CHELSEA were never consistent enough to be serious league title contenders in the mid-1960s. When things were going well, they were capable of stringing together good results while also making life difficult for the best teams, but equally, they were more than capable of being clumsy, losing to lesser sides away from home and pressing the self destruct button. They had a mercurial manager in Tommy Docherty, who became frustrated at the lack of success, despite possessing a vibrant young team that always seemed to promise so much. This became Docherty’s downfall and culminated in the fiery Scot leaving Chelsea in 1967.
Docherty left behind a team still rich in potential, but lacking the killer instinct and discipline to be true contenders for the big prizes. In 1965 and 1966, Chelsea lost FA Cup semi-finals they should perhaps have won, but in 1967, they beat Leeds United at Villa Park to claim their place at Wembley in the final against Tottenham. They were beaten more comfortably than the 2-1 scoreline suggested and within a few months, Docherty was gone with just a Football League Cup triumph in 1965 to show for his transformation of the club. Docherty was a great motivator, but he also had a low attention span that meant he would churn things over very quickly to try and get the results he wanted. Between 1962-63 and 1965-66, Chelsea under Docherty won 54% of their league games, a far better percentage than the club’s only league title win (1955) at that time (47%).
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Players came and went towards the end of Docherty’s reign. Big names like Terry Venables, Barry Bridges and Peter Bonetti fell out with him and by the end of 1965-66, Docherty was losing patience and focus. Charlie Cooke of Dundee was signed just before the final games, a signal that Docherty was looking for a different style of play as his strategy since 1963 was not yielding the rewards he had hoped for. Cooke was a ball-player, a dribbler and a creator of opportunities. His flair contrasted with the high energy approach that had run teams off their feet in the previous three seasons.
Chelsea ended 1965-66 with a 5-0 defeat in Barcelona in the Inter-Cities’ Fairs Cup semi-final play-off. It had been another season of “if only” as they had lost two semi-finals and finished two places lower in the league table than 1964-65. Chelsea had introduced young Peter Osgood into their team, a vastly skilled player who had developed through the club’s youth system. His early appearances left commentators eulogising about a rising new talent who was being compared to David Jack and Alfredo di Stefano. Osgood was among six Chelsea players named by Alf Ramsey in his 40-man squad for the 1966 World Cup. The others were Bridges, Venables, Bonetti, Marvin Hinton and John Hollins. Only Bonetti got the nod for the final 22.
Osgood added freshness to the squad, but he was far from being the finished article as a long period without a goal evidenced. Chelsea began 1966-67 like a team on a mission and Osgood was in fine form, scoring six goals in 10 games. But then he sustained a broken leg at Blackpool in the Football League Cup. It was a heartbreaking moment for Osgood and Chelsea’s form was never as convincing again. Docherty signed Tony Hateley, a beanpole of a player with excellent aerial ability, but he was not Osgood. Hateley cost £ 100,000 from Aston Villa and his skill-set was very different. Nevertheless, he did score the goal that beat Leeds United in the FA Cup semi-final in April 1967.
Hateley was, arguably, a stop-gap signing, so when Osgood resumed his career at the start of 1967-68, there would be no place for him in the team. It was convenient that Liverpool were prepared to pay £ 95,000 for him in June 1967. Osgood played all 42 league games upon his return and ended with 16 goals. He was back, but not everyone was convinced that he had lost some pace and dynamism.
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Docherty left after 10 games, a combination of poor results and some bad publicity from the club’s summer tour. Ron Suart took over and Chelsea were thrashed 7-0 by Leeds United. There were a number of possible successors, including John Harris, a member of the 1955 championship-winning squad, Bill McGarry and even Jimmy Hill, who was about to move in television.
But the successor was Dave Sexton, a well-known figure to the club and around the London football scene. He was working with Arsenal at the time and was highly respected and renowned as a quiet, thinking man, the son of a boxer and a jazz disciple. Sexton was totally unlike Docherty, which Chelsea probably needed after a period of turmoil following the death of popular chairman Joe Mears. But he was also a hard man and demanded professionalism and commitment from his players.
His reign as manager started with a draw at Leicester, a game in which the team threw away a two-goal lead. In those opening weeks, Chelsea were without Bobby Tambling, who had to undergo a stomach operation. Osgood was scoring again but Sexton felt he needed more muscle up front, so he negotiated a secret transfer deal with Sheffield United that saw England under-23 international Alan Birchenall arrive at Stamford Bridge for £ 100,000. The Yorkshire club wanted Charlie Cooke in exchange, but Sexton was not prepared to let the Scottish winger leave Stamford Bridge. Birchenall was just 22 and many saw him as an England player in the making. “I have watched Alan carefully for quite a period and know how good he is. I’m delighted to have got him,” said Sexton. Birchenall described the move as “too good a chance to miss” and he made an immediate impact, scoring on his debut against Sunderland.
