Continuing our look at the 31 players who featured for the club last season:

It proved to be a short stay at the Deva Stadium for Jermaine McSporran. The right sided midfield player joined Chester from Doncaster Rovers and featured in the first game of the season against Accrington Stanley before having his contract cancelled at the end of August. Jermaine initially joined Kidlington Town of the Hellenic League but quickly moved on to Banbury United of the Southern League. After five games at Banbury he was deemed to be surplus to requirements and in October stepped down a division to Abingdon United where he completed the season. In July Jermaine was on the move again and signed for Oxford City the club he had represented before a £100,000 move to Wycombe Wanderers in 1998. It’s been a nomadic twelve months for the Manchester born player who played for Oxford City in their 1-0 victory over Bracknell Town last week in the British Gas Business South and West League.

Alex Meechan (left) was given a chance to resurrect his Football League career after joining Chester from Forest Green Rovers at the end of January. The winger, who also played for today’s opponents Dagenham and Redbridge, had always been a thorn in the side when playing against City in the Conference. Alex made 2+6 appearances at the Deva Stadium but was released at the end of the season. During the summer he signed for Blue Square Premier League side York City on a free transfer and came on as a substitute in their 4-3 defeat at Burton Albion last week.

Brad Maylett (right) joined Chester on loan from Boston United in March after suffering an injury ravaged season with the Pilgrims. The former Burnley and Swansea winger made 3+2 appearances for City and scored one goal in the 2-1 defeat at Mansfield. At the end of March Brad was recalled by Boston to bolster their dwindling squad and featured occasionally in their relegation bound team. During the summer Brad signed a twelve month contract with Northwich Victoria and featured in the pre-season friendly against Chester earlier in the month but was unfortunately substituted after only eight minutes with more injury problems. He has yet to feature in a Blue Square fixture this season.

Earlier this month Brad was joined at the Victoria Stadium by Lee Steele (left) who had previously played for the Vics from 1996 to 1997. Lee joined Chester from Leyton Orient in October and will always be remembered for the dramatic impact he had when coming on as a substitute in the FA Cup tie at Bury. In a remarkable thirty minutes spell Lee was booked for diving, scored two goals and then was sent off for an over-exuberant goal celebration. The predatory striker made 11+9 league appearances but only scored one other goal in the 1-1 draw with Mansfield.

Ricky Ravenhill is another player who has the unfortunate distinction of being dismissed while playing for City. Ricky moved to the Deva Stadium on loan from Doncaster Rovers with the intention of making the move permanent. After two substitute appearances he made his first start in the derby match against Wrexham but was sent off after only 25 minutes, his final act in a blue and white shirt. The midfielder moved to Grimsby Town on a free transfer and played at the Deva for the Mariners in September. He then signed for his former manager, Dave Penney, at Darlington in January and made another appearance at the Deva for the Quakers in April. He was still at Darlington at the start of 2007/08 and featured in their 3-0 win at Accrington Stanley last week.

Ryan Semple (left), a long term target of Mark Wright, joined Chester on loan in November after suffering an injury plagued start to the season with Lincoln City. Ryan only managed three substitute appearances for the Blues and returned to Sincil Bank at the start of 2007. The former Peterborough midfield player was released by Lincoln at the end of the season and joined Rushden and Diamonds where he featured in their 1-0 home defeat to Ebbsfleet United in the Blue Square Premier last week.

Republic of Ireland youth international, Alan Kearney, joined Chester on loan from Everton in February and made his debut as a substitute at Wrexham. The left sided midfielder started the next four matches and made one further substitute appearance before heading back to Goodison Park in March. He was released by Everton at the end of the season and returned to his native Ireland with Waterford United in the middle of August.

Royce Brownlie (left) joined Chester on loan from Swindon Town at the beginning of March on the recommendation of Dennis Wise. The Australian striker struggled to make an impression at the Deva and returned to the County Ground after 3+1 appearances. He was released by the Robins at the end of the season and moved to New Zealand where he joined Wellington Phoenix, who play in the Australian A League, on a two year deal.

Chas Sumner [Published 12/8/07]