Fourteen years, Magic Ma’kel and the faith in Connor Murphy

Chester make it three wins on the spin with a 1-0 success over Darlington

Ma’kel Campbell at Darlington (CHARLIE STOCKTON)

Fourteen years.

Think about how much has happened in that timeframe in life and football. I’ll tell you what hasn’t happened until tonight; Chester winning their opening three games of the season.

Yes, I am still writing this from a hotel bar. I am home this week and I couldn’t tell you how guilty I feel for writing my musings on a game I was 2,368 miles away from this evening. Holidays will be booked accordingly next year.

I cannot tell you how well the Blues played, which feels incredibly fraudulent of me. But what I can do is offer a little insight into a couple of snippets from the evening that have been bubbling under the surface.

First off we’ve got to address Ma’kel Campbell.

That Morecambe, a side who were already preparing for their National League return in nine months time according to the Twitterati, could have him in the building and be so blind to what he possesses is rather baffling, but given their struggles last season, maybe he wasn’t in the environment to thrive.

His 57th-minute strike earned Chester a 1-0 win at Darlington and maintained the Blues’ perfect start to the season under Phil Parkinson. Three games in a sitting pretty. Campbell has scored in each one of them.

At Warrington Town last month I was stood near who I assumed to be Campbell’s father. He was kicking every ball the 19-year-old was and trying to gee him up and get him focused at every moment. By this time Campbell already had an inkling that there might be a spot in this Chester squad for him.

Campbell came in with little expectation of him. As is the case with the vast majority of trialists, they are there to make up numbers in games and training but while having the chance to potentially earn themselves something permanent if they manage to suitably impress and fill a need.

Parkinson wasn’t really looking for Campbell. He had wanted a player with some creativity, and the Blues had other more widely-known names in for training during that period, but the former Arsenal and Fulham academy player, in Parkinson’s own words, made himself impossible to ignore.

It isn’t just his skill with the ball at his feet, his ability to work in tight spaces and the creativity he possesses, it is that he is dead serious about making a good career for himself in the game and understands that he has to jump through all the hoops and put the work in to achieve that goal. That is the same for many of the players signed this season. They have a burning ambition for more and for improvement.

A few short weeks ago, Campbell would have been just another ‘A Trialist’. Now he is a vital cog in the Blues machine and Chester will already be looking at ways of ensuring they are adequately protected in the future, for there are sharks in these waters.

And this is it. This early run doesn’t seem surprising.

I said recently that I don’t think a case can be made for Chester as a football club being more professional than it is right now. There is alignment across the club and greater unity and harmony. There also appears to be a plan for beyond May. Parkinson has been a driving force in this, and he has risked a lot here. Much change has been made, and results are expected.

Three games is all it is, but three wins and the manner of them is mightily impressive.

The hunger of Campbell and the other talents handed the chance to prove they are good enough for better is what will drive the Blues forward this season.

That feeds into Connor Murphy.

Murph, 18, signed his first senior deal at Chester last month. Unless you had been watching the youth team last season then he may have been something of an unknown.

But even from some of my earliest conversations with Parkinson, the Blues boss has spoken of Murphy in glowing terms. From the first sessions he felt he was someone who could be impactful not only for the future and in cameos from the bench, but as a senior member of the squad, a starter, pretty early on.

To do that on a Tuesday night away at Darlington and contribute to success is outstanding, and it speaks to his character in that he is ready to take on such duties.

Parkinson places much in character. It is a core value when he signs players. Some players just have that natural confidence to not feel out of place or freeze when their moment is handed to them. The Chester boss was confident that Murphy had the mental attributes as well as the physical and technical ones to make a difference.

In fact, so impressive has he been for Chester in pre-season, the need to go out and add another midfielder in the centre of the pitch wasn’t deemed necessary, which helped the club add greater depth in other areas.

Any concerns about whether or not Parkinson would put any faith in Chester’s youth will likely have been put to bed. Murphy is a part of the senior squad now and will be utilised as such. The manager expects him to continue on his growth trajectory, as do many at the club. With Oskar Rosenblatt also already tasting action this season, the academy representation remains strong.

When Parkinson was quizzed earlier this month on which of the players fans should be most excited about, his answer was Connor Murphy. He will need the room to grow and make mistakes, but it’s exciting to think what Chester might have in the building.

That’s before we go through the rest of this squad and their flying starts.

Off for more Efes.