For me it will always be the 97-98 team, from Guillit to Vialli as coach, this was when. I was first massively into Chelsea and. I have very fond memories of the team with the great FA Cup win in 97 but especially under Vialli when we beat Arsenal in his first game in charge he immediately won me over as a manager. But the team itself was the main things, Zola, Wise, Di Matteo, Poyet, Hughes etc and even Vialli himself. It was a time of hope rather than expectation like now and I think it meant a little more when we won stuff. Other than the 97 cup win my fondest memories of that time were watching Chelsea in the Cup Winners Cup, I'll never forget how I used to sit in my kitchen at home and watch the games sat infront of this little TV. This is definitely my Chelsea, my favourite era of my time supporting the team.

Which Chelsea do you consider your Chelsea?

Tough call, it's either the division 2 winners of the late 80's or the team you spoke of.

If I had to choose, I'd go with your pick.

The 1976-77 promotion winning team. It was the first year i started going regularly with a mate of my dad's. We used to stand in the bit of the Shed that had the corrugated iron put up in 1979. I bought the away kit from the supporters shop the top cost £3.65 and i got my mum to sow on the number 9 on the back a top which i still have. I just can't throw it out even though a lot of Chelsea fans hate us in red and to a degree i do as well. I remember crying my eyes out after we lost 4-0 to Charlton i thought we'd blown it. But then a couple of weeks later i was so desperate to get on the pitch against Hull but my dads mate who was loving it as much as i was said "if your mum and dad find out i let you run on the pitch they'd kill me" so it wasn't to be. Looking back how a club who beat Real Madrid in a major final six years later were losing 4-0 to Charlton was an utter scandal and should never have happened but supporting Chelsea there is never a dull moment then or now.

That is a good question, I can remember cutting out anything related to CFC from the Shoot Magazine and sticking them into scrap books that I have still have. I dated them in order and the first reads 1969-70 so what a great time to start following the team. Black and white pictures of Ossie and the rest of that team –perfection. That was also the first set of players that I saw live so again they will be forever in my heart.

Were they my team though ? probably not 

 

The 1976-77 team mentioned above was a great side – a mix of young and old ,the first CFC side that I saw get promoted so again great  memories(I didnt get on the pitch either at the Hull – I was stuck up by the white wall and just happy to watch my team and fans celebrating like they did)

Were they my team though ? probably not 

 

My team came along a little later after the lows and lows of the late 70’s and very early 80‘s .My team arrived on a lovely sunny day back on the 27^th August 1983 as I watched with little interest (to begin with) CFC turn over the title favourites Derby 5-0 with a team cobbled together from the low lights of the Scottish division 2 and the likes of Reading down south(no disrespect) .That team took me on amazing journey over the next few years, both on and off the pitch playing some brilliant stuff,with the best support of a team I have ever seen(yes I am biased but it was that good) .Off the pitch me and my mates had a few quid in our pockets to finance the mayhem ,clothes came to the fore so looking good became something I thought about  (probably) for the first time and live was good.

 

were they my team? yeah the were  

 

ktbffh

Edited July 14, 201412 yr by F1905

That is a good question, I can remember cutting out anything related to CFC from the Shoot Magazine and sticking them into scrap books that I have still have. I dated them in order and the first reads 1969-70 so what a great time to start following the team. Black and white pictures of Ossie and the rest of that team –perfection. That was also the first set of players that I saw live so again they will be forever in my heart.

Were they my team though ? probably not 

 

The 1976-77 team mentioned above was a great side – a mix of young and old ,the first CFC side that I saw get promoted so again great  memories(I didnt get on the pitch either at the Hull – I was stuck up by the white wall and just happy to watch my team and fans celebrating like they did)

Were they my team though ? probably not 

 

My team came along a little later after the lows and lows of the late 70’s and very early 80‘s .My team arrived on a lovely sunny day back on the 27^th August 1983 as I watched with little interest (to begin with) CFC turn over the title favourites Derby 5-0 with a team cobbled together from the low lights of the Scottish division 2 and the likes of Reading down south(no disrespect) .That team took me on amazing journey over the next few years, both on and off the pitch playing some brilliant stuff,with the best support of a team I have ever seen(yes I am biased but it was that good) .Off the pitch me and my mates had a few quid in our pockets to finance the mayhem ,clothes came to the fore so looking good became something I thought about  (probably) for the first time and live was good.

