A blog of two halves

Put Bonetti in goal on the last day

Chelsea’s approach to life, the universe and football remains blurred as the season’s end comes into focus.

20 April 2016
By Tim Harrison
Categories:
Chelsea FC
Image 1

Guus Hiddink looks for signs of hope against Manchester City

Chelsea's approach to life, the universe and football remains blurred as the season's end comes into focus.

Two straight losses to Swansea and Man City, the latter a painful 3-0 home defeat, leaves the Blues at risk of stagnating ahead of the arrival of their new manager.

This weekend's trip to Bournemouth is viewed by fans as a jaunt to the seaside with a chance of a paddle while wearing a Kiss Me Quick hat.

Yet Chelsea will play a pivotal role in the ever-tightening tale at the top. The fun starts on May 2, when the Blues host Spurs. Chelsea will be fired-up, motivated, full-strength and determined.

Less than a fortnight later, on the last day of this extraordinary season, Chelsea host Leicester while – simultaneously – Newcastle host Tottenham.

The Magpies will almost certainly need three points for Premier League survival, but Spurs could well be in the position of needing three points for their first league title since Harold Macmillan lived at No10 and the first American walked in space.

How should Chelsea approach the match against Leicester, especially if the Premier League's fireworks truck is parked in Fulham Road, poised for post-match celebrations?

The answer is simple. Chelsea should field a team of players from the past.

Captained by Ray Wilkins, it could include 74-year-old Peter Bonetti in goal, Dennis Wise, Gianfranco Zola, Ruud Gullit, Steve Clarke and Pat Nevin.

Clive Walker may have lost his flowing locks, but he can still put one foot in front of another, while Charlie Cooke could be coaxed back from the United States for a long weekend.

Guus Hiddink would see out his enjoyable temporary stay in the manager's chair, and do a quick lap of honour.

Overhead, the sun would shine brightly, glinting on the Premier League trophy as everyone in the stadium stands to acclaim the Foxes as champions after a surprise 25-0 victory clinches the title on goal difference. Bliss.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham.

Tim Harrison

Tim is our Chelsea FC blogger.

He also writes our Shepherds Bush Cricket Club match reports during the football close season.

Tim has been writing Chelsea match reports since the late 1980s for newspapers and, more recently, websites.

When he first reported on the Blues, the press box was a metal cage suspended over the lip of the old west stand - and you reached it via a precarious walkway over the heads of the fans.

But he has been a Chelsea fan since his father took an excited seven-year-old to watch Chelsea v Manchester United in the mid 1960s... and covered his ears every time the chanting got too ripe.

In July 2005 he wrote The Rough Guide to Chelsea, published by Penguin, which sold 15,000 copies.

His favourite player of all time is Charlie Cooke, the mazy winger who lit up Chelsea's left wing in the 60s and 70s.

When he isn't watching the Blues, Tim acts, paints, writes and researches local history.

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