MATCH PREVIEW: Chelmsford City vs Chippenham Town | National League South | Saturday 11th November 2023

We preview our National League South game against Chelmsford City.

The Bluebirds are back in action this weekend when they make the long trek to Essex to face Chelmsford City.

The Bluebirds earned another valuable 3 home points against a resolute Farnborough side on Tuesday.

Please see our match centre below for a full match report, highlights and a match gallery.

Chelmsford City were formed in 1878, their nickname is The Clarets, their team colours, and they play out of the Melbourne Community Stadium, their home since 1962 (with the odd move out of town).

Chelmsford’s current manager is Robbie Simpson, former Coventry City and Cambridge United striker who amassed over 300 games in The Football League. Simpson has been at the helm since 2020 and just last season achieved a 5th place finish in the National League South qualifying for the play-offs in the process before eventually falling to beaten finalists St. Albans City in extra-time.

This season has fared quite well for The Clarets, they sit in 7th place, just inside the playoff places, after 16 games played, 5 places above Chippenham Town and are currently unbeaten in 6 league games

It’s difficult to see past Samir Carruthers for our one to watch this week.

Carruthers spent time with both Arsenal and Aston Villa with the latter offering him his first pro deal, making 3 appearances for the Villains including a Premier League debut against Liverpool in a 1-1 draw! He headed off on loan to the MK Dons before making the switch permanent. With over 100 appearances for MK, he moved for around £250,000 to Sheffield United. He helped the Blades win League One in 2017/18 before leaving at the end of the year to join Cambridge United. When his time came to an end at Cambridge, he made his way into the non-League scene with Hemel before switching to Dartford in 2022 and has been at Chelmsford since the summer of 2023.

Again, it would be very difficult to look past a certain Jimmy Greaves when selecting a famous face that has represented Chelmsford City. Greaves turned out for Chelsea, AC Milan and Spurs amongst others and is held in high regard for all those clubs, a feat that not many can claim. An elite striker in his day he scored 44 international goals for England in just 57 games, including 6 hat-tricks. His most treasured medal must have been the 1966 World Cup winners medal he gained for England, which of course only happened after FIFA retrospectively awarded the whole England squad with medals, not just the first XI that played on the day. Greaves had played in all of England’s group games before succumbing to injury in the quarter-final against France, his replacement was Geoff Hurst … and we all know how he would fare for The Three Lions.

Jimmy Greaves spent the 1976/77 season playing for the Essex side and even at the back-end of his career his still managed to score 20 goals in 38 games. However, despite his goalscoring antics, Chelmsford City finished twentieth in the Southern League Premier Division and were relegated.

Our familiar face this week is one Mr Mo Dabre. Mo joined Chippenham at the back-end of the 2021/22 season, coming on loan from Swindon Town and would go on to be an integral part of the squad the made the play-offs and his likeability made him one of the most popular lads in the dressing room and on the terraces for the Bluebirds.

Mo signed for Chelmsford in the summer after his release from Swindon Town and has featured in the majority of The Clarets games this season. A tricky winger who can also play full-back, he’ll also be a one to watch.

It’s a very even H2H record for Chelmsford and Chippenham. 4 wins for each side and 4 draws.

Our most recent meeting against the Essex side was an away game in January of this year, The Bluebirds ran out 1-0 winners courtesy of a Joe Hanks goal.

As for Bluebirds news, the only new worries are Tyreke Johnson who could be a doubt due to a tight hamstring and Luke Haines who had a nasty clash to his knee on Tuesday night with a Farnborough attacker. Hopefully both can shrug off any injury concerns and feature on Saturday.

Safe travels to all those making the journey to Essex on Saturday. It’s a heck of an effort and your support is always appreciated.