"Fit as a butcher's dog" - Martin Allen comments on Chesterfield signing backfired almost immediately | OneFootball

Martin Allen’s Chesterfield stint was a disaster on the pitch, but off it, his unique media style handed fans several brutally honest quotes.

Chesterfield’s media team have been fairly creative with their signing announcements in recent years. From posting a picture of a packet of cream crackers when announcing Michael Jacobs, to searching around the local Tesco for some clementines to hint at Bailey Clements’ arrival, the club do a great job at teasing fans with their quirky and playful puns to announce new signings.

However, back in 2018, former Chesterfield boss Martin Allen had his own unique style of announcing player arrivals, and he had a much more hands-on and honest approach.

During his short stint in Derbyshire, Allen, who would quickly earn the affectionate nickname ‘Mad Dog’, took the signing announcements into his own hands, by himself announcing new arrivals on social media, with personal and brutally honest articles on the club's own website.

From "decent keeper" Shwan Jalal to "local lad" Sam Wedgbury, Allen signed off all his social messages with "Take care, Martin", but his pièce de résistance was the announcement of 38-year-old journeyman centre-back Michael Nelson.

Nelson failed to live up to expectations at Chesterfield.

There were high hopes placed on Allen at Chesterfield, who were about to embark on their National League adventure, and his friendly, honest, and confident personality won over the fans in the off-season.

Allen was quick to announce the signing of Nelson, who he had brought out of semi-retirement just months before Barnet, and he announced it in his signature ‘Mad Dog’ style.

“Michael is very old with great experience and good knowledge. He is a leader of men and knows how to win games.

“He is as fit as a butcher’s dog, and he is a great man to work with.”

And of course, it was signed off with his trademark "Take care, Martin".

For the first three weeks of the season, it looked like Allen had pulled off one of the coups of the window as the Spireites won their first three matches in the National League games without conceding a goal, with the 38-year-old at the heart of the defence.

The Hartlepool legend started 12 of the first 13 games in the 2018/19 season, but the campaign quickly fell apart, as Chesterfield lost their next six games, which started a four-month winless run in the National League between August and December.

It quickly became clear that the 38-year-old was not "as fit as a butcher’s dog", with Allen even admitting the National League’s fixture schedule had taken its toll on Nelson’s performances.

In early December, following a remarkable run of nine successive draws in the National League, Allen announced that seven players were now available for transfer, and Nelson was one of them.

After being made surplus to requirements, the veteran defender did in fact take to the field again for Chesterfield, but it is regarded as one of the worst performances in Town’s history.

Following an injury crisis in defence, Nelson was given a start on Boxing Day at home against Solihull Moors, but after a poor start to the game, where the 38-year-old looked miles off the pace, at 1-0 down after just nine minutes, he was substituted.

Head in his hands, Nelson sprinted down the tunnel, and he would never wear the Chesterfield shirt again.

The Spireites would go on to lose 4-0 and Allen was sacked after the game with the Spireites 21st in the table. Many fans highlight this moment as the lowest point in the club’s history.

Nelson was brought in by Allen as a "fit", "experienced" player who "knew how to win games" but in his 13 appearances, the Spireites won just three times.

After Allen’s departure, Nelson would stick around at Chesterfield under new manager John Sheridan, but in a new role.

Chesterfield played a part in furthering Nelson’s coaching career.

With six months left on his contract and no January suitors, Nelson’s playing career at National League level was all but over, so he decided to take up a coaching position at Chesterfield.

Nelson had previous coaching experience at Barnet, where he coached the U23 team, and was even made assistant coach for the first team under Graham Westley, earning a UEFA A coaching license, before Allen brought Nelson out of semi-retirement in 2018.

During the first half of 2019, Nelson often coached the Chesterfield back four and was on the touchline alongside Glynn Snodin and Sheridan on matchdays, as the Spireites had an uptick in form in the second half of the season.

Chesterfield finished their first season in the National League in 15th, comfortably avoiding relegation under Sheridan, but Nelson would depart the club after his contract expired that summer.

Despite performing well early into his Chesterfield career, Nelson’s legacy at Town, like many others brought in under Allen, is not a good one.

Allen’s transfer business shares some similarities to current manager Paul Cook’s, a mixture of experienced, older heads and young, hungry loans, but unlike Cook, Allen was unable to strike the right balance between the two.

His more experienced arrivals like Nelson, Marc-Antoine Fortune, Wedgebury, and Jalal were not up to speed with the National League, while loanees such as Alex Kiwomya, Alfie Beestin and Jordan Hallam were seen as too light-weight and ineffective.

Following his release, Nelson pursued a coaching career and joined Gateshead as a player-coach, and he also had a second stint as Westley’s assistant, this time at Stevenage in 2020, but that was short-lived, and he left the role just a month after joining.

Nelson’s first taste of being a head coach came at National League North outfit Blyth Spartans in 2020, but his time in Northumberland was disrupted by the pandemic, and he was sacked following a poor start to the 2021/22 season.

The now 44-year-old has had spells in interim charge of the likes of Hartlepool and Scunthorpe in recent years, where he was on the touchline as Chesterfield defeated the Iron 4-1 in 2023, and his latest role sees him as a part-time coach at Chester-Le-Street United and as Football Academy Manager at Park View Academy of Sport.

From a playing point of view, Nelson’s one-year move to Chesterfield was a disaster, but his leadership and experience from the touchline helped the Spireites steer away from the relegation zone.

As ‘"fit as a butcher’s dog"? Not quite. But an invaluable member of the group during one of Chesterfield’s most chaotic seasons ever? Most definitely.