| 1978–79 season | |
|---|---|
| Manager | Alan Oakes |
| Stadium | Sealand Road |
| Football League Third Division | 16th |
| FA Cup | Round 2 |
| Football League Cup | Round 3 |
| Welsh Cup | Semifinal |
| Top goalscorer | League: Ian Edwards (20) All: Ian Edwards (25) |
| Highest home attendance | 8,372 vsBradford City (26 December) |
| Lowest home attendance | 2,467 vsTorquay United (21 September) |
| Average home league attendance | 3,850 20th in division[1] |
The1978–79 season was the 41st season of competitiveassociation football inthe Football League played byChester, an English club based inChester,Cheshire.
Also, it was the fourth season spent in theThird Division after the promotion from the Fourth Division in 1975. Alongside competing in the Football League, the club also participated in theFA Cup,Football League Cup and theWelsh Cup.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | 13 | 19 | 14 | 53 | 53 | 0 | 45 |
| 15 | Plymouth Argyle | 46 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 67 | 68 | −1 | 44 |
| 16 | Chester | 46 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 57 | 61 | −4 | 44 |
| 17 | Rotherham United | 46 | 17 | 10 | 19 | 49 | 55 | −6 | 44 |
| 18 | Mansfield Town | 46 | 12 | 19 | 15 | 51 | 52 | −1 | 43 |
| Overall | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
| 46 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 57 | 61 | −4 | 44 | 11 | 9 | 3 | 42 | 21 | +21 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 15 | 40 | −25 |
Source:rsssf.com
| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | W | W | W | L | D | L | L | W | W | D | W | L | D | D | W | L | W | W | D | L | L | L | D | L | L | D | D | D | D | W | W | L | L | L | L | W | D | D | W | D | D | W | D | D | L | L |
| Position | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 14 |
| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 August | Southend United | A | W | 1–0 | Edwards | 4,223 |
| 23 August | Walsall | H | W | 2–1 | Phillips,Mellor (pen) | 4,257 |
| 26 August | Exeter City | H | W | 3–0 | Mellor (pen),Edwards (2) | 3,431 |
| 2 September | Hull City | A | L | 0–3 | 5,325 | |
| 8 September | Peterborough United | H | D | 1–1 | Edwards | 4,506 |
| 12 September | Colchester United | A | L | 1–2 | Phillips | 2,311 |
| 16 September | Gillingham | A | L | 0–1 | 4,743 | |
| 23 September | Swansea City | H | W | 2–0 | Mellor,Edwards | 8,583 |
| 27 September | Swindon Town | H | W | 2–0 | Delgado,Oakes | 3,311 |
| 30 September | Bury | A | D | 1–1 | Edwards | 4,056 |
| 7 October | Watford | H | W | 2–1 | Edwards,Phillips | 6,468 |
| 13 October | Tranmere Rovers | A | L | 2–6 | Edwards,Mellor | 5,587 |
| 18 October | Plymouth Argyle | H | D | 0–0 | 3,921 | |
| 21 October | Oxford United | A | D | 0–0 | 3,908 | |
| 28 October | Brentford | H | W | 3–1 | Edwards (3) | 4,301 |
| 4 November | Chesterfield | A | L | 1–3 | Raynor | 5,015 |
| 11 November | Hull City | H | W | 2–1 | Edwards (2) | 4,249 |
| 18 November | Exeter City | A | W | 1–0 | Mellor | 3,985 |
| 9 December | Sheffield Wednesday | A | D | 0–0 | 8,872 | |
| 23 December | Blackpool | A | L | 0–3 | 4,106 | |
| 26 December | Carlisle United | H | L | 1–2 | Walker | 4,690 |
| 13 January | Peterborough United | A | L | 1–2 | Edwards | 4,445 |
| 17 January | Colchester United | H | D | 2–2 | Henderson,Phillips | 2,339 |
| 30 January | Shrewsbury Town | A | L | 0–1 | 6,693 | |
| 3 February | Swindon Town | A | L | 0–2 | 6,036 | |
| 10 February | Bury | H | D | 1–1 | Henderson | 3,160 |
| 21 February | Gillingham | H | D | 1–1 | Jeffries | 2,421 |
| 24 February | Tranmere Rovers | H | D | 1–1 | Raynor (pen) | 4,375 |
| 27 February | Swansea City | A | D | 2–2 | Henderson,Raynor (pen) | 7,983 |
| 3 March | Oxford United | H | W | 4–1 | Oakes,Jones,Phillips,Edwards | 2,476 |
| 7 March | Lincoln City | H | W | 5–1 | Henderson (3),Edwards,Phillips | 2,585 |
| 10 March | Brentford | A | L | 0–6 | 6,420 | |
| 14 March | Rotherham United | H | L | 0–1 | 2,473 | |
