Which players 'love/loved' the club

[loz]

Just thinking out loud really after reading the posts about Frank saying he wants to stay for life. Wicksy makes the fairly standard (but nonetheless relevant - I don't mean that as an insult Wicksy) point that it is lucre that Frank loves and not Chelsea.

He may well be right or maybe Frank really does have a deep felt affection for the club (as well as a desire to get even richer).

Anyway it made me think of which players do you truly believe developed a strong bond with the club. In recent years names like Zola, Petrescu, Di Matteo, Wise and Erland Johnsen spring to mind and going back a little bit further I think of the likes of Steve Clarke (obviously still with us), Dixon and Bumstead. Further back again there is the likes of Chopper, Ossie and Charlie Cooke etc etc.

In the current squad the one that jumps out to me is Carlo and one hopes that JT goes on to become one for a long long time.

So who would you nominate?

(my names are not rally my exhaustive list, just throwing some suggestions out there)

[Gem]

Petrescu for me is probably the stand out name, I believe is truely does love Chelsea FC.

As for people questioning Frank's affection for the club... why NOT believe him? He can't help it if his playing time coinsides with stupid wages and where players can demand what they want. If Frank were to 'settle' for 10k and a packet of crisps a week, would that prove his loyalty? Would that do for some? Or is even that not enough?

[ethicalstrategy]

Petrescu for me is probably the stand out name, I believe is truely does love Chelsea FC.

As for people questioning Frank's affection for the club... why NOT believe him? He can't help it if his playing time coinsides with stupid wages and where players can demand what they want. If Frank were to 'settle' for 10k and a packet of crisps a week, would that prove his loyalty? Would that do for some? Or is even that not enough?

You have to consider though Gem - what has Frank ever done for us?

[cappy]

zola loved it

[The Moos]

JT, Carlo and Lamps.

Then I would say Guddy. I think he loved Chelsea but also wanted to try something else. And I can't blame him for wanting to try his luck at Barcelona. Very few players would turn an opportunity like that down.

How about Cech? Hasn't proved his love perhaps quite yet but I see him staying with us for a long, long time.

And I have to mention José here. He might not have been a player at Chelsea but he loved us. And we loved him.

[Gem]

Petrescu for me is probably the stand out name, I believe is truely does love Chelsea FC.

As for people questioning Frank's affection for the club... why NOT believe him? He can't help it if his playing time coinsides with stupid wages and where players can demand what they want. If Frank were to 'settle' for 10k and a packet of crisps a week, would that prove his loyalty? Would that do for some? Or is even that not enough?

You have to consider though Gem - what has Frank ever done for us?

Ahh, you make a good point. Nothing springs to mind really.

[just]

Poyet?

[BackInBlue]

Christian Panucci = true blue

[Mod]

Bogarde! What? He was really loyal spending all the time in reserves!

Dixon, Zola, JT, Di Matteo, Desailly, Le saux was quite loyal too.

[Tim W]

Ron Harris loves the club, maybe not so much in its present guise, but the man is as close as you'll ever come to "Chelsea Rock"

[just]

Tommy "Leather Lungs" Langley is one who loves Chelsea.

He still regularly attends home games, normally sitting in the Shed Upper.

Kerry Dixon has to be the ultimate though. In 1988, (when we were in Division 2 again), and Le Arse repeatedly came a calling for his services, he told them to stick it where the sun don't shine and stayed with us. He subsequently scored 25 goals in that campaign and helped us win the Div 2 title.

Now, that my friends, is love for your club.

PS: for you newbies, that is King Kerry scoring a truly wonderous goal against the gooners in my avatar. And believe it or not, (despite what the crowd scenes of wild celebration following the goal may lead you to think), the game was played at............................. Highbury!

[jack h]

Dan Petrescu sticks out as some body else said (he named his daughter Chelsea, you cant do much more than that )

[geezer]

Tommy "Leather Lungs" Langley is one who loves Chelsea.

He still regularly attends home games, normally sitting in the Shed Upper.

Kerry Dixon has to be the ultimate though. In 1988, (when we were in Division 2 again), and Le Arse repeatedly came a calling for his services, he told them to stick it where the sun don't shine and stayed with us. He subsequently scored 25 goals in that campaign and helped us win the Div 2 title.

Now, that my friends, is love for your club.

PS: for you newbies, that is King Kerry scoring a truly wonderous goal against the gooners in my avatar. And believe it or not, (despite what the crowd scenes of wild celebration following the goal may lead you to think), the game was played at............................. Highbury!

You might have to explain to the newbies that Highbury was the Arses old ground

[bar24rat]

It's too difficult to define "loving" a club in today's football. Sad to admit but Giggs comes closest

At Chelsea even JT hardly declared undieing love when he thought he wasn't getting his fair whack.

Lamps is 29, perhaps he's contemplating his old-age already when he's after 6 or 7 years claiming his game is not built on speed. Maybe he sees the future as a Makka!

