As Chelsea prepare for the visit of Newcastle United this weekend, time for another trip into fixtures past.
This is perhaps not the most obvious pick. There have certainly been more goal laden affairs. But its good to remember that Chelsea have not always had it so easy. There was once a time in the Premier League era when relegation was a very real possibility.
Newcastle United were flying high in their first season back in the top flight with striker Andy Cole well on his way to reaching 40 goals for the season.
Chelsea were struggling. Badly. They hadn't won in 11 Premier League matches and had picked up just two points in that time. The very day before they had suffered a 3-1 defeat away at Southampton.
Only one goal was needed this day and it came from the boot of Mark Stein. Steino jinked his way through the Newcastle defence before putting the ball past Mike Hooper to win three very important points for Chelsea.
It was a catalyst for Chelsea's season. Mark Stein scored in seven consecutive matches, a Premier League record until it was broken by Ruud Van Nistelrooy in 2000. Chelsea finished a comfortable 14th and reached the FA Cup Final (though the less said about that game the better).
Manchester United visit Stamford Bridge this weekend, so its that time again to look back at one of their previous games against Chelsea.
It's 1999, Manchester United are the treble winners. They haven't lost a league game in ten months. They look unstoppable. All except one thing and his name is Massimo Taibi. To be fair, it was a big ask for any keeper to fill the gloves of United's legendary keeper Peter Schmeichel. Taibi's time in Manchester was short but the stuff of legends.
Chelsea took the lead after just 27 seconds. Dan Petrescu played the ball forward for Gus Poyet to head past a stranded Taibi.
Chris Sutton, who didn't score many in his time at Stamford Bridge, made it 2-0 with a looping header from Albert Ferrer's cross.
It got worse for United when Nicky Butt was red carded for lashing out at Chelsea skipper Dennis Wise.
United survived conceding anymore until the second half when Gus Poyet got his second goal, scoring on the rebound after Taibi had saved Frank Leboeuf's low effort.
The fourth goal, despite Sutton's best efforts to claim it for himself, was an own goal from Henning Berg, sliding in to turn in Gianfranco Zola's low cross.
The final goal came from Jody Morris, completing Taibi's miserable day by shooting between his legs.
October is not a month Chelsea fans will look back on too fondly but there was some good news.
On-Field
Following on from an international break, Chelsea's first game of the month was away at bottom of the table Crystal Palace. Palace had no wins and no goals in their first eight matches, so no Chelsea fan was surprised when they took the lead after just four minutes. Tiemoue Bakayoko did get an equaliser but Wilfred Zaha restored Palace's lead just before half-time and Palace held on for the shock victory.
Next up was the first of a double header with AS Roma in the Champions League. Chelsea started well with goals from David Luiz and Eden Hazard but Roma turned it around in the second-half to lead 2-3. Chelsea seemed to be heading for defeat until Eden Hazard popped up to head in the equaliser.
The return to the Premier League saw a return to winning ways with a 4-2 home victory against Watford. Chelsea did not play well for the most part and though Watford lost the game by a two goal margin, the general feeling was they should have won. Chelsea goals came from Pedro, Cesar Azpilicueta and two for Michi Batshuayi.
League Cup action now as Chelsea took on managerless Everton at Stamford Bridge. Goals from Antonio Rudiger and Willian were decisive but again not a great performance, albeit with a much changed side. 17 year old Ethan Ampadu played the full 90 minutes and summer signing Danny Drinkwater made his debut.
An away trip to Bournemouth saw Chelsea 1-0 victors thanks to a goal from Eden Hazard. It was the best Chelsea had played in a while and they really should have had more.
The last game of the month was away to Roma in the Champions League and it was a real Halloween horror show. It took Roma just 40 seconds to take the lead and ran rings round Chelsea afterwards, eventually winning 3-0. Chelsea's Italian woes continued, it was their fourth straight defeat in Italy.
Off-Field
The main story dominating off field were stories surrounding the position of manager Antonio Conte.
As Chelsea struggled on field, Conte laid the blame on injuries but behind the scenes was said to be unhappy with the clubs transfer policy.
When press suggested there was problems with the players, Conte diplomatically described it as 'bullshit.'
Youth
It was also a difficult month for the Development squad.
In Premier League 2, they drew with West Ham United and Arsenal but suffered defeat to Swansea City. They currently sit 10th in the table.
They were also defeated in a penalty shoot-out by Yeovil Town in the Check-a-Trade Trophy.
The Under-19's had mixed results in the UEFA Youth League. They lost their home tie to Roma 0-2 but won the return fixture 1-2 to stay top of their group.
The Under-18's only had two fixtures in October, a 3-2 win against Leicester and their first defeat of the season, 4-0 to Southampton. They still sit 5 points clear at the top of their League.
Their struggles may likely be explained by not having key players available. Marc Guehi, Jonathan Panzo, Conor Gallagher, George McEachran and Callum Hudson-Odoi were all part of the England squad that won the Under-17 World Cup in India.