 

were they my team? yeah the were  

 

ktbffh

Great post. The promotion team of 83-84 were exactly how you describe i was 18 had a few quid and the away support was untouchable. If our average crowd that season was say between 20-25,000 we would bring at least a third of that support to away games if not more.

1967-1972 era...

Osgood, Cooke, Harris, Hutchinson, McCreadie, Bonetti, Webb, Tambling, Baldwin, Hudson, Dempsey, Weller, Houseman, Hollins, Mulligan, Boyle, Hinton, FA Cup, Cup Winners Cup, need I say more?

Mid 90s

De goey

Petrescu

Gullit

Lebouef

Le saux

Wise

Di matteo

Poyet

Zola

Vialli

Hughes

My boyhood/Teenage era so early 80's will always be my team despite the relatively lowly league position.

 

Some of my hero's

 

Mickey Droy

Clive Walker

Kerry Dixon

Colin Pates

Pat Nevin

David Speedie

Mickey Hazzard

I'm with you on that Andy.

 

It was from '82 for a period of seasons that I was going to nearly all the home games and as many away as I could afford and I still have a great affection for the John Neal side.

Pates, Joey Jones, Eddie Niedzwiecki, Speedie, Hazzard, Micky Thomas, Canoville etc and of course Pat Nevin, who even to this day remains my favourite ever blue.

 

They weren't successful times and the relegation play-off against Middlesborough in 1988 is still my worst moment as a Chelsea fan but they were enjoyable times - plenty of singing and always full of hope and optimism until John Hollins f**ked it all up!!!

The Chelsea that I had the strongest connection to was probably the team from around 1997 - 2000 when I was attending games the most.

 

Players like Wise, Zola, Poyet, Di Matteo, Desially, Ferrer, Flo, Petrescu.

 

We played some really good football under Guillet and Vialli, maybe the best of the recent eras.

For me def the 83/84 team and then the following era. As usual me and my mates were full of it, almost relegated the season before but we will def win the division 2 title this season, first time i think i've ever been right about football! The Sheffield Wednesday and Man city battles for the top spot, Leeds fans smashing up our score board and someone knocking the ref flat out at 5-0! The away days were the best for me, getting a hiding at Cambridge much to the amusement of my mates, thousands turning up at man city, Brighton and Leeds and not having to order tickets weeks in advance. 

Then back in the first division and my first ever West Ham game never an experience to forget, where you learnt to have eyes in the back of your head. 3 sections of the bridge singing, the shed, gate 13 and the benches! Even the kit was better in my opinion. Oh what fun we had, lol! 

Edited July 15, 201412 yr by dstoner

BlueBeard your right on the money with that '72' team, although the '65' side (Venables, Graham, Bridges, Murray etc) were a bit near the mark even though they may have under achieved.

Late 70s for me. Going through 78/79 season with five wins!! Relegation, selling off players like Wilkins, Wicks, Stanley and later Langley. Trying to get promotion back to First Division with mediocre players. As many have said 83/84 was Fantastic, it's hard for more recent fans to understand that for me it's up there with 2004/05 2005/06 2009/10 Those away trips were great and as people have said the numbers were first class. 8,000 jordies and Portsmouth 9,000 Leeds 10-12000 Brighton 15,000 palace 7000 Cardiff. Remember fans use to get in paying cash without going on the attendance figure. That's why it looked so packed with average looking attendance, gate men were Rich b*+*¥std's!!!!

Going to my first game early 1971 was the bizzo. That team will be forever the most glamorous and talked about.

The simple blue kit, the long hair, the beards. Alan Hudson poster on my wall, Osgood number nine on my own Chelsea shirt.

The terrace songs haven't been bettered either.

That era stands out for me, my Chelsea.

 

Can't go without mentioning the 1977 team. Eddie McCreadie's blue & white army. Great fun home and away.

For me def the 83/84 team and then the following era. As usual me and my mates were full of it, almost relegated the season before but we will def win the division 2 title this season, first time i think i've ever been right about football! The Sheffield Wednesday and Man city battles for the top spot, Leeds fans smashing up our score board and someone knocking the ref flat out at 5-0! The away days were the best for me, getting a hiding at Cambridge much to the amusement of my mates, thousands turning up at man city, Brighton and Leeds and not having to order tickets weeks in advance. 

Then back in the first division and my first ever West Ham game never an experience to forget, where you learnt to have eyes in the back of your head. 3 sections of the bridge singing, the shed, gate 13 and the benches! Even the kit was better in my opinion. Oh what fun we had, lol! 

It has to be  jonny neals blue and white army of 83/84. I was 14/15 at time and the previous season getting the piss taken out of me by mates at school who supported dippers (armchair fans) or the majority where I lived went to Brighton games and they got to the cup final while we nearly went down to the old 3rd div. That summer though we bought Dixon, nevin, mcloghlin etc, and so to the first game of season and 5-0 stuffing of Derby and the rest they say is History! Its the season I started going more often and it wasn't just the team, but the fans had an aura as well, amongest my mates at school they couldn't believe how many we took away. They saw it first hand about the third game of the season when Brighton was invaded by thousands! That season saw four big clubs going for 3 promotion spots with Newcastle, sheff weds and city the others. I remember watching on the tv our friday night game at city and after we scored pat telling the fans to stay off the pitch, as thousands had travelled up there. The shed being rammed v Fulham and us being 3 up after 18 minutes and Joey Jones letting Paul Parker know he was around!! with a slightly high tackle. Watching from the shed and seeing the benches and Gate 13 doing mo meadow! Addidas and patrick rain jackets!! lois cords, puma g vilas trainers, pringle and lyle and scott jumpers. I loved the yellow away kit with thin red stripes round it. Dixon, speedie and Nevin  were unplayable at times. We got promoted and I really thought we were going to challenge for the title the next season, we finished 6th which was excellent really for Chelsea who years previous had been getting slaughtered at places like Rotherham and Orient, 6-0 and 7-3 are scores I seem to remember. Finally just a few figures on our away support during that season for the youngsters who werent around and get sh*te from other fans about we were nothing until Roman arrived! Brighton away 6-8k, newcastle away 6k, Man city away friday night 6k, Pompey away 10k, Palace away 10k, Grimsby 11k . This away support wasn't a one hit wonder, because first game of the next season we took 20k to Highbury!!!

Probably the team of the mid-eighties. Some fine players. John Neal got together a fine group of players. The front line of Speedie, Dixon and Nevin was superb. I remember when we played at West Ham in 1985-1986. We won 2-1. Saw one of my favourite goals. Dixon crossed from the right-wing and Nevin scored with a brilliant header from about 8 yards out. Phil Parkes was in goal for West Ham. The Chelsea end went mental.

It's really really difficult to pick one year out.  Initially I thought about the 1994 season - the cup run and all that. Loved that season, I loved that then and prior years we started every season thinking "we might do something in the cup this year", never really did till that season though.  Then I started thinking about the teams that followed - I was a season ticket holder by this stage so was a regular at home and away games, more good years.  However I then started thinking about earlier teams, mid to late 80's, my early games over there, all really good memories and I have memorabilia from all of those years.  In truth I don't think I have one team that sums it up for me, I've got a list of players that I consider to be part of my Chelsea, but they span a good few years.

02/03

 

 

Cudicini, De Goey

 

Le Saux, Babyrayo

Desailly, Terry

Galas, Huth

Melchiot, Ferrer

 

Gronkjaer, Zenden

Lampard, Morris

Petit

Stanic, De Lucas

 

Hasselbaink, Gudjohnson

Zola, Cole

 

 

That was my favourite Chelsea.

Probably the 2000 FA Cup winning side. I had some affection for Chelsea from the 97 final when Robbie scored that goal but I think 2000 was when I really started loving football.

This one, with a nod to the preceding four or five seasons along with several of the following seasons, and with special mention to the Eddie McCreadie's Blue & White Army promotion season:

 

For me (with my age and terrible memory) im gonna go with 03/04  Chelsea (I think)

 

Duff, Robben, Hasselbaink, Terry, Lampard, Gudjohnsen.

 

Loved that team.

The team that won promotion in 1976/77. My first Chelsea team.

gullit/vialli era easily, partly because i'm 22 so that's when i was first conscious of football

 

eddie newton coached at my primary school in '98 and i lost my mind lol

76/77 we had a good team on and off the pitch

I forgot I'd started this thread.

Probably the 2000 FA Cup winning side. I had some affection for Chelsea from the 97 final when Robbie scored that goal but I think 2000 was when I really started loving football.

Strangely enough although I loved that we won the FA Cup other than the 5-0 demolition of. United that season I remember been quite bored throughout that whole season, that whole season just had a weird feeling, can't explain it. Still. I was ecstatic when we won the FA Cup even though the final was one of the worst finals I'd ever watched. (Actually thinking back there's been a fair few stinker FA Cup finals since in the EPL era)