BumsteadCFC

Without a doubt, throughout the Bates era Chelsea were the most expensive team to watch in England bar none.  
From a value for money point of view (if you looked at the thing from the perspective of "rational consumer" not football fan) watching Chelsea was not a good investment of your money.  The ground was probably the most run down in the country, pitch miles away from the fans and the football was at its worst horrendous.  Ian Porterfield era was probably as low as it got in terms of the quality of the team.  As someone said from 87-93 virtually all of our properly talented players left (Durie, Dorigo, Speedie, Nevin, Townsend etc.) and we had some proper crap in the team -  Cascarino, Joe Allon, Mick Harford and the like.  
Getting Hoddle in the summer of 1993 really was the catalyst that gave us some credibility and made it obvious that the club was heading in a clear upward path.  

Remember that game well.  We were up 2-0 and Dixon had a chance to make it 3 with a one on one but shot straight at the keeper (Lukic?).  
Like you we got there too late to get in the Chelsea so ended up in the Arsenal side of the Clock end.        

I'm sure I remember Durie saying he wanted a move 'so he could be nearer home (Scotland) !' Aye,well I suppose he did move closer...

Without a doubt, throughout the Bates era Chelsea were the most expensive team to watch in England bar none.  
From a value for money point of view (if you looked at the thing from the perspective of "rational consumer" not football fan) watching Chelsea was not a good investment of your money.  The ground was probably the most run down in the country, pitch miles away from the fans and the football was at its worst horrendous.  Ian Porterfield era was probably as low as it got in terms of the quality of the team.  As someone said from 87-93 virtually all of our properly talented players left (Durie, Dorigo, Speedie, Nevin, Townsend etc.) and we had some proper crap in the team -  Cascarino, Joe Allon, Mick Harford and the like.  
Getting Hoddle in the summer of 1993 really was the catalyst that gave us some credibility and made it obvious that the club was heading in a clear upward path.  

Without a doubt, throughout the Bates era Chelsea were the most expensive team to watch in England bar none.  
From a value for money point of view (if you looked at the thing from the perspective of "rational consumer" not football fan) watching Chelsea was not a good investment of your money.  The ground was probably the most run down in the country, pitch miles away from the fans and the football was at its worst horrendous.  Ian Porterfield era was probably as low as it got in terms of the quality of the team.  As someone said from 87-93 virtually all of our properly talented players left (Durie, Dorigo, Speedie, Nevin, Townsend etc.) and we had some proper crap in the team -  Cascarino, Joe Allon, Mick Harford and the like.  
Getting Hoddle in the summer of 1993 really was the catalyst that gave us some credibility and made it obvious that the club was heading in a clear upward path.  

Without a doubt, throughout the Bates era Chelsea were the most expensive team to watch in England bar none.  
From a value for money point of view (if you looked at the thing from the perspective of "rational consumer" not football fan) watching Chelsea was not a good investment of your money.  The ground was probably the most run down in the country, pitch miles away from the fans and the football was at its worst horrendous.  Ian Porterfield era was probably as low as it got in terms of the quality of the team.  As someone said from 87-93 virtually all of our properly talented players left (Durie, Dorigo, Speedie, Nevin, Townsend etc.) and we had some proper crap in the team -  Cascarino, Joe Allon, Mick Harford and the like.  
Getting Hoddle in the summer of 1993 really was the catalyst that gave us some credibility and made it obvious that the club was heading in a clear upward path.  

Interesting point regarding the midweek games and people moving out to the suburbs and further. I used to come in from Orpington, Bromley and later Beckenham/Elmers End (some of that time with Strider6003) and remember the crowds being up and down during the late 80s early 90s. Some of that though was the sh*t long ball stuff of the early 90s which may not have been the really dire stuff of the early 80s but close to it. The other thing was how expensive Chelsea was to watch, Bates was constantly criticised for that by fans groups including the Chelsea Independent fanzine. The membership card thing drove many of the old school support away as Im sure did CCTV etc and the OTT prices to watch crap or inconsistent teams. From a personal point of view midweek games often suited me given that I mostly played at weekends and only caught the occasional game on saturdays unless i was suspended (at least once a season) or a game got postponed. By the 2000s the ground was full and I was travelling for work so it became even less but sometimes i also benefitted as Id be working close to an away game. Semi final V United in 2005 being one example.

Haven't been on in years, just logged in as I saw Butch is in critical condition and came across this thread...........  Superbly researched, interesting read.  
 
One thing to mention (that I don't think has been mentioned) is the effect of people leaving London during/after WW2 and the white flight phenomenon.  During our first 50 years no doubt 90% of our support came from within a 5-10 mile radius of the ground, by the time our home gates were at their low ebbs in the 80s and early 90s I would imagine a lot more of our support were travelling from the home counties/satellite towns of London with their parents/grandparents having moved out of London.  Thats always been a theory of mine as to why a lot of our midweek gates were often so sh*t compared to Saturday gates - would be interesting to do a comparison.    
 
Couple that with the rise of TV football (albeit I know there wasn't the saturation coverage of today) there wasn't much incentive for kids to support their local side when they could support Liverpool.  Im 39 and one of those weird early memories that stuck in my mind of going to Chelsea was walking through Eel Brook common en route to a game (mid 80s) and seeing a lad playing football in the Crown paints Liverpool kit.