427 ViewsChelsea vs. Newcastle United : 28 May 2023 A month or so ago I mentioned that Ron Hockings, one of our greatest ever supporters, celebrated his 1,400th first team Chelsea game with our away match at Craven Cottage in April 1983. At the time, as a seventeen-year-old from Somerset, I could only dream of…
Category: Tales From…
Tales From Manchestoh : Ci’eh
484 ViewsManchester City vs. Chelsea : 21 May 2023 There was an old-fashioned 1982/83 feel to Saturday afternoon, the day before our game at the Etihad against Manchester City. I sat on my sofa in the living room and listened to Radio Five Live for the football commentary and was more than happy to hear…
Tales From The Arse Ends Of 1982/83 And 2022/23
388 ViewsArsenal vs. Chelsea : 2 May 2023 My season-long companions were missing for the trip to North London and the away game at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium. Over the weekend, PD collapsed twice while away at his static caravan and had been admitted on the Sunday to a hospital in Taunton. On the morning of…
Tales From Another Tough Watch
359 ViewsChelsea vs. Brighton And Hove Albion : 15 April 2023 Just as I was driving away from my usual parking space at Chelsea after the game with Brighton, I summed things up to PD in the seat alongside me : “Out-played, out-shot, out-fought, out-thought.” In a season of sub-par performances, this perhaps had been…
Tales From The Bluebrick
406 ViewsWolverhampton Wanderers vs. Chelsea : 8 April 2023 After the 0-0 draw at home to Liverpool on Tuesday, things only remained quiet at Stamford Bridge for a couple of days. While rumours swirled around about potential new managers – Julian Nagelsmann and Luis Enrique being the favourites – by the time we reached Thursday,…
Tales From Another Draw With Liverpool
344 ViewsChelsea vs. Liverpool : 4 April 2023 While I was finishing off the closing sentences of my match report for the Aston Villa game on Sunday evening, PD sent me a brief message : “Potter sacked.” I suspect that I experienced the same initial thoughts as many Chelsea supporters. “Blimey, they did it then?…
Tales From Fool’s Gold
329 ViewsChelsea vs. Aston Villa : 1 April 2023 There are three games to detail in this edition; two from 1983 and one from forty years later. Let’s do things chronologically. On Saturday 19 March 1983, Chelsea played a London Derby against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. With Chelsea eager to pick up as many…
Tales From The Counting House
384 ViewsLeicester City vs. Chelsea : 11 March 2023 We stepped into “The Counting House” at 11.30am. This pub, formerly part of an old cattle market, is equidistant between Leicester Tigers’ Welford Road stadium and the Leicester City Foxes’ King Power Stadium. It must do a great trade during these two sporting seasons. We only…
Tales From A Masterpiece
381 ViewsChelsea vs. Borussia Dortmund : 7 March 2023. On a night of high drama at a wonderfully noisy Stamford Bridge, as Chelsea undoubtedly produced the finest performance of a deeply frustrating season, we defeated Borussia Dortmund 2-0 with goals in each half from the boots of Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz, this from a…
Tales From A Winning Team
458 ViewsChelsea vs. Leeds United : 4 March 2023. Chelsea versus Leeds United. It sets off something in the brain doesn’t it? It triggers, for me anyway, a deep link to my childhood and beyond. It’s a classic football rivalry, forged almost sixty years ago. The memories of the 1967 FA Cup semi-final, the epic…