From the beginning of "The Working Man's Ballet" by Alan Hudson:

The Pleasure and the Pain

by the late Matthew Harding

How can I ever begin to describe how I feel about Chelsea, the club I have loved, cherished and adored for more than 30 years? Indeed, ask any football supporter to put their feelings about their club into words and they would have trouble telling you.

I am no exception. My love affair with Chelsea began at the tender age of 8 ¾. I can even remember the date and the match clearly: 3 November 1962, Chelsea versus Newcastle United. They were in the old Second Division then. I can even remember where I sat: in the front row of the old North Stand, perched high above the corner flag. From that day I was smitten. It was the start of a special relationship that has never waned. Chelsea Football Club has meant more to me than even I thought possible.

I am a fan, pure and simple. Unlike many boys, I never dreamed of playing for my club, not that I was good enough. Being a fan was good enough for me. The sense of belonging that being a supporter brings has given me joy beyond belief. I never chose to support Chelsea. I was taken there by my father and didn’t have much say in the matter. But it was love at first sight and that is how it should be. That’s why I did exactly the same with my own children a quarter of a century later, and like me, they are now all Chelsea diehards.

Any player wearing Chelsea blue has been the object of my devotion which has never faltered in thirty years. Blue was and is the colour as far as I’m concerned. As long as he wore the blue Chelsea shirt, that was all that mattered. Once a Chelsea player moved to another club and the initial sense of loss and grieving was over, I would eliminate him from my thoughts; I still do. Similarly if a player from a rival club came to Chelsea, he would have my undying support the minute he put on the Chelsea strip. I can’t really explain why - can any fan?

Chelsea players have come in and out of my life and I have in turn worshipped and adored them. From Bobby Tambling in the sixties to Ruud Gullit in the nineties, all have had my undying support and devotion. Alan Hudson is no exception.

I was there when he scored his first home goal against Sheffield Wednesday at Stamford Bridge in March 1970. It was an evening game and from my vantage point in the North Stand, I watched as he appeared to glide effortlessly towards me. The Wednesday defenders seemed to move out of his way as he strode towards the goal before sliding the ball deliciously past the keeper from just inside the penalty area. When Alan scored that goal, he did it just for me. No one was happier than I was that night, jumping up and down in my seat, I’m sure my joy matched his. But tragedy struck just five days later. Alan damaged his ankle ligaments very badly at West Bromwich Albion, a match that appropriately we lost. With the Cup Final only a fortnight away, I was distraught. The pain I felt when I heard the news must have been as great as his. I was only sixteen at the time but twenty-five years later my memories are just as vivid.

I never felt the need to meet Alan - with that Chelsea shirt on his back I already knew him. He was part of my life and that was that. But recently I have had the good fortune to meet him and it has been like meeting an old friend. It must be the blue blood that runs through his veins! The pleasure and the pain - Chelsea is both those things to me. It’s hard to explain but like any great love I don’t question it or even feel tempted to stray. I just know that Chelsea and I were meant for each other.

And from the end of "The Working Man's Ballet" by Alan Hudson:

Matthew Harding: A Tribute

by Alan Hudson

At the beginning of the book I wrote of the story being a sad one and in waiting for publication we have just witnessed another tragedy. Matthew Harding, the man who went through every kick, header and tackle with us has tragically been taken away from his friends and loved ones in a horrific helicopter disaster. It was just before midnight on Tuesday October 1996, on the way back from his beloved Chelsea's Coca-Cola cup match at Bolton when we lost possibly the most famous and inspirational Chelsea fan of all time. I met Matthew only a few weeks ago and it was he who said. 'Yes of course I know Huddy, I've known him for years'. I just stood back and realised he really meant it, such was his passion for all the players who wore the 'blue' of his team.

These are the last words to be written in my first ever book, and they are fittingly going out to Matthew. He belongs to the Working Man's Ballet along with the Bill Hudsons, Tony Waddingtons. Peter Housemans and Leslie Mays of the football world because, like all the others, Matthew started from scratch and ended up being such a success in our tiny little world revolving around the game of football. He was heading towards a reputation that would have seen him become one of the most important and influential characters ever to set foot inside a football field.

I left a very sad Matthew Harding just 12 days before this tragic crash, he was disillusioned and disappointed that he was not getting there quickly enough, not getting Chelsea to where HE wanted them to be. He was being held back by powers that were out of his control, for the only thing Matthew ever wanted was Chelsea Football Club and he was prepared to sacrifice almost anything to get it. He did not want it for himself though, he wanted to get it and give it to the fans, but, before he gave it to them, he wanted to finish what he started. He wanted to hand them a club they could be proud of just like the one he started watching in the early 1960s.