Ladies
The Chelsea Ladies side continued their impressive start to the season.
In the WSL they picked up wins against Liverpool and Yeovil to maintain their 100% record. They are also yet to concede a goal in the league.
They also progressed to the Round of 16 in the Womens Champions League, eliminating Bayern Munich. They lost 2-1 in the second leg in Germany but won the tie on away goals.
November Preview
Chelsea need to get themselves back on track this month in a big way.
In the Premier League their first game is against former manager Jose Mourinho's Manchester United side. Then away visits to West Bromwich Albion and Liverpool before finishing up with a home game against Swansea City.
Sandwiched between this is a long trip to Azerbaijan to play Qarabag in the Champions League. If Roma are able to get at least a draw with Atletico Madrid in the nights other game in the group, Chelsea should be able to qualify with just a draw but really its a game they should be looking to win.
A big month in which Chelsea really need to step their game up.
There is not a lot in the archives to look back on in terms of Bournemouth-Chelsea matches.
Indeed, when Chelsea arrive at Dean Court tomorrow evening, it will be only the 10th ever meeting between the sides.
Still, that isn't to say there has been no good games between the two as this fixture in the not-too-fondly remembered Zenith Cup proves.
Bournemouth took the lead through legendary England striker Luther Blissett but Chelsea equalised when Kerry Dixon nodded the ball down for new signing Alan Dickens to sweep in.
Bournemouth retook the lead with ten minutes to go. Blissett saw his effort hit the post but Peter Shearer was able to hit in the rebound.
Almost immediately it was 2-2, Dickens heading in from Steve Clarke's cross.
The game went into extra-time and early in the first period, Dixon crossed into the box and Dickens slid in to complete his hat-trick. Chelsea held on to take their place in the next round.
Dickens didn't have many great moments in his time at Chelsea but he will surely remember the night he took home the match ball.
For this weeks classic match, its time to go way back (47 years in fact) to 1970 and a trip to White Hart Lane for an FA Cup semi-final at White Hart Lane.
The decade itself may only be a few months old but you can immediately tell we're in the 70's by the lack of grass on the pitch. Players were proper tough back then, they had to be to play on these sand-mud marsh monstrosities. Could you imagine Eden Hazard trying to play all his little tricks on those pitches?
Chelsea had made it to this stage via wins over Birmingham City, Burnley, Crystal Palace and Queens Park Rangers. Their opponents were Second Division side Watford, who were not to be taken lightly having eliminated Liverpool in the previous round.
First blood went to Chelsea, David Webb finding himself unmarked at the back post from a corner.
Watford equalised before half-time with a long range strike from Terry Garbutt (that maybe Peter Bonetti should have done better with?).
Chelsea took control in the second half. First, Peter Osgood kept up his record of a goal in every round with a header from Peter Houseman's cross to restore the Blues lead.
Houseman than makes a mockery of my statement about the state of the pitches by jinking through the Hornets defence for 3-1.
Ian Hutchison made it four with an effort on the turn and then turned provider for Houseman to make it 5-1.
A great performance from Chelsea in tough conditions. Something that wouldn't go amiss for the current players in this weekends encounter.
As Chelsea prepare to visit Crystal Palace, time for another trip down memory lane. This time, we go back 20 years to 1997.
Chelsea had made a good start to the season despite an opening day loss to Coventry City, newly promoted Crystal Palace were predictably struggling.
Palace were sharing Selhurst Park with Wimbledon at the time and Chelsea's first goal came right out of their playbook. French defender Frank Leboeuf played the long ball forward and Mark Hughes volleyed the ball on the turn for a stunning opener.
A few minutes later and Dan Petrescu was tripped inside the penalty area and Leboeuf stepped up to double Chelsea's lead.
Palace kept the Blues from scoring again until the last minute, when Graeme Le Saux (recently re-signed from Blackburn Rovers) burst through the Eagles defence and rifled an effort into the top corner. It was Le Saux's first goal of his second spell at Chelsea.
Poor Palace were relegated at the seasons end, they will be desperate to avoid a repeat.
Chelsea entered the 1990/91 season in good spirits, people were even
talking about them as potential title contenders.
The two big signings for Chelsea in the summer were two future
captains, Andy Townsend and Dennis Wise.
The season video is distributed by Telstar made with the Football
League, so all the Division One and League Cup goals are there but missing the
FA Cup and ZDS Cup. So, only three games missing in total and since 2 of those
are a 3-1 defeat to Oxford United and a penalty shoot-out loss to Luton Town, I
doubt anyone will be pining their loss. Narration is provided by Matt Lorenzo
who keeps us abreast of all the transfer news (no ‘windows’ back then), injury
updates and international call ups. The match commentary comes almost
exclusively from Martin Tyler, one year off his big money move to Sky.
