Wolverhampton boy Chey Dunkley on his New Park Village start that kicked off his EFL career

The New Park Village Football Development. The wonderful initiative launched and still delivered by former Wolves midfielder Joe Jackson, which has its heart and soul enshrined in the local community.

It might not be the Premier League. Or even the Football League.  But to those hundreds of youngsters who are part of the project, or representing NPV in competition, is it their very own field of dreams.

It’s not necessarily all about talent and ability.  It’s about social development, discipline, and, of course, fun and enjoyment.

It can also be a pathway into a career in coaching.  Many who have attended Jackson’s programme have moved into that space, including Zeli Ismail.

Ismail also progressed into the professional game as a player in which he has chalked up over 200 appearances, including 12 with Wolves, whilst others have been snapped up by Wolves Academy, including Joe’s grandson Ricky.

And then there is Chey Dunkley.

A proud Wulfrunian, born and bred in the city, and now, at 33, well past the 350 appearance mark in the Football League, captaining Chesterfield for manager and mercurial former Wolves midfielder Paul Cook.

Dunkley has never played for Wolves. He was loosely on the books at the Academy for a while, without ever putting pen to paper.  Yet in some ways it feels like he has. In essence, he has certainly represented his home city with pride and distinction, wherever his career has taken him.

That has included promotions, appearances at Wembley, caps for England’s ‘C’ team, and keeping Sergio Aguero and Manchester City quiet. There are still more ambitions to come.

And it all started in Wolvo!

“I was brought up in Park Village, in and around Heath Town, and it was a neighbourhood where I knew a lot of people,” Dunkley recalls.

“I had a steady upbringing, in a proper community, where the motto was that, as well as your parents, people in the local area looked out for you as well.

“I’m not going to tell you I was a ‘goody-two-shoes’ or anything like that, but when I was a kid, I was always interested in football

“That’s probably because a lot of my mates played football, and I was fortunate to have people around me who I could rely on.

“As well as the guidance from my parents, other people on the estate would look after us and when I went out, I always felt I was safe.

“I wouldn’t change it for the world, and so many of the values that I have today, and what I stand by, comes from those years growing up in Wolverhampton.”

And New Park Village too.

Dunkley, who attended Trinity Primary School and then Heath Park, actually started with NPV in their second year, and has plenty of fond memories from that time, highlighting the role the project played in his development.

“Joe (Jackson) has done incredible work, he’s intertwined in the community with what he delivers, and helping people in real day life and with real day struggles through football,” Dunkley adds.

“He is such a big character in terms of football and Wolverhampton and it’s testament to him and all involved that everything is still going now, all these years on.

“I loved my time with New Park Village Rovers, and it definitely played a big part in my development.”

Dunkley is now into his second year with Chesterfield, the Spireites having followed up reaching the League Two play-offs on their first season back in the EFL with a promising start this time around.

On Saturday, whilst Wolves and the top two divisions are inactive due to the international break, he will be in action not too far away, as second-placed Chesterfield visit sixth-placed Walsall, who beat them in those play-offs back in May.

And Walsall, as well as Wolves, were among the clubs who ran the rule over Dunkley as a youngster, as his journey progressed from playing football for enjoyment to pursuing a career.

“I initially got scouted for Wolves by Bob Bennett when I was about ten, and Tony Lacey was there at the Academy as well,” Dunkley explains.

“I’ll be honest, I probably didn’t realise the seriousness of it all at the time.

“I was just playing football for fun and not really thinking that it was a club like Wolves – I was just playing with a load of other kids who had the Wolves kit on!

“I was with New Park Village Rovers at the time, which I was really enjoying, so even though the opportunity was there for Wolves, I didn’t sign.

“Later on, I remember asking my parents why they didn’t make me sign, but they said it was always up to me, and I think I was fortunate in that respect that I didn’t have pushy parents - even though my dad had ties and was on the books at Rushden & Diamonds

“If they had told me to sign, who knows? Maybe it wouldn’t have worked out and I would have fallen out of love with the game.

“I was also playing for Wolverhampton Schools at the time, who had Nick Loftus with links to Wolves Academy, and as I started to understand football a bit more, different scouts were starting to watch us.

“I started doing a few bits with Walsall, and they worked on two year contracts, and when that came to an end, they were keen to sign me.

“But because of the links via Wolverhampton Schools, I was given the opportunity to go to Crewe’s Academy, which had a really good reputation for producing good young players.

“So that’s what I did, and even though the opportunity to join Wolves never came around again after that, it felt like Crewe offered a pathway to the first team that might not have been available at a bigger club.”

The challenges, as with all young players, were far from over, however.  And Dunkley’s progress towards eventual league football was quite different to others who have emerged through academies.

The foundations were laid not so much via Under-18 or Under-21 football as now, but via a no-nonsense grounding and invaluable experience with two of the biggest non-league names on this patch, Hednesford Town and Kidderminster Harriers.

“While at Crewe, I had a little loan at Hednesford at a young age which gave me the chance to play against men and learn more about the physical side of the game,” Dunkley recalls.

“Maybe not so much in terms of technical ability, but it definitely helped me become stronger and quicker, it was more direct and a different side of football.

“So, when I was then released by Crewe, I joined Hednesford and was doing well, so much so that I had a trial game with Burnley and also had Blues (Birmingham City) showing interest.

“I joined Kidderminster, then managed by Steve Burr, who had been flirting with the play-offs in the Conference, and we finished second in the league, behind Mansfield.

“I wasn’t in the team at first, as a young player, but we had a bad start to the season, so I got in, and once I got the opportunity, I managed to take it and ended up playing 25 to 30 games.”