Matthew Harding had my utmost respect for what he was about to achieve and we will never know of all the great things he had in store for us. He was a man of fantastic insight, a man who should have been given the opportunity to carry on and 'go with it' instead of being ignored and at times demoralised and insulted by others at the Bridge. The time last season when he was 'barred' from certain parts of the ground was nothing short of ignorance and barbarism, to treat a man who was aiming his club at the stars in this manner was totally unacceptable to the likes of myself who admire men who stand up and show their passion and wear their hearts on their sleeves.

I will never know what Matthew Harding thought of my book for he was due to let me know the day after he left us. So this book finishes the way it started with a feeling of ghostliness hanging over Stamford Bridge. Matthew has gone to the Board Meeting in the sky along with other great names mentioned in this book. He will be sadly missed, not only by those at Stamford Bridge, but by everybody who had the great fortune to meet him and be touched by him.

My dedication to Matthew Harding I feel should be the last part of this book. This tribute could go on for ever so I will close by saying that 'Blue Really Is The Colour'.

Alan Hudson: "A picture to treasure. in the tunnel with Matthew Harding before the same Southampton game [as mentioned in the book] of 1995.

That was a fascinating read. The title of the book intrigues me. "A Working Man's Ballet" Does anyone know if Alan Hudson invented this expression, or if it already existed as a way of describing football?

That was a fascinating read. The title of the book intrigues me. "A Working Man's Ballet" Does anyone know if Alan Hudson invented this expression, or if it already existed as a way of describing football?

Popularly accredited to Tony Waddington, then Stoke manager who was a great admirer of Huds (mi contento) during his time at Stoke.

I've got to try and get hold of a copy of that book! Alan Hudson was one of the most talented midfielders this country ever produced, and only left Chelsea because Dave Sexton didn't have the man-management skills to handle him (or Peter Osgood).

Does anyone know where I can buy a copy of some of the old Chelsea autobiographies like "Leaping To Fame" by Peter Bonetti, "Ossie The Wizard" by Peter Osgood (duh), and "Soccer The Hard Way" by Ron Harris? They were all published around the early 70's, but I can't find a copy of any of 'em anywhere.

Just re-read Peter Osgood's "Ossie - King Of Stamford Bridge", great stuff!

You can get a signed copy of Leaping to Fame for £100! Blimey! I'll investigate cheaper options!

Nothing on ebay! Sorry. Maybe someone on thios site will lend you his/her copy. Or maybe your net wifie can ask Bobby Tambling if he has a copy he could let you have!

Edited March 8, 201214 yr by moi

Yeah, I've just been hunting the net for these books, and Peter Bonetti's is priced between £97.50 and £195.98!!! When I first bought it, I think it was 25 shillings - £1.25!

The others are available at around the £20 mark, not too bad really - might shell out.

Yeah, I've just been hunting the net for these books, and Peter Bonetti's is priced between £97.50 and £195.98!!! When I first bought it, I think it was 25 shillings - £1.25!

The others are available at around the £20 mark, not too bad really - might shell out.

NO No - I've emailed your talk talk address with a link to Amazon Marketplace which has it at £7.99 - Working Man's Ballet, I mean

Many thanks, moi, I've no excuse for not buying it now!

Hudsons book was written by ian macleay, who used to do the cockney rebel fanzine in the mid 80s. Havent read it myself, his writing style is a touch unorthodox, tending to go off on tangents from the subject in hand. Nice fella though, and heard Hudson allegedly didnt play fair with him over that book.

Hudsons book was written by ian macleay, who used to do the cockney rebel fanzine in the mid 80s. Havent read it myself, his writing style is a touch unorthodox, tending to go off on tangents from the subject in hand. Nice fella though, and heard Hudson allegedly didnt play fair with him over that book.

Surely you mean "co-written" with Ian Macleay? The book itself makes no mention of Ian Macleay, and, besides the various forewords and afterwords, is written entirely from Alan Hudson's point of view, in the first person. However, amazon.co.uk. lists both Alan Hudson and Ian Macleay as authors. The tendency to go off at a tangent is also highly noticeable.

I know nothing of Alan Hudson's alleged unfair treatment of his supposed co-author and neither, to be perfectly frank, do I find the issue of authorship/co-authorship to be of major concern. I am currently a little over a fifth of the way through the book, and am finding it to be immense enjoyable, providing numerous insights and a positive wealth of information concerning matters both on and off the pitch. He also makes it clear just how much he appreciated the fans:

I loved the atmosphere of those away games, for no matter where Chelsea played they would always have a large following. This added to the excitement.

Thousands were turned away [at Turf Moor]. Chelsea took a huge contingent who gave fanatical support. When the deck was stacked against the Blues, we could always count on the support of those marvellous fans. We needed it that night because we had been totally overrun in the first half.

Great to know that the players appreciated our support!