The video starts with footage of Chelsea fans cheering. I believe there
was a law at this time that all season videos had to start in this manner.
Chelsea didn’t start the season well, conceding five penalties in the
first six games probably didn’t help. David Lee in particular had a shocker.
Chelsea’s big problem this season was inconsistency where a good win was
followed by mediocre performances.
Dave Beasant missed the 1-0 win over Aston Villa in November, bringing
to an end a run of consecutive appearances stretching back over 9 years and 3
different clubs.
The game at Old Trafford was broadcast live on ITV’s The Big Match.
Back then ITV used to sell programmes to newsagents on the day of the match. In
this case, it was just ‘The United Review’ inside an ITV artwork sleeve with a
foreword by Ian St John. It’s a shame Sky never carried this on as these were
cool little bits of memorabilia.
Then there is an extraordinary game against Derby County. Derby had a
horrible time of it this season eventually being relegated and their luck had
been out since day one when they played at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea were given
a goal that was nowhere near crossing the line and then when Derby thought they
had a last minute equaliser, the referee brought it back for a penalty that was
duely saved by Beasant. At the Baseball Ground, Derby and Chelsea played out
one of the most exciting games ever witnessed.
Kerry Dixon opened the scoring early on but Derby equalised within four
minutes. Chelsea retook the lead again through Dixon and Gordon Durie extended
it further shortly afterwards. Half-time and Chelsea led 1-3.
Second half, Derby County score three unanswered goals and now lead
4-3. Then Chelsea hit Derby on the counter-attack and Durie’s cross was headed
in by little Dennis Wise. Chelsea retook the lead through a superb solo goal
from the brilliant Durie. This was Durie’s last season at Chelsea before he
forever tarnished his legacy with his move to Tottenham. The scoring was
wrapped up in the last minute by Graeme Le Saux as Chelsea won a sensational
game 4-6.
When I was researching an article for a Chelsea game against Nottingham
Forest I came across this:
Now, this was 12 years before anyone had heard of the name of ‘Abramovich’,
Chelsea had won two FA Cups (plus two other Final appearances), the European
Cup Winners Cup, the League Cup, European Super Cup, had been to the
Quarter-Finals of the Champions League and had qualified a second time in those
intervening years. But let’s focus on that 1991 team.
Now they were inconsistent no doubt and a 10th place finish
was disappointing based on pre-season expectations. The League Cup semi-final
defeat to Division Two side Sheffield Wednesday was a blow and the 7-0 defeat
at Nottingham Forest undoubtedly a low-light.
BUT they were also the only team to defeat Arsenal in the league that
year; Liverpool’s title challenge was all but ended with a 4-2 defeat at
Stamford Bridge; Tottenham Hotspur (with Gazza, Lineker et al) were eliminated
from the League Cup thanks to a 0-3 win for Chelsea at White Hart Lane and the
Blues done the double over Manchester United.
So, they weren’t a bad side they just lacked consistency.
It’s a good video to watch and is well presented with nice use of
graphics which aren’t as garish as other releases tend to be. There is some use
of stock music but nowhere near as obnoxious as the previous years.
It could have done with a few more talking heads. There are a few
snippets from Wise, Dixon and manager Bobby Campbell but it would have been
nice to hear a bit more, particularly from Campbell in his last season in
charge.
It’s the best season video Chelsea have released so far.
A look at events at Chelsea FC over the month of September.
On-Pitch
Alvaro Morata celebrates against Leicester City
The month started with an International break but Chelsea returned to action away at Leicester City.
Alvaro Morata continued his good start to his Chelsea career with the opening goal and Kante doubled the lead with a fine goal against his former club. A penalty for Leicester made things a bit more nervous than they needed to be but Chelsea held on. Eden Hazard came on as a second half substitute for his first action of the season and Davide Zappacosta came on for his debut.
Chelsea's Champions League campaign began with the visit of Qarabag. The Azerbaijani champions were thoroughly outclassed. Zappacosta scored on his full debut from a mis-hit cross. Pedro, Cesar Azpilicueta, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Michy Batshuayi all scored before an own-goal wrapped up the scoring in a 6-0 win.
The visit of Arsenal was a game of few chances ending in a 0-0 draw. Unfortunately for Chelsea, a rash challenge saw David Luiz receive a red card and three match suspension. He can have no complaints.
Hat-trick man Michy Batshuayi
The League Cup saw the visit of Nottingham Forest to Stamford Bridge. Much like Qarabag a week earlier, Forest were overwhelmed by the quality of Chelsea's play. Chelsea scorers were Kenedy, Charly Musonda and a hat-trick for Batshuayi. The only disappointment was not keeping the clean sheet right at the end.
Next up was an away visit to Stoke City, always considered a tough trip for the big sides. It took just 2 minutes for Chelsea to settle when Morata put Chelsea ahead. The final score was perhaps a harsh reflection on Stoke who played well but Morata would get a hat-trick (the second Chelsea player to do so in 4 days) whilst Pedro added the other in a 0-4 win.
