geezer Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 We often post about our favourite players and pick our 'best Chelsea XI' but we haven't as far as I can recall ever had a thread about our favourite unsung hero players. For me one of my favourite unsung heroes was Kenny Swain. I remember watching the Eddie Mac team playing at home one very cold Wednesday evening (can't recall who against) and Kenny was running at full pelt on to a through ball and one of our players (probably Jock Finnieston) had run into space. It was a left foot pass but Kenny, being predominantly right footed opted to wrap his right foot behind his left and ping a 30-yard ball straight to its target without him even breaking stride. I was so amazed at that piece of skill that everything else that happened at that moment has gone from my mind (hence why I can't recall who we were playing or who Kenny passed to). A brilliant piece of skill. That Kenny went on to Aston Villa and be transformed from a second striker to a right back and then win the European Cup showed just what a versatile and top class player he was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueBeard Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 You're right, there have been a lot of unsung heroes down the years. I always rated Kenny Swain, and was totally pissed off when he left Chelsea. Gary Stanley was another from that era, he had a shot on him like a cannon. In the great late 60's/early 70's side we had the likes of Ossie, Tambling, Hutch, Bonetti, Hollins, Hudson etc....but we also had Johnny Boyle, a tough tackling volatile Scot, Marvin Hinton, a classy defender and one of the first ever English sweepers; and Peter Houseman, who was so under-rated it was almost criminal. In the 80's we had a lot of heroes playing under Johnny Neal, but Nigel Spackman was the man who held the team together in midfield. He was never a hero of the fans, at least not until he got sent off for whacking Martin Keown, after which he became an instant legend! :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PloKoon13 Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 I'm not sure Le Saux gets the credit he deserves. He was a machine down the left for ages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geezer Posted November 9, 2008 Author Share Posted November 9, 2008 I always rated Kenny Swain, and was totally pissed off when he left Chelsea. Gary Stanley was another from that era, he had a shot on him like a cannon. John Sparrow had a fair whack of a shot too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea rotterdam Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 John Spencer was a player i liked because he often just went for it..wasn't the most gifted but his goal against Vienna in 94 still makes me smile... I think a lot of players of the team that got us to the final in 94 didn't get the farwell they deserved. A lot left by the back when Gullit and Hughes and the better players came in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjd Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Was always a big fan of Kevin Wilson , and never really thought he was as popular as he could've been. Big Joe, i remember fondly too. Of our current/recent bunch i think Alex is a good shout. He never lets us down and we always take for granted that he seems to play well in every game he deputises in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PloKoon13 Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Of our current/recent bunch i think Alex is a good shout. He never lets us down and we always take for granted that he seems to play well in every game he deputises in. I agree! I've always rated Alex ever since I saw him at PSV, and it's a shame he doesn't get to play more often. I even picked him for my Master League team in PES :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Loved Mickey Hazzard. Magic wand of a left foot with lovely touch and control. King Kerry used to say he loved playing with him because wherever he ran Hazzo could pick him out with a pass. Eamonn Bannen was another lovely little footballer. In his all too brief spell at Chelsea he was the only glint of class amongst all the dross he had playing alongside him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mad_mac Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Eddie Newton. Integral part of our team but you never really hear him being mentioned that much...at least I don't Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loz Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Erland Johnsen for me. Far from the greatest centre half ever but loved the Blues as much as any homegrown player ever did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim W Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 John Phillips - 10 years as an understudy might be seen as a lack of ambition in some eyes, but he wasn't a bad keeper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Backbiter Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 For me one of my favourite unsung heroes was Kenny Swain. I remember watching the Eddie Mac team playing at home one very cold Wednesday evening (can't recall who against) and Kenny was running at full pelt on to a through ball and one of our players (probably Jock Finnieston) had run into space. It was a left foot pass but Kenny, being predominantly right footed opted to wrap his right foot behind his left and ping a 30-yard ball straight to its target without him even breaking stride. I was so amazed at that piece of skill that everything else that happened at that moment has gone from my mind (hence why I can't recall who we were playing or who Kenny passed to). A brilliant piece of skill.That Kenny went on to Aston Villa and be transformed from a second striker to a right back and then win the European Cup showed just what a versatile and top class player he was. Kenny Swain was a very talented player. Does anyone remember the Daily Express 5-a-side tournament that used to be on every November at Wembley Empire Pool and was shown on Sportsnight? One year we got to the final and Swain was phenomenally good. Another who stood out in that tournament was Mickey Hazard, but that was for Spuds. I agree with all the nominations (although Bannon hardly qualifies as he stayed less than a year IIRC). I'd put forward Mickey Droy who gave his all for the club and stayed through the worst period in our history, despite being just a squad player when we were any good (and a virtual ever-present when we weren't). Really improved as a footballer down the years and was fantastic against Dalglish when we beat them 2-0 in the FAC in 1982. