 Chapple played amateur football as a forward, but broke his leg in an FA Vase match in 1980, and turned to management.Initially player-manager of Alton Town, he soon moved to a purely managerial post at Windsor and Eton.Chapple first joined Woking in the 1984–85 season and went on to lead them on their famous FA Cup run in 1991 which saw them beat West Bromwich Albion 4–2 at The Hawthorns, after which he quit working as a financial consultant to become a full-time manager.