Batshuayi's last gasp winner vs Atletico Madrid
The games come thick and fast as next up was away at Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. The toughest game in the group on paper, Chelsea put in a superb performance. They trailed at the break due to a poorly conceded penalty by David Luiz but second half goals from former Real Madrid player Morata and a last second goal from Batshuayi gave Chelsea an important win. Atletico had never lost to English opponents on home soil and were yet to concede at their new home the Wanda Metropolitano. Former Chelsea players Felipe Luis and Fernando Torres were in their matchday squad.
The month would end on a down note however. Manchester City came to Stamford Bridge and former Chelsea player Kevin De Bruyne scored the only goal in a 0-1 defeat.
Chelsea finished the month 4th in the Premier League but top of their Champions League group and in the 4th round of the League Cup.
Off-Pitch
The big story was the conclusion of the Diego Costa debacle. It was finally agreed he would be returning to Atletico Madrid in January for an undisclosed fee.
In three seasons at Chelsea, Costa scored 59 goals in 120 appearances and was a key figure in two Premier League winning sides as well as winning the League Cup in 2015.
FIFA announced they would be launching an investigation into the signing of young players, though Chelsea's breach is not thought to be serious.
The League Cup draw saw Chelsea drawn against Everton, to be played at Stamford Bridge on 25th October.
Youth
Chelsea Under-18's have started their season in fine form and have won their first six games in the U18 Premier League to sit a comfortable 5 points clear in the table. September saw wins against Arsenal, Swansea City and Fulham. The one blemish being a 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers in the inaugural League Cup.
The Under-19's have been mirroring the first team in the UEFA Youth League and have had impressive wins over Qarabag and Atletico Madrid.
It's been tougher going for the Under-23's. September saw draws with Sunderland and Manchester United but defeat to Leicester City. They currently sit 7th in Premier League 2.
Ladies
The Ladies side have returned to action in the WSL with a pair of impressive 6-0 wins against Bristol City and Sunderland. They may be ones to watch this season.
October Preview
A seemingly kinder month on paper for Chelsea in the Premier League. Followinf an international break, Chelsea are away to bottom of the table Crystal Palace yet to get a point or score a goal in the League this year. This is followed by a home game against Watford and another away game to Bournemouth.
The Champions League should prove tougher with a double header against Italian side AS Roma.
There will also be the visit of Everton in the League Cup to contend with.
With Manchester City visiting Stamford Bridge there was really only one port of call for The Classic Match.
City were under new ownership at the time but not that one. This was the one season under Thaksin Shinawatra. If you ever wanted proof of the worthlessness of the 'Fit and Proper Person' test for club owners, look no further than this guy. One thing he had done was bring former England manager Sven Goran Erikkson in and City were third in the table at start of play.
Chelsea themselves were in a strange period. Successful manager Jose Mourinho had just departed and new but-not-very-popular manager Avram Grant was still finding his feet. This was a chance to make a statement.
It started in the best possible way, Frank Lampard played in Michael Essien who shot across goal to give Chelsea a 16th minute lead.
Didier Drogba made it two when he finished from a world class pass from Lampard.
City done well not to concede again until the 56th minute when Lampard's shot was blocked but Drogba collected the rebound.
Then it was Joe Cole's turn, as he found himself one-on-one with the keeper and angled the ball low into the corner.
Essien slipped the ball through for Salomon Kalou, who put it through the keepers legs, for five.
City's misery was completed in the last minute with a carbon copy of the fifth but this time it was Andrey Shevchenko finishing it off.
City's season would tail off after this and they finished a disappointing 9th. Chelsea would finish 2nd, pipped on the final day by Manchester United.
More than just a showdown between Atletico Madrid and Chelsea, this was a duel between two of the world's top strikers, Sergio Kun Aguero and Didier Drogba.
Going into the match, Aguero was being heavily linked with a move to Chelsea but Drogba was keen to prove he wasn't finished just yet.
It took until the 66th minute for the deadlock to be broken. Aguero scoring with a sensational half volley.
It was then Drogba's turn to take control. First on 82 minutes, he used his aerial strength to head the equaliser from Florent Malouda's cross.
Then with two minutes left, Drogba somehow weaved himself through the Atletico defence and found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper. His initial shot was saved but no matter as he was still able to stroke home the rebound.
Chelsea thought they had won it but there was still time for Aguero to pinch an equaliser with a great free-kick Petr Cech had no chance of saving.
So, a draw between Atletico Madrid and Chelsea and Sergio Aguero and Didier Drogba.
The point was enough for Chelsea to secure passage to the next round. Atletico would not be so fortunate and finished third in the group behind Chelsea and Porto with a meagre three points.
Or 'Jon Walter's Worst Nightmare' as its otherwise known.
