The Spireite Herald lands on CounterPress this summer to deliver high-quality coverage of Chesterfield

Calling all Chesterfield fans, there’s a new home for independent coverage of your club in 2026/27.

The Spireite Herald launches on CounterPress this summer, with the intention to deliver a high-quality site covering Chesterfield in detail.

The site is fronted by freelance sports journalist, broadcaster, author and Chesterfield fan Matthew Rhodes. Matthew has been following the Spireites for over 20 years. He was born in Chesterfield and grew up in the town.

Matthew provides live audio commentaries and on the whistle written match reports on football games for Flashscore. From 2021 to 2025, he was North Derbyshire Radio’s senior sports editor. As his career progressed, he worked as a media assistant for Matlock Town before moving onto a head of media role at Chesterfield Ladies.

Matthew currently contributes to The Peakite, a site devoted to Derbyshire County Cricket Club. His first full-length book will be published in August and covers Chesterfield’s astonishing FA Cup run during the 1996/97 season.

The Spireite Herald members can look forward to detailed match reports, feature pieces, analytical coverage, news and opinion articles plus audio discussions regarding Chesterfield.

Matthew will be supported by Paul Fisher and Ben Smith. Paul will be a very familiar name to Spireites supporters already, due to his excellent coverage of Chesterfield for BBC Radio Sheffield. Ben is an up and coming sports journalist who currently works as the Spireites reporter for North Derbyshire Radio. His detailed tactical insights and analysis on the club will be a big hit with Chesterfield supporters. 

Like Matthew, both Paul and Ben have very strong connections with the town and Spireites fans can look forward to devoted local coverage of the club from a local perspective.

Matthew said: “It’s an absolute honour to launch The Spireite Herald on CounterPress. I’m very excited to see how Chesterfield fans will respond to this new project which has enormous potential.

“Chesterfield is a very proud club with a strong identity. The club’s supporters very rarely witness a dull season and, all bias aside, I truly believe the Spireites are one of the most interesting football clubs in the entire pyramid. This is a club that appeals to all generations and the fan base continues to grow at an impressive rate.

“This feels like the perfect moment to start The Spireite Herald. Sports media is in a strange place right now, with the rise of AI and obsession with clickbait articles. CounterPress is fighting back against that; it reflects the value and importance of local sports journalism. Many sites devoted to football teams and cricket sides have joined this network, and it's definitely the time for Chesterfield to join them."

The Spireite Herald’s early interest waiting list is now open, ahead of a full launch in the coming weeks. 

Chesterfield supporters keen to explore the platform can secure an exclusive discount on membership by adding their details to the mailing list today. 

The site is the latest in a succession of outlets covering the Premier League, EFL and National League to make CounterPress their home.

It joins the likes of The Moonraker (Swindon Town), From Bromley With Love (Bromley), For Fox Sake (Leicester City), The Brighton Base (Brighton & Hove Albion), The Quartermen (Wycombe Wanderers), Leyton Orientear (Leyton Orient), The Monkey’s Uncle (Hartlepool United), Medway On My Mind (Gillingham), The Biscuit (Reading), The Phoenix (Coventry City), Full Throstle (West Bromwich Albion), Saturday White Fever (Fulham), The 1878 (Manchester United), The Wanderers Post (Wolves), The Sunderland Stories (Sunderland), and The Watford Word (Watford).

CounterPress offers the technical infrastructure and industry knowledge and support that journalists and creators need to build their own media brand.

Co-founder Sam Morshead said: “Matthew is full of energy and enthusiasm about Chesterfield and it will be fascinating to see how he builds out a site of his own, dedicated to a subject he cares a great deal about (and knows plenty of, too).

“By partnering with CounterPress, he is accessing not only our excellent digital infrastructure but a wealth of experience and expertise across brand design, editorial, marketing, and commercial.

“We’re looking forward to helping position himself as an authoritative, trustworthy, entertaining source of Spireites coverage over the months and years ahead.”