Erland Johnsen club legend for me. Meeting him in 93 (or 92, cant recall) was the reason I started following Chelsea

Yea, I forgot those two, Erland Johnson is defintley a cult hero, or legend.

floyd's list defo have to add peter borota, erland johnson as cult heroes. borota was a loon.

Edited May 1, 201511 yr by Floyd25

Some people fit into both categories, like this guy:

 

Haha... True. And Damien Duff, cult hero for sure.

/\add Kerry Dixon?

I left him out because I never saw him play or heard long stories from my dad about him. Get him started on the first four, especially Bonetti, and I can't help but be in awe of what these guys did on the pitch. Zola onwards is obviously from my era and shockingly I did forget Wise who lifted so many trophies for us.

I'd add kerrygold, bobby and wise to gem's list.

Bobby? I said Tambling, have I forgotten another obvious one?!

Bobby? I said Tambling, have I forgotten another obvious one?!

Didn't see RDM, soz gem. we know all about you and bobby T .

steadie eddie's gotta be a cult fav.

Michael Ballack? Although he was here for a short duration but he was really a spine of this team and showed immense pride wearing this shirt.

I came up with this list:

Legends:

Ken Armstrong

Roy Bentley

Peter Bonetti

Ron Chopper Harris

Bobby Tambling

John Hollins

Peter Osgood

Charlie Cooke

Kerry Dixon

Pat Nevin

Steve Clarke

Dennis Wise

Roberto Di Matteo

Gianfranco Zola

Marcel Desailly

Frank Lampard

Ashley Cole

Petr ?ech

Branislav Ivanovi?

Didier Drogba

John Terry

Cult Heroes:

Jimmy Greaves

Eddie McCgreadie

John Bumstead

Paul Canoville

Graeme Le Saux

Glenn Hoddle

Dan Petrescu

Frank Leboeuf

Gianluca Vialli

Tore André Flo

Gustavo Poyet

Carlo Cudicini

Eidur Gudjhohnsen

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink

Joe Cole

Cluade Makélélé

Ricardo Carvalho

Paulo Ferraira

Michael Essien

Michael Ballack

Is there anyone on this list who shouldnt be, or have I missed someone out?

The cult hero list could really go on for ever when you think about it, so many players who fit the bill...

Gordon Durie

Colin Pates

Tony Dorigo

Mark Hughes

Kevin Hitchcock

Paul Elliott

Would also be on my version of that list.

Tambling, Harris, Osgood, Bonetti, Zola, Lampard, JT, Drogba & Cech = club legends in my opinion.

I'd add Dixon and Dennis Wise.

Wise? For 2 reasons:

1) He improved as the team improved, keeping his place and more.

2) That little nip on Nicky Butt's inner thigh, that provoked the reaction to get him sent off ;)

nah sorry not gordon durie, snidy bar steward!

Michael Ballack? Although he was here for a short duration but he was really a spine of this team and showed immense pride wearing this shirt.

I think cult hero, loved him though and he left a season too early

Yea, he's on my list, as a cult hero.

Michael Ballack? Although he was here for a short duration but he was really a spine of this team and showed immense pride wearing this shirt.

Edited May 1, 201511 yr by Floyd25

Funny today the tory graph has its own Chelsea legends piece, interesting selections

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/11282960/Chelsea-players-Best-11-of-all-time.html?frame=3132657

The perfect example of cult hero is Wise, the perfect example of legend is Frank/Zola/Drogba. Legend is truly a world class player and cult hero is a hugely important player for that team. My point is to be a legend you need to be relevant in football world if you are talking about a team as important as Chelsea. 

Sorry but I think that's pure bollocks, Wise is a Chelsea legend, he captained the side to so much silverware in one of our most succesful periods. He as instrumental in that success to not just a participant. A player doesn't have to have been world class to be a legend, Matt Le Tissier is a Southampton legend and he certainly wasn't world class. To be a legend you have to have been instrumental and done something more for a specific football club whether that's taking them to success or been that teams most important player, you become a legend. By your analogy only specific players can be considered legends due to their talent level.