To prepare for Chelsea's upcoming visit to the Britannia Stadium, we go on another trip down memory lane to revisit another great Chelsea victory.
January 2013 and Chelsea, under not-very-popular manager Rafa Benitez, were competing on four fronts in the Premier League, FA Cup, UEFA Cup and League Cup. Stoke City were having their average season under Tony Pulis, not really challenging for anything but always tough to beat on their home turf.
It was on the stroke of half-time it all started to go wrong for Stoke and Jon Walters in particular. Cesar Azpilicueta played a cross into the box and Walters came steaming in to head it home.
15 minutes after half-time it got worse when Walters scored a second own goal from Frank Lampard's corner.
Jon Walters scores his/Chelsea's second
Former Chelsea player Robert Huth brought down Juan Mata in the box to give Lampard the chance from 12-yards to make it 3-0.
Then a goal of genuine quality when Eden Hazard hit a great strike from 30 yards for 4-0.
Still time enough though, for Stoke and Walters misery to be complete. With just a few minutes remaining, Stoke got a penalty for a clumsy challenge by John Terry on Walters. He stepped up to take it himself...and hit it over the bar.
Not a day Jon Walters will want to remember in a hurry.
To prepare for the visit of Nottingham Forest to Stamford Bridge in the League Cup on Wednesday night, it's time to delve into the archives for a classic Chelsea fixture.
In 2007, Forest arrived at the Bridge for a fourth round FA Cup tie. This was to be fair not a vintage Forest side. Since relegation from the Premier League in 1999, Forest had sunk further into League One. Chelsea on the other hand were chasing their third consecutive Premier League title.
Struggled striker Andrey Shevchenko opened the scoring after 9 minutes. Geremi put in the long throw, flicked on by Didier Drogba and Shevchenko arrived unmarked to volley it home (via a deflection).
No such good fortune required for the second goal when on 18 minutes, Didier Drogba lifted a beautiful free-kick over the Forest wall into the goal.
Then a rarity, as right on half-time Jon Obi-Mikel poked in a goal from a corner.
Chelsea eased up in the second-half. They could have got more but three was plenty. Sorry Forrest never really threatened the Chelsea goal.
The Blues would go on to win the Cup that year, Forest would have to wait another season for promotion.
Match Report: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/6282195.stm
With the upcoming visit of Arsenal, it is a good time to reflect on one of our previous encounters with the Gunners.
The situation leading into the game was that both teams were in the title race. Chelsea were top with 66 points, Arsenal in fourth with 62 points. It also had the added spice that this was manager Arsene Wenger's 1000th game in charge of Arsenal. Chelsea would not let it be an occasion he would look back on fondly.
The first goal came after just five minutes, veteran striker Samuel Eto'o collecting the ball from Andre Schurrle on the right of the penalty area and curling the ball into the far corner.
Two minutes later it was two, Schurrle's low shot from the right leaving Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesney looking rather flat-footed.
Then a bizarre incident in the 16th minute. Eden Hazard's shot was blocked on the line by the hand of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain but in a case of mistaken identity, it was Kieran Gibbs who was sent off for it. Hazard would make it 3-0 from the resultant penalty.
Chelsea had to wait until the 42nd minute for their fourth which came when Fernando Torres crossed in low from the right for the onrushing Oscar to put into the roof of the net.
Chelsea may have taken their foot off the gas a little bit in the second half. Oscar got his second with an effort from outside the box that Szczesney may feel he should have done better with.
The scoring was completed in the 71st minute when Mohamed Salah (making a rare Chelsea appearance) beat the Arsenal offside trap to score Chelsea's sixth.
Chelsea may well have added a couple more but six was enough. At the end of the season, Chelsea would finish third and Arsenal in their customary fourth spot but this was a day neither side would ever forget.
Chelsea are back in the First Division after a year away and looking to
make an impact.
Distributed by CBS Fox and made by World Action Sports (a branch of
ITV), it promises every goal from Chelsea’s season. But only in the League as
it’s a Football League video. But a 3-2 defeat against Scarborough in the
League Cup and a 3-1 defeat against Bristol City in the FA Cup aren’t something
to get too upset about missing out on. And if you were looking for our great
ZDS Cup campaign, that has its own video.
The change in production also means an uptake in the production value
of the video. Goals get replays now and there are multiple camera angles to
view them from. Jim Rosenthal narrates over fancy flashy graphics and keeps
everything up-to-date throughout the season (transfers, injuries, international
call-ups). Commentary comes primarily from Martin Tyler but also on occasion
from Peter Brackley, Gerald Sinstadt and the legendary Brian Moore. ‘The Saint’
Ian St John pops up to do co-commentary on the game at Hillsborough against
Sheffield Wednesday.
On the downside, there is awful background music to put up with.
Horrible public domain saxophone music that was so prevalent on football videos
in the 90’s. And no talking heads either, so if you wanted to know what was
going through the players and managers minds that year, you are plum out of
luck. Alternatively, you may be the type of person who just wants to jump
straight in the action so all that yammering just gets in the way.
