Former Aston Villa, West Ham United and Everton man shows support for his old club Chesterfield 20 years on

Chesterfield secured a vital 4-0 win at Wealdstone on Tuesday evening to close the gap to third-placed Woking, who they play on Saturday, to just three points. The goals came from Paul McCallum, Liam Mandeville, Andrew Dallas and Ryan Colclough.

In the away end to witness the emphatic victory was Thomas Hitzlsperger, nicknamed ‘Der Hemmer’ for his powerful long-range shots, who enjoyed a short loan spell at Town in 2001 in the early stages of his career.

The now 40-year-old, who also played for Aston Villa, West Ham United, Everton and Stuttgart, shared pictures on his Twitter account of him at the game, which was his first time watching Chesterfield live since he left.

He said: “After more than 21 years… my first game with ⁦@ChesterfieldFC⁩ again. Freezing cold but worth every second. Great away win! Good luck for the remainder of this ⁦@TheVanaramaNL⁩ season #promotion.”

One fan asked if he could attend every week after seemingly being a good luck charm, to which he replied: “I’ll come back for the play-off final.”

Other Blues supporters reacted to his post by sharing their memories of his loan spell more than 20 years ago.

@Spireite7547 wrote: “Great that you went Thomas. We remember you and that great loan spell.”

@timchambers321 said: “Good memories of you on loan back in the day. One of the very best and we had a few good ‘uns back then.”

@leebellamy49 added: “Fond memories of your time at Saltergate, it was clear you was set for bigger things with that wand of a left foot.”

And another former Spireite, Angel Martinez, who played for the club between 2015 and 2017, celebrated thumping wins for Chesterfield and his old club Blackpool by posting a picture on Twitter with the caption ‘lovely evening.’