Inside Boyzone & Westlife stars’ bid to turn footie minnows into ‘new Wrexham’ as they declare ‘we’ll win the Prem’
BOYZONE and Westlife have sold out stadiums all over the world.
But now three members of the famous Nineties pop bands have entered a new arena with a fresh challenge – to take a part-time football club all the way to the Premier League.
Shane Lynch and Keith Duffy from Boyzone, with Brian McFadden of Westlife fame, are now shareholders of Chorley FC, who play in the National League North — SIX rungs below England’s top-flight squads.
Chorley is just 25 miles from Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium, but the clubs are light years apart in footballing terms.
The smaller team, nicknamed The Magpies, averages gates of 1,400, compared to City’s 53,000.
Their 80-year-old stand was originally built on an ash tip, and the club boasts such a community vibe, a fan once drove a crocked player to hospital because no ambulance was nearby.
Now, with a potential documentary in the offing tracking their journey, Shane, Keith and Brian believe there is no reason why they can’t mirror Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds at Wrexham — whose story features in a Disney+ show — and Gary Neville at Salford City.
Both have taken struggling teams towards the promised land.
Brian, 44, said: “We have aspirations, just like Wrexham and Ryan Reynolds.
“I wake up some nights thinking, ‘We’re going to win the Premier League in the next 30 years’.
“You have to dream big, and we’ve got to aim for the top.
‘Amazing support’
“Teams like Salford and Wrexham, who have well-known owners, make us think, ‘Why not us?’.”
And he joked: “Gary Neville and Ryan Reynolds may need to watch out!”
Keith added of the locals’ pride in the team: “We’re from a working-class background in the north side of Dublin and it’s all about family.
“It’s all about community — and coming here today, it’s like being home.
“Hopefully we’re going to be the new adopted sons.”
This week, The Sun was invited for the first ever access-all-areas tour of the ground with the lads, and to witness a 2-1 win for their team that took them joint top of their league.
It is exactly a year since the trio signed on the dotted line as investors.
Since then, the club has invested £250,000 in a new pitch, installed safer terracing at the 4,100-capacity ground and also created a brand new hospitality suite.
But the pop stars insist they will not be meddling in the running of the team.
Chorley Football Club belongs to the people of Chorley
Keith Duffy
Shane, 48, said: “What’s on the pitch stays on the pitch, and what’s off the pitch kind of stays off the pitch.
“We try not to bleed into both.
“We are here as investors.”
Brian, who lives in neighbouring Rochdale, added: “When I was signed to big record companies, I hated it when they told me how to sing.
“So, we’re definitely not going to tell them how to play football.”
We arrive at the 105-year-old Victory Park stadium two hours before Saturday’s crunch home tie against King’s Lynn.
The old-fashioned turnstiles creak as stewards warmly greet fans by their first names.
One supporter sells pin badges while others chat to the players and give them high-fives as they head inside.
Shane and Brian — both wearing club jerseys — guide us into the home dressing room, where the team’s black, white and red shirts bearing each player’s name are hung up neatly, with the rest of the kit folded below.
We have aspirations, just like Wrexham and Ryan Reynolds. I wake up some nights thinking, ‘We’re going to win the Premier League in the next 30 years
Brian McFadden
But this is where the similarities with a Premier League changing room end.
Instead of giant interactive screens similar to those you would see at the likes of City and Liverpool, a whiteboard displays hand-written notes on that day’s match rivals.
Shane embraces Chorley manager Andy Preece and the pair share a joke.
Brian, who scored a 1999 No1 with Westlife covering Abba’s I Have A Dream, said: “When I’ve got grandchildren, I want to be able to say I was a part of that.”
However, not all fans were convinced when Shane’s friends, who bought the 141-year-old club last year, invited the lads to invest.
Keith said: “Chorley Football Club belongs to the people of Chorley.
“They’ve got this amazing community support.
“It’s their club and I think there was a worry that we might come in and try to make it a bit Hollywood and throw money at it.
