Football clubs are like people, they have unique personalities and play parts like actors, in their own private dramas. Many clubs live a routine 9-5 existence, they’re happy with their position in life, but are soon forgotten. Success is a consequence for an elite few, players, sponsors and media clamour for their attention, others live a wild adventure. They’re unpredictable, like a flawed genius, things normally end badly. Chelsea played the part of a tragic black comedy, we loved them because of this, nobody took us seriously. This script was ripped to shreds with the arrival of Roman Abramovich in 2003. Chelsea 2007 is a worldwide brand, universally recognised as a leading light in world football, a phenomenal success story. It’s been a tough transition for the media, ‘The Bridge of Sighs’ no longer exists.

It’s interesting to examine how Chelsea is perceived by fans of other clubs and the media in general. More than twenty years ago Liverpool dominated English football, they were praised for doing just enough to win games, without ever playing to their true potential. Arsenal were renowned for their defence and the 1-0 win, this was how to win Championships! During the 90’s Manchester United dominated playing attractive attacking football, the media loved them. After one hundred years Chelsea’s purple patch finally arrived, we can hold onto a one nil lead, dig deeply when required  and play great attacking football when appropriate. This begs a certain question; Why is Chelsea  condemned for learning how to win, there’s no simple answer.  

In order to know who you are, you need to know your history. My generation of Chelsea fans was brought up on a diet of violence, massive disappointments interspersed with the odd moment of brilliance. This produced an addictive cocktail of extreme emotions, we identified with a big club going nowhere, it didn’t matter. Chelsea’s  relationship with the press was never good, we were always big news,  lurching from one crisis to another, on and off the pitch. Nobody attracted more media attention than the Chelsea fans, even though hooliganism was rife around the country. Financial crisis, terrible inconsistency, the epic battle to save the Bridge from developers, this is who we were for more than two decades!

Some of footballs most fanatical supporters passionately follow clubs with little success, this certainly applied to Chelsea. Few people doubted Chelsea’s potential, something about us was different, we knew ‘we had it,’ this added to the frustration. One of the things that attracted me to the club was the support, especially away from home, fanatical and loyal. Certain games stick in the mind, such as a 6-0 defeat away to mighty Rotherham in Division 2. Our fans made up nearly half the ground, the travelling support roared their team on from start to finish, it made me proud to be Chelsea.

In 1985-86 we were in with a serious chance of winning the Leauge, with just a few games to go, this dream imploded dramatically. Easter saw Chelsea lose 4-0 at home to West Ham, followed by a desperate 6-0 thrashing at QPR two days later. David Speedie was sent off,  Chelsea fans got louder and louder, things went from bad to catastrophic. This is what we’re really about, thousands of true blues united behind one cause. Chelsea always had a great hardcore support, we still do, but winning hasn’t come without a price. Chelsea FC was a complete no-go zone for glory hunters, things have changed.  Imagine these fans away at Rotherham and QPR, many of them would  be on their way home before half time, looking for the next fad to follow. An uneasy truce  exists between Chelsea’s hardcore support and some  newcomers, this is why!

Many Stamford Bridge fans have been surprised at the venom aimed at us by the media. Conspiracy theorists might question why one rule seems to exist for certain clubs and another  for us? Chelsea was a big club going nowhere, we always blew it on the big day, this made us an easy target for the media. When Hoddle arrived we became the new pretenders, without ever threatening the big boys. Chelsea finished third in 1998-99, it was a magnificent campaign, everyone hoped we’d finish first, I knew we wouldn’t. Years of bitter disappointment conditioned fans to expect the worst, it also conditioned the media, controversy always lurked ominously on the horizon.

In 2002, reports of huge debts circulated in the press, Chelsea were going to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, again. Arsenal lurked like starving piranhas in the murky shadows, waiting to pounce on Terry and Gallas. Media vultures circled menacingly above Stamford Bridge. Liverpool came to Stamford Bridge in a do or die premiership game, to decide the final Champions League place. Chelsea won, the vultures watched on ambivalently, it was still only a matter of time. Suddenly Abramovich appeared on the scene, he was going to make Chelsea into winners, this wasn’t part of the script.  

Ranieri did a great job for Chelsea, he laid the seeds for today’s success and was hugely popular amongst the Stamford Bridge faithful. Collectively the Chelsea crowd aren’t winners, we loved a likable chap, Real Madrid fans would have demanded his dismissal. Roman Abramovich refused to be swayed, for the first time in our history we brought in a successful manager. Attacks from the press and opposing fans became increasingly desperate. Bobby Robson warned his prodigy that the Premiership wouldn’t be easy, you can’t buy success screamed an increasingly frustrated press. Chelsea casually strolled the league, obliterating numerous  records on the way. Huge spending sprees at Man City, Leeds, Newcastle and Liverpool were conveniently forgotten, Fergusson and Venger aged visibly, no mean feat in itself!  

Chelsea’s transition into winners was a surprisingly tough evolution for many of its traditional fans. Consistent success is a new experience, years of bitter disappointment taught us to be cautious. Imagine our bitter rivals and the media, we were always easy prey, our script was re-written. Chelsea can be compared with a drunken, unruly student, that later went onto become a multi-millionaire. People can’t believe it, they don’t know how to react, some are pleased, most offer congratulations through tightly clenched teeth. We’re here to stay, English football has been re-written, the media will have to get  used to it!

