Thanks for the divine intervention from the reverend Steve Chettle will be the new manager of Ilkeston Town. Steve was a very popular figure at the New Manor Ground during a brief playing spell and a longer spell as a coach and assistant to Kevin Wilson. He made his name as a solid figure in defence for  Nottingham Forest under the tutelage of the legendary Brian Clough. He had brief spells at Barnsley and Burton Albion before joining Ilkeston Town. His deputy is Ian Deakin who will best known to Ilkeston fans for his time as Eastwoods custodian. Last season he was in charge at Kimberley Miners Welfare and will have contacts at the level Ilkeston are now playing at.  Ian was to say the least an interesting player on the field and is likely to be popular with Ilkeston fans who like staff with character!

Good news indeed,it will be interesting to see how certain people who were massive Chettle fans react to this news due to the fact that they will only support a CFC
Their choice

Alan Hardy certainly pulled a rabbit out of the hat with the appointment of Steve Chettle as manager. No one saw that coming and suddenly the vast majority of supporters are excited by the prospect of a new beginning for Ilkeston Town FC at the New Manor Ground. In my opinion Steve Chettle would not have been persuaded to take a league drop from the Conference North to Level Six unless he could see something really good happening at Ilkeston and the prospect of a strong promotion drive back to Northern Premier League level. Alan Hardy had obviously been very busy getting everything in order behind the scenes and whilst we still await more information there appear to be grounds for much optimism. 

Steve Chettle has started assembling his team. The club website will announce the signings so far when it is up and running some time after the weekend. Some decent players will be competing for places in the new Ilkeston Town team.  Supporters first chance to see the players will be on Wednesday evening in an away game against Underwood Villa. One of the exciting new signings is a star player of local rivals. The Ilkeston manager is hoping for a big turnout by Ilkeston supporters. He is well aware that the club has very little time before the first league game on 5th August. 

Last edited by Matchman (22/7/2017 5:55 PM)