Gate 13

Doug Rougvie having his teeth re-fitted by Norman Medhurst, Phil Parkes, West Ham goalkeeper pretends to be interested. Spring 86, we lost 0-4 to the pikeys at home and then 6-0 away at QPHa shortly afterwards. Dreadful.

How true; the opposite of our invasions of Loftus Road.

Fillery celebrating ‘that’ free kick against Spuds in the Cup in ‘82, when he was good he was very good and could be a game changer, problem was half the time he did not look interested.

Our bench at Grimsby on that day, right to left (I think - help me here …) Joey Jones, Tony McAndrew, Derek Johnston, Colin Lee, Paul Canoville, John Neal and Norman Medhurst.

Yes, Peter Bonetti being treated by Harry Medhurst after being clattered by Mick Jones in the first half. John Dempsey is holding up the goalpost. The socks are a clue.

Yes - Tea Bar man myself.

Hear hear, well done Flash

Hi Mate Cheers for that, happy to be corrected - I don’t know the story re St James’ Park. Word went round they were off to Kings Cross to give Leeds a send off? Take care, all the best.

Respect to the Stockwell mob who left Gate 13 while the party was in full flow to chase Leeds all the way back to Kings Cross - dedication that is.

Squad photo at media day in the week before the League Cup final v Stoke City in 1972 (we lost 2-1). Always liked the blue with yellow trim strip, looks classy.

Did not stop him doing a kung fu job on Billy Bremner - Bruce Lee step aside

The wonderful Gate 13, scene of many of my happiest CFC memories in the 83-86 era (it went South for a while after that wonderful period). It looks like Bates’ electric fence is in place.

Thanks for checking that - I suspect we had to pay QPR to take Mayes …

You can add Allan Harris (Chopper’s brother) and Dave Sexton (after a gap) to that list.

It did, in Bates’ book ‘Chelsea - My year’ he describes the clear out at the end of the 82-83 season. He and John Neal agreed that much of the dross was worthless and should be dumped to get rid of them, and off the payroll, soonest - the only ‘want away’ that was worth anything was Fillery - and a deal was done with QPR. Apparently he could not get out of the door quickly enough.

Far left looks like John Dempsey, with his Max Wall hairstyle?

I think this was a press photo op in the week before the League Cup final against Stoke City in 1972; the team are wearing the strip they wore at Wembley - I very much like the Blue strip with yellow relief. Ossie’s shirt badge has the 2 stars for the FA Cup (1970) and ECWC (1971) in place and under the badge I think it said ‘Wembley 1972’.

And its easy to forget that Norman was physio for England for 20 or so years, here pictured with the squad, middle row, on the end/right, next to Don Howe.

And the white coat one more time, with the 66-67 squad, Tony Hateley had not long joined after Ossie’s broken leg courtesy of Emilyn Hughes at Blackpool.

Norman’s Dad, Harry Medhurst, with Tommy Doc, so mid-late 60s, dig the white coat and the fact that he has a fag on …

Norman, Norman give us a wave …. His Dad Harry was first team trainer throughout the 60s and 70s, he used to where a white coat which made him look like a doctor, which he wasn’t ….

Away at Luton in 85, a 1-1 draw, King Kerry scored a belter for us. This 3rd Le Coq shirt never did it for me - mind you following the 83-85 shirt was always going to be impossible, the shorts were a perverts delight and, for me, its white sox all the way except when we have to change. I’ve always liked the yellow trim on blue shirts and shorts - as at the Old Trafford replay in 1970 and v Stoke in the League Cup final in 1972.

The programme cover I mentioned earlier - the programmes sold out on the basis of the front cover and became a collectors item.

Spot on, we wore the kit with the yellow trim

The Cup Quater Final v them from N17 in 1982. On the pitch our star moment was Fillery’s free kick, the rest of it was c**p, some rubbish goalkeeping from Francis didn’t help. Off the pitch the agenda was set by Bates’ message on the front cover of the programme warning against crowd trouble - guess what, it was happening before, during and after; memory serves that there was a major set to with a bunch of Spuds who walked in from Earls Court.