First and foremost, thank you very much for joining us here on Read Chelsea, Tim. Why don’t you start by explaining how Chelsea Football Club entered your life, when was your first match? How long was it afterwards that you became a regular at Stamford Bridge?
My first game was in September 1967, when I was ten. The dad of a boy in my class ran coaches to 4-5 Chelsea games a season and I was allowed to go to Chelsea v Stoke City. We lived about 30 miles away so I could not afford to go to Chelsea regularly until I had left home and gone to university in 1976. I have been going with the same three friends since 1976.
The state of the club was very much the opposite in the late 1970s/1980s than it is in the present day. Just how different was Chelsea FC as a whole back then?
In those days the ground was in disrepair, the club had no money, the team (particularly between 1978 and 1983) was pretty useless, the best players were sold and crowds were regularly under 20,000 (though our away support was always tremendous). We were in Division Two. There were no overseas players and most of the team had either been bought cheaply or come through the youth system. The difference between then and now, on and off the pitch, is enormous.
The 1976/77 promotion team was almost entirely home produced, because the club had no money and was in real danger of going under. There were ‘Cash for Chelsea’ collection buckets as you left the ground. The bond between supporters and team was superb. That is probably my favourite ever season, and the same holds for a lot of supporters my age.
Chelsea was synonymously linked with hooliganism throughout the seventies and eighties, with the “Chelsea Headhunters” being one of the most prominent firms in the entire country. Chelsea fans were even banned from attending away matches in 1977. Did these hooliganistic elements have an effect on match-going for you?
There were a number of away bans on Chelsea supporters. We were banned from a key promotion game at Wolves in 1977. 7,000 Chelsea supporters got tickets anyway and we had a great day. We were banned from Watford, 3,000 of us got in. Football supporters do not lack initiative.
Hooliganism went on, for sure, but it was usually fairly easy to avoid if you wanted to. The club ran special trains to away games and these were well policed/stewarded, so we were kept away from home supporters. There was usually little trouble at home games, apart from a few high profile matches against the likes of Leeds and West Ham.
In 1983, Chelsea faced relegation to the Third Division of English football. Given the club’s financial troubles due to the construction of the East Stand, Chelsea Football Club would have been in an awful position. Were you there for Clive Walker’s famous late winner at Bolton?
We didn’t go to Bolton for that game, though thousands of Chelsea supporters did. From memory, we thought we would lose and could not bear the thought of relegation. Looking back, that is a desperately poor reason, I know!
What did it feel like to go from almost dropping down into the Third Division, to being promoted into the First Division the very next season?
Credit to chairman Ken Bates. After nearly being relegated he kept faith in John Neal, let him get rid of the dead wood in summer 1983 and bring in half a dozen hungry youngsters. Chelsea won 5-0 against Derby the first game of the 1983/84 season and never looked back. It is impossible to overstate the impact the likes of Dixon and Nevin had. Away support that season was absolutely phenomenal. 8,000 at Leeds and Man City. Great days.
What would you say are the main differences between match-going in the eighties and in the present day?
In the 1980’s tickets were affordable to young people, and you could pay on the gate to stand in The Shed – there were very few season tickets. You could stand with your friends and this encouraged singing and chanting. Nowadays the average age of the crowd at PL games is 40+, everyone sits down in pre-designated seats, the price of top level football means many long-term supporters can no longer afford to go, and most young people are priced out. Stadiums are safer and more modern but often resemble soulless concrete bunkers.
When you think of Chelsea in the 1980’s, what is the first word that comes to mind?
Nevin.
Stamford Bridge itself has come a long way since you first became a regular match-goer. Do you like the way it has evolved or do you miss the simplicity of The Bridge prior to its expansion?
It is nice to have decent toilets, better (if expensive) refreshments and a decent view, but the atmosphere is a shadow of what it was 30-40 years ago and in many ways I miss it. Standing in The Shed was a totally different experience. You could sing, sway, surge and generally have an unrestrainedly great time, almost regardless of what was happening on the pitch. This change has happened not just at Chelsea, but at all top flight grounds. Watching football has changed fundamentally in thirty years, and it isn’t going to revert back.
What was your initial reaction when Roman Abramovich purchased Chelsea Football Club in 2003?
It was clear that Chelsea had serious financial problems so when Roman Abramovich bought the club from Ken Bates I guess my reaction was a mix of relief and intrigue – few people had heard of Mr. Abramovich, though it was clear pretty quickly that he was going to spend serious money on the team.
Have you been to any cup finals? If so, which sticks out in your mind the most?
I am very lucky – I have been to every cup final, at home and overseas, Chelsea have played in since 1997. That 1997 FA Cup Final one sticks in the mind the most, grown men openly crying after the game. Those of us who had lived through the dark days 15 years earlier genuinely never thought we would see the day. West London was a great place to be that night.
Favourite Chelsea player of all time?
Tough one. Between Charlie Cooke and Pat Nevin, both wonderfully skillful players. Probably Nevin as I saw him, play a lot more.
What was your proudest moment ever as a Chelsea supporter?
Winning in Munich. The European Cup is a magnificent competition, won by some superb teams over the years. For Chelsea to join that list is very, very special.
Chelsea FC has become globally popular and is most certainly considered a European superpower. What does it feel like, as a supporter, to watch your favourite club undergo such a massive evolution right in front of your own eyes?
It still feels a bit like a dream, to be honest. To play regularly against the greats of European football, to have the chance to watch the team play in great cities like Madrid, Milan, Barcelona, Turin, Paris, Lisbon, Amsterdam and Munich is another world compared to the days when we were in the bottom half of Division Two and getting home crowds sometimes below 12,000.
As a seventeen-year-old American, I wasn’t able to watch Chelsea grow into the superclub we know today. But for what I lack in experience, I make up for with pure passion. I realize how lucky I am to support such a great club that has truly risen from the ashes to become one of the biggest in the world. What is one message that you’d like to relay to the new generation of Chelsea supporters?
Support the club through thick and thin. It is easy to support a club that regularly wins trophies but supporting the club even if there are a few seasons without trophy, which may well happen one day, counts for more.
Once again, I’d like to thank Tim for taking us down memory lane. The time period discussed is one that the new generation of Chelsea fans need to be aware of. You can follow Tim on Twitter @tim_rolls and you can find me on there as well @EvanMcMurtrie. As always, leave a comment below if you like and thank you for reading!
