An embezzlement scandal brought Chorley FC to the brink of financial collapse. The local community rescued the club from financial ruin, and later they were FA Cup heroes.
When Chorley were 2-0 down at Wigan Athletic after just 34 minutes of their FA Cup first-round game back in November of 2020, not person was particularly shocked.
A side that’s part-time, their players train only two nights each week on Thursdays and Tuesdays and manage the soccer career around their full-time work, Chorley are a quintessential non-league side. Their home pitch Victory Park has just 975 seats, with a maximum capacity of 4,300.
Chorley are in the sixth category that is English soccer, also called the National League North. They’ve never been over the fifth tier in their history. Their annual budget covers the salaries for all their coaches and players, and also the upkeep of their stadium. “When I first came to Chorley in 2003, playing the likes of Wigan and Bolton Wanderers was a pipe dream,” Chorley manager Jamie Vermiglio told FanSided.
The Wigan’s DW Stadium, where the game was held is a 25,133-seat all-seater stadium. In 2013, Wigan had also been crowned in the FA Cup, beating none other than Manchester City in the final. Although they’d been knocked out at least a couple of times since, Wigan were still in the third division within the English soccer league system. Although the fields of both clubs are located nine miles, in the northwest region of Lancashire This was the first game between the two teams since 1978.
In the 41st minute of the game, an incident took place that would result in the most exciting moment in Chorley’s 138-year history. The Wigan’s Adam Long was shown a straight red card for a took down Chorley player Harry Cardwell.
Wigan were down to 10 players with just 49 minutes remaining to play. After three minutes of the second period, Elliott Newby reduced Chorley’s score to just one goal. Cardwell scored a goal at the end of the 60th. In the 62nd minute, Connor Hall grabbed the winner in extra time, and he did so in front of an vacant DW Stadium, as COVID-19 restrictions kept fans from the stadium.
Chorley were going to their FA Cup second round for only the third time in their history.
“For most clubs, last season was a write-off,” says Vermiglio. “For us, it’s going to be remembered as being one of our most successful seasons we have had in our history. The ripple effect was created is something that hasn’t not been felt by me or to the other players with our club.”
“We’re a local team in the local area, with locals running it. The publicity and money result from it’s FA Cup run, some people aren’t aware of the scale. It’s an experience that’s unique to get this far within the FA Cup.”
The situation was different in 2003 in 2003, at the time that Vermiglio initially became a member of Chorley as an athlete. The club’s relationship with this town as well as its inhabitants had weakened over the last decade due to a series of demotions.
“The team was in the lows. They were in the middle of the league pyramid and just getting 200 to 300 fans per match,” says Lancashire Evening Post sports reporter Craig Salmon.
Vermiglio was soon appointed club captain and was impressed enough to be able to join other clubs like Scarborough, Telford and Northwich Victoria which were playing in leagues that were way higher than Chorley.
However, in 2010 Vermiglio was enticed back after the club appointed an Premier League stalwart as their manager. Gary Flitcroft might not be an instant celebrity however, as an former Manchester City and Blackburn Rovers player, he was a man with the experience and reverence of football fans across Lancashire.
Although Chorley used to employ former professional players such as Mark Patterson and Shaun Teale as managers however none had the stature or appeal of Flitcroft. The inhabitants of the town suddenly pick an attraction to Chorley, but everybody associated with Chorley rapidly became more optimistic about the potential for success.
Flitcroft was always aware of the potential of Chorley when he told the press that they were the “sleeping giant” when he was appointed. With a population that was more than 41,000 people and a history dating to 1883, Flitcroft was capable of reviving Chorley’s town as well as the club.
“He attracted more players,” says Vermiglio. “He certainly enticed me back to Chorley even when I was playing just two or three divisions over the average. It was like something was going to happen within the team. It did happen. It was his role as the driving force that led to Chorley’s time of great success. He helped put Chorley in the spotlight.”
The impact of Flitcroft was immediate also, since the player was able to make use of his connections throughout the region to recruit skilled players into the team. Chorley took the lead in the first 10-games of the debut season, and brought foundation and a sense of confidence to the team that was for a long time absent. The fans soon began to come back in numbers at Victory Park, too.
“3,000 fans were there for the playoff win over Fylde that won them promotion that season,” Salmon says. Salmon. “It really felt like they were on to something.”
The high was quickly followed by a soaring low however. In September, 2011 the club’s accountant part-time Philip Haslam was arrested for the theft of more than PS70,000 from the financials of Chorley FC . Between March 1st 2011 and September. 4 that similar year 23-year-old was able to steal PS40,901 directly from the club directly. In the same time frame, Haslam is also believed to have taken PS22,221 out of Chorley Sporting Club and an additional PS6,000 as well.
Later, it was discovered that Haslam used this money in order to pay his gambling debts.
Chorley were on the edge of financial collapse. Flitcroft claimed to have poured one of his funds to the club, and during a span of months, a number of fundraisers as well as the “Save The Magpies” campaign were put on to help keep Chorley FC afloat.
The thing that made the news more depressing and urgent was the fact that Chorley were at the top of their division and headed towards their second promotion in two years when the announcement.
“The theft really killed us,” Flitcroft stated to The newspaper Non-League in December 2013. “We had to cut the budget, lads were playing for half their money.”
Chairperson Ken Wright told the Chorley Citizen in March 2013 that Chairman Ken Wright had told the Chorley Citizen “For an organization like ours, it means PS70,000 is an enormous sum of money. We’re still recovering from this. We’re still struggling to stay above the water, but we have only managed to accomplish this with the constant assistance of local business directors and their supporters who have banded together to allow the club to continue to compete at the level we are currently at.”
The town came together and was able to in keeping Chorley FC afloat
The town was the one that truly rallied behind the club to keep it alive. Numerous local businesses have contributed PS200 to ensure Chorley FC going out of the game, and the car dealership Chorley Nissan “very integral” to the survival of the club according to Vermiglio.
“You speak about soccer family, community, and other things, but when things like that occur to a team like Chorley and you have to step back and you receive support from people who feel you’re experiencing and adhere to. This is what occurred to the people of Chorley,” he adds. “They were aware of the situation and wanted to help and truly did assist. This brought members close to our club.”
The results of Chorley were not as good, however they were unable to finish the season. At the conclusion of the 2011-12 season , they finished eighth. They eventually gained promotion during the 2013-14 season however, only to see Flitcroft to leave the club following season. The team was replaced with a ex- Blackburn Rovers player, Matt Jansen who also had the additional glam of playing for on the England under-21 team six times, in addition to being invited for the squad’s senior team.
“Every season for Chorley has been successful over the last 10 years,” Salmon says. Salmon. “They’ve either been getting promoted, pushing for promotion, or getting beat in the playoffs, or just missing out.”
Vermiglio was appointed Jansen’s assistant. However, Chorley was always missing out on promotions throughout his three years as the head of the department. When Jansen was forced to quit, Vermiglio was the only candidate to be in the chair. This was despite the fact that Vermiglio divided his time as manager alongside his work as director of Locking Stumps Primary School in close proximity to Warrington.
“I’ve always been educated. While I was in university finishing my degree, that was when I began playing soccer,” says Vermiglio. “So the sport was in tandem to the teaching profession. I was promoted in the same period. If soccer were to end and I’m in a very fortunate situation, as I’ve received the education. Others managers, when they’re fired, are looking for something they can take their place.”
Similar to his previous manager Flitcroft Vermiglio was able to quickly find success. In the 2018-19 season, his first year as manager Chorley were elevated into the National League, the fifth highest level of English soccer at first in years. It was, however, only for only one season.