“After speaking to everyone, we said we couldn’t do that.
“We had to let this club grow naturally.”
Shane added: “I’m not hugely into football, but Brian and Keith are.
“It’s amazing to see how the fans bought into having two guys from Boyzone and a fella from Westlife on board.”
And it’s not just the club that is in a different league.
Most of Chorley’s players also have day jobs, such as school sports coach, personal trainer, plumber and electrician.
One even works for the National Crime Agency.
Outside, the ground has changed since the club was formed after switching from a rugby team in 1883.
Fans can get in for just £14 if they buy tickets online, while under-12s go free — a snip compared to the £100 sometimes charged by Premier League sides in the area.
Chorley — a town of just 120,000 people — is famed for its Chorley cake but, as well as being able to grab one with a cuppa for less than £3, the ground’s delicacy is its butter chicken, mushy peas and gravy for just over £5.
‘Always felt like home’
Since the lads took over a year ago, a revamp means state-of-the-art hospitality facilities offer fans a two-course meal, their own car parking space, a programme, signed ball and the best seats for less than £70 a head if bought in a group of six.
Hospitality manager Sue Gautrey began working as a barmaid at the club in 2002, and said: “It has always felt like home.
“My three daughters work here and I hope I’ll be here until I retire.
“It’s quite surreal seeing Boyzone and Westlife wandering around, but they are lovely.
“Everyone associated with the club is great.”
In the summer, Shane, Keith and Brian saw £250,000 spent on a new pitch and drainage system, while the terracing got fresh Tarmac, a new perimeter fence was installed and improvements were made to the quaint main stand.
Chairman Jamie Vermiglio, a former player who managed the club to the fourth round of the FA Cup in 2021, when they were beaten by Premier League side Wolves, said: “Having these guys here is brilliant for the club.
“It’s exciting.
“We have had some great times and achievements, and hopefully we will have many more.”
I’m not hugely into football, but Brian and Keith are. It’s amazing to see how the fans bought into having two guys from Boyzone and a fella from Westlife on board
Shane Lynch
Shane said: “We’re on a ten-year project and we are coming into Year Two.
“We’ve got lots of ideas for the ground, for the game and to grow Chorley as a town.
“What we are doing is very much community based.
“Just look at the queues outside.
“This is why this club is alive, and the more people we can have walking through the turnstiles, is very important to us.”
The trio said they are keen to bring in new sponsorship, boost attendance and generate funds to help climb the leagues.
And watching their match with full-time squad King’s Lynn, it could be the start of something.
Chorley win 2-1, sending them joint top with former league club Scunthorpe.
Fans are jubilant and chant, “We are going up” as they leave.
Chorley is a great community and the support they have is great. This is how it should be and it is a great day out for families
Keith Duffy
Jean Pedley, 82, started watching the team aged 12 and lives next to the ground.
She said: “My mother used to wash the kit.
“My sister and I used to work in the refreshment bar and all you could buy was a pork pie and a cup of tea.
“Now we have pop stars here.
“It’s changed a lot.”
John Vernon, 81, a supporter of 70 years, said: “The Premier League is another world, but this is the charm of it here.
“At a game in Nottingham, one of our players suffered a nasty cut and there wasn’t an ambulance so I drove him to hospital.
“I managed to get him back to the ground before the team coach left.
“When we arrived back, everyone cheered.
“If we’d missed the coach, I’d have happily driven him home.
“Where else would that happen?”
In the trophy room, Keith, 50, hailed fans’ post-match celebrations, which include a singer and a live band, revealing: “Chorley is a great community and the support they have is great.
“This is how it should be and it is a great day out for families.”
He added of their win over King’s Lynn: “It was good to see that today.”
Shane added: “I was having a bit of banter with the fans, telling them that it’s not my fault if we lose.
“I was nervous at the end of the game and it was a great buzz to winning.
“There are real similarities with having a great gig.”