There are some silly little mistakes as well, such as using the
Manchester City badge in the results graphics instead of the Chelsea one in a
game against Liverpool.
The major signings during that season were Alan Dickens from West Ham
and in November, big Erland Johnsen from Bayern Munich. Chelsea would lose Joe
McLoughlin and later Mickey Hazard but otherwise it was much the same side that
had won the Division Two Championship.
Kerry Dixon scores his 150th Chelsea goal
Chelsea started that season really well and were top after three games.
The game against Wednesday at Stamford Bridge marked Dave Beasant’s 400th
consecutive appearance spanning three clubs (Wimbledon, Newcastle United and
Chelsea). One thing this video really does a good thing of highlighting is just
how good a keeper ‘Lurch’ could actually be, his performances against Sheffield
Wednesday, Manchester United and Crystal Palace were exemplary. He had a good
reputation for saving penalties (mainly due to his 1988 FA Cup final heroics)
and added two more during this season against Arsenal and Liverpool. Unfortunately,
he always had the clanger in him as well such as when he dropped a cross
against Wimbledon. Ultimately, that would cost him in his career.
Kerry Dixon would reach a milestone of his own, lobbing over Tottenham
Hotspur keeper Erik Thorstvedt in a 1-4 win at White Hart Lane he reached 150
goals for Chelsea. He would finish the season on 25, including a final day
hat-trick against Millwall, to move out on his own as Chelsea’s second highest
goalscorer of all time.
Title contenders was a word banded about in relation to Chelsea in the
early part of the season but inconsistency and a frailty in defence made that a
bridge too far. This is best illustrated in Chelsea’s disastrous December month
when they lost 2-5 to Wimbledon, 4-2 to QPR and 2-5 again this time against
Liverpool consecutively.
But Chelsea would battle back to claim a creditable 5th
place finish and maybe if Gordon Durie hadn't been injured most the season, Chelsea could have done better. Jim Rosenthal also informs us planning permission had been
accepted for a Sport and Leisure complex at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea Village
was on its way.
Some little curios though. Firstly the game against Manchester United
to show how quickly a clubs fortunes can change, Chelsea fans can be audibly
heard taunting their United counterparts with ‘Going Down! Going Down! Going
Down!’ And this was no early season hi-jinks, this game was played in March and
relegation a real possibility for United and manager Alex Ferguson. Impossible
to think today such a time ever existed.
Secondly, a game against Crystal Palace when our players gave them a
guard of honour for reaching the FA Cup final. It was a great achievement for
them but it’s a bit patronising isn’t it? They hadn’t won anything yet (and
wouldn’t, they lost the final and the Fergie story begins).
Crystal Palace given guard of honour at Stamford Bridge
The home game against Tottenham Hotspur is of historical interest as
being the last time to date Spurs have won at Stamford Bridge.
All in all, it’s a well-produced video. Some games, such as away at
Sheffield Wednesday and home to Manchester United get more in-depth extended highlights treatment (as both games were broadcast live on ITV’s ‘The
Big Match’) but it delivers on its promise of showing all the major action from
all our other games too.
Just like Chelsea, the season videos are on the up.
Season Highlights:
4-1 win at Tottenham (Kerry Dixon’s 150th Chelsea goal)
Dave Beasant saves a penalty against Arsenal
1-0win at Everton to go top of the table
Coming from 2-0 down against Southampton to win 2-3
Kerry Dixon 'Perfect' hat-trick against Millwall
Lowlights:
Losing 2-5 and 4-1 to Liverpool
2-5 and 4-2 defeats to Wimbledon and QPR respectively
On Pitch Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal (lost 1-4 on penalties), Community Shield, 06/08/2017
After a decent pre-season that started a bit late, Chelsea's first 'proper' game came in the Community Shield against Arsenal.
A glorified friendly in truth, it is never the less the first silverware of the season.
Victor Moses gave Chelsea a scarcely deserved lead early in the second half, attempting to make up perhaps for his red card in the FA Cup final a few months earlier.
Chelsea looked comfortable enough until the 80th minute when Pedro was sent off for a reckless tackle on Mohamed Elneny. Arsenal equalised from the subsequent free-kick with their new signing Sead Kolisinac left unmarked at the back post.
No extra-time, it went straight to penalties and Chelsea kept up their legendarily poor record. Still, at least we got to see the new ABBA system in action. Though it may help players (not Chelsea ones obviously), it does rob a lot of the drama out of it. Chelsea 2-3 Burnley, Premier League, 12/08/2017
The first game in the title defence couldn't have gotten off to a worse start.
Captain Gary Cahill was sent off on 16 minutes and by half-time Burnley were leading 0-3.
Chelsea did recover somewhat in the second half with goals from summer signing Alvaro Morata and David Luiz but still had to contend with another red card, this time for Cesc Fabregas.
