15 minutes ago, chi blue said:

As I said it went pear shaped early 90’s, but still think he had a couple of good seasons with us, he was England no 2 at Italia 90, so not sure he was a  ‘dreadful keeper’

Number 3 he was behind Chris Woods .  He was a dreadful keeper and you have to be the only bloke I've ever known to rate him.

Edited February 14, 20215 yr by bluehaze

12 minutes ago, bluehaze said:

Number 3 he was behind Chris Woods .  He was a dreadful keeper and you have to be the only bloke I've ever known to rate him.

I actually got that wrong he was number 4 Seaman got injured.

Robson chose Woods and Seaman as Shilton's understudies in the initial squad, but days before a hand injury to David Seaman forced Bobby Robson to drop Seaman and replace him with Beasant. England went to the semi-finals, where they lost on penalties to West Germany.

2 hours ago, bluehaze said:

That's not true at all Chi he wasn't great even in the second division. I remember him getting chipped by a Swindon player who was standing about two feet from the East lower. He was a dreadful keeper Kevin Hitchcock was far better but he just wasn't tall enough Beasant would make mistakes all the time I remember he made one at Anfield I thought Townsend was going to chin him cause he was sick of it happening all the time half the ground wanted to hit him after this game.

 

I find your comment about Townsend interesting, one afternoon early 90s in the Shed and I thought it was going to kick-off between a group from the Whitewall side jeering Beasant's every touch and the Middle. It didn't yet it was an uncomfortable match even the normal embullient older chap that started most of the singing kept his head down.

I think for getting us out of the Second Division Beasant was decent yet was found out at the top level and we left it a little late to change keeper. 

2 hours ago, Phillip said:

How about Raul Meireles?  For the short time he was here, he scored some big goals, none bigger than in the SF on our way to the CL trophy in 2012.  Too bad he got a yellow card in that match and had to sit out the final.

 

And Yes, Pedro is a very unsung hero for Chelsea.

Meireles is a good shout, have almost forgotten who he was yet scored some occasionally and with some cracking goals.

Pedro is so recent not sure it is right to include, though of course he was in the shadow of Hazard, Costa and Willian was normally preferred. 

15 hours ago, Phillip said:

How about Raul Meireles?  For the short time he was here, he scored some big goals, none bigger than in the SF on our way to the CL trophy in 2012.  Too bad he got a yellow card in that match and had to sit out the final.

 

The great thing about Meireles, is how much he did in that 2nd leg against Barcelona. In the 90th minute, he saw Xavi pressing on with the ball, he knew he couldn't tackle him before he released the ball, instead he took one of the team and got a yellow card. Meaning he couldn't play in the final. That would've been his first and only CL final, and he decided to do that for the team who you would presume had little loyalty towards before coming here, what a guy he was... 

I'll honestly never forget that, even though Barcelona might not have scored, that's not the point. The undying commitment to do that and missing your chance to play in the Champions League final at the time is massive. 

Can only speak from the mid 90s so I would offer:

 

Dennis Wise

Steve Clarke

Frank LeBouf

Ed De Goey

Dan Petrescu

Alex

Gary Cahill

Ricardo Carvaliho

John Mikel Obi

Paulo Ferreria

Tiago 

Germei

Damien Duff

Eidur Gudjonson

Jorginho 

Juliano Belletti

 

Erland Johnsen for me.  Did win player of the year in the early 90s but felt sorry for him that he was not included in the FA Cup final in 1997 particularly after his performances against Leicester, ha ha, and Wimbledon in semi.  Some of you may recall that Wimbledon battered us around that time so Johnsen was brought in to make sure that didn't happen in the semi..... He did as much as anyone to ensure we won the cup without having a medal to show for it....

Ramires

On 13/02/2021 at 00:01, coco said:

Salomon Kalou is often overshadowed by Drogba, but he had a remarkable career at Chelsea and deserves the odd mention.

Yep, he'd be mine. Not sure about MOST underrated but I felt he was overlooked a lot. Came up with some key goals for us and was always a threat. Fantastic player.

Albert ferrer for me ..

Always a steady 7 or 8 out of 10.

15 hours ago, Slojo said:

The great thing about Meireles, is how much he did in that 2nd leg against Barcelona. In the 90th minute, he saw Xavi pressing on with the ball, he knew he couldn't tackle him before he released the ball, instead he took one of the team and got a yellow card. Meaning he couldn't play in the final. That would've been his first and only CL final, and he decided to do that for the team who you would presume had little loyalty towards before coming here, what a guy he was... 

I'll honestly never forget that, even though Barcelona might not have scored, that's not the point. The undying commitment to do that and missing your chance to play in the Champions League final at the time is massive. 

So gutting that we had so many key players (JT, Ivan, Ramires, plus Meireles) who had to miss the final due to suspension. How we managed to compete and prevail against both Barca and Bayern is truly miraculous.

Paulo Ferreira. Part of the best defense in English football and always reliable even after becoming a bit part player. 

Most underrated player for me is Peter tiger houseman....

Got loads of stick from fans but was a big part many times for the blues...quiet and unassuming....a nice fellow that fans back then seemed to enjoy jumping on...wont forget his goal at wembley

I still think this guy is underrated...

 

Rob Green. Can't remember a single error from his time here, yet he barely gets a mention. 

22 minutes ago, ross91690 said:

Rob Green. Can't remember a single error from his time here, yet he barely gets a mention. 

Did he actually play for us?

This man walked so that John Obi Mikel could run gently stroll. 

Hasselbaink.

Chelsea supporters rate him highly, but outsiders rarely talk about him these days.

 

3 hours ago, Jezz said:

Hasselbaink.

Chelsea supporters rate him highly, but outsiders rarely talk about him these days.

 

As a footballer I didn't rate him at all. Technically very poor, lazy, not good in the air and didn't mind a good old whinge at his team mates. But he certainly knew where the goal was. 

So many other EPL strikers at that time were ahead of him. Shearer, Van Nistlerooy, Owen, Henry. All could score goals like Hasslebaink, but all had much more to their all round skill sets.

On 17/02/2021 at 13:01, Strider6003 said:

Did he actually play for us?

How could you forget him winning us the game in a penalty shoot out?! Against Lyon in a pre season friendly!