Nottingham Forest Chettle was promoted from the youth team setup at his hometown club of
Nottingham Forest. His first senior season was the 1986–1987 campaign. He went on to become a talisman in the Forest side of the late eighties and late nineties, and was ever present in each of the sides he played in, and managers he worked under. Steve is held in high regard by the Forest faithful after spending 13 years at the
City Ground where he is considered a hero. He was initially part of a young crop of players that came into life at Forest under the famous
Brian Clough, and was part of the Forest side that lost the 1991
FA Cup final at
Wembley Stadium against
Tottenham Hotspur, as well as being part of the triumphant 1990
League Cup winning side. Chettle went on to play 527 times for Forest in all competitions, scoring 11 goals between 1986 and 1999. Each of Chettle's seasons at Forest were played in the top flight of English football, bar 1993-94 and 1997–98. In the 1994–95 season, he was part of the side that finished a notable third in the
Premier League. As players and managers came and left, Chettle stayed with the club, and notably played alongside such Forest greats as
Des Walker,
Stuart Pearce,
Nigel Clough,
Ian Woan,
Steve Stone,
Mark Crossley,
Stan Collymore, and
Pierre Van Hooijdonk.
Barnsley In 1999, Forest manager
David Platt made Chettle available for loan, and eventually sent him on loan to
Barnsley who, like Forest, were struggling in the
First Division at the time. The two clubs eventually struck a permanent deal after impressing in the two games played during his loan spell. This would then spell the end for Chettle's 13-year Forest career, as he signed for the
Oakwell club in December 1999. Chettle went on to play out the rest of the 1999–2000 season for the club, as well as competing in the 2000–01 and 2001–02 seasons. His final game for the club was a 5–1 thumping away at
Manchester City on the final day of the season. Chettle was released by Barnsley in the summer of 2002.
Grimsby Town In July 2002, two months after his release from Barnsley, Chettle and fellow Tykes defender
Darren Barnard joined league rivals
Grimsby Town on one-year contracts. Chettle was seen as an ideal candidate to step in the centre of defence and started the season alongside the club's player-manager
Paul Groves and Jamaican youngster
Simon Ford. After a slow start to the season for Grimsby, Chettle saw his season blighted by injury, and through this, it pushed manager Groves into signing
Sheffield United centre half
Georges Santos and
Middlesbrough's
Jason Gavin as cover. Chettle eventually returned from injury in early 2003, and went on to score his only goal for The Mariners in a 4–1 home defeat against
Crystal Palace. Grimsby were relegated at the end of the 2002–03 season, Groves decided against offering Chettle a fresh contract, thus sealing his departure from the
Lincolnshire club.
Burton Albion Several months after his departure from
Blundell Park, Chettle acted upon an offer to work with
Nigel Clough, the son of his former Forest manager, and sign with
Conference National side
Burton Albion. Clough at the time was the player/manager of the non-league club. Chettle signed a one-year contract with Burton, and he would remain with the club for the 2003–04 season. This would be Chettle's only year at Eton Park and he departed in the summer of 2004.
Ilkeston Town Following one season with Burton, Chettle moved down the non-league footballing ladder, signing for
Ilkeston Town in July 2004. Chettle featured at centre back that season with notably forming a formidable partnership with long serving ex Grimsby defender
Mark Lever. This would eventually be both players' final season, and Chettle decided to retire from competitive football at the end of the 2004–05 season. ==Coaching career==