Sir Elton John sent FA Cup warning as Chesterfield star responds to compliment
Rocket man Sir Elton John ranked Chesterfield's play-off final against Notts County last May as one of the most exciting games he's ever seen.
Spireites striker Joe Quigley thanks him for the compliment – and would like to repay Watford's superstar life president by knocking the Hornets out of the FA Cup. Chesterfield have already dumped out League One leaders Portsmouth and Leyton Orient, and at Vicarage Road Quigley is quietly optimistic of his finest hour since his hole-in-one on a round of golf in Brentwood.
Around 4,000 steeplejacks will be following Paul Cook's underdogs to Watford, where the Hornets' annual tribute in memory of their greatest manager, Graham Taylor, looks ripe for gatecrashing. Since their narrow 6-0 defeat by Manchester City at Wembley five years ago, Sir Elton's mob have been through 11 managers and been scuppered by five clubs from a lower division in cup competitions.
“It's nice that he watched our play-off final and said it was one of the best games he's seen,” said 6ft 4in Quigley of the great piano man's tribute. "The lads had a chat about that, and it's good to get recognition from someone so famous who knows his football.
“Hopefully he won't be too upset if we go down to Watford and turn them over. It's no secret that getting back into the Football League is our bread and butter, but good Cup runs always create a great mood around the camp.
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"Winning is a good habit, and no win is a bad win. We don't back down against anyone – our stats show we like to attack, get on the ball and take the game to our opponents.
Give them a big hand: Sir Elton loved watching Chesterfield play (Leon Neal/Getty Images)“As a club, we've had some joy in the Cup - although we've also had our share of hard luck, being seconds away from knocking out West Brom in the third round last season. The run to the semi-final in 1997 is still talked about around the town. I was only born the year before, but 27 years later the fans haven't forgotten it – the Cup upset that never was.”
To this day, no club from the third tier or lower has ever reached the FA Cup final, but beneath that famous crooked spire in Derbyshire there remains a seething undercurrent of resentment that Chesterfield were denied their place in history.
So cruel: Notts County were promoted at Wembley last May but the Spireites were unlucky on the day (PA)Leading 2-1 against Middlesbrough in the semi-final at Old Trafford, Jon Howard's shot cannoned off the bar, over the line and bounced back into play, but referee David Elleray failed to award a goal. Instead of being 3-1 up, and dreaming of being fitted for their Cup final suits, the Spireites went 3-2 down before a last-minute equaliser earned them a replay, but they were well-beaten in the sequel at Hillsborough.
Chesterfield manager Paul Cook had better luck six years ago, when his Wigan side shocked City and trashed Pep Guardiola's first shot at the Treble. Will Grigg, now on Chesterfield's front line, scored the winner that night and Quigley laughed: “He's been fantastic since he joined us last summer, a great person to have around the place, but some of the lads wind him up about that goal.
Gracious in defeat: Chesterfield boss Paul Cook (Matthew Lewis)“He ran past Kyle Walker before scoring, and he's very humble about it, but Tom Naylor and Michael Jacobs rib him about his pace and how he left Walker behind. As quite an average footballer who is nearly addicted to golf, I would just say it was a terrific finish.”
It's good to see Chesterfield flying high and well clear at the National League summit.
They didn't get what they deserved on the day at Wembley last May, but Cook's graciousness in defeat – conceding Notts County were worthy of going up after collecting 107 points - was a model of sportsmanship.
Two fun facts: The live football scenes in The Damned United, Michael Sheen's acclaimed portrayal of Brian Clough's ill-starred reign at Leeds, were filmed at Chesterfield's old Saltergate home before it was demolished.
And the record 15,019 attendance to date at the Spireites' new SMH Group stadium? That'll be Sir Elton's gig in 2012, when he told the audience: “I never thought I'd play in Chesterfield.”
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Any chance of an encore if the Cup tie goes to a replay?
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