Our summer study of the teams joining us in the National League continues and today we turn our focus to another promoted outfit.
Formed: 1883
Nickname: The Magpies
Who’s in charge?
Jamie Vermiglio has an association with Chorley which stretches back more than a decade and his exploits as Manager have only served to underline his hero status among Magpies supporters.
A former midfielder, Vermiglio made over 200 appearances for the club over three spells and, since retiring in 2014, was offered the opportunity to be part of the backroom staff.
He served as a coach before stepping up to Assistant Manager a year later and was then finally appointed to the top job in the summer of 2018 following Matt Jansen’s resignation.
A Head Teacher in a local school, Vermiglio’s first season in charge has been full of drama but his name is now etched in the history books as the first man to lead Chorley in to the National League.
How did they get here?
Chorley got off to an incredible start during 2018/19 and led the way in the first couple of months on the back of a run of nine wins from their first ten games.
It was more of a struggle as September turned in to October but The Magpies still kept pace at the top and a brilliant 4-0 win at Kidderminster Harriers helped kick-start their league form in the run-up to Christmas.
Stockport County emerged as their main contenders for the title and when Chorley got the better of them in a huge clash on Easter Saturday it looked as though the Lancashire outfit were on course for silverware.
However, a 1-0 reverse at Spennymoor Town two days later gave The Hatters a chance to reclaim top spot and despite victory over Bradford (Park Avenue) on the final day, Chorley were consigned to a place in the play-offs.
They did it the hard way in the play-offs too, seeing off Altrincham on penalties in the semi-finals before also needing spot-kicks to get revenge on Spennymoor at the end of a tense Promotion Final at Victory Park.
When did we last meet?
There has only been one competitive meeting between the sides and it came in the First Round of the FA Cup in the 1987/88 campaign.
John Bird’s Pools were drawn away at Chorley and came through the tie unscathed, thanks to goals from Dean Gibb and Paul Baker at Victory Park.
When do we play them?
The fixtures for the new National League campaign are not expected to be released until early July.
Where do they play?
Victory Park has been home to Chorley since 1920 and currently boasts a capacity of 4,300, including just under 1,000 seats.
Higgy’s View
“I’ve seen Chorley play a couple of times last season when I was out and about watching games, and I was impressed by them. They’re a good side who work hard for each other and I have no doubt they will be able to hold their own physically at this level. They have been knocking on the door of the National League for a couple of seasons and now got themselves promoted and I expect them to be a real handful. It won’t be an easy place to go because they will want to show how good they are, they have some talented players and I would expect them to hang on to them too.”