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chippy Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 A bit different and not many will agree but although most of my Heroes for us come from the 70s I have got to give a shout for our our most expensive signing and some say biggest flop, I think in the games where he played up front with Drogba we saw some good stuff from him and he pulled Defenders away from Drogba helping him score a lot of goals. Hero is a bit strong but I think his contribution although expensive was not the waste a lot think it was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Backbiter Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 Another unsung hero for me - I bet noone else has thought of him - was Mark Stein. His goals arguably kept us up in Hoddle's first season - we were in big trouble when he signed - and helped Hoddle turn the club around before bringing in the superstars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim W Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 Not forgetting David Hay of course Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blizeH Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 Juliano Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cassiya Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 Another unsung hero for me - I bet noone else has thought of him - was Mark Stein. His goals arguably kept us up in Hoddle's first season - we were in big trouble when he signed - and helped Hoddle turn the club around before bringing in the superstars. The player for me would be Craig Burley, I always thought was he could have played with us longer given half the chance. I was gutted for him when he didn't make the 97 Fa Cup team Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midlandblue Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 Duncan McKenzie, great skill. Doug Rougvie, hard as nails Joey Jones, great motivater John Bumstead, Chelsea through and through Mark Stein (as mentioned) set a Chelsea record for goals in consecutive games Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueBeard Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 Some great players being named here - John Phillips and David Hay especially, though I think Micky Droy was far too popular with Blues fans to be regarded as an unsung hero. A few more who I don't think have been mentioned yet... Paddy Mulligan - attacking right-back, had a distinctive way of running which always got the crowd cheering him on Tommy Baldwin - not sure if he belongs here, but in my mind he often got overlooked among all the stars of his time Chris Garland - good striker, but brought into the club at a bad time - and he should have been arrested for that hair! Bill Garner - tough hard-man striker, not many defenders got the better of him physically Ian Britton - great little player, but another one who had hair problems :D Gary Locke - our best right-back of the 70's by far Steve Wicks - top defender Chris Hutchings - solid left-back, good going forward Graham Roberts - OK, he was an ex-Spud, but he led the Blues to the 2nd Division title. Phenomenal penalty taker too. Graham Stuart - good little player, we should have held onto him Frank Sinclair - maybe not the best player in the world, but he always gave 110% for Chelsea - even when he played for Leicester! Paul Elliott - not sure he belongs in this category, he was very highly rated, but I thought I'd give him a mention anyway - top centre-half Scott Minto - promising left-back who left when we re-signed Graeme Le Saux Emerson Thome - very under-rated centre-half - sadly he was injured for most of his time at Chelsea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lofty Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 Peter Houseman: he was often a target of abuse from the fans, in fact a bit of a scapegoat. The true value of his contribution to the side was recognised by those he played alongside, notably Ossie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barn Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 3 stand out for me; Johnny Bumstead, Kevin Hitchcock and Eddie Newton. Bumstead was one of my first ever favourite players, his energy was immense he seemed to be everywhere all the time. Hitch, too good a keeper to play understudy for so long, but he loved Chelsea. Eddie, Maka before Maka was invented, that position should be named after Eddie! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkw Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 agree with eddie, he was one of my favourite players for a few years. ill go for glenn hoddle as an unsung hero to debate. not so much as a player, more for the way he brought players into the club and started us off on a fantastic 15 or so years. and for bringing super dan petrescu to the club, my all time favourite player after franco... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 agree with eddie, he was one of my favourite players for a few years. ill go for glenn hoddle as an unsung hero to debate. not so much as a player, more for the way he brought players into the club and started us off on a fantastic 15 or so years. and for bringing super dan petrescu to the club, my all time favourite player after franco... That's my list too.. maybe it is my age but they stand out....I am not sure if Clive Walker was actually unsung, but he was certainly my hero when I was young(er) ... Another one that I cheted on just because I was reading the Chelsea mag last night is Spackman.. okay he went off to The Poo but he came back.. never cost us a fortune and did a tidy job in both stints. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjd Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 agree with eddie, he was one of my favourite players for a few years. ill go for glenn hoddle as an unsung hero to debate. not so much as a player, more for the way he brought players into the club and started us off on a fantastic 15 or so years. and for bringing super dan petrescu to the club, my all time favourite player after franco... Hoddle basically built the team around Newton. I remember Venables saying he was looking at him for England before the leg break, Eddie was certainly ahead of his time. Alarming how his career nosedived after he left us though. And as for Hoddle, his presence and influence can never be underestimated. It all started there. I remember on his home debut as player manager in 93 against Blackburn. One of the Blackburn long balls was mortared into the air and Hoddle , playing sweeper, cushioned it down on the side of his foot effortlessly, span round and sprayed a 50 foot ball to the wing that Andy Myers let bounce of his knee for a thrown in. All the Chelsea fans around me just took a deep breath - we werent used to that! What Glenda started at Chelsea can never be forgotten and i never think he gets the credit he deserves, i suspect because of the link to Rottenham. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Chelsea Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 david speedie for me i loved the little fellow he was great so great i named my son after him he scored great goals i always remember his hat trick against man city at wembley which just endeared him to me more i was gutted when he left Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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