Sat 29th March 1969 - A win on Merseyside

A Saturday evening kick-off in the days before television called the shots?



The late kick off was to avoid a direct clash with the Aintree Grand National (won by Highland Wedding at pre-decimalisation odds of 100/9) and as ever in those days getting the final score, let alone updates, was very difficult, often having to wait until the very late news bulletins.

This was even harder as it was also Eurovision night, which ended in a four way tie including Lulu with the classic Boom Bang-A-Bang sharing the honours in Spain, still under the rule of General Franco. (As an aside anyone who used to holiday in Spain in those days will probably remember the Sun taking two days to arrive in local shops with the page three girls having printed on bikinis!, a far cry from today when hard core porn DVDs are openly displayed on sale next to today's UK newspapers in many Spanish newsagents)

Anyway to the game, a win on Merseyside albeit against the lesser evil, but still our first victory at Goodison since 1956/57. John Hollins was involved in all three goals, firstly with a run that set up Hutchinson after 16 minutes, then conceding a penalty for handball before crossing for Alan Birchenall to score the winner, in what was Everton's first home defeat since August.

Everton 1 Chelsea 2 (Hutchinson, Birchenall)

Bonetti, Webb, McCreadie,Hollins, Dempsey, Osgood,Boyle, Birchenall, Hutchinson,Harris,Houseman

22 March 1969 - down to earth with a bump

So many similarities with today, 5 league wins on the bounce and a trip to White Hart lane full of confidence. And then we never really turned up, several half chances notably from Hutchinson, who was earning rave reviews every week, Ossie (wearing the number 6 shirt) hit the post and then we lose to a goal from Neil Johnson 10 minutes from time.

15th March 1969 - Ian tames Kings of Europe

40 years on, and this match remains one of the best games of football I have ever seen, as Chelsea beat then current European Champions Manchester United 3-2 in front of over 60,000 fans.

For games like these, that weren't all ticket, the only option to make sure you got in was to get to the ground as early as possible and queue! We got there about noon, and already the queue from Bovril entrance, where the boy's turnstiles were, was almost back to the big blue gates that pretty much still stand to this day.

Excited at the prospect ahead the 90 minutes before the turnstiles opened passed quickly and we finally got to take our places in the middle of the Shed, which inevitably was always the first part of the ground to fill up. A few rounds of Knees Up Mother Brown, where you hoped that a) you weren't one of those pushed down a few steps and b) if you were you weren't evicted from the ground by the idiot coppers who never seemed to twig that if you've just gone down 10 sets of steps you weren't the one who was doing the pushing! (1972 Leicester before I fell foul to that one).

As to the game Chelsea started like a train, Webb scoring in the second minute, and Hutchinson making it 2-0 shortly after. United steamed back and cut the arrears to 2-1 by half time through James. From then on it was end to end stuff but with United getting on top Chelsea scored a fantastic breakaway goal (very reminiscent of Geoff Hurst's 4th in the 1966 Final) as Bobby Tambling raced onto Ossie's through ball to fire past Stepney.

Denis Law made it 3-2 from the penalty spot but Chelsea hung on to record a fifth straight league victory.

** I have seen extensive match of the day highlights of this game on youtube, and was hoping to link in, but have been unable to find this video, if anyone can help, this classic should be shared by all **

Bobby Tambling

Bobby Tambling scored his 200th goal for Chelsea from 356 appearances at the age of 27, having made his debut some 10 years earlier. Ironically the other goalscorer in the Coventry agem , Ian Hutchinson, was about to become Ossie's regular partner up front and Bobby's first team appearances during the following season were to become increasingly rare.

Monday 10th March 1969 ; 200 goals for Bobby

I have no idea in those far off days before TV called the shots why this game was played on a Monday, and very probably no TV footage was ever recorded, but it was a very special night where a Chelsea milestone, that will probably never be equalled, was set. What a fuss Sky Sports New would make today but I simply duplicate the understated paper report from top writer of the day Laurie Pignon.

"Master marksman Bobby Tambling, smasher of all Chelsea's scoring records, bounced up with another cracker - his 200th first team goal. And what a beauty!

