Chelsea football club have been a fixture in my life since I was old enough to understand there was football life beyond watching my cousin Ken kick a ball around a park with other amateurs at the weekend.
There were these God like men in royal blue who achieved feats only dreamt of lower down the ability league.Chelsea were not that successful having only won the 1st Division title in the year I was born 1955 and not much else since. But the team by the time I was old enough to follow them was inhabited by creatures with wonderful names like Ron "Chopper" Harris defender axer of opposing forwards and Captain. Peter Bonnetti "The Cat" a goalkeeper of amazing acrobatic prowess who I emulated diving onto my bed as the floor at home was hard. However one man towered above all the others that was Peter Osgood "Ossie" "The King of Stamford Bridge" (only later in life would I learn that Stamford Bridge was the battle fought by Harold 2 days before the battle of Hastings).I was sad when he died far too early the other year, Gods are mortal after all.
When I was 15 the lads actually won something the FA Cup when this was more important than even most European cups and all the sweeter it was against Leeds who in the 70's were the Man Utd of the day all conquering men in white.
So now as we come to the end of another season and we are expecting that we will once again regain the Premiership title I look back on those days of less money and boyhood heroes with pride and I hope John Terry and his team will be looked down on by Ossie during this run in I expect he would relish having a go himself
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