Loyalty as defined by Chopper, Bonetti,Pates, Bums,Cookie,Big Micky Droy,...... from the Brits and Dan the Man(he never wanted to go), Zola,....... for those overseas

[Nibs]

Totally different times. You can bet that if those 70's players had been around today with agents and big money - we wouldn't have seen the same loyalty. Even now, players are probably only loyal because of the near guaranteed European football and the lifestyle they've become accustomed to. Sure Giggs has stayed at Man Utd but why move when you are with probably the biggest club in the world?

Loyalty for me is someone like Le Tissier. I'd like to think JT would stay with us even if the wages were not so good and our fortunes took a dip - but who can say?

Think Eidur would have been more loyal as he really did love Chelsea and you could see how gutted he was at the end.

Wee Pat is still my favourite and he too was loyal ans loved Chelsea and us fans. I know he left us for Everton when we got relegated back in '88 but he was gutted to leave and who could honestly blame him at the time?

[bjd]

I'd like to think JT would stay with us even if the wages were not so good and our fortunes took a dip - but who can say?

He'd be off mate! Not a slight on him but its the modern way. Simple as. He was a Man Utd fan anyway! Of our bunch now Carlo is a good shout. He has a real affinity with Chelsea and it shows.

Di Matteo loved Chelsea, and Vialli. Petrescu and Zola. Obviously Wisey. I loved that team and they loved Chelsea.

Going back a few years, in the 80s King Kerry naturally but a good shout too for Johnny Bumsted. A great servant and great, great bloke.

[mad_mac]

currently...Steve Clarke. Played well for us, and has been an integral part of Chelsea ever since he stopped playing.

I also think desailly loved the club too. Carlo has stayed with us ever since being de Goey's understudy, and he still celebrated winning the league even though he never got a winners medal; and he's still with us. I also think Mikel Forssel was getting pretty close to it, but just never got a break and then we started shipping him off all over the place.

Zola, Wisey (of course, even if he did go to Leeds), Di Matteo (still feel sick thinking about the tackle that ended his career), Super Dan. I would even put Steady Eddie Newton in there.

Dixon and Speedie were just before my time, but I feel that they did too. Certainly Dixon, he still gets misty eyed if they use him on Sky (the crowd still sings his name while he's trying to talk on camera at the bridge.

Chopped, Droy, McCreiddie were all way before my time, but I think they deserve a mention.

[mad_mac]

P.S. I also think Ruud and Vialli should be mentionied.

And, on the JT front, didn't Le Arse come sniffing for him, but he said he wanted to stay with us? I think he should be mentioned too

[ivorycoast]

what about duffers? i think JFH loved us as well, he seems to remember us fondly during interviews...

[Englishman]

what about duffers? i think JFH loved us as well, he seems to remember us fondly during interviews...

Except when he spent an entire summer trying to engineer a move to Barca.

There are some players who obviously have a lot of affection for the club, which comes across whenever they talk about us. People like Dixon, Chopper, Bonetti, Cooke, Di Matteo, Super Dan and Zola. I'd say Ray Wilkins too.

With some exceptions, such as Le Tissier, there's very little loyalty in football nowadays. I doubt JT or Lamps would stick around if it was in their interests to leave. As for Giggs, it's very easy to be loyal to the richest club in the world. I doubt he'd have stayed with the likes of Preston or Wigan.

[TheWestwayWonder]

I will single a recent favorite and cast my vote with Guddy as well.

Fickle as it may be, the most telling moment came not after a goal celebration or a press conference (though those showed his emotion too) but during Chelsea's Crossbar Challenge on Football AM

Of all the players that stepped up to take a whack at it, Guddy came up, stated his name, and with bravado added "striker for the mighty blues". Somehow that one action spoke volumes to me about his loyalty to the club. Even after he did slice the ball wide....

[coco]

Le Saux came back, so must love us.

Kerry Dixon, it was Dixon that dragged us through the 80's, a true blue, he worships Chelsea.

Nigel Spackman.

[Backbiter]

Le Saux came back, so must love us.

Kerry Dixon, it was Dixon that dragged us through the 80's, a true blue, he worships Chelsea.

Nigel Spackman.

Obviously not the player who wanted Liverpool to knock us out of the CL. I remember Hudson saying something similar a few years ago, but not about Liverpool.

[coco]

Le Saux came back, so must love us.

Kerry Dixon, it was Dixon that dragged us through the 80's, a true blue, he worships Chelsea.

Nigel Spackman.

Obviously not the player who wanted Liverpool to knock us out of the CL. I remember Hudson saying something similar a few years ago, but not about Liverpool.

One of our biggest critics maybe.

But i grew up with him in the team he was a loyal player.

[Elliott]

Eidur's loyalty could never be brought into question. I know that Barcelona as a proposition is attractive enough, but he did reject a move to Spurs on personal grounds. What a bloke. And one i would love to have back with us now.

Dennis Wise is a name i would mention. Sure he was part of the Crazy gang, but i'm certain he would class himself as a Chelsea boy.

Did'nt Sparky support us as a boy? Having said that, JT supported United...