Nice to see a few of us are 1976/77 vintage supporters.

 

Thank goodness for youtube, so we can watch some of that seasons matches again.

Wilkins, Wilkins born is the king of Stamford Bridge were my years, I guess ... the sh*t years, as they say ... but very special on the terraces and the away days ... the best year for me tho' was our 80s promotion year when we took the biggest away following everywhere ...

Whilst it was Ossie and the great 70's side that inspired me to be a Chelsea fan. My season ticket in the old West Stand years fondly remind me of my late father's dedication to encourage not only me, but generations to be blue, also sit deep in my thoughts ...

Chelsea v Oldham Athletic, 16 October 1976

Score 4-3 to Chelsea Competition League Division Two Venue Stamford Bridge Attendance 25,823

Goals: Steve Finnieston     Kenny Swain     Ray Wilkins     Steve Wicks    

 

Peter Bonetti

Gary Locke

Kenny Swain

David Hay

Steve Wicks

Graham Wilkins

Brian Bason

Ray Wilkins

Ray Lewington

Gary Stanley

Steve Finnieston

 

This match and team that often had Chopper Harris in midfield sort of sticks in my mind.

 

However, my team and era which gave me the biggest buzz, was when I started to go alone to matches and got

wrapped up with the terraces, the fantastic feeling of strength and power of being a Chelsea fan away from home,

it was between 80 and 83.

 

Before Bates ripped up my Chelsea with the great and probably best Chelsea side never to win the title with Dixon, Nevin, Spackers and Co.

 

Bolton Wanderers v Chelsea, 07 May 1983

Score 1-0 to Chelsea Competition League Division Two Venue Burnden Park Attendance 8,687

Goal: Clive Walker    

Steve Francis

Colin Pates

Gary Chivers

Joey Jones

Mickey Droy

Colin Lee

Chris Hutchings

John Bumstead

Clive Walker

Mike Fillery

Paul Canoville

 

Gotta say too when Mickey Thomas later signed with him and Joey Jones we had the best fan/player banter and passion amongst team and fans that has ever been known in football.

Early-mid 80's, Dixon, Speedie, Nevin...........

For me, the period late 60s to late 90s will be what i would call MY ERA as a chelsea boy to man.....The players , especially late 60s to mid 70s will always be etched in my mind as being the greatest players of all time..Not in the overall achievement, but who i learned to love and hold in great regard and respect to this day....These guys played for their love of the club and their shirt...Regularly played through injury and had a respect for their fans......I miss the fanbase as it was from late 60s to 80s......The women were the best...The guys were all heroes in their own rights....Comradierie was abundant and i can say, not experienced on that sort of level anywhere at the Bridge nowadays.....Being younger i enjoyed the travel to all parts of the country..meeting folk en route that youd generally feel safe and happy to be surrounded by ..The piss ups were great too......The fear factors were too exciting for words........If i had to wittle down further i would choose era 68 - 79 as my most memorable and if i had a teleporter would go back and relive those heady chelsea days...This is for the team and fans........Nowadays, well some of us have faded to being old nobodys at the Bridge in the odd matches i attend ...To some im just another tourist...See some old faces who were once the chaps. They quietly have the pints...Watch the match and wave goodbye till next time.........A bygone era for a lot of us......Of course on a less selfish note, chelsea do the biz for nowadays fans....Im happy and sad at the same time...Always boring my kids with what WAS.......

Excellent post. I miss those days so much.

Sure Bason was faking it ,,,,

 

Sure Bason was faking it ,,,,

Was that a pipe on Brian moore's desk?!!

