‘A Bridge too far... as usual’

ALL the talk of a crisis at Chelsea is nothing new to players of a certain vintage.

Next month marks the 40th anniversary of Ken Bates (below) buying the club for a quid and wiping off the club’s debts.

So tight were things in the early 1980s that Chris Hutchings – who would go on to manage in the Premier League with Bradford – admits that the local building firms paid more than the current European champions.

“You can’t say no to Chelsea now, but when they came in for me, I was earning more playing for Harrow Borough and bricklaying than they were paying me,” he said. “Back then, you would be told when the chairman wanted to see you to discuss your contract. I would go in and suggest a sum and, more often than not, Ken would agree. Then I would come out kicking myself that I hadn’t asked for another 50 quid a week!”

When Bates took over, Chelsea were up to their eyes in debt and involved in a spat with local developers who wanted to evict them from Stamford Bridge. They finished that season 12th in the old Division Two and the following year finished just two points off relegation to Division Three.

“If someone had said the club would win the FA Cup, let alone the Champions League, people would have laughed in your face,” added Hutchings.