Edited May 1, 201511 yr by Bobbywoodhogan

I'm not sure I necessarily agree with your definitions of 'cult hero'. You all seem to have nailed 'club legend' but I suppose that is more obvious - Zola, Osgood, Terry, Bonetti, Lampard, Wise, Cech, Gullit, etc.

 

I think a cult hero is someone who divides opinion, someone who was adored by some, and either not rated or forgotten by others. He would be someone generally understated - never really lauded for his contribution to our successes apart from by a small minority who think he is a genius. I'm seeing names like Essien, Desailly and Hasselbaink thrown around as cult heroes; I don't agree with that, I would argue that they are simply lesser legends, that they are generally considered to be brilliant, but just not quite reaching the level of the ultimate pantheon of heroes.

 

Players like Belletti and Mikel are cult heroes; Lambourde, Erland Johnsen, Hitchcock, Ferrer. Inherently underrated and unsung. Perhaps deservedly so, but I suppose that is the nature of the label. Shola Ameobi is a Newcastle cult hero and he was useless 9 games out of 10.

 

That said, this is obviously all subjective. I'm not sure there's really a concrete definition of 'cult heroes', I just wanted to throw my penny's worth into the discussion.

I'm not sure I necessarily agree with your definitions of 'cult hero'. You all seem to have nailed 'club legend' but I suppose that is more obvious - Zola, Osgood, Terry, Bonetti, Lampard, Wise, Cech, Gullit, etc.

 

I think a cult hero is someone who divides opinion, someone who was adored by some, and either not rated or forgotten by others. He would be someone generally understated - never really lauded for his contribution to our successes apart from by a small minority who think he is a genius. I'm seeing names like Essien, Desailly and Hasselbaink thrown around as cult heroes; I don't agree with that, I would argue that they are simply lesser legends, that they are generally considered to be brilliant, but just not quite reaching the level of the ultimate pantheon of heroes.

 

Players like Belletti and Mikel are cult heroes; Lambourde, Erland Johnsen, Hitchcock, Ferrer. Inherently underrated and unsung. Perhaps deservedly so, but I suppose that is the nature of the label. Shola Ameobi is a Newcastle cult hero and he was useless 9 games out of 10.

 

That said, this is obviously all subjective. I'm not sure there's really a concrete definition of 'cult heroes', I just wanted to throw my penny's worth into the discussion.

 

 

I always think that anything described as "cult" is appreciated by those who consider themselves cognoscenti - and often considered by others as pretentious twats - but obviously not where cult heroes of Chelsea are concerned!

I always think that anything described as "cult" is appreciated by those who consider themselves cognoscenti - and often considered by others as pretentious twats - but obviously not where cult heroes of Chelsea are concerned!

 

I had always assumed they were just contrarians!

What about a club legend "hors categorie": legend rising above standard legend status? Legend among legends, in other words. I nominate Osgood, Zola, JT. Nobody else comes close, not even my sweetie Cudicini :-(

What about a club legend "hors categorie": legend rising above standard legend status? Legend among legends, in other words. I nominate Osgood, Zola, JT. Nobody else comes close, not even my sweetie Cudicini :-(

Lampard??!!

Spot on, couldn't have said it better myself and I'm a big Dennis Wise fan.

Sorry but I think that's pure bollocks, Wise is a Chelsea legend, he captained the side to so much silverware in one of our most succesful periods. He as instrumental in that success to not just a participant. A player doesn't have to have been world class to be a legend, Matt Le Tissier is a Southampton legend and he certainly wasn't world class. To be a legend you have to have been instrumental and done something more for a specific football club whether that's taking them to success or been that teams most important player, you become a legend. By your analogy only specific players can be considered legends due to their talent level.

Lampard??!!

For me he's in the standard legend category.

What category would Babayaro fit into?