Farewell Richie lad...

Last night was undoubtedly a very, very sad night for Chester fans, as one of our true blues was taken from us and sent to spread the word about the Blues in a better place as one of our board members and friends, Richie Wightman sadly passed away.

I got to know Rich from my time on the board of City Fans United, and then of course at Chester FC, and instantly struck up a friendship that always carried many laughs, much mickey taking from both sides which always went down well, and got to know a cracking lad, who was Chester through and through.

I'm sure we all know someone the same, but I think it's fair to say Rich was one of a kind, who would openly speak his mind in front of anyone, and they would listen, for his opinion - however strong it was - counted.

Being disabled, Rich never let this be a barrier to him, and he would never see that as a problem either, it wouldn't stop him from anything and that is pure testament to his strength and character.

Rich has always suffered but never showed it to anyone, preferring instead to keep the banter going, and fair play to him he was always taking the mickey out of me too!

I think its fair to say that the board were absolutely devastated when we heard of Rich having renal failure last week, as it came totally out of the blue, and it was one of those shock moments for all, where nothing else mattered.

The next few days were touch and go, but then Rich appeared to be on the road to recovery, and even yesterday seeing him in hospital in good spirits cracking jokes, and taking delight in the fact that we'd built up a 7 point lead over our rivals, all seemed good.

But then the phone call that turned everything upside down, and left us all totally devastated when we heard he had lost his fight - and believe me it must have been a great fight - but I really believe that he had found a happy place before he decided to leave us.

All my sympathy goes to his family, who must be so proud of what he achieved, at the end of the day Rich was so instrumental in helping build Chester FC from scratch, and his dedication to ensureing disabled supporters got as much help as possible, he truly is a Chester legend, and he will be sadly, sadly missed.

Farewell Richie lad.