A miserable day all round.
Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Chelsea, Premier League, 20/08/2017
With memories of that 2015-16 season still fresh in the memory, Chelsea fans could be forgiven for fearing the worst.
There was no need to worry. First, Marcos Alonso gave Chelsea the lead with a sub-lime free-kick. Tottenham did equalise thanks to an own goal from Michy Batshuayi but Alonso stepped up two minutes from time for his second goal to win the game for Chelsea.
A fabulous Welcome to Wembley for Tottenham.
Chelsea 2-0 Everton, Premier League, 27/08/2017
What looked a tricky game on paper proved a comfortable afternoon stroll for Chelsea.
The returning Cesc Fabregas opened the scoring in the 25th minute and Alvaro Morata made the game safe 5 minutes before half-time. Morata made a little history as the first player in Premier League history to score and assist in both his first home games.
So, it was six points from the first nine. Burnley game was disappointing but Chelsea are only a point behind where they would have realistically hoped to be at the start of the season.
Off Pitch
When the transfer window closed at the end of August, Chelsea were left to rue missed opportunities.
Though Transfer Deadline Day did bring the signings of Davide Zappacosta and Danny Drinkwater, Chelsea also missed out on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Ross Barkeley, both of whom were alleged to have ended their interest mid-negotiation. This will need to be improved. Transfer policy is a big deal for Antonio Conte, he left Juventus over it.
The big question mark still hangs over the head of Diego Costa. Is there any hope for him to reconcile his relationship with Conte or will he be left to rot in the reserves?
Some good news, Eden Hazard has now recovered from his injury picked up in June while on international duty with Belgium and will be back in action shortly.
The Champions League draw saw Chelsea put in a tough group with Atletico Madrid and Roma while Azerbaijani champions Qarabag are expected to make up the numbers.
September Preview
All months are big at Chelsea but September brings the visits of both Arsenal and Manchester City to Stamford Bridge, with tricky away game at Stoke City to contend with as well.
The Champions League campaign opens away at Qarabag before the visit of Atletico Madrid.
Chelsea also have their first game in the League Cup with the visit of Nottingham Forest.
In 1985, in the wake of the Heysel stadium disaster, English clubs were
given a five-year ban from European competition. Two new tournaments were
suggested: a Super Cup for the teams that finished in the top 6 in 1984-85 and
a new tournament was created for all the teams in the top two divisions below
that, the Full Members Cup (teams in Divisions One and Two were recognised as Full Members of the Football League,
teams in Divisions Three and Four were Associate
members and thus not eligible) which would be more commonly known as the
Zenith Data Systems (or ZDS) Cup.
The Super Cup only lasted a year while the Full Members Cup struggled
on for seven years until 1992 despite being universally loathed. The League Cup
has always had problems establishing itself so what chance did League Cup 2
have?
Chelsea, Blackburn Rovers, Reading, Nottingham Forest and Crystal
Palace will go down as the only five teams to have ever won the competition.
Chelsea and Nottingham Forest both won it twice. It’s not going to cause much
envy though since Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United
never bothered to enter it.
Nobody ever took it seriously as the low crowds will attest. Chelsea
however, were somewhat honour bound to put some effort though as the whole thing
was the brain child of one Ken Bates.
So, it was perhaps fitting that Chelsea should win the inaugural
competition, defeating Manchester City 5-4 in the final in 1986.
Forward on a few years and Chelsea are riding high. They’ve just won
the Division Two championship, they are going strong in Division One and are
about to start their campaign in the much maligned ZDS cup…
And first up was scrappy Bournemouth. The Cherries took the lead twice
in the game but Chelsea would win thanks to a hat-trick from Alan Dickens,
recently signed from West Ham. It was perhaps his finest moment in a Chelsea
shirt. Shame it was in a competition nobody cared about.
Kerry Dixon volleys the opener at Crystal Palace
But just because a competition is rubbish that doesn’t mean there can’t
be great games in it as Chelsea’s next opponents West Ham United prove. Chelsea
went 2-0 ahead thanks to a goal from Kerry Dixon just before half-time and a
penalty from Graham Roberts. The East Londoners wouldn’t lie down though and
came back to lead 2-3 with just a few minutes remaining. Just a few minutes
however was all Kevin Wilson and David Lee needed to turn things around and
give Chelsea a 4-3 win. The video has full highlights on this one, so as well
as the goals we get to see the fine saves pulled off by the two goalkeepers.
Dave Beasant may have conceded three but it could have been more, he was
actually on good form that night. A fine game of football that nobody
remembers.
The next round is the ‘Southern Section Semi-Final’, though hardly
seems fair Ipswich Town should be allowed to play a semi-final at their home
ground Portman Road. The video only has highlights of the goals from this one.
Chelsea took the lead three times in this game with an own goal and two from
Wilson to win 3-2.