1982-83 was a nightmare and Chelsea narrowly avoided relegation to the Third Division. Clive Walker saved the day by scoring a late goal in a relegation dog fight at Bolton and home gates fell to as low as 6000. Hooliganism was rife and things were spiralling out of control in a downwards direction. Chelsea finally made sure of their Second Division status with a 0-0 draw against Middlesbrough at home in the final game of the season. Ken Bates promised the fans that things would never be this bad again and was thankfully good to his word. This was a pivotal point in the clubs history, years of steady decline was reversed and Chelsea fans now had something to look forward to.

At this time Chelsea was struggling to make ends meet and relegation to the Third Division would have been catastrophic. Our problems weren’t confined to the pitch which in itself was cause for massive concern. War was shortly to break out between Chelsea and the property developers that owned Stamford Bridge, in a battle that was to cost millions and lasted for years. Ken Bates did a miraculous job, the ‘Save the Bridge’ appeal was launched and eventually Chelsea won the day. However, what would have happened to Chelsea had we been relegated to the Third Division in 1983? Would money have been available for new players? What players would want to come to a Third Division club? Rumours constantly circulated about ground sharing schemes and this could easily have become a reality. Ground sharing with another club would not have been the same as moving into a purpose built stadium. This would have meant moving in with one of our smaller West London neighbours leading to a complete loss of identity.

Money was thankfully made available in the summer of 83 and Chelsea went on a spending spree that laid the foundations for today’s success. John Neal and assistant manager Ian McNeil made some fantastic signings which at today’s prices seems laughable; Kerry Dixon £75000 from Reading, Pat Nevin £95000 from Clyde, Nigel Spackman £40000 from Bournemouth, Eddie Niedzweiecki £45000 from Wrexham and Joe McLaughlin from Greenock Morton for a fee of £100,000. Kerry Dixon went onto become Chelsea’s second highest scorer of all time and played for England. Pat Nevin served us magnificently for six years and along with Joe McLaughlin represented Scotland. Eddie Niedzwiecki was our best keeper since Peter Bonetti and played for Wales until an injury in 1987 tragically ended his carer. Nigel Spackman was a superb midfielder who later went onto win a number of trophies with Liverpool. All these players were starting their careers when they came to Chelsea and their arrival signalled a dramatic transformation in the clubs fortunes.

Chelsea destroyed Derby County 5-0 on the opening day of the season playing a brand of exciting and attacking football that became the hallmark of this team. It is all too easy to get stuck in a reminisance hump and live in the past but for me the 1983-84 season was on a par with anything that I have ever experienced as a Chelsea supporter. Joey Jones won the European Championship with Liverpool but is quoted as saying that his greatest moment in football was winning the Second Division Championship with Chelsea. Following years of false dawns we finally had something to get excited about and the fans flooded back. Every away game was like a home game as Chelsea’s fanatical travelling support regularly out numbered home supporters. Within a year thousands of us celebrated promotion back to the First Division following a 5-0 demolition over Leeds. Stamford Bridge went berserk and the pitch became a moving sea of royal blue and white. Promotion back to the First Division seems laughable compared to where we are now, but this remains one of my favourite memories.

In many ways football is a reflection of life because nobody has a smooth passage and at the end of the season you get what you deserve. Nothing is guaranteed and once a club goes into decline, like a bankrupt or an alcoholic, they can go into freefall without a parachute. Some clubs hit rock bottom and then go on to make a full recovery and others can’t break free from the cycle of despair. Our friends from Leeds are an example of what can happen when a bill is presented for a frivolous and unsustainable lifestyle that can’t be paid. English football is littered with punch drunk clubs that flirted briefly with greatness before disappearing into obscurity. Chelsea’s future hung by a thread and we could easily have been reduced to a state of senility with nothing left to sustain us but that glorious night back in 1970.

Following promotion back to the big time in 1984 the club went onto finish in a very credible sixth place and proved themselves capable of beating any team on their day. John Neal did a fantastic job for the club until ill health forced him to stand down and John Hollins took over. Hollins was a great servant for the club as a player but a disaster as a manager. I often wonder what might have happened if John Neal had stayed in control, he did a fantastic job at every club he went to and seemed to be able to get the best out of players. Surmise aside, John Neal nursed the patient back to health and put the club firmly back on the road to recovery.

Avoiding relegation and the summer signings of 83 were critical because it gave Ken Bates a much stronger base in the titanic fight to stay at the Bridge. Hammersmith Council were committed to having a First Division club in the area but would their attitude have been the same if we were languishing in the lower divisions? How would the club have funded the battle on Third Division gates? These questions are irrelevant now but our newer supporters should know that supporting Chelsea has never been about glory. Supporting Chelsea has been a labour of love that has at times seemed hopeless and all too often has ended in bitter disappointment.

Nowadays I spend much of my time living in Sao Paulo in a district called Santo Andre and I often see Brazilian’s walking down the road wearing Chelsea shirts. This is a true measure of how far the club has progressed since those dark and desperate days back in the early 80’s. 1983 saw the club embark on a voyage of success that at the time was beyond the furthest reaches of a drug induced trance. The seeds for our golden age were sown back in the summer of 83 and were harvested twenty years later when an unknown Russian walked into our lives. Things would never be the same!