Making the most of opportunities has been a theme of Dunkley’s career. It was while at Kidderminster that he received the international honours, captaining the England C team - for players outside of the Football League - in fixtures against Turkey and Estonia.

And from there, his Football League chance came along, signed by Michael Appleton at Oxford United, where he spent two-and-a-half years, including successive Wembley appearances in the Football Trophy Final

In the first of those, he scored an unfortunate own goal when challenging another local former Wolf Sam Winnall in a 3-2 defeat to Barnsley, whilst the second brought a 2-1 loss against Coventry.

“To play at Wembley is a dream for anyone, and to do it twice in succession is even better, although it was unfortunate that we lost both,” he admits.

On the flip side of that disappointment, however, there was promotion to League One, Dunkley opening the scoring in the decisive and memorable 3-0 victory against Wycombe which secured the step-up.

By now, the level and consistency of Dunkley’s performances, and commanding presence in the centre of defence, were attracting rave reviews.

And so it was, in the summer of 2017, that he became Cook’s first signing when he arrived at a Wigan Athletic side which had just been relegated from the Championship. 

In his first of three seasons with the Latics, Dunkley rattled up a half century of appearances to help his team not only win the League One title, ahead of Blackburn, but also reach the FA Cup quarter finals having beaten a star-studded Manchester City side 1-0 in the last 16.

Pep Guardiola’s superstars were enroute to the first of their titles under his tutelage, and the first of six in the next seven years, including the likes of Sergio Aguero, Bernardo Silva, David Silva, Leroy Sane, Ilkay Gundogan, and many more.

Dunkley, playing alongside future England international Dan Burn, made 13 clearances, more than the entire City team, helping Wigan follow up their 2013 FA Cup Final success against the same opposition by taking a mighty scalp once again.

“That was such a mad game, coming up against so many world class players, and, believe it or not, we weren’t at full strength,” Dunkley recalls.

“The fight in the league was our priority, so the gaffer changed the team around a little bit, but we were still competitive.

“Let’s make no qualms about it, Man City had huge amounts of possession and did what Man City could do, but we were on top of our game, and it was our night.

“We defended resolutely, got a great goal from Will Grigg, and hung on to cause a massive upset which is definitely one to remember.

“Playing alongside Dan was great as well.

“I originally thought I was coming to the club to replace Dan who was about to join Bristol City, but that didn’t happen and we ended up forming a strong partnership.

“You could always see he was such a good player, with the ability to go on and hit the heights as he has with Newcastle and also representing his country.”

For Dunkley, football has continued to provide a range of challenges and obstacles, which he met with his typically fearless and forthright attitude.

With Wigan came relegation, due purely to a points deduction, by which time he had suffered a double leg break, and with the Latics needing to move players on, he was signed by Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship.

The injury delayed Dunkley’s efforts to make an impact at Hillsborough, and over two years, under several managers, he didn’t play as much as he would have liked. Even so, he harbours nothing but fond memories of his time with the Owls, and the ‘good people’, on and off the pitch.

There followed two more happy years back closer to home with Shrewsbury, including a 12th placed finish and being a part of a squad that secured a tenth consecutive season in League One, before moving on - and being signed by Cook once again - at Chesterfield.

Cook is a manager who will be remembered as a player by Wolves fans of a certain vintage, for a wand of a left foot, and a technical ability which was sometimes out of kilter with the muck and nettles of life in the Championship at the time.

For Dunkley, mention of that ability comes as no surprise.

“Do you know what? I can see that with the gaffer,” he acknowledges.

“My cousin took me to Wolves as a kid but it was when there were no names and numbers on the shirts so I didn’t know who was who - and it was after the gaffer had been there anyway.

“Through the years, whether it’s through head tennis, or Teqball, I can see he has got technique, like a lot of left-footed players.

“He has told me about the days when teams played 4-4-2 and they’d have one destroyer in there to tackle and break things up, with more of a ballplayer alongside, and that was him.

“He’s also a smart and shrewd man, a professor of the game, a really good manager who has had several promotions.

“I feel fortunate that he has signed me at two different clubs, and I think he does that because he tends to bring in players he feels he can trust, who will do what it says on the tin.

“He mixes that in with adding new players, and with the job he is doing now, I really think you will see some of the names in our dressing room in the Championship or even the Premier League in the years to come.”

There have been many other Wolves links for Dunkley during his career.

Sam Morsy, who he can remember from his Academy days, was a team-mate at Wigan and remains a close friend, whilst he has also played alongside Lee Evans, Nathan Byrne and Michael Jacobs.

He is also in regular touch with others who have emerged from the local area, including former Wolves skipper Danny Batth, and fellow Heath Park School alumni Dion Sanderson.

He also remembers those with whom he took to the pitch with Wolverhampton Schools, such as Tom Maydew, Kyle Mason and Tom Walton.

Dunkley still returns home when he can, and has many interests within the area, which has included launching ‘Cool Rummings’, an alcoholic punch beverage developed with school pal Conor ‘CJ’ Johns to celebrate their Caribbean heritage.

There are still many more playing ambitions ahead, but, for when that is over, he has completed his UEFA ‘A’ license with a view to heading into coaching.

“Coaching is the next best thing after playing, so hopefully that will open a few doors for me when that day arrives in the future,” says Dunkley.

“Hopefully there are many more years to come, but I feel very fortunate to have had a career, and fortunate that I am still doing it.

“There is that stat that only one per cent of young players go on to make it as a professional, and that is why I feel lucky.

“It’s also been down to hard work and perseverance, enjoying the ups and getting through the downs, because everyone in this game has got a story.

“But when I do stop and think, about how far I have come and what I have achieved, then I definitely I feel very proud.

And so he should.  It’s been quite the journey. The boy from Park Village…sure ain’t done bad!