Birchenall was Sexton’s first signing, but early in 1968, he added some steel to the Chelsea backline by luring David Webb from Southampton. Sexton knew the no-nonsense defender from his time at Orient, a player who could appear at full back or centre half. Joe Kirkup was part of the deal, although it was originally intended to be Marvin Hinton. Webb was valued at around £ 40,000. He made an excellent start, a 3-1 win at title-chasing Manchester United at Old Trafford and it was clear that his robust style would make Chelsea more solid in defence.
Chelsea ended 1967-68 impressively and qualified for the Fairs Cup after finishing sixth. They were knocked out of the FA Cup in the sixth round, surprisingly losing 1-0 to second division Birmingham City at St. Andrews. Their only notable signing in the summer of 1968 was a 20-year-old unknown non-league player named Ian Hutchinson. Chelsea paid £ 5,000 to Cambridge United for the tall front man but nobody really expected him to be anything but a squad member. With Osgood, Tambling, Tommy Baldwin and Birchenall competing for forward-line places, Hutchinson would have to work very hard to be considered.
Apart from shock exits in both the Football League Cup and the Fairs Cup, the 1968-69 season had some excellent moments. In January 1969, Sexton went into the market again, signing Fulham’s tall Irish international centre half John Dempsey. It was a swap deal plus cash, with Barry Lloyd moving to Craven Cottage. Dempsey, who was valued at £ 70,000 hesitated but eventually agreed to make the short journey to Fulham’s neighbours.
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By the end of 1968-69, Chelsea had improved on 1967-68 by finishing fifth and had reached the last eight of the FA Cup once more, losing at home to holders West Bromwich Albion. They had also seen Hutchinson, with six goals in 11 games, emerge as a player of rare promise in the final weeks. There was great optimism at the start of the new season, but Chelsea started poorly, with one win in their first nine games. Hutchinson’s form continued, but both Birchenall and Tambling found themselves sidelined and eventually loaned out to Crystal Palace. Osgood enjoyed his best season and by the turn of the year had scored 14 league goals. Sexton, through necessity, had to field a young midfielder named Alan Hudson, an 18 year-old from the club’s youth team. It didn’t take long for him to make himself indispensable and he even caught the eye of Sir Alf Ramsey, who sang Hudson’s praises. The only signing of note was Paddy Mulligan, a steady full back from Shamrock Rovers who would go on to be a popular and versatile member of the squad.
The team was suddenly running like a well-oiled machine; Bonetti was having his best season, Webb was proving his worth at both ends of the pitch, Hollins and Hudson were in outstanding form, Cooke was performing his magic, Peter Houseman was consistent and creative on the flank and up front, Osgood and Hutchinson had formed a short-lived but lethal partnership. And then there was hard men like Dempsey, Ron Harris and Eddie McCreadie. These 11 players formed what many fans of the time consider to be the classic Chelsea line-up from 1970, but in truth, that line-up was used just nine times, six league games and three in the FA Cup. They won eight of the nine and lost one, scoring 28 goals and conceding 10. The last time the iconic team ran out together was in the FA Cup semi-final on March 14 against Watford (5-1 win).
The combination of steely defence, a great keeper, energy and invention in midfield and two strikers at the height of their powers made this team irresistible to watch, but it was prone to imploding at times. They were heavily beaten by Everton and Leeds United, the only teams to finish above them in 1969-70, but in the FA Cup, they rampaged through the five rounds before reaching Wembley. Hudson was missing from the final and the replay with Leeds through injury and one or two players were carrying injuries. As the records show, there were two titanic clashes with Leeds, culminating in Webb’s headed winner at Old Trafford on April 29, 1970.
This team could have gone on to be title contenders, but whether it was a lack of discipline or bad luck, or a combination of both, Chelsea were essentially a cup side. The European Cup-Winners’ Cup followed in 1971 and they should have added the Football League Cup in 1972, but then it all came to an end. Gradually, the team broke up and money became tight owing to the ground redevelopment project that never reached a conclusion. By 1975, only a handful of the 1970 team remained as Chelsea languished in the second division. Sexton had been sacked in October 1974 and moved on to Queens Park Rangers. With every year that passed in the grim decade that followed, the side of Osgood, Hollins, Cooke and Hudson looked better and better.