 | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | ||
| Total | 54 | 72 | 46 | 64 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 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.