| 21 March | Southend United | H | L | 0–1 | 2,108 | |
| 24 March | Walsall | A | L | 1–2 | Oakes | 2,795 |
| 28 March | Chesterfield | H | W | 3–0 | Jones,Livermore,Phillips | 1,804 |
| 31 March | Mansfield Town | H | D | 1–1 | Edwards | 2,205 |
| 7 April | Lincoln City | A | D | 0–0 | 3,489 | |
| 13 April | Blackpool | H | W | 4–2 | Oakes,Phillips (pen),Henderson,Edwards | 4,439 |
| 14 April | Carlisle United | A | D | 1–1 | Phillips | 5,309 |
| 16 April | Shrewsbury Town | H | D | 0–0 | 6,249 | |
| 21 April | Rotherham United | A | W | 1–0 | Edwards | 2,893 |
| 24 April | Plymouth Argyle | A | D | 2–2 | Raynor,Edwards | 4,686 |
| 28 April | Sheffield Wednesday | H | D | 2–2 | Mellor,Phillips | 4,200 |
| 2 May | Watford | A | L | 0–1 | 12,167 | |
| 5 May | Mansfield Town | A | L | 0–2 | 4,173 |
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round | 25 November | Runcorn(NPL) | H | D | 1–1 | Phillips | 5,421 |
| First round replay | 28 November | A | W | 5–0 | Mellor (2),Jones,Phillips,Howat | 4,441 | |
| Second round | 16 December | Darlington(4) | A | L | 1–2 | Mellor | 2,491 |
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round first leg | 12 August | Port Vale(4) | A | W | 3–0 | Edwards (2),Phillips | 2,805 |
| First round second leg | 16 August | H | D | 1–1 | Livermore (pen) | 3,741 | |
| Second round | 30 August | Coventry City(1) | H | W | 2–1 | Edwards,Mellor | 8,598 |
| Third round | 4 October | Norwich City(1) | H | L | 0–2 | 8,749 |
| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score | Scorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fourth round | 10 January | Bangor City(NPL) | H | D | 0–0 | 1,100 | |
| Fourth round replay | 23 January | A | W | 1–0 | Edwards | ||
| Fifth round | 14 February | Oswestry Town(SFL) | H | W | 4–3 | Felix,Edwards,Phillips, Leggett (o.g.) | 438 |
| Semifinal | 4 April | Wrexham(2) | H | L | 0–1 | 7,275 |
| Nat | Player | Total | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Welsh Cup | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | G | A | G | A | G | A | G | A | G | ||
| Goalkeepers | |||||||||||
 | Brian Lloyd | 52 | – | 41 | – | 3 | – | 4 | – | 4 | – |
| Grenville Millington | 5 | – | 5 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Field players | |||||||||||
 | David Burns | 8+2 | – | 7+2 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – |
| Bob Delgado | 21 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 2 | – | 4 | – | – | – |
| Ian Edwards | 47 | 25 | 39 | 20 | – | – | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| Gary Felix | 9 | 1 | 8 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 |
| Peter Henderson | 27 | 7 | 25 | 7 | – | – | – | – | 2 | – |
| Ian Howat | 9 | 1 | 5 | – | 3 | 1 | – | – | 1 | – |
| Derek Jeffries | 50 | 1 | 40 | 1 | 3 | – | 4 | – | 3 | – |
| Brynley Jones | 31+4 | 3 | 26+3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0+1 | – | 3 | – |
| Doug Livermore | 49 | 2 | 39 | 1 | 3 | – | 4 | 1 | 3 | – |
| Ian Mellor | 28+3 | 10 | 21+2 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0+1 | – |
| Mark Nickeas | 41+1 | – | 33+1 | – | 3 | – | 1 | – | 4 | – |
| Alan Oakes | 45 | 4 | 37 | 4 | 2 | – | 4 | – | 2 | – |
| Ronnie Phillips | 50+1 | 14 | 40 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 3+1 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Paul Raynor | 45+1 | 4 | 36+1 | 4 | 3 | – | 4 | – | 2 | – |
| Ian Rush | 1 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Trevor Storton | 57 | – | 46 | – | 3 | – | 4 | – | 4 | – |
| Peter Sutcliffe | 14+3 | – | 11+3 | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | – |
 | Jim Walker | 38+3 | – | 31+1 | 1 | 0+2 | – | 4 | – | 3 | – |
| Own goals | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | |
| Total | 57 | 75 | 46 | 57 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 5 | |
Sumner, Chas (1 November 2011).125 Years on the Borderline: The Complete History of Chester City F.C. 1885-2010. Yore Publications.ISBN 978-0956984821.