Chelsea win the ZDS Cup
Kerry Dixon turns up to tell us how seriously the players are taking
the competition as it’s a chance to play at Wembley. And that’s the only real
appeal of the competition really. Nobody will respect you for winning it but
for the players it’s a chance to go to Wembley. And isn’t that the dream of
every young football supporter, to play at Wembley.
The Southern area final is against Crystal Palace and that brings out
the Sky cameras. You can’t miss this footage came from Sky as their logo
appears every 15 seconds. Sky were still relatively new to the game at this
point but once again, the difference in quality of coverage between Sky and
Chelsea’s own in-house production is marked (though Chelsea are improving).
Commentary on both legs is provided by Peter Brackley with Big Ron Atkinson as
co-commentator for the first leg and Lawrie McMenemy for the second.
Palace were a good young side at this point, just a month away from the
biggest moment in the clubs history when they beat Liverpool 4-3 in the FA Cup
semi-finals. They boasted future England internationals Nigel Martyn (with a
preposterous moustache), John Salako, Geoff Thomas, Ian Wright with equally
deadly strike partner Mark Bright. And er, Alan Pardew. Point being, they
weren’t a side to be taken lightly.
Chelsea swept them aside however. Winning the first leg 2-0 thanks to a
sumptuous volley from Dixon and the second from Kevin Wilson, who was really
enjoying himself in this competition. Chelsea repeated the score line at
Stamford Bridge with goals from Jon Bumstead and Gareth Hall. Chelsea were
going to Wembley! Alright, in the ZDS Cup but all the same, Wembley!
The final was against Middlesbrough. Though not said in the video,
there would undoubtedly have been a number of Chelsea fans and I daresay
players too who would have felt they owed Middlesbrough one in attendance that
day. It was a little under two years previously that Chelsea had been relegated
in a play-off match against the Boro’.
The final was less than classic in truth, settled by a Tony Dorigo
free-kick.
It’s a strange thing watching the players lift the trophy and celebrate
at the end. The ZDS Cup was a joke, it always has been. But seeing the smiles
on the faces of the players (for some of whom, this was the pinnacle of their
career. It was the only time Bobby Campbell went to Wembley as a player or as a
manager) and the fans, it’s a reminder it also created a lot of good memories.
And maybe that’s what football is really all about.
This is the big one for Chelsea fans. This is the one Chelsea fans want to win above all else.
For Tottenham Hotspur however, it had always been secondary to their rivalry with Arsenal. But it's growing, largely because it's a fixture Chelsea have chiefly dominated in recent years and brought a lot of heartbreak to Tottenham fans.
Though their had always been traditional London rivalry between the two, it never really kicked-off in any major way until the 1967 FA Cup Final.
The first all-London affair, it was dubbed 'The Cockney Cup Final'. It was Chelsea's first final in 52 years and it was to be the culmination for 'Docherty's Diamond's'. Tottenham had other ideas and sporting two former Chelsea players Jimmy Greaves and Terry Venables in their line-up, they would win 2-1 to lift the Cup.
Forward on a few years to 1975 and both sides had hit harder times. With three games to go, the two sides met in what was a major relegation battle. Tottenham, who had been in the relegation zone at the start of play ran out as 2-0 winners. This game didn't actually relegate Chelsea but there isn't a single Tottenham fan alive that won't tell you otherwise.
Since the 1990's however, the rivalry has been a largely one sided affair. At time of writing, Tottenham haven't won at Stamford Bridge for 27 years while Chelsea have inflicted a lot of misery on the Spurs faithful, including a memorable 1-6 win at White Hart Lane in 1997.
What must really gnaw at the Tottenham fans though is that even when they think they are out, Chelsea always come back at them.
In 2002, Tottenham beat Chelsea 5-1 in the League Cup, their first win in 12 years. A few weeks later however, Chelsea won 4-0 against Tottenham twice in three days.
2006, Tottenham win their first league game against Chelsea for 16 years (and first at White Hart Lane since 1987) but later in the year come back to knock them out of the FA Cup.
Chelsea don't even need to be playing Tottenham to cause pain for them. In 2012, Tottenham finished above Chelsea in the League for the first time since 1996 and were all set for Champions League football. All until Didier Drogba and that night in Munich.
Tottenham may point to their 2008 League Cup triumph at Wembley but Chelsea can point to the 2015 final, along with two big semi-final wins at Wembley in 2012 (5-1) and 2017 (4-2).
What possibly encapsulates the rivalry most in recent years though is the 2015-16 season. Chelsea were having their worst season in two decades while Tottenham were challenging for the title. On 2nd May 2016, Tottenham arrived at Stamford Bridge for a vital clash. At half-time, Tottenham were leading 0-2 but Chelsea came back in a heated second half with goals from Gary Cahill and Eden Hazard to give the League title to Leicester City and once more break the Spurs hearts.
It's a reminder that no matter what, Chelsea always seem to have the last laugh.
