A former Chelsea star reflected on the chant he received from Blues fans after leaving the club
Steve Sidwell with Chelsea teammates
A former Chelsea star has discussed the reaction from fans after he left the club(Image: Paul Mcfegan/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
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Steve Sidwell admitted to being stung by the reception he received from Chelsea fans when lining up against his former club. The midfielder was signed by Jose Mourinho in 2007 following a standout season with Reading in the Premier League.
Sidwell faced a daunting battle for a starting spot at Chelsea as he was up against the likes of Claude Makelele, Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack and Michael Essien. His spell with the Blues was short as he was sold to Aston Villa the following summer.
The 43-year-old had bided his time to make an impact in the top-flight. As an Arsenal academy prospect, he played in the third tier with Brentford, who Chelsea are set to face at the Gtech Community Stadium on Friday. Sidwell was also loaned out to Brighton and Belgian outfit Beveren before spending five years with Reading.
During his sole season with Chelsea, he was limited to seven league starts and scored just once across 25 appearances, despite bizarrely being given the number nine shirt. While his Chelsea stint was short-lived, the fans' reaction to him left a lasting impact.
“The one that hurt me the most, this is ridiculous, the season after I left Chelsea and I went to [Aston] Villa, we played [Chelsea] at Villa Park,” Sidwell recalled on The Dressing Room podcast last year. “All the Chelsea fans were singing 'Chelsea reject' to me."
When reflecting on his move to Chelsea, Sidwell believed Mourinho had given him a mental test by proposing he take the number nine shirt. While he was never going to match the goal tallies of previous number nines, Sidwell did not want to shirk his manager’s early challenge.
“I didn't know whether he was just testing me,” Sidwell told The Athletic in 2020. “If I said, 'No thanks,' it would look like I had a weakness in my mentality. If I say 'Yes', it may have been that he was only joking. But I thought at least I'd then show him I had the balls to wear it.
“So I said 'Yes', and it turned out he was being serious. When I told people, my mates and family, everyone was just laughing. Obviously, the number has a lot of history relating to top centre-forwards, and that wasn't me. I went on to score one goal for Chelsea.”
Steve Sidwell and Jose Mourinho
Steve Sidwell was given the number nine shirt by Jose Mourinho at Chelsea(Image: Graham Whitby Boot/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
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He may have hoped to impress Mourinho, but Sidwell worked with the Portuguese coach for only two months before Avram Grant replaced him in the dugout. Sidwell believes that giving him the shirt number was a pointed message from Mourinho about the club’s transfer activity, with striker Nicolas Anelka eventually arriving in January 2008.
“Looking back on why he may have made that decision now, I think he was sending a statement upstairs, to the board,” Sidwell said of Mourinho. “That summer, he had wanted more money to spend on transfers, but he brought in me, Tal Ben Haim and Claudio Pizarro on free transfers.
“The only big buy was Florent Malouda. Why didn't he give Pizarro, a striker, the No.9? I reckon he was making a point by giving it to a free transfer from Reading.”
Sdiwell spent two-and-a-half seasons with Villa and later remained in the Premier League with Fulham and Stoke City before ending his career with Brighton in 2018. He may choose to keep a close eye on two of his former clubs on Friday as Chelsea face off against Brentford.