Chelsea's Cult Heroes

Examines the careers of 20 of Stamford Bridge's biggest icons, discovers why they became such legends and how fans grew to love them, despite their idiosyncracies, behaviour and antics. This book also charts the emotional history of Chelsea from the moment it was conceived to the multi-national, trophy-winning superclub that it became.

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Zola, Cooke, Dixon, Terry and Bentley. The names trip off the tongue like manna from heaven to Blues fans. But why did these stars become the players that Chelsea fans adored, their embodiment on the pitch, the men that they would pay to see again and again? In "Chelsea's Cult Heroes", football writer Leo Moynihan examines the careers of 20 of Stamford Bridge's biggest icons, discovers why they became such legends and how fans grew to love them, despite their idiosyncracies, behaviour and antics!The journey begins with 22 stone goalkeeper 'Fatty Foulke', who, legend has it, delighted crowds by dangling opposing forwards' heads in the mud. Along the way we relive the 1955 Championship winning glory with Roy Bentley and Eric Parsons, swagger down the Kings Road with Osgood, Cooke and Hudson, laugh along with heroes of the 80s such as Pat Nevin and cower from he-men Micky Droy and Joey Jones. While in recent times the modern genius of the twinkling feet of Gianfranco Zola and sheer will and determination of current skipper John Terry ensure that these pages brim full with footballing gods.The book also charts the emotional history of Chelsea from the moment it was conceived by multi-millionaire, Gus Mears to attract the cognescenti of West London through its turnstiles, through the glamour of the sixties and the dark days of the hooligan era, to the multi-national, trophy-winning superclub that it is today. This book examines the club's roots and reveals how far, or not, the present club has drifted from them. Containing many exclusive interviews, including one of the last ever with legend Peter Osgood, and with a foreword by the late Tony Banks, this book is a must for all true Blues fans.