Bobby swept past Geoff Curtis and Chris Cattlin to put Chelsea two up after 24 minutes, and it was the tantalising Tambling who had made the magical pass after only two minutes for young Ian Hutchinson to open the scoring.

Chelsea, who had little to play for but their own self respect first produced the urgency and drive that the threat of relegation should have inspired in Noel Cantwell's men.

Chelsea manager Dave Sexton made a brave decision in leaving out artistic ball players Charlie Cooke and Peter Osgood but the rain soaked pitch was made for men whose talents were of sterner stuff.

After half an hour Coventry were handicapped when brian hill retired hurt after a Ron Harris tackle. Peter Bonetti didn't have a difficult save to make in the first half but after the interval Coventry looked a different side when they blazed like a furnace where there had been no fire at all and charged deep into Chelsea's rough tackling heart.

Bonetti did extremely well to save from Willie Carr and Ernie Hunt but in the 66th minute Neil Martin headed the most artistic goal of the night . This was not the form of a team doomed to drop from the First Division. In the end Coventry deserved the equaliser that was so near half a dozen times but yet so far"

So it's not a new thing for Chelsea to be hanging on in games where we'd been cruising! Now you know why it's the oldies that get anxious in the second half...

Final Score ; Chelsea 2 Coventry 1

Sat 8th March 1969 - Just typical

Having lost to West Bromwich just seven days earlier Chelsea visited The Hawthorns for a league encounter and, typically, won easily 3-0..

After 20 minutes of uneasy security Albion ran into 30 seconds of disaster. A total miskick by Talbot gave Hutchinson a chance. His shot was blocked but the ball ran to Boyle, who scored off Osborne's legs.

Ten minutes later Houseman scored a superb individual goal.

Chelsea sauntered through the second half, tossing away chances cheerfully before Hutchinson further humiliated Albion. Taking a pass from Tambling he stumbled but recovered his balance and, with three Albion defenders watching, beat Osborne effortlessly.

West Bromwich Albion 0 Chelsea 3

Bonetti, Webb, McCreadie, Hollins, Dempsey, Harris, Boyle, Tambling, Hutchinson, Birchenall, Houseman, sub: Hudson

Wed March 5th 1969 ; Webb strikes again

Out of the Cup, and 8 points behind Arsenal in the days when only the Champions, and current holders, qualified for the European Cup, and only one team from any city could qualify for the UEFA Cup, and a league win was only worth 2 points. Basically our season all but ended on March 1st.

It was no surprise that our home game v Stoke, a mere 21 days after the classic 3-2 FA Cup 5th round tie, was an absolutely dismal, dire affair. Yes even teams with Ossie and Cooke in their prime could play their part in dreadful games, and this one still stands out in the memory today.

David Webb headed the winner in the 69th minute, and headed against the crossbar in the 90th, apart from that nothing happened.


Chelsea 1 Stoke City 0 (attendance 19,836 hardy souls)

Sat 1st March 1969 - Will we ever win the Cup?

Chelsea 1 W.B.A 2

So for the fifth season running we approach the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup as bookie's favourites, with a home tie against the holders West Bromwich Albion, who we'd easily beaten 3-1 in our first home league game back in August.

Having blown our chances at the previous stage last season v second division Birmingham surely this was a routine passage to the semi finals for us, especially after David Webb headed us into a 10th minute lead. Sadly John Dempsey missed an almost carbon copy chance minutes later and we then lost control of the game, with Tony Brown equalising before half time.

In the second half Peter Bonetti summed up Chelsea when in the space of 8 minutes he saved a Brown penalty then allowed a Jeff Astle shot in that he would probably have saved 99 times out of 100.

We then peppered the Albion goal, but proof that our luck was out was demonstrated when John Osborne, the luckiest goalkeeper of the time, actually sat on the ball as Ossie's header went between his legs in the last minute. John Boyle was booked for kicking the ball (after the goalie) and there was a 14 man brawl in the area.

So for the third time in 5 years we went out of the FA Cup to teams we should have beaten easily.

Oh well , always next year I guess.