I am going for the first couple of seasons with Dixon, Speedie and Nevin. Spackman the enforcer and Big Joe and Eddie completing the spine. As said John Neal masterminded this great side with Ian McNeil and it was only until Ill health that brought John Hollins in to destroy what was laid before him that we returned to normality. Eddie had a great rapport with us fans, as did Joey Jones and Mickey Thomas a year before Hollins took over. When we took over Highbury after we were promoted and Dixon belted in the equaliser it was the greatest Chelsea celebration of all time until perhaps when Drogba planted his spot kick home in Munich. The crazy games at Man City, with Nevin running riot and up at Sheffield Wednesday when Doug Rougvie gave away a penalty. Probably the greatest goalkeeping display in our history by Eddie round the corner at Fulham. Away support like no other, winding up the plod wherever we went, Chelsea here Chelsea there Chelsea every f**kin where. Brighton away when Kerry scored two, fantastic days.

Was that a pipe on Brian moore's desk?!!

 

 

I hope so, makes that clip if it is... I really want a pipe but the missus won’t let me.

 

I want them to allow smoking at The Bridge again and I can watch, puffing on my pipe. (Nostalgia thing, my Granddad who first took me and was a lifelong fan used to stand, arms folded, puffing on his pipe, and it smelt amazing to me. The puffs used to get faster as we got closer the opposition goal, and if he liked a player he would point at him with the mouth end of the pipe and say "he's okay" and then stick it back in his mouth again, if he didn’t like the player then he used to puff furiously and then a string of obscenities used to come out of his mouth with the pipe still in) 

I loved the 70s and early 80s, the sun was low just after KO there was a distinctive feel in the weather and air from about 4.15.

Some of our squad were poor but the old Blue shirts made all our teams during this period world class in our eyes.

On the smoking front I used to get 10 Piccadilly from the shop opposite the shed, and enjoyed them during the match.

 Half time in The Shed there was a distinctive fog.... Unfortunately I think cigarette smoke was just one of a few contributing factors

The one that got me hooked.

 

Freestone, Hitchcock minding the net. Mcloughlin, Pates, Dorigo, Clarke, C Wilson, Hall defending. Midfield we had the great Johnny Bumstead (scorer of the finest goal ever seen at Elland Road) Mcallister, Nevin, Hazard. Dixon, Durie, Kevin Wilson lashing the goals in. 

 

Not the best team, but these men were the players that started me on the road to nearly 3 decades of love for this club, for that I am thankful, and hence why my Chelsea.

It got to be the 70's & 80's team great time in the old 1st & 2 nd Division home and away that my Chelsea

Has to be the 1983/84 promotion winning year for me , privileged to have been part of the travelling hordes to Newcastle,Leeds,Cardiff,Man city etc. We were unrivalled in my opinion.

As someone has mentioned Arsenal away first game of the season was quality coming from what was an Arsenal stronghold at the time

Bobby Campbells blue and white ARMY for me. 2nd div champions.

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!

+1 on above.

That was the period I started on the benches and ended up in gate 13 for that magic Leeds game.

Some great away trips to Brighton, Man City, Cambridge, Dirty Leeds etc.

Edited August 3, 201411 yr by Shug

82-86 for me.  Great away days, almost relegated to Div 3, then we finally started playing some decent football.

For me, it's the 84 team- dont think many people really saw that one coming, other than Dixon no one had heard of any of the new signings- except Derek Johnson who I don't think started a game for us. Loved it all. Had moved on from the specials to a mates motor for always- escort estate with the back seats down, room for 5 of us plus two crates of pills! Talking of the specials, there was never the same amount of people going as coming back- when it got really ram jammed people would up in the luggage racks I remember- when the specials were dry everyone used to pile on with their own concoctions- we used to buy ours off Paul J from kennington-a two litre coke bottle half full with gold watch for a fiver! Anyone remember fellas on the trains with big bags of oranges they'd injected with vodka?

Back to 84, how hot was it in that end of ours- a boiling hot day a seriously overcrowded terrace- might be room for a thread there- what's the biggest crushes you've known at football- other than Grimsby in going the Boxing Day games at QPR and Cambridge in 82. Have got quite a few photos from them days ill stick up

Didn't make that clear- how hot was it in that end at Grimsby- I'm definately getting worse!

probably the late seventies early eighties team for me, always looked forward to going down the bridge seeing big Mickey Droy, Colin (Sharkey) Pates, Mickey Fillery and co, having a good drink in pubs that are sadly either gone or ponced  up without character, and hopefully getting a good cup draw hopefully beating a team in the old First Division,when we were in the old Second Division, I particularly enjoyed the season when we knocked out the then First Division and European Cup holders Loserpool  and then played Tottenham both at the Bridge, and going ballistic when we went into the lead with a Mickey Fillery free kick only to lose 3-2, but what a season when we hoped not expected to have a good cup run and maybe get promotion. Good days indeed.....  

Biggest Crush that I was in was FA cup relay Arsenal 2–1 Chelsea 20 March 1973. had to look up the date.

Massive Crush in the Ground but worse at Arsenal station, I got carried down the escalator without getting my feet on it, the pressure and heat was so intense that my programme was fully soaked and fell to bits.

Onto the platform and got carried into the tube train.

I was born in 1989, first house I lived in was across the road from the Bridge. I'd say my first Chelsea memories are from the mid 1990's, and I started going more regularly from about 1999 onwards. I'm not sure what team I'd consider to be my Chelsea, perhaps it would be the one which won the FA Cup in 2000 as this was the time when my best mate at that point (3rd generation Chelsea fan) started taking me to games in the MHL. Unfortunately we've drifted since but was fortunate enough to bump into him in the pub after Leicester the other day. 

I started going to games in 69/70 - my dad and grandad had season tickets in the West Stand and I used to go to evening games or when my grandad wasnt up to it - of course we won the FA cup that year and had a real flair side, a great introduction to football and a great era. i was incredibly lucky to start following the team at that point. right place, right time.

 

However for atmosphere in the ground it was good but not great. the main chant for example was chelsea clap clap clap. that was it.

 

so in a way the later seasons such as Eddie McCreadie's team or John Neal's team were even better as not only did we have a fantastic team (that we loved, even if they were never going to win the league) we had so much more atmosphere (and fun) in the ground. plus i think there is something to be said for being a fan when you are winning nothing, as anybody can latch on to a winning team and call themselves a supporter.

 

also, just to add, reading through the comments, that the feeling of hope rather than expectation is something i have tried to explain to many latter day chelsea fans with little success!

My first game I went to was around 1967 I think, it was against Leeds and If my aging memory recalls we drew that day.  Playing against Leeds was always a good rivalry.  This was especially true of the 1970 Cup Final which given the conditions and in those days a replay were enthralling to watch. These for me were the best Chelsea years and if you talk about guts and glory these were the players that gave everything for this team.  I dug this up about the FA Cup replay at Old Trafford....

 

The replay at Old Trafford, watched by a television audience of 28 million, a record for an FA Cup final, became one of the most notorious clashes in English football for the harshness of play, which exceeded the previous game's at Wembley. The referee in charge of both games, 47-year old Eric Jennings from Stourbridge, in his last season as a Football League referee, allowed rough play by both sides throughout, playing the advantage to its full extent. He booked only one player, Ian Hutchinson of Chelsea, during the game.

Modern-day referee David Elleray reviewed the match in 1997, and concluded that the sides would have received six red cards and twenty yellow cards between them, in the modern era of football.^[7] Tommy Baldwin and Terry Cooper, admittedly two of the quieter men in the two sides, were kicking lumps out of one another, as the battle began. Not long into the game, Chelsea's Ron Harris caught winger Eddie Gray with a kick to the back of the knee, an action which neutralised the Scottish winger for the rest of the game. Norman Hunter and Ian Hutchinson traded punches while McCreadie and Johnny Giles lunged at opposition players. Charlton kneed and headbuttedPeter Osgood while Chelsea's goalkeeper Peter Bonetti was injured after being bundled into the net by Leeds' Jones, who, minutes later, rounded the limping Bonetti and scored the opener.

 

Ahh those were the days....no rolling on the